10" Sawblade, Chipped Teeth: Usable?

[David Winer]

While preparing to install a zero clearance insert I removed the blade for a good cleaning. All looked good except for two teeth which had very small chips near the business ends. Neither chip seems to extend to the very edge of the cutting line.

I am inclined to go with this but think it seems a good idea first to ask for advice here on SMC. See attached scan for the extent of damage. O.K. to use this blade or get a new one?

[Tom Walz]

If it cuts o.k then it is usable.

Even 1 or 2 teeth missing is generally usable.

Befre you buy a new blade you might check on having this one sharpened.

[Jim O'Dell]

Sharpening service can also replace the broken teeth. Most charge 2 to 3 dollars per tooth. Jim.

[Ron Blaise]

Dave:
If that's all the chipping you have it won't interfere with the blade performance/finish characteristics to be noticeable. I have the identical blade with a few chips and it still cuts true and smooth too.

[Cliff Rohrabacher]

That tooth on the right is more than chipped it is shattered. I can see the cracks in the photograph.

A 10" blade spinning up to 3 or 5 thousand RPM can sling a bit of carbide mighty damn hard. Standing in front of the ballistic trajectory is asking to lose an eye and doubly so if you know you got bad teeth.
Even if you habitually wear eye protection, it's prolly a good idea to send that blade out and get the teeth replaced.

[Van Huskey]

Remove any loose parts of the tooth. Blades generally cut fine until they are missing more than 10% of their teeth. Just have your sharpener replace the teeth next time it is sharpened. Sharpeners will require the blade be resharpened when teeth are replaced.

[Matt Logana]

Ive used saws missing entire teeth(most were shot at me when I cut through the cast iron fence by mistake.. opps :eek:) but still cut fine...

I would just check to ensure the integrity of the teeth arent reduced... because nothing like turning your shop time into High Noon at the OK Corral...

[Larry Frank]

I second the suggestion that you check the teeth very carefully. While a chipped tooth or two may not hurt performance, you may have other teeth that are loosened or cracked mainly between the two chipped teeth. The picture does hint that there may be a crack in one of the chipped tooth. Try using some type of magnifying glass to look carefully at the teeth. One carbide tooth coming off while using the saw blade is like a random shot from a gun.

[Bruce Wrenn]

Stick it in a USPS priority mail box to Dynamic Saw (dynamicsaw.com) in Bufallo NY. They do good work, and at very reasonable prices.

[David Winer]

Thanks, all, for the various advice about what to do re the chipped teeth on my Freud 10" blade. After looking at all the responses, I will opt for the safety-based recommendations to have the blade sharpened and the damaged teeth replaced. Apparently this minor damage would not affect cutting quality, but the notion of a chunk of metal going off... I would always feel uneasy at the saw.

[Matt Logana]

Thanks, all, for the various advice about what to do re the chipped teeth on my Freud 10" blade. After looking at all the responses, I will opt for the safety-based recommendations to have the blade sharpened and the damaged teeth replaced. Apparently this minor damage would not affect cutting quality, but the notion of a chunk of metal going off... I would always feel uneasy at the saw.


Is your saw Magnetic switch, or normal?

If its Normal: Then all you have to do for safety sake is:

-Unplug the saw
-Put the blade in
-Press the on button
-Stand to the side
-Plug it in...
-Wait 5 minutes of running
-Then unplug it
-Switch it to off
-Examine the blade for missing teeth

+ If its not missing any, then chances are its safe to use... and you saved money...

- If it is, and some break free, then will just imbed in your car, cat/dog,wife, garage door, wall, et cetera... just joking on a few of those.

[Myk Rian]

Don't be a cheapskate. Get it fixed before you get hurt.
This really is a no-brainer.

[Scot Ferraro]

From the picture it looks like you have minor chipping on some of the other teeth too -- something that sharpening will most likely take care of.

Scot

[Tom Walz]

If the saw teeth are made and processed properly there should be zero instances of complete tip loss. This is in the case of the tooth coming off whole.

The braze joint between the teeth and the steel should be stronger than the rupture strength of either material.

Teeth will break if used improperly. In that case you may have a flying chunk of carbide.
Using a saw blade designed for man made materials to cut material with nails in it is not a good idea. There are special blades for cutting material with nails in it.

Typically harder tips are more wear resistant but also easier to break. Softer tips are harder to break but don’t stay sharp as long. There are some now grades that are starting to solve these problems but that is still a pretty good rule of thumb.