Sharpening advice...

[rjwaldren]

Does anyone have a good link, or advice on the proper sharpening a steel plywood blade?

I've been rough sizing 4X8-3/4 birch with my cordless trim saw and a 100T steel blades, when they dull I get tear out on the bottom of the cut and batteries won't last through a crosscut. I have a carbide that goes through like butter but gives me a lot of top side tear out.

Google is as bad as the others these days with ads overwhelming the useful info, so I haven't managed to find any advice there.

[Pappy]

Steel blades generally aren't worth the cost of sharpening. To cheap to replace them.

Try attaching a piece of 1/2" ply to the shoe of your saw and plunge cut a slot in it with the carbide blade. Easy ZCTP!

[rjwaldren]

I've just been going through them rather quickly, I was hoping a file could slow the cost. I found several references for keeping a file on hand for touching up steel blades but none gave any tips on how to do it.

Good idea on the ZCTP - I have plenty of flat 1/2 around. In fact the new Shopnotes has a mobile sheet cart w/panel saw plan I'm waiting to see, it should be adaptable there too.

[LCHIEN]

i agree with Pappy that a 100T plwood blade is not worth the time and effort cost of sharpening. THey only cost about $10 new, with that many teeth it will take quite a while.

if you must do it, i believe the correct way is to mark one tooth, start there and file across the face of the tooth a given number of strokes, maybe three or four, then advance to the next tooth and do the same number until you have gone all the way around. Match the orignal set and hook angle.

[rjwaldren]

Thanks, that supports my thoughts. I don't want to pay to have them sharpened, but I have idle time that I can't be out in the shop, might as well sharpen a blade while watching my daughter and neighbor kids go nuts in the backyard. It's that or turn the hose on them.

[Pappy]

I ... might as well sharpen a blade while watching my daughter and neighbor kids go nuts in the backyard. It's that or turn the hose on them.

Grab the file and sharpen the blade. The hose doesn't work unless you have at least an 1 1/2" with a good suicide nozzle!

[dkerfoot]

Buy a laptop pc with wireless access. That way, while watching them, you can buy lots of tools that you don't really need and plan projects that you will never get around to.