With several saw blades on hand, I hate to purchase more to replace the dull
ones. Therefore, I'm considering having them sharpened and asking those who
sharpen their blades for recommendations.

I have also considered the option of doing it myself, though I can imagine
the machine is expensive. BUT...I saw a blade sharpening machine from Harbor
Freight and wondered if anyone uses it? Yea yea, HF, I know, don't do it,
but sometimes they have a gem in the rough.

All inputs appreciated.

On 01/26/2010 04:22 PM, SBH wrote:
With several saw blades on hand, I hate to purchase more to replace the dull
ones. Therefore, I'm considering having them sharpened and asking those who
sharpen their blades for recommendations.

Check around, there may be a place nearby that sharpens blades.

I live in a city of about 250000 and there is a local company that does
all the blade sharpening for the industrial shops. I think it was about
25 cents per tooth last time I had it done.

Chris

Oops......um, that's "sharpening".

On Jan 26, 6:58*pm, "SBH" wrote:
Oops......um, that's "sharpening".

Are they carbide blades or just regular steel? The only thing the HF
POS is good for is for a trash bag weight. Depending on where you live
there should be a sharpening service around somewhere. Ask around at
the lumber yards or call a local sawmill if needed.

If they were expensive, sharpen them. Otherwise the $20 specials at
the Borg are really just a disposable blade.

Allen

As others have said, check around. Look in local yellow pages for
sharpening, saw sharpening, etc. If there is a cabinet shop or
contractor available ask if they have theirs sharpened. When we lived
in Wichita, a local private lumber yard chain provided sharpening
services through a lady who lived in a nearby town. You dropped them
off and picked them up a few days later. When I figured out where
they sent them it was easy to check that town's yellow pages and I had
some done directly.

Where we live now, I am fortunate to have located a gentleman who does
excellent work and a very reasonable price. In many cases he provides
overnight service.

Word to the wise! When you locate a source, don't drop all of your
blades at once. Ease in with one or two blades, and if satisfied get
some more done. I responded to a "recommendation" several years ago
and the person screwed up about 1/2-dozen blades.

I had several done locally years ago - the quality was poor. My mitre saw
blade had tearout and they seemed to dull quickly.

So I dsecided to ship several blades and a dado set off to Forrest. The
guys that sell the high quality blades in mags. I'll let you know how they
come back. I have great expectations. Hope they aren't dashed.

"SBH" wrote in :

With several saw blades on hand, I hate to purchase more to replace
the dull ones. Therefore, I'm considering having them sharpened and
asking those who sharpen their blades for recommendations.

I have also considered the option of doing it myself, though I can
imagine the machine is expensive. BUT...I saw a blade sharpening
machine from Harbor Freight and wondered if anyone uses it? Yea yea,
HF, I know, don't do it, but sometimes they have a gem in the rough.

All inputs appreciated.



If you've got good blades, they're probably worth sharpening. However,
before you start sharpening them yourself, take the time to count the
teeth on the blade. A 40T TS blade doesn't seem so bad, but a 8 TPI hand
saw blade (20" long) has a lot of teeth. The TS blade would probably
require 30-60 seconds per tooth once you got going and the handsaw only
about 5, but that's still an awful lot of work.

A decent file costs less than the HF machine, and lets you put exactly
the geometry on the tooth you desire.

I've sharpened my handsaw blade, and the results are well worth it (pride
especially). It's a lengthy process so music and a comfy chair are
required. I'd be concerned about messing up a good TS with a poorly
sharpened blade. The blade on my TS cost ~5% of what the saw cost, so
it's just not worth the risk.

Puckdropper

Puckdropper wrote:
"SBH" wrote in :

With several saw blades on hand, I hate to purchase more to replace
the dull ones. Therefore, I'm considering having them sharpened and
asking those who sharpen their blades for recommendations.

I have also considered the option of doing it myself, though I can
imagine the machine is expensive. BUT...I saw a blade sharpening
machine from Harbor Freight and wondered if anyone uses it? Yea yea,
HF, I know, don't do it, but sometimes they have a gem in the rough.

All inputs appreciated.



If you've got good blades, they're probably worth sharpening.
However, before you start sharpening them yourself, take the time to
count the teeth on the blade. A 40T TS blade doesn't seem so bad,
but a 8 TPI hand saw blade (20" long) has a lot of teeth. The TS
blade would probably require 30-60 seconds per tooth once you got
going and the handsaw only about 5, but that's still an awful lot of
work.

