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Saw blade cleaners

Anyone using saw blade cleaning agents? I have a number of saw blades which have quite a bit of varnish on them. I thought I would get some cleaners to clean them up before I send them out for sharpening. I have seen some reference to a cleaner called "CMT" so I searched the internet for a source and was directed to the CMT website for a cleaner called CMT2050. It comes in a 18oz can for $8.99/can. It is supposed to be non-toxic. I was amazed to also find out that the same can cost $11.90 at Cheyenne Sales and an amazing $17.01 at Wood Tech Enterprises (all sources recommeded by a woodworking link). Has anyone some experience with this stuff? Have you also run into these large cost variations?

Al Hoffmann

Reply to
ahoffmann
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Anyone using saw blade cleaning agents? I have a number of saw blades which have quite a bit of varnish on them. I thought I would get some cleaners to clean them up before I send them out for sharpening. I have seen some reference to a cleaner called "CMT" so I searched the internet for a source and was directed to the CMT website for a cleaner called CMT2050. It comes in a 18oz can for $8.99/can. It is supposed to be non-toxic. I was amazed to also find out that the same can cost $11.90 at Cheyenne Sales and an amazing $17.01 at Wood Tech Enterprises (all sources recommeded by a woodworking link). Has anyone some experience with this stuff? Have you also run into these large cost variations?

Al Hoffmann

Reply to
ahoffmann

Hi Al,

I use Easy-Off (oven cleaner). Works in

5 minutes.

Gotta be careful tho (sodium hydroxide).

Also, erases blade labeling :-(.

Lou

Reply to
loutent

Naaah. Not the purpose-made ones, anyway.

Arm & Hammer Washing Soda. About 1/4 cup to a quart of warm water in a dishpan. Lay the saw blade down in it, allow to soak for five minutes, and wipe the gunk off.

Fast. Easy. Cheap. Environmentally benign.

-- Regards, Doug Miller (alphageek-at-milmac-dot-com)

Get a copy of my NEW AND IMPROVED TrollFilter for NewsProxy/Nfilter by sending email to autoresponder at filterinfo-at-milmac-dot-com You must use your REAL email address to get a response.

Reply to
Doug Miller

Mineral spirits will clean them up reasonably well. Sometimes I put a blade in a round plastic oil pan, take it outside, spray with oven cleaner, then rinse off 20 minutes later. Oven cleaner is 98 cents a can and lasts many years.

Reply to
Phisherman

Al: I use the CMT Orange cleaner and it works well, if a bit slowly. You may need several apps to get all the varnish off. I've also used oven cleaner, which is faster and nastier and very effective.

Bob

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Reply to
Bob Schmall

Be carefull with oven cleaner at least one blade manufacturer (I believe it was Freud) said it reacts with the weld that holds the carbide tip on. Don't need to weaken that and have one of those come off and hit you between the eyes.

Rick

Reply to
RKG

Found the article where this is mentioned

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half way down.

Rick

Reply to
RKG

In the October 2004 issue of Wood magazine they reviewed a number of saw blade cleaners. Without going into the entire article here, the best they found was Empire Blade Saver

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I bought some on Amazon I think and it was excellent.

Reply to
Dick Snyder

The CMT works well, 5 minutes and the blade is spotless.

Reply to
Rumpty

Reply to
Jim Behning

I use It and it works great. Fast. I pay 9.99 at Woodworkers hardware. I like it because it is designed for this purpose and leaves a protective coating on your tools. Works fast also.. Generally I spray it on and immediately rub with a brass wire brush and the pitch is gone.

Reply to
Leon

Ahhh..the originaly makers of TopCote.

Reply to
Leon

I use Simple Green concentrate in a srpay bottle. Spray some on, wait a few minutes and use an old toothbrush to clean off pitch/resin. Seems to work well, and is cheap as chips. A half liter bottle will probably last me at least 25-30 cleanings :)

-- Regards,

Dean Bielanowski Editor, Online Tool Reviews

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60 woodworking product reviews online!

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Reply to
Woodcrafter

I use Arm & Hammer washing soda from the grocery store laundry aisle.

I've also used citrus cleaner, Simple Green, kerosene, EZ-Off, and WD-40.

Washing soda works great, is safe for you and the blades, cheap, and easy to get.

Barry

Reply to
Ba r r y

Standard surfactants work just fine. From washing soda through Simple Green, they'll all soak off organic deposits. My personal favorite is the cheap "TSP 90" - which is not Tri-Sodium Phosphate. Trisodium Phosphate was a far superior cleaner, but it was a fertilizer of great potency, and had to be taken off the market because people put it down the drain, rather than on the lawn.

Since it's available in high concentration, it's more convenient for me, Though I believe it's sodium sulfate based like most other stuff. Paint and wallpaper aisle.

Reply to
George

They didn't test washing soda, though... It works so well, and so fast, that it's impossible for me to imagine that any commercial cleaner could do a better job. A quarter-cup will mix up enough solution to clean several blades, and, at about $2.25 a box, that quarter-cup might cost all of ten or fifteen cents.

I clean my bandsaw blades that way, too. It's cool to watch: drop a coiled blade into a pan of washing soda solution, and there's a dark ring of dissolved goo visible in the water before the blade even hits the bottom of the pan.

-- Regards, Doug Miller (alphageek-at-milmac-dot-com)

Get a copy of my NEW AND IMPROVED TrollFilter for NewsProxy/Nfilter by sending email to autoresponder at filterinfo-at-milmac-dot-com You must use your REAL email address to get a response.

Reply to
Doug Miller

Simple Green. And unlike Wood Magazine, mine are clean in minutes.

Reply to
patrick conroy

I get good results with simple, less exotic cleaners like Fantastic, Formula 409, or Simple Green. The lid from a plastic 5 gal pail is a good size for a 10" sawblade. Soak the lid for 30 - 60 minutes, then use a toothbrush or brass wire brush, and the gunk will come right off. DO NOT soak overnight. DAMHIKT, but there will be little black & brown spots on the blade that don't wash off. Fortunately they don't affect anything but appearance. Also, expect any labeling on the blade to be removed.

Reply to
Lawrence Wasserman

(I tried to send this message once but it didn't seem to make to my news server anyway - if any of you get this twice I apologize).

In the October 2004 issue of Wood magazine they reviewed a number of saw blade cleaners. Without going into the entire article here, the best they found was Empire Blade Saver

formatting link
I bought some on Amazon I think and it was excellent.

Dick Snyder

Reply to
Dick Snyder

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