I noticed my general purpose blade burning while cutting some maple and thought I’ld give it a good cleaning. In the the past, i’ve tried oven cleaner but have been overcome by fumes and dissapointed with the ease of use .
I remembered reading in some thread in this fine community’s message board that SimpleGreen worked well. (thanks to Forestgirl!!)
I gave my dismounted blade a few squirts and rubbed it in with a finger and started to dig around for a small, fine wire brush. By the time i located the brush the simple green had been sitting 15-20 min. (I know-I’ve really got to be more organized!)
The pitch build up came off with little to no effort. The hardest part was the front of the teeth – any suggestions?
peace
mark
Replies
Hey mark,
Get yourself a brass bristled brush. Let the blade(s) soak in some full strength Simple Green (thanks forestgirl) for a bit, then use the brush to clean the teeth.
Works like a champ. Simple, and it's Greeen! The brass won't scratch the teeth.
Regards,
Bob @ Kidderville Acres
A Woodworkers mind should be the sharpest tool in the shop!
Couple of questions here:
1) is it OK to use a (brass) wire wheel on a drill? I've done that on an older blade after a bit of kerosene.
2) is there any good reason to use a general multipurpose blade? I got decent thin kerf rip and crosscut blades and have not mounted the stock blade again.
thanks,
Andy
Hi Andy,
1. is it OK to use a (brass) wire wheel on a drill? I've done that on an older blade after a bit of kerosene.
That's something I haven't tried for this application, i.e. cleaning the carbide tips of a TS blade. I would be inclined to think that you might end up giving it a haircut/brushcut in the process. Plus I'm not sure there would be any real advantage for using a drill here.
2. No way I'm attempting to answer this one! :-) Waaaaaaaaay too many variables, i.e. type of wood/thickness, power of the TS, type of cut (crosscut vs rip), etc.
My compromise blade lives in the RAS and is used for cutting stock to rough lengths and I also have one mounted in the SkilSaw. The rip blade lives in the TS strictly for ripping. My finish crosscut lives in the CMS. My thinking is to use a blade for the application at hand, i.e. ripping vs crosscutting.
Regards,Bob @ Kidderville Acres
A Woodworkers mind should be the sharpest tool in the shop!
Andy, see my first reply above: wire of any sort, let along on a spinning wheel, is unnecessary if you clean the blade when it needs to be cleaned. Any need for a wire wheel indicates, IMHO, the blade is way the heck too dirty and has been struggling to cut for quite awhile.