The latest post I found on Google was 2003 so, I'm wondering if
there's any update to the saw blade cleaning process for blades used
in general wood cutting in the shop. I generally use a Forrest
Woodworker II and it can get really cruded up after a while. Most of
what I cut is cherry and a variety of lubmer yard softwoods.
Many solvents (both petroleum based and "water" based) work but I'm
wondering if there's one (or a technique) that works better than
others.
Thanks
[email protected] skreiv:
> The latest post I found on Google was 2003 so, I'm wondering if
> there's any update to the saw blade cleaning process for blades used
> in general wood cutting in the shop. I generally use a Forrest
> Woodworker II and it can get really cruded up after a while. Most of
> what I cut is cherry and a variety of lubmer yard softwoods.
>
> Many solvents (both petroleum based and "water" based) work but I'm
> wondering if there's one (or a technique) that works better than
> others.
You can visit The Wood Whisperer and have a look at this podcast:
http://thewoodwhisperer.com/episode-28-when-the-dust-settles/
On Oct 4, 6:39 pm, [email protected] (Doug Miller) wrote:
> Washing soda (not baking soda). Found in the laundry aisle of most grocery
> stores. Mix 1/4 cup in a quart of warm water in a shallow pan.
Dang! I just use a half teaspoon of lye and a drop of
detergent in a quart of water. You shouldn't need two
ounces of cleaner to get off a hundredth-ounce of gook.
After a few minutes soak, work the teeth with a toothbrush.
Rinse, blot, and give the blade a few minutes on a stove or hotplate
to be sure it won't rust.
On Oct 9, 1:41 pm, [email protected] (Larry W) wrote:
> In article <[email protected]>,
> David Starr <[email protected]> wrote:
>
>
>
> > I tried washing soda (they call it Borax around here) and it works
> >well. Got all the pitch off the sawblades and router bits.
>
> >David Starr
>
> I've heard that it works but just FYI, borax and washing soda are NOT the same.
> Washing soda is sodium carbonate (Na2CO3) and the laundry additive
> commonly called borax (Who remembers Ronald Reagan pitching "20 Mule
> Team Borax" on "Death Valley Days"?) is IIRC sodium perborate, NaBO3. I'm
> not certain on that borax compund composition.
>
> --
> There is always an easy solution to every human problem -- neat,
> plausible, and wrong." (H L Mencken)
>
> Larry Wasserman - Baltimore Maryland - lwasserm(a)sdf. lonestar. org
Never used anything but mineral spirits or turpentine........even
denatured alchohol works fine.
Doug Miller wrote:
> In article <[email protected]>, [email protected] wrote:
>> The latest post I found on Google was 2003 so, I'm wondering if
>> there's any update to the saw blade cleaning process for blades used
>> in general wood cutting in the shop. I generally use a Forrest
>> Woodworker II and it can get really cruded up after a while. Most of
>> what I cut is cherry and a variety of lubmer yard softwoods.
>>
>> Many solvents (both petroleum based and "water" based) work but I'm
>> wondering if there's one (or a technique) that works better than
>> others.
>
> Washing soda (not baking soda). Found in the laundry aisle of most grocery
> stores. Mix 1/4 cup in a quart of warm water in a shallow pan. Lay the blade
> down in it. Five minutes later, pick it up -- most of the crud will fall off
> by itself. What doesn't fall off, usually wipes or rinses off. Scrubbing is
> rarely necessary. Rinse blade clean, wipe dry, reinstall.
>
> Quick, easy, cheap (3.5-lb box is less than $2.50), and environmentally
> benign -- what more can you ask?
>
I tried washing soda (they call it Borax around here) and it works
well. Got all the pitch off the sawblades and router bits.
David Starr
"Lew Hodgett" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> RE: Subject
>
> A soak blade in Simple Green using a plastic pan large enough to allow
> the blade to lay flat.
