Is this dangerous?

[Ed62]

I was going to take my blade off the BT3K, and when I took off the throat plate, I noticed it had been hit by the previous blade used. The funny thing is that I never knew it had been hit, and I didn't notice the throat plate when I changed to the blade now on the saw! How could that possibly happen? Blade was tight, throat plate was screwed on, and there was no reason to think anything was wrong!! Anyhow, my question is this....I have a small piece of carbide chipped off one tooth (see image). I expect this blade should be scrapped, but I wanted to get input from you before I scrap it/use it.

I know there is a better forum for this, but there are more users on this one, and I'd like to get back to ww.

Ed

[LCHIEN]

I was going to take my blade off the BT3K, and when I took off the throat plate, I noticed it had been hit by the previous blade used. The funny thing is that I never knew it had been hit, and I didn't notice the throat plate when I changed to the blade now on the saw! How could that possibly happen? Blade was tight, throat plate was screwed on, and there was no reason to think anything was wrong!! Anyhow, my question is this....I have a small piece of carbide chipped off one tooth (see image). I expect this blade should be scrapped, but I wanted to get input from you before I scrap it/use it.

I know there is a better forum for this, but there are more users on this one, and I'd like to get back to ww.

Ed
[ATTACH]3867[/ATTACH]

what's all this double posting???

Anyway I'm not really sure what you are saying hit what.
The old blade hit the (original) steel throat plate? Or is it just speculation?
Your pic is too small to identify anything. A tooth can be chipped fairly easily because they are carbide and while carbide is extremely hard, it is also very brittle. Moving it around you could easily chip a tooth while installing it.

One chipped tooth is not a reason to pitch a blade. The blade will work quite well I think in that mode. The more teeth, the easier it is to "give up" one tooth. You will probably not be able to tell the difference in one cut from before or after. Also, most sharpening services advise they can replace a broken carbide tooth for a few dollars (~$3-4 IIRC) (at the time you next sharpen the blade).

Think of it this way. Each rotation each tooth peels off a tiny sliver of material, probably a few mils thick. If a tooth is entirely missing, then the tooth behind it will do double duty slicing off a piece twice as big as the others. Normally the teeth are operated well below their strength so a double load is not going to hurt a tooth.
If a tooth is merely chipped on one corner, then it may slice off half of what it does and the next tooth will only have to pick up a small bit of extra.
Youre still getting 97% as many cuts per second as you were before so its not going to affect the smoothness of the cut noticeably.

[LarryG]

I know there is a better forum for this, but there are more users on this one, and I'd like to get back to ww.

If you mean other sections on BT3Central -- Tool Talk, Getting Started, etc -- vs. Around The Coffee Pot, I think most BT3ers read or at least scan pretty much everything. It's true that Coffee Pot may have more viewers at any given time but that's partly because there are more threads in here, and doesn't mean a Q will get missed if it's posted elsewhere. FYI, FWIW, etc.

[Ed62]

Thanks for the reply, Loring. I hit the "Submit reply" button before I had the image attached. When I realized what I did, it was too late. Then I couldn't delete the original post.

I now have a plywood blade on, which I decided to change. When I took off the throat plate, I noticed it had been hit by a blade. Knowing it wasn't the plywood blade, by the shape of the (minimal) damage, I looked at the blade I was using before the plywood blade. There I found a small chip on a tooth. I was concerned that the integrity of the brazing might be compromised, and I didn't want to use it before I ran it past you guys. Thanks again.

Ed

[Ed62]

Yeah, that's what I meant, Larry. Thanks.

Ed

[LCHIEN]

If you mean other sections on BT3Central -- Tool Talk, Getting Started, etc -- vs. Around The Coffee Pot, I think most BT3ers read or at least scan pretty much everything. It's true that Coffee Pot may have more viewers at any given time but that's partly because there are more threads in here, and doesn't mean a Q will get missed if it's posted elsewhere. FYI, FWIW, etc.

I look at "new posts" all the time so regardless of where its posted, I get to see it. Its for archival purposes that placing it in the right category will make it easier to find. Around the coffee pot would be the last place I'd look for an thread on chipped sawblade teeth.

[Ed62]

OK..Gotcha. Next time it will be in the proper place.

Ed

[Black wallnut]

Ed you also can edit your posts to include more or updated information.
For caution's sake you could install the chipped blade, lower it all the way, secure a board covering the TP, then slowly raise the blade into the wood. Turn off saw and inspect.

[Ed62]

I know you can edit your post, but for some reason, I didn't even think of adding the image by editing.

Excellent idea with running the blade into the board, Mark. Thanks for the heads up.

Ed