Saw blade life between sharpening?

[alex grams]

I am curious on the expected lifespan on a tablesaw blade before it requires sharpening. My tablesaw (3hp sawstop) is bogging down a little on cuts, and i suspect it is the blade needing sharpening (i did clean it for pitch/tar on the blade just in case build up was causing more friction and bogging it down), but I suspect it is the blade needing sharpening.

The blade is about a year and a half old, and receives moderate use, mainly on sheet woods and typical hardwoods, nothing highly wearing such as teak though.

I suspect the blade, but no clue on life span between sharpening. The blade is a 50t combination Freud.

This is almost a good enough excuse to buy a WWII, but not sure on that yet.

Thanks in advance.

[scott spencer]

Edge life depends on a lot of things. Usage volume, duration of cutting sessions, moisture/sap content of the wood, material thickness, material content, friction/heat build up, flatness of the material, average cleanliness of the blade, user technique, etc. Keeping the blade clean helps a lot, as opposed to rare cleanings.

It could very well be time for a sharpening, but it's never a bad time to go for a new premium blade to get the most from your saw. Always nice to have a back up and/or choice of suitable blades.

[Quinn McCarthy]

Not to mention type of blade and quality of the carbide. My hi AT blades do not make it as long between sharpenings as other blades. I mainly use them on melamine and plywood. Melamine is tough on blades. Also there are woods that have a lot of mineral content. THe C3 and C4 carbide lasts a bit longer.

SO far you don't have a good answer yet.

Hope that helps.

Quinn

[Kirk Simmons]

To some extent it's like razor blades. When Gillette was running tests on their blades back in the 1990's, they found some pretty strange results.

Some men use the same blade for ages, eventually swapping to a new one when their hairs are no longer getting cut but rather being ripped out of their face. Other men can't even get through one shave without changing blades.

When you feel performance is no longer up to par, and you've already cleaned them of any contaminants, then it's time to sharpen. You own a $3000 saw, so the sharpening cost is likely not much of an issue. I'd go buy a new blade and then send your Freud out to be serviced. When your new blade seems to not be working as well as you'd like, swap the Freud back in again and get the other one sharpened.

[Tom Walz]

Sheet goods can be very hard on saw blades. Binders can be sticky and binder fillers are generally abrasive.

[John Harden]

I ran a WWII in my PM-66 for about 7 years and it still cut very well, although it was finally getting to where it needed to be sent back for sharpening. Regular cleaning is about all you need to do.

Modern carbide does extraordinarily well at resisting even man made materials like MDF and plywood.

Wood magazine did a test a number of years ago and ran thousands of linear feet of 3/4" MDF past a carbide tipped blade and it still cut like new at the end of the test. They gave up trying to make it dull.

Their test mirrors my experience.

You'll know when its time. Assuming a combo blade, rips will require more care and constant, smooth feed rate to avoid burning, and crosscuts won't quite have the clean, sharp, splinter free edge you're so used to getting.

Regards,

John

[Van Huskey]

Too many variables but my MO is to at least two of all my blades, if I think one is getting dull I switch it out, if the new one cuts like a hot knife through butter I send the old one out to be sharpened, if not I puet the old one back on since it is the wood or type of cut.

[glenn bradley]

I rip and crosscut in about equal amounts and use blades specific to those tasks. Given my hobbyist output I would feel safe saying I run each blade a year or more before sharpening. I'd have to check the receipts for exact intervals but so many variables are in play here.

[Howard Acheson]

>>> My hi AT blades do not make it as long between sharpenings as other blades. I mainly use them on melamine and plywood.

Because of the grind on HiAT blade teeth, they will need more frequent sharpening. It's the shape of the teeth that has a significant effect. A grind like one on Hi AT is going to get worn down more quickly but, it was designed to cut cleanly without chip out on hard to cut materials. Like everything else in life, positives have negatives. You have to balance the pluses and minuses.

[Phil Thien]

There are probably too many variables to know how long a blade will last between sharpening.

I would remove the blade from the saw and inspect the teeth. If you see any rounding or slight chipping, then it is time to sharpen the blade.

[Howard Acheson]

>>> My tablesaw (3hp sawstop) is bogging down a little on cuts,

What kind of cuts? Rips, Crosscuts, both?

How thick is the wood you are ripping? Most 50 tooth combo blades are designed for up to 6/4 thick wood. They begin to struggle above that and a 24 tooth rip blade would do much better.

I would suggest a sharpening. After all, what's the downside? You've spent some big bucks for your saw so its false economy not to keep you blades sharp. It's not the saw that provides the quality of the cut, it's the blade. The saw just is a vehicle to hold and turn the blade.

[Brian Greb]

On average my blades go 9 months between sharpening... but some sharpen sooner, some I haven't sharpened. Like many things in life there is no exact science to it, but I have two methods to check and see if my blades need sharpening. The first is from an old timer he taught me if you lightly run your thumbnail across the tooth of a raker it should lift a small shaving, sounds odd but it tends to be a simple crude test. my second method is to get out my loupe and inspect the teeth the edges should be crisp if there is any rounding then the blade is dull.

I also clean my blades on a weekly schedule... Routines just make life easier.:)

... there is a third method... when ever your cut quality goes south get the blade serviced, it doesn't cost that much.

[Kyle Iwamoto]

You should have gotten the 5 horse! It won't slow down....:)

You said it yourself, time to get a Forrest. Sharpen the Freud, keep it for when you cut recycled wood. Or when you send the Forrest to get sharpened.