Saw Sharpening Service

[capncarl]

I dropped by my local saw sharpening shop today, finally caught him open. Bad thing though I had forgotten my saw. I wanted to see if he could sharpen my fine tooth back saw. Anyway, I asked the owner about unclaimed 10" saw blades. They sell unclaimed blades for sharpening cost. He said that someone comes around a couple times a year and buys a lot of unclaimed blades. I picked through the stack of rusty blades and found a heavy 120 tooth and 36 toot for $14. Not forest blades but plenty of carbide left for my own re-sharpening. I'll keep an eye on his unclaimed blades in the future. He says that 10% of all blades left with him are unclaimed!
Check with your local sharpener for this kind of deal!
capncarl

[LCHIEN]

I can imagine, you do a project... the blade is dull.
After the project you take it in for sharpening.

Then you have no project for a few months... bingo forgot about picking up the blade!

Next project months later... Where's my blade? No recollection.

Buy a new one.

[atgcpaul]

When you have the saw sharpened, do you pay at dropoff or pickup?

Other than shipping charges, now I'm kind of glad I ship my blades out--not that it happens frequently--but at least when they're done, they ship them back.

[capncarl]

I can't speak for other shops but the ones I've used here you pay at pick up. Cabinet shops that buy wood from a supplier also use that supplier for sharpening services so that eliminates this guy having any of their blades, but there are a number of small shops that drop off blades quite often. I was hoping for some high dollar blades being in the unclaimed but someone must have gotten them already. He also does chain saws and lawn mower blades. There was a pile of lawn mower blades on the unclaimed shelf that Would fill up a car trunk, must investigate the sizes for myself.
I was amazed that his circular saw sharpening is not much different from mine using the harbor freight sharpener, just with an expensive machine. His finish on the carbide when he cuts it with the diamond blade is a little more polished than mine, say comparing a 180 sandpaper finish for his to mine with a 100 finish. I'm happy with mine and with a stack of blades on hand I don't have to stop and take the blade to the shop for a week or ship it off.
capncarl

[LCHIEN]

guys with high dollar blades are a little more motivated to come back and pick them up!

[radhak]

How do i know my blade(s) need sharpening?

[capncarl]

I picked thru the mower blade pile yesterday, 4 sets (3 blade ) fit mine, bought 1 set @$2 per blade. It was only about 10% gone while others were 50% gone.
He also sharpens plane blades, even the throwaway blades on lunchbox planers, .10/ inch. I'll drop my spares off next week.
There was a set of 4 or 6 blades, chrome steel, aprox. 18" dia. Probably .250 thick, with an arbor hole of about 2", with Lots of really BIG carbide teeth and carbide cutter teeth on the sides. Possibly off a gang saw for green wood. $100. Owner probably went out of business and forgot to pick them up. Lots to be learned about business and the economy from visiting small shops, and some good deals can be found as well.
My next outing will be to visit Cordrays Cypress saw mill, I'm good on my wood supply but the weather here is perfect for a road trip.
capncarl

[LCHIEN]

How do i know my blade(s) need sharpening?

That's always a toughie. Because your blade gradually loses sharpness with every cut it is slowly deteriorating to where you just don't notice.
Finally you get it sharpened and you say, oh my what a great difference that makes! And wish you'd done it sooner.

So its very hard to say. Some people can run their thumb over the cutting edge (gently!) and tell when its needing sharpening.

I have these recommendations:

1. Keep a couple of samples of various woods cut with freshly sharpened blades. Periodically check the current cut one against the saved sample for differences
2. Note the condition of cuts you make if you don't have a reference cut to look at.
3. If the edges are splintered badly or worse than you remember then you could do with a sharper blade. A sharp blade will cut through those less supported fibers, a dull blade will try to tear them off causing splintering.
4. Burning when it didn't use to is another sign... burning occurs when the wood is in contact too long, it means you are not cutting as fast and there's a lot of friction from the prolonged cutting. A sharp blade will cut with less effort.
5. Rougher edge finish than you used to get.

Again 3-5 are easier with a reference sample when the blade was new.
And really, if you use your saw every weekend, then just sharpen it once a year at $30, that is not too great an expense for this hobby. A good blade with thick carbide can be sharpened many (20 or 30?, es.p if it just needs touch up) times and you will be assured of a sharp blade all the ime.

[capncarl]

My solution to working with dull saw blades is to keep a sharp blade on my machines all the time. Over the last 4-5 years I have purchased about a dozen 10" blades of various brands. Some were new purchases and some were from estates sales. I rotate them out when I see burning, notice unusual resistance when pushing wood through the saw or signs of dulling. This many blades allow me to not have to stop what I am doing and take them to the sharpening shop, I can wait until I have a chance and sharpen them myself. My own sharpening job may not be as good as a pro shop but they serve my purpose well.
capncarl

[poolhound]

My solution to working with dull saw blades is to keep a sharp blade on my machines all the time. Over the last 4-5 years I have purchased about a dozen 10" blades of various brands. Some were new purchases and some were from estates sales. I rotate them out when I see burning, notice unusual resistance when pushing wood through the saw or signs of dulling. This many blades allow me to not have to stop what I am doing and take them to the sharpening shop, I can wait until I have a chance and sharpen them myself. My own sharpening job may not be as good as a pro shop but they serve my purpose well.
capncarl

Thats a good strategy. I dont think I make enough cuts to end up needing regular sharpening but when I do I am lucky enough to have a really good guy here in Phoenix. Having a few blades does help you to rotate as needed. In adition to the basic BT blade (which has soome good uses) I have been very lucky to come across some great yard sale finds and have a full size and TK WWII and a Tenryu GM, they are awesome blades and one good sharpening on those keeps me going for a very long time.

[capncarl]

Where I use to work...... Boy I like that..... Retirement is great.... We had some high speed dough cutters with 6" blades sharpened on both sides like a lawnmower. They changed them (120+) out daily and put on a re-sharpened set. The shop that re-sharpened them had a jig set up and only took off a whisper. Blades lasted many many re-sharpenings but if they waited until they were dull they got less than half as many re-sharpenings.
I do the same with my lawnmower, 4 sets of blades, change blades every 2-3 cuttings. My neighbors don't change their blades , just throw the nubs away at the start of the season and put on a new set, my 4 sets have lasted over 5 seasons, and we have long seasons in S Ga, and I still have better than 75% of my blades left. It isn't much trouble to change blades and I can run my mower slower, get a clean cut and not kill my back and ears fighting with a dull blade!
capncarl

[LCHIEN]

the grass cuts easier and the grass looks better (no brown tips from being torn rather than cut).

[capncarl]

Has anyone used the saw blade company that is advertising on this site? Saw blades.com or something. 92." Band saw blades at $11.00 ain't bad if they are much good.
Another site advertising here, chat with animated floozies? No discussion from me here!

[capncarl]

Ohhhhh I made a mess! When I take off a saw blade and replace it with a sharp blade I put the dull blades in a stack until I have time to sharpen them. The day before I sharpen them I put them in a cleaning solution of Rockler blade cleaner and water. This time I forgot that I had put them in cleaning solution for of a week. Yesterday when I thought about the blades and checked the cleaning solution they were all black, like the solution had dyed them black. Some of it washes off with the rest of the crud but it looks like I have some unique colored blades. At least they did not rust like I first feared. Nothing that can't be put back till later!
capncarl