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Thread: Response from Simple Green about Cleaning Saw Blades

  1. #1
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    Response from Simple Green about Cleaning Saw Blades

    I started another post about cleaning blades which led to a bit of a conversation about the use of Simple Green on saw blades:

    http://sawmillcreek.org/showthread.p...44#post1523044

    I wanted to start another thread to get this information out there so everybody is in the know, this is posted with Simple Green's permission..

    Dear Ben,

    Thank you for contacting Simple Green and for your interest in our products.

    Simple Green All Purpose Cleaner should not be used to soak saw blades for any period of time. Any application other than spray and wipe is not recommended.

    The recommended product for cleaning saw blades is Simple Green Pro HD which has no effect even during long soak times. Simple Green Pro HD can be purchased at Home Depot.

    I hope that this information helps. If you have further questions about this or other Simple Green products or uses, please feel free to contact me via reply email or directly. My contact information is provided below and my regular business hours are Mon thru Fri from 8 -5 Pacific Standard Time.

    Thank you again for your inquiry.

    Sincerely,

    XXXXXXXXXXXX

    Technical and Customer Liaison

  2. #2
    Thanks for posting. This should go to clear up some of the question about simple green attacking the carbide tips. I'll look for that stuff this afternoon!


  3. #3
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    Out of curiosity, I'd love to know the why behind it. It seems counterintuitive that a presumably stronger concentration would prove less damaging.
    I could cry for the time I've wasted, but thats a waste of time and tears.

  4. #4
    IIRC, a couple of years back there was another response from them that recommended yet another one of their products. It was something that they made for the aviation industry if memory serves me.

    I've been using the regular Simple Green for years without any problems. I do clean my blades on a pretty regular basis but don't let them soak for much more than a minute or two.

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    I am glad you posted. I thought this was old news (the other recommended product was "Extreme Simple Green") but we still get folks who swear by cleaners that are declared by the makers as unfit for the purpose. Thanks again and be safe. The best way to keep cleanup simple and safe seems to be frequency. It just doesn't take that long to set a blade in some safe solution while you are doing something else for 5 minutes and then use a soft plastic brush to get the tough stuff. If you are having to really go at it, you waited too long between cleanings.
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  6. #6
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    From what I understand based on several discussions on aviation forums, the "Pro HD" version of Simple Green is the same as the "Aviation" version.

  7. #7
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    I would really like to know what is in the Simple Green that can attack saw blades. I have been using oven cleaner for a long time and it works great but you have to be careful with in and your skin.

    Yes, I know that there is a lot of people who believe that the oven cleaner will attack the carbide but that is not true based upon one of the Creekers who is in the carbide business.

  8. #8
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    Here is another link from a post on Simple Green's site. I doubt they would get much more into what in their product is doing the attacking because that would get close to giving up the formula of their product, or at least the active ingredient.

    http://tinyurl.com/2a9at3v

  9. #9
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    Quote Originally Posted by John Shuk View Post
    Out of curiosity, I'd love to know the why behind it. It seems counterintuitive that a presumably stronger concentration would prove less damaging.
    I will have to look and see what is different about the two.
    Last edited by Dave Lehnert; 09-28-2010 at 12:19 PM.
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  10. #10
    Interesting. I was unaware of any issues with Simple Green.

    It so happens that a month or so ago, I wanted to cut a cove in a nice 6' piece of maple, and cleaned my Freud 40T Diablo blade with Simple Green prior to making the cove.

    When I examined the blade after the cut, I had lost a tooth, which was definitely there when I cleaned it directly before.

    It didn't soak for an eternity, maybe 5 minutes. I was thinking that the process of cutting the cove (2" wide, 3/8 deep) had caused the tooth to depart. Perhaps it did, but this seems a bit of a coincidence.

    It sure does do a good job of cleaning pitch though!

  11. #11
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    I think there's enough information, coming from the manufacturer, to say that -- technically -- there is probably SOME risk, to using full-strength SG, and soaking your blades.

    There. LOTS of qualifiers.

    I have a parts washer, that's full of 50/50 SG and water. I soak my blades, in the parts washer, for about five minutes. That's all I ever need to loosen up the sap, gunk, and ... muck ... enough to clean the blade with a nylon bristle brush.

    But ... again ... there's SOME risk. Everybody should probably make their own risk:reward determination, and do what they're most comfortable with.

    I think there's a fair number of cleaners -- specifically for ww blades, and/or general purpose cleaners (including this other variant, made by Simple Green) that -- if you want to get the risk down to near-zero -- it's worth using something else.

    Life's short, though, and ... I'm just going to keep rolling them half-green dice

  12. #12
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    Quote Originally Posted by Mark Ashmeade View Post
    Interesting. I was unaware of any issues with Simple Green.

    It so happens that a month or so ago, I wanted to cut a cove in a nice 6' piece of maple, and cleaned my Freud 40T Diablo blade with Simple Green prior to making the cove.

    When I examined the blade after the cut, I had lost a tooth, which was definitely there when I cleaned it directly before.

    It didn't soak for an eternity, maybe 5 minutes. I was thinking that the process of cutting the cove (2" wide, 3/8 deep) had caused the tooth to depart. Perhaps it did, but this seems a bit of a coincidence.

    It sure does do a good job of cleaning pitch though!
    Interesting.

    Yours came in, while I was typing mine.

    In a perfect world, we'd get the analysis that would tell us, for sure, whether SG caused your tooth to loosen ... via the "breakdown" process that SG talks about ... with its product ... and that others talk about ... with oven cleaner.

    Obviously, the notion of a tooth on a decent blade, coming off at XXXXrpm, and launching it forward, at XXXmph ... while on the saw ... isn't particularly appealing.

  13. #13
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    Since it leaches cobalt from the base metal, you run an increasing risk of microfractures. Just as with airplanes, microfractures and constant vibration lead to catastrophic failures at the crack line. This means flying teeth...

    EDIT: Oh, and a five minute soak would not be enough to cause a tooth loss a few minutes after... it's a long-term issue.
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  14. #14
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    Quote Originally Posted by Dan Hintz View Post
    Since it leaches cobalt from the base metal, you run an increasing risk of microfractures. Just as with airplanes, microfractures and constant vibration lead to catastrophic failures at the crack line. This means flying teeth...
    Awwwwwwwww, Man

    Why am I re-thinking my 50/50 mix now ?

    Ya' know ... when I was a kid ... we .....

    Aw, never mind

  15. #15
    Quote Originally Posted by Neil Brooks View Post
    Obviously, the notion of a tooth on a decent blade, coming off at XXXXrpm, and launching it forward, at XXXmph ... while on the saw ... isn't particularly appealing.
    Meh, as the kids say. Wear safety glasses and you'll be alright.

    I did a quick bit of math. 3450 rpm off the donk, and assume pulleys are equal size, means 31.416" per minute blade speed for a 10" saw. That's 6.503 million inches/hr, or 102.64mph. A baseball at 100mph might hurt, but won't kill you. A tiny saw tooth that weighs a gram or so will be mildly painful, as long as it stays away from soft membranes (like eyes). Also, it's much more likely to go into the cabinet than fire out.

    I'll stick with the SG (though I may now dilute it!).

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