>
> Soak blade overnight then scrub teeth with a tooth brush.
>
> Blot dry with paper towels.
>
> Lew
>
>
>
If soaking over night and still having to scrub with a tooth brush, I wonder
if just soaking in water would have the same effect. CMT Formula 2050 needs
a 15 second soak after spraying and a wipe with a paper towel.
<[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> The latest post I found on Google was 2003 so, I'm wondering if
> there's any update to the saw blade cleaning process for blades used
> in general wood cutting in the shop. I generally use a Forrest
> Woodworker II and it can get really cruded up after a while. Most of
> what I cut is cherry and a variety of lubmer yard softwoods.
>
> Many solvents (both petroleum based and "water" based) work but I'm
> wondering if there's one (or a technique) that works better than
> others.
>
> Thanks
CMT Formula 2050 is about as easy as it gets. Environmentally safe also.
Yes, even right out of the spray bottle Simple Green is very effective and
economical.
Tim
"Lew Hodgett" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> RE: Subject
>
> A soak blade in Simple Green using a plastic pan large enough to allow
> the blade to lay flat.
>
> Soak blade overnight then scrub teeth with a tooth brush.
>
> Blot dry with paper towels.
>
> Lew
>
>
>
In article <[email protected]>,
David Starr <[email protected]> wrote:
>>
> I tried washing soda (they call it Borax around here) and it works
>well. Got all the pitch off the sawblades and router bits.
>
>
>David Starr
I've heard that it works but just FYI, borax and washing soda are NOT the same.
Washing soda is sodium carbonate (Na2CO3) and the laundry additive
commonly called borax (Who remembers Ronald Reagan pitching "20 Mule
Team Borax" on "Death Valley Days"?) is IIRC sodium perborate, NaBO3. I'm
not certain on that borax compund composition.
--
There is always an easy solution to every human problem -- neat,
plausible, and wrong." (H L Mencken)
Larry Wasserman - Baltimore Maryland - lwasserm(a)sdf. lonestar. org
[email protected] wrote:
> The latest post I found on Google was 2003 so, I'm wondering if
> there's any update to the saw blade cleaning process for blades used
> in general wood cutting in the shop.
Get a 5 gallon bucket with a lid. If you've got a pool, and you
happen to have one of those buckets that the 3" chlorine tablets
come in--these work nicely too. Just be sure the bucket has been
well rinsed out and there's no residual chlorine powder. The
diameter of the bucket is just a bit bigger than a 10" saw blade.
Having a lid on the bucket allows you to reuse the solution/cleaner
without it getting contaminated with saw dust and other shop cruft.
Get one of the economy sized refills for a cleaner such as Simple
Green or Formula 409. I've not used Simple Green myself, but others
here have and like it. Formula 409 seems to work fine for me.
Get some marbles or maybe some of those decorative glass blobs at a
store like Michael's.
Pour some (or all of it if you like) into the bucket enough to have
a depth of at least two inches. Now put some marbles into the
solution. These should sink and stay on the bottom. The idea here is
that if you put a 10" saw blade into the solution, without the
marbles, you'll find it's a bit tricky to get the saw blade back out.
The marbles will hold the saw blade up off the bottom a bit thus
insuring that side of the blade gets coated, but most importantly
making it possible to stick your finger in the arbor hole of the blade
to pull it back out of the solution.
Now let you blade soak for awhile. After it has soaked, pull it out
and then brush the teeth with a tooth brush. :) Wipe off the
remaining solution with a rag. As an added step, spray the blade down
with something like WD40 if you like.
NOTE: If you leave a blade in for a long time, like overnight, you
may find that the lettering or coating will come off when you scrub it
down. I've done this a couple of times (forgot I put a blade in
there) and then when I pulled the blade out the lettering came off.
It hasn't affected the performance of the blade any that I can tell.