A decent file costs less than the HF machine, and lets you put exactly
the geometry on the tooth you desire.

What kind of file do you use to sharpen carbide?

The HF machine is specifically for circular blades.

I've sharpened my handsaw blade, and the results are well worth it
(pride especially). It's a lengthy process so music and a comfy
chair are required. I'd be concerned about messing up a good TS with
a poorly sharpened blade. The blade on my TS cost ~5% of what the
saw cost, so it's just not worth the risk.

How would a poorly sharpened blade "mess up" a table saw? I can see it
messing up a piece of lumber but damaging the saw would take creativity.

allen476 wrote:
On Jan 26, 6:58 pm, "SBH" wrote:
Oops......um, that's "sharpening".

Are they carbide blades or just regular steel? The only thing the HF
POS is good for is for a trash bag weight.

What shortcomings did you find it to have?

Depending on where you live
there should be a sharpening service around somewhere. Ask around at
the lumber yards or call a local sawmill if needed.

If they were expensive, sharpen them. Otherwise the $20 specials at
the Borg are really just a disposable blade.

Allen

On Tue, 26 Jan 2010 22:19:06 -0500, "J. Clarke"
wrote:

How would a poorly sharpened blade "mess up" a table saw? I can see it
messing up a piece of lumber but damaging the saw would take creativity.

Apparently you paid little attention to our previous dialog about the
proper blade for a given saw...

Gordon Shumway

Our Constitution needs to be used less as a shield
for the guilty and more as a sword for the victim.

SBH wrote:
With several saw blades on hand, I hate to purchase more to replace
the dull ones. Therefore, I'm considering having them sharpened and
asking those who sharpen their blades for recommendations.

I have also considered the option of doing it myself, though I can
imagine the machine is expensive. BUT...I saw a blade sharpening
machine from Harbor Freight and wondered if anyone uses it? Yea yea,
HF, I know, don't do it, but sometimes they have a gem in the rough.

All inputs appreciated.

http://www.toolcrib.com/blog/2008/07...ning-services/
http://festoolownersgroup.com/other-...saw-sharpener/

Gordon Shumway wrote:
On Tue, 26 Jan 2010 22:19:06 -0500, "J. Clarke"
wrote:

How would a poorly sharpened blade "mess up" a table saw? I can see
it messing up a piece of lumber but damaging the saw would take
creativity.

Apparently you paid little attention to our previous dialog about the
proper blade for a given saw...

I dismissed it as the ravings of a lunatic.

On Tue, 26 Jan 2010 18:58:47 -0500, the infamous "SBH"
scrawled the following:

Oops......um, that's "sharpening".

Oh, I just thought you were Hispanic. OK either way.

---
"Some of us are wondering if we have created a monster."
Kevin Vranes, climate scientist, University of Colorado
talking about global warming hysteria, January, 2007.

On Jan 26, 10:20*pm, "J. Clarke" wrote:
allen476 wrote:
On Jan 26, 6:58 pm, "SBH" wrote:
Oops......um, that's "sharpening".

Are they carbide blades or just regular steel? The only thing the HF
POS is good for is for a trash bag weight.

What shortcomings did you find it to have?

Depending on where you live
there should be a sharpening service around somewhere. Ask around at
the lumber yards or call a local sawmill if needed.

If they were expensive, sharpen them. Otherwise the $20 specials at
the Borg are really just a disposable blade.

Allen

The stupid thing wouldn't hold an angle for more than 3 teeth. Luckily
I borrowed it because if I had paid good money for it, it would have
been in pieces. I was sharpening some Oldham blades that I use for PT
lumber so no big loss but frustrating none the less.

Allen

Subject

After being given a tour of my sharpening service where I saw a Swiss
made, computerized controlled, blade sharpening system using a
database of blade profiles to resharpen an 80 tooth blade for less
than $15 is the day I decided my blades will be sharpened by a
qualified service.

Life is too short to waste it trying to do something best done by the
pros.

Lew

"J. Clarke" wrote in
:

*snip*


What kind of file do you use to sharpen carbide?

The HF machine is specifically for circular blades.

That was an exercise for the reader.

How would a poorly sharpened blade "mess up" a table saw? I can see
it messing up a piece of lumber but damaging the saw would take
creativity.


