Cleaning carbide inserts before sharpening

[larryc]

I have been reading the several threads about sharpening the carbide inserts and have tried sharpening on the diamond hones.
My biggest problem seems to be cleaning the inserts before honing.
I have tried soaking them in acetone but that doesn't get all the gunk off. Anybody tried anything else that works?

 

[Monty]

I know Simple Green works good for cleaning table saw blades. Soak em and then use a brass wire brush to remove the gunk.

 

[wood-of-1kind]

You can purchase 'pitch remover' spray to clean out the gunk from the carbide inserts. You
can also raid the kitchen cupboard and use the oven cleaner spray (easy off). Get permission from the wife if you opt for option 2. No need to get on her bad side so ask first.

 

[reddwil]

Gum Out Carb Cleaner

 

[JohnGreco]

Pitch cleaner works wonders. I sprayed some into my TS blade, let it sit a few minutes and it literally just wiped right off.

 

[Curly]

Carbide can take heat. Toast it of with a propane torch.

 

[shastastan]

I've used router bit cleaner on drill bits, forstner bits, and of course router bits. I've had some burning on the forstner bits. Soaking them in the cleaner solution removed the burned stuff in just a few minutes. Follow the instructions. I know that CSUSA and Rockler have these cleaners. I think that I bought mine from Lee Valley. I reuse mine by pouring it back into the container. Works on saw blades, too.