Woodlinks Shop Teacher In-Service Day

[Jerrimy Snook]

I am a third generation sawfiler and work at my family's tool sharpening business. My Father and I have been given the opportunity to speak at a WoodLinks Teacher In-Service (http://www.woodlinksusa.org/). This is a one day seminar in Vancouver, WA that is open to any teacher involved in teaching woodworking in middle or high schools in the Pacific Northwest (if you are interested PM me). It looks like a great opportunity to partner with and share with those who are educating the next generation of woodworkers. We are honored and humbled by this opportunity.

I am asking you, the Sawmill Creek community, for help in developing a presentation relevant to woodworking shop instructors. The woodworking industry experience level of these instructors varies from none to seasoned professional. What kind of questions do you have about carbide tool sharpening, tool choice, tool quality, etc. that would best equip these educators. I am open to any suggestion and will do my best to answer your questions in this thread.

Thank you all for sharing as you do within this forum. I am happy to say that I learn something new with each thread I read here. Jerrimy

[Richard Wolf]

Are there ever any time that HS steel is a better choice for a cutting edge than carbide?

[Jerrimy Snook]

Are there ever any time that HS steel is a better choice for a cutting edge than carbide?

As with all cutting tools, application is an important factor.

HSS is rare in circle saws unless you are cutting very thin material or the desired kerf is narrower than about 3/32". Carbide tipped saw blades are more economical and will last many times longer in most situations.

For small production runs of molding, HSS is the material of choice. HSS can get sharper than carbide therefore it will cut smoother especially in figured or stringy woods. Larger production runs will use carbide tools for longer life and consistency. Carbide will maintain its edge longer in abrasive materials like MDF and Cedar.

There have been a few threads in this forum about carbide planing heads vs the traditional HSS knives. However I haven't seen much discussion about carbide straight knives instead of HSS. Generally we do not recommend carbide knives unless planing abrasive material. Foreign objects will chip or destroy carbide knives, they are several times more expensive than steel and cannot be sharpened with the ScarySharp method.

Because HSS is easy to sharpen razor sharp it is the material of choice for many hand tools. There was recently a thread about a replaceable carbide tipped chisel that was recently introduced to market. Time will tell if carbide chisels are the wave of the future.

To answer your question... Yes, HSS is often at least a good choice for a woodworking tool.

[Joe Kieve]

What is the best all-around blade for a school shop? Not necessarily a specific brand but the number of teeth, tooth geometry, blade thickness, etc. IOW, how do I choose a blade that will hold up to the abuse of a school shop? (Same questions I used to have as a former woodworking teacher).

Joe

[Jerrimy Snook]

What is the best all-around blade for a school shop? Not necessarily a specific brand but the number of teeth, tooth geometry, blade thickness, etc. IOW, how do I choose a blade that will hold up to the abuse of a school shop? (Same questions I used to have as a former woodworking teacher).

Joe

Great question!

Assuming 1 style of blade on a standard 10" table saw, I would recommend something in the 40 - 60 tooth count, 1/8" kerf, 15° hook, 15° Alternate top bevel or combination blade. I would avoid C-4 carbide. It can be too brittle for general purpose or "abusive situations".

Having a rip blade and a crosscut blade for the table saw improves efficiency. 24 - 30 tooth rip blades are standard with 15-22° hook. Full kerf will be more stable, and either a standard flat top grind or smoother cutting triple-chip top grind. 60 - 80 tooth crosscut blades with 15° hook and an alternate top grind will crosscut most materials satisfactorily.

For miter saws A 12" x 60-80 tooth, 0° hook (less likely to grab the material than a positive hook blade), 15° alternate top bevel is a great work horse. My preference would be a full 1/8" kerf for the miter saw because it is stronger and will have less deflection in the cut. However the 3/32" kerf blades are more common, require less power to start and stop spinning, and remove less material.

[Tom Walz]

Jerrimy,

Congratulations.

They made a good selection.

In our volunteer work with shop classes one of the major topics has always been finding projects that interest the students.

A huge topic is money, of course. I had one teacher tell me that they cut his budget and told him to quit having his tools sharpened. So you might talk to them about how to get longer life out of their tools by proper use and handling.

Another big topic is always safety. You might talk about saw design and tool design and how it affects safety.

You might also discuss something along the lines of how to get the most out of their tool buying dollars. I don't know how you approach this without sounding like a commercial but you and I both know that the heavily advertised saw blades, router bits etc. may not be as good a value as tools sold through the industrial supply side.

You might also discuss the advantages and disadvantages of using more than one kind of saw blade.

If I can provide any technical information or help in any way I would be happy to do so.

Tom Walz

[Jerrimy Snook]

Tom,

Thanks for your suggestions. As always your advice and experience are invaluable.

One of the troubles I am having is knowing how much is enough. For instance, with Joe's question, I wanted to discuss carbide grades, plate quality and runout, tooth geometries, etc. All of which are relevant to the performance of the tool but can sound like mumbo jumbo. Besides that wasn't exactly what Joe was asking.

BTW I have not been following your posts about the Deulens. How are the reviews? I thought it might fit in with the cost savings in a shop class.

Another BTW... Is Emily bouncing her new baby boy on her knee yet?

Thanks again, Jerrimy

[Gary Sutherland]

Jerrimy....

I am about to install laminate flooring, which I've never worked with before. I've read many places that it's a saw blade killer. What blade would retain it's sharpness the best?
(12" miter saw).

Thanks...

Gary

[Jerrimy Snook]

Gary,

Yes, laminate is hard on blades. In the dark you can see sparks while cutting. If this is a DIY project and not a business, I would recommend the cheapest blades you can find at the borg. The Avanti or the yellow rimmed Dewalt come to mind. I used the Bosch blade that came with my saw for about 2800 sq ft of laminate. I did sharpen it at about 1400 ft. Cut quality is not a real issue since just about every cut will be trimmed out. I saw a video somewhere about prolonging saw life in laminate that recommended not plunging through the top layer of the laminate. They stated that if you are using a Sliding Compound Miter Saw, then slide the saw all the way toward you, start the cut them push the saw toward the fence. One final note... even after only a few cuts in laminate, your blade will smoke in wood.

Enjoy the new flooring!

Jerrimy