My thought process in writing that was poorly sharpening a blade could
get it out of balance and at 3400 RPM the imbalance would be hard on the
bearings. Thinking about it a little more now, the amounts needed to
get to a dangerous imbalance would probably be quite large and unlikely
to be removed from the whole of the saw blade and not just one location.
Plus, at that speed the imbalance would tend to average out and not be
noticed by either operator or saw.

Puckdropper

Life is too short to waste it trying to do something best done by the
pros.

Lew

Couldn't agree more. There are limits to being self-reliant and a
tight-a**ed Irishman; and saw sharpening is one of them. Besides,
consistency requires pretty good equipment. One fellow who did mine
years ago sharpened all kinds of saw blades, scissors, knives,
industrial equipment, etc. The sharpening center he used probably
cost as much as a small car. The fellow I use now is less invested
but he does have a grinding jig that indexes things with his cutter.
I do sharpen my own chain saw blades....most of the time.

I would rather spend my time building stuff than finding new ways to
**** myself off.

That's why I don't play golf too.

RonB

"RonB" wrote

That's why I don't play golf too.

As the Scotsman was heard saying, "Laddie tis a humblin game ye play."

Lew

On Jan 26, 5:22*pm, "SBH" wrote:
With several saw blades on hand, I hate to purchase more to replace the dull
ones. Therefore, I'm considering having them sharpened and asking those who
sharpen their blades for recommendations.

I have also considered the option of doing it myself, though I can imagine
the machine is expensive. BUT...I saw a blade sharpening machine from Harbor
Freight and wondered if anyone uses it? Yea yea, HF, I know, don't do it,
but sometimes they have a gem in the rough.

All inputs appreciated.

When I lived in Houston, I had my TS blades sharpened at Circle Saw.
I've since moved to Florida and the town I live in is too small to
support a sharpening service on it own. I now drop them off at my hard
wood supplier who acts as a collection point for a sharpener who picks
up and re-delivers the blades on a weekly schedule. If you use your
blades every day you will need spare blades to tide you over.
I definitely agree you should try out any new sharpener with one blade
to see if you pleased with his work.

Joe G

SBH wrote:
With several saw blades on hand, I hate to purchase more to replace the dull
ones. Therefore, I'm considering having them sharpened and asking those who
sharpen their blades for recommendations.

I have also considered the option of doing it myself, though I can imagine
the machine is expensive. BUT...I saw a blade sharpening machine from Harbor
Freight and wondered if anyone uses it? Yea yea, HF, I know, don't do it,
but sometimes they have a gem in the rough.

All inputs appreciated.



I send all my blades (dado, tablesaw & chopsaw) to Forrest:

Forrest Manufacturing
457 River Road
Clifton, NJ 07014

They do a great job sharpening and can repair/replace damaged/missing
carbide tips.

On Tue, 26 Jan 2010 17:28:36 -0600, Chris Friesen
wrote:

On 01/26/2010 04:22 PM, SBH wrote:
With several saw blades on hand, I hate to purchase more to replace the dull
ones. Therefore, I'm considering having them sharpened and asking those who
sharpen their blades for recommendations.

Check around, there may be a place nearby that sharpens blades.

I live in a city of about 250000 and there is a local company that does
all the blade sharpening for the industrial shops. I think it was about
25 cents per tooth last time I had it done.

Chris

Be sure to ask if they can flatten the blade as well. If not, look
elsewhere.

"Lew Hodgett" wrote in message
...

Life is too short to waste it trying to do something best done by the
pros.

But isn't that how pros become pros? One must make that first leap in order
to begin the journey.

"SBH" wrote in message
...

"Lew Hodgett" wrote in message
...

Life is too short to waste it trying to do something best done by the
pros.

But isn't that how pros become pros? One must make that first leap in
order to begin the journey.

Pros become pros by convincing someone to pay them to do something. It
doesn't necessarily mean that they are competent.

SBH wrote:
"Lew Hodgett" wrote in message
...

Life is too short to waste it trying to do something best done by the
pros.

But isn't that how pros become pros? One must make that first leap in
order to begin the journey.

This is fine if one has as a goal in life becoming a professional
saw-sharpener.

On Tue, 26 Jan 2010 17:22:22 -0500, "SBH" wrote:

With several saw blades on hand, I hate to purchase more to replace the dull
ones. Therefore, I'm considering having them sharpened and asking those who
sharpen their blades for recommendations.

I have also considered the option of doing it myself, though I can imagine
the machine is expensive. BUT...I saw a blade sharpening machine from Harbor
Freight and wondered if anyone uses it? Yea yea, HF, I know, don't do it,
but sometimes they have a gem in the rough.

All inputs appreciated.



I sent mine to Ridge Carbide Tool. Google them and you'll find the
pricing and so forth. I was ready to trash the DeWalt blade that came
with my miter saw after it was used to cut lots of laminate flooring.
I lent it to someone figuring I'd just upgrade to a Ridge blade when
he was done. Instead, I sent it along with a couple of other blades.
It came back better than when it was new. Some things are best left
to the pro.

On Jan 26, 5:22*pm, "SBH" wrote:
With several saw blades on hand, I hate to purchase more to replace the dull
ones. Therefore, I'm considering having them sharpened and asking those who
sharpen their blades for recommendations.

I have also considered the option of doing it myself, though I can imagine
the machine is expensive. BUT...I saw a blade sharpening machine from Harbor
Freight and wondered if anyone uses it? Yea yea, HF, I know, don't do it,
but sometimes they have a gem in the rough.

All inputs appreciated.

I bought the HF unit and am reasonably happy with it. I sharpen my
hand saws, my chisels, my hand plane blades and found that this was
not much different. Like most sharpening, you don't need to take off
much steel to get a good cutting edge. I would hesitate to sharpen my
most expensive blades myself but I have a few blades sitting around
that I use for suspect wood that might have nailes etc. I also like
the idea that I can tinker with the shape of the teeth to optimize
them for certain cuts. I recommend getting a book on sharpening such
as Leonard Lees book. On the other hand, if I were doing production
work and focused on the bottom line, I would buy new blades or use a
professional sharpening service. Since I am a recreational
woodworker, I find it fun to tinker with the blades.

On Wed, 27 Jan 2010 17:18:00 -0500, SBH wrote:

"Lew Hodgett" wrote in message
...

Life is too short to waste it trying to do something best done by the
pros.

But isn't that how pros become pros? One must make that first leap in
order to begin the journey.

Isn't that what the guy said that tried skydiving with a cheap parachute?

On Tue, 26 Jan 2010 17:42:19 -0800, RonB wrote:

As others have said, check around. Look in local yellow pages for
sharpening, saw sharpening, etc. If there is a cabinet shop or
contractor available ask if they have theirs sharpened. When we lived
in Wichita, a local private lumber yard chain provided sharpening
services through a lady who lived in a nearby town. You dropped them
off and picked them up a few days later. When I figured out where they
sent them it was easy to check that town's yellow pages and I had some
done directly.

Where we live now, I am fortunate to have located a gentleman who does
excellent work and a very reasonable price. In many cases he provides
overnight service.

Word to the wise! When you locate a source, don't drop all of your
blades at once. Ease in with one or two blades, and if satisfied get
some more done. I responded to a "recommendation" several years ago and
the person screwed up about 1/2-dozen blades.

Good advice. If you lived in Wichita and had good luck with the service
I am guessing the blades ended up being sharpened by a shop in
McPherson. I don't remember the name of the place though.
After a few hit and misses we started using the place and would send them
about a dozen blades per month. They could do real miracles with cheap
blades and absolute marvel on the nicer blades. We could send them good,
high quality blades and they would come back cutting better and pulling
less power then when they were brand new! And they did an exceptional
job on planer and shaper cutters, too.

Just got my blades back from Forrest. What a difference - they're like new.
Did some test cuts and I'm very satisfied. Took them ~ 1 week to process
them. They call to get permission to replace tips as needed. Have them do
test cuts and tip replacements. I believe you'll be pleased.
Not a troll - just a satisfied customer.

"SBH" wrote in :

With several saw blades on hand, I hate to purchase more to replace
the dull ones. Therefore, I'm considering having them sharpened and
asking those who sharpen their blades for recommendations.

I have also considered the option of doing it myself, though I can
imagine the machine is expensive. BUT...I saw a blade sharpening
machine from Harbor Freight and wondered if anyone uses it? Yea yea,
HF, I know, don't do it, but sometimes they have a gem in the rough.

All inputs appreciated.