Another benefit of having this bucket of solution around is you can
also soak router bits in it. Or just dip a toothbrush in there to
brush off things. For example you can dip a toothbrush in the
solution and then use that to clean up the gunk build-up on bandsaw
blades.
--
If you want to reply via email, change the obvious words to numbers and
remove ".invalid".
In article <[email protected]>, whit3rd <[email protected]> wrote:
>On Oct 4, 6:39 pm, [email protected] (Doug Miller) wrote:
>
>> Washing soda (not baking soda). Found in the laundry aisle of most grocery
>> stores. Mix 1/4 cup in a quart of warm water in a shallow pan.
>
>Dang! I just use a half teaspoon of lye and a drop of
>detergent in a quart of water. You shouldn't need two
>ounces of cleaner to get off a hundredth-ounce of gook.
>
>After a few minutes soak, work the teeth with a toothbrush.
>Rinse, blot, and give the blade a few minutes on a stove or hotplate
>to be sure it won't rust.
Suit yourself. Washing soda is cheaper than lye, and much more readily
obtainable (I'm guessing you haven't tried to buy lye lately). And I have
never needed to use a toothbrush on the saw blade when using washing soda. Of
course, if you prefer to use a more expensive, more caustic alternative that's
harder to find, and requires scrubbing afterward, be my guest. It's your time
and your money. :-)
--
Regards,
Doug Miller (alphageek at milmac dot com)
It's time to throw all their damned tea in the harbor again.
In article <[email protected]>, [email protected] wrote:
>The latest post I found on Google was 2003 so, I'm wondering if
>there's any update to the saw blade cleaning process for blades used
>in general wood cutting in the shop. I generally use a Forrest
>Woodworker II and it can get really cruded up after a while. Most of
>what I cut is cherry and a variety of lubmer yard softwoods.
>
>Many solvents (both petroleum based and "water" based) work but I'm
>wondering if there's one (or a technique) that works better than
>others.
Washing soda (not baking soda). Found in the laundry aisle of most grocery
stores. Mix 1/4 cup in a quart of warm water in a shallow pan. Lay the blade
down in it. Five minutes later, pick it up -- most of the crud will fall off
by itself. What doesn't fall off, usually wipes or rinses off. Scrubbing is
rarely necessary. Rinse blade clean, wipe dry, reinstall.
Quick, easy, cheap (3.5-lb box is less than $2.50), and environmentally
benign -- what more can you ask?
--
Regards,
Doug Miller (alphageek at milmac dot com)
It's time to throw all their damned tea in the harbor again.
In article <[email protected]>, David Starr <[email protected]> wrote:
>Doug Miller wrote:
>> Washing soda (not baking soda). Found in the laundry aisle of most grocery
>> stores. Mix 1/4 cup in a quart of warm water in a shallow pan. Lay the blade
>> down in it. Five minutes later, pick it up -- most of the crud will fall off
>> by itself. What doesn't fall off, usually wipes or rinses off. Scrubbing is
>> rarely necessary. Rinse blade clean, wipe dry, reinstall.
>>
>> Quick, easy, cheap (3.5-lb box is less than $2.50), and environmentally
>> benign -- what more can you ask?
>>
> I tried washing soda (they call it Borax around here) and it works
>well. Got all the pitch off the sawblades and router bits.
Washing soda and borax are not the same thing; whoever told you they were is
mistaken. Washing soda is sodium carbonate; borax is sodium tetraborate; and
if you think the borax worked well, just wait til you try washing soda. :-)
--
Regards,
Doug Miller (alphageek at milmac dot com)
It's time to throw all their damned tea in the harbor again.
On Thu, 4 Oct 2007 19:27:43 -0500, "Leon"
<[email protected]> wrote:
>CMT Formula 2050 needs
>a 15 second soak after spraying and a wipe with a paper towel.
Great stuff, seriously...
I usually spray my regular blades when I remove them, say for ripping
and dadoing, and they're spotless by the time I'm ready to reinstall
them.
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