TS Blade Cleaning Tip

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Proud_Poppa_of_2

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My year-old, carbide-tipped, 60-tooth Oldham 10060TP saw blade wasn't slicing through stock like it used to. In looking around the web for sharpening advice, I stumbled across the suggestion that the blade may need only a good cleaning and that a product called Simple Green was a top candidate for the task.

I checked around and my local Home Depot carries the stuff. It comes in a few different varieties, but I chose the handy 496 ml spray bottle of concentrate. My web source suggested soaking the saw blade for 30 minutes before rubbing it with a Teflon scouring pad. (I thought I'd rest my eyes while the Simple Green did the work and the 30 minutes somehow turned into a couple hours.) Instead of using the Teflon scouring pad, I used an old toothbrush. I was impressed. The resin and other residue came off the blade easily. It probably took me less than five minutes to clean the blade. After reinstalling it, the blade ripped some laminated 8/4 Brazilian Cherry like it did when I first got it.

BONUS TIP: When you tell your wife that you're going to Home Depot to buy 496 ml of Simple Green concentrate for $4.97 and she tells you that she saw it at Food Lion that morning for a dollar less, ignore her and go straight to Home Depot. What she saw at Food Lion was a Clorox brand product called Green Works. It's not the same thing and you will have just wasted your valuable time.
 
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Great Stuff, I use it too. There are different grades of this stuff and I use the industrial grade. I'm not sure if there is really a different in strength, but I do know there is a difference in price.

I have a drum sander and sometimes when I sand resinous woods the sandpaper will get clog. I'll soak the sandpaper overnight in Simple Green and the clogs will fall off the next day.

(BTW - the sandpaper is cloth backed)
 
LONG Term Soaking NOT Recommended:

Simple Green's web site here - http://simplegreen.com/solutions_cleaning_tips.php

BLADES, CARBIDE & SAW BLADES
Simple Green has been successfully used by many woodworkers over many years as a good "spray - wipe - rinse" cleaner for saw blades. When pitch is fairly fresh (typically within a 12-hr period since deposit) it is fairly easily removed with Simple Green. Older, dried-out pitch is much more difficult to remove. We do not recommend long-term soaking of Carbide blades in Simple Green. Long-term exposure like this can possibly cause cobalt leaching that will, in turn, affect the integrity or carbide. Shorter term "spray/wipe/rinse" applications do not create that kind of problem.

The bold emphasis was mine - Hank.

WD-40 does a great job also.
 
Thanks for posting that information, Hank. I wonder what the company considers "long-term" soaking? Does that mean I shouldn't let my blade soak while I take a two-hour nap? If so, that certainly cuts into the efficiency of my maintenance schedule. :)

How's the daughter/grandson combo doing? Has the grandfather/grandmother combo recovered from its jet lag, yet? :)
 
Thanks Ron. I went searching and found this:

“Quoteâ€
“Definitely avoid oven cleaner and other caustics. They attack the cobalt binder in the carbide and can lead to carbide failure (translates to tiny missiles of carbide at 100+ mph). Also, Freud and some other brands of blades have a tri-metal brazing foil that uses copper alloy for a cushioning layer. The copper can also be affected by these cleaners (translates to larger missiles of carbide). We recommend soaking overnight in kerosene in a vented container and using a stiff nylon bristle brush to clean. Teflon coated plates will clean up with a soapy cloth (except for the teeth as mentioned earlier). There are commercial blade cleaning products that are not caustic but we don't officially sanction them. I've personally used Simple Green concentrate with good results.

Charles M
Freud, Inc

“End Quoteâ€
 
I spray my old chopper down with water, then spray it with Simple Green, rinse after a few minutes and then blow dry with my backpack blower. This stuff makes a great all purpose cleaner. It make the chrome shine pretty well also.
 
(I thought I'd rest my eyes while the Simple Green did the work and the 30 minutes somehow turned into a couple hours.)

I call that multi-tasking. LOML doesn't agree though.
 
Originally posted by PaulStroik

(I thought I'd rest my eyes while the Simple Green did the work and the 30 minutes somehow turned into a couple hours.)

I call that multi-tasking. LOML doesn't agree though.
Click to expand...

Your LOML and mine must have gone to the same wife school. Mine graduated with honors. How about yours? :)
 
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