CLEANING AND MAINTENANCE
For the best performance, keep your Infinity Drawer Lock Joint Bit clean.
Built up pitch and sap can insulate the bit, causing it to run hot. The
excessive heat can damage the cutting edge.
DO NOT use caustic materials like oven cleaners as they can damage the bond
between the carbide cutters and the bit body. Most woodworking supply
outlets have commercially prepared solutions that safely remove the pitch
and gum associated with machining wood. There are also several household
cleaners that are effective in the cleaning of router bits.
This info was contained in several magazine articles that came out in
the late '80's or early '90's. Sorry I can't provide specific mags or
dates.
I can't vouch for the accuracy of the articles but I do know that oven
cleaner is nasty stuff. Much easier to use one of the 'orange' hand
cleaners. Just spread it on, wait a minute and rinse it off. For me
it almost instantly dissolves wood resins and glue build up. Blow the
excess water off the blade and dry with a paper towel. Easy peasy and
none of the downsides of oven cleaner.
Forgot to mention. The cite came from the Infinity Tools web page. I figure
they would know better than me what is good or bad. The cutters are brazed
on.
There are hundreds of "sources" for this, mostly personal opinions or "Joe
said so". After many debates on the wreck, I remember one industrial engineer
or such, who took care of really big equipment. They did use some caustic
cleaners, but also inspected and measured their effect. He comfirmed that it
will damage the blade. However, for the number of times a home woodworker is
likely to clean the blade each year, it would last many-many years.
OTOH, it is nasty stuff, and some good alternatives have been mentioned in
this thread.
GerryG
engineer
it
is
Most of the suggestions are milder alkali than oven cleaner, because they
works rapidly, and with water. Organic solvents will work as well. Which
means use what you have - I like "TSP" (which isn't) 90 because it's cheap
and quick - and works.
Get a good flat-bottomed plastic container large enough to put your blade in
and soak, with maybe an old toothbrush handy for those deposits behind the
teeth.
For router bits, I keep a spray bottle with some WD40 in it to clean off the
stuff while it's fresh, and put them back in storage a little damp.
Oven cleaner is sodium hydroxide. NaOH. What's the alloy for the type
of brazing used for cutter blades?
I suppose if you soaked the blade for a few days in NaOH it might cause
some problems, but the solution is only 4-5%, and it's only on a few
seconds. And it's cheap.
This topic comes up all the time. Google-search this newsgroup and you'll see
lots of opinions and recommendations.
My personal preference is washing soda. It's cheap, it's environmentally
benign, and it couldn't possibly be easier to use. Dissolve 1/4 cup in a quart
of warm water. Soak the blade for five or ten minutes, and most of the gunk
will float away. Light scrubbing and a rinse will remove the rest.
Washing soda can be found in most grocery stores on the same aisle with the
laundry detergent. When you find the borax, you're close to the washing soda.
It's Arm&Hammer brand; the box looks a lot like their baking soda box, only
bigger.
--
Regards,
Doug Miller (alphageek at milmac dot com)
Nobody ever left footprints in the sands of time by sitting on his butt.
And who wants to leave buttprints in the sands of time?
and
Wood magazine, shortly before their Glue Issue, rated these.
They didn't rate Simple Green very highly, which Simply confirms my own
personal experience that it does an excellent job. Spray, wait 3 minutes,
light scrub brush, rinse, dry, done.
Try 'Simple Green'. It's actually a household cleaner, but works
amazingly well on a lot of stuff. I've put it in a powerwasher to wash
the siding on the house or the car - won't hurt plants, but it can
clean paint off sometimes. I use an old toothbrush & dip it into the
concentrate to clean off blades & bits. Not as fast as some things
mentioned here, but it isn't caustic, smells nice, cheap & works for a
lot of other stuff, so it's handier for me.
Take a 12" wide round pan (I used a planter drip tray)
Fill it with about 1/8" of ammonia
Put the blade in it and let it soak for about 30 seconds
Use a small tooth brush and the all the dirt and grime easily brushes
away.
It is best to do this outside, and try not to breath the ammonia...
This is the cheapest, most effective solution I've found.
Regards,
-Steve in Banks, OR
http://woodworking.bigelowsite.com
Have you tried washing soda? No fumes....
--
Regards,
Doug Miller (alphageek at milmac dot com)
Nobody ever left footprints in the sands of time by sitting on his butt.
And who wants to leave buttprints in the sands of time?
There was an article lately in Fine Woodworking (I think) that indicated
that oven cleaner was quickest and most thorough.
I've never tried oven cleaner, but I've use a spray cleaner called
"Simple Green" and an old toothbrush. 30 seconds on a 60 tooth blade is
all it takes.
Chris
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