I've been using oven cleaner spray to occasionally clean my carbide saw blades. I guess everyone has self-cleaning ovens, because cheap cans aren't in the supermarket anymore.
What's an alternative that's just as cheap and easy?
I've been using oven cleaner spray to occasionally clean my carbide saw blades. I guess everyone has self-cleaning ovens, because cheap cans aren't in the supermarket anymore.
What's an alternative that's just as cheap and easy?
Some blade manufacturers caution against using oven cleaner to remove gunk from your carbide blades. They claim it can damage the bond between the carbide tooth and the plate. I use Simple Green to clean mine and have never had an issue with it, however there has been some debate on using Simple Green as well pertaining to loosening the teeth. I try to limit the exposure time to S.G., and use an old toothbrush to scrub the teeth and rinse well.
Cheaper. Yellow L.A.Awesome at the 99 cent stores around here has worked better than anything else I have tried over the years. A couple of dollars worth will last a year. I have a shallow pan that I set the saw blade in, spray around the outer edge with the product, wait a few minutes and then run a brush around the teeth, flip the blade and run the brush around, then rinse and dry. The whole operation takes just a few minutes.
Last edited by glenn bradley; 09-21-2020 at 10:18 AM.
"A hen is only an egg's way of making another egg".
– Samuel Butler
I've been using the blade and gunk cleaner from Lee Valley. A small bottle, diluted, with a soft brass brush cleans wonderfully. I also try and spray the blades etc. with a lubricant (Bostich, Boshield, whatever) every few days.
Young enough to remember doing it;
Old enough to wish I could do it again.
I use a flap wheel on a saw polisher to clean blades before I sharpen them. Carbide tips are silver soldered on using special jigs with heat sinks. I have the equipment to do it but no one wants to pay for it to be done. Most blades are cheap enough anymore that they barely want to have them sharpened. Blades can be missing several tips and still cut reasonably well.
The concept of cheap seems to mean different things to different people:
LA Awesome - $1/qt ($1.60 for the first bottle to get the sprayer attachment)
Simple Green - $4/qt.
Lee Valley - $25/qt.
Saw Polisher - didn't take time to research this one...
I'll think I'll start with $1/qt. and work my way up from there, until I something works as quickly and easily as oven cleaner did.
Krud Kutter works great.
I've used Oxiclean for years, oil changing plastic pan, sprinkle a little Oxiclean then cover with hot water, let sit tell the water cools down enough the scrub with a brass brush and rinse. Depending on the brand of saw blade you might lose some of the markings on the blade.
Assumption is the mother of all screw ups
Anonyms
I use CMT's blade cleaner. It comes in a spray bottle and works well. Plus, I am confident it will not hurt my blades and there is no need to rinse afterwards. I clean blades in a lunch tray, purchased through Amazon. It is about the right size, cheap, and isn't influenced by the cleaner. If I have let the crud buildup go, as I usually do, I have to use a brass brush but if not as long, a toothbrush is enough. Not sure about relative cost but a spray bottle costs less than $10 and lasts a long time.
Purple cleaner. Dave
When cleaning my saw blades, from both table and band saw, I try first just to use a brass brush. It works most of the time.
In Brazil most of our woods are very hard and resinous. It means a lot of work to maintain cut edges clean from gum.
On the occasion when either it doesn´t work or is very difficult, I use the old WD-40 previously to work with the same brass brush after a pair of minutes. It always works. I guess isopropyl alcohol would work also but I never tried it, yet.
I use the same technique for all wood cutting tools, including drill and router bits.
Last edited by Osvaldo Cristo; 09-21-2020 at 2:51 PM.
All the best.
Osvaldo.
There’s another thread on here about simple green not being suitable for sawblades / carbide. The upshoot is there are many different formulas of SG and some are safe while others are not. I don’t remember all the specifics , but do recall the orig. Simple Green is not got for blades.
LA Awesome has been mentioned as suitable for Freud carbide by a Freud rep or engineer before.
I just tried LA Awesome and it worked as well as oven cleaner. A couple spots here and there don't come off with a steel brush; but, 99% clean. The irony is that the dollar store had oven cleaner about five items away. - it turns out LA Awesome is cheaper than my old cheap fix. Better yet, Freud endorsed its use. Sawmill Creekers just saved me $2/quart over my old technique. With the savings, I can finally buy a SawStop. Next time, I can try Osvaldo's Nothing brand - maybe I jump to a 5 Hp SawStop with that savings.
Have never used the LA Awesome but do use Charlies Soap All Purpose Cleaner. Not only for gummed up saw blades but everything around the house.
https://www.amazon.com/Charlies-Prof...ag=googhydr-20
Charlies APC.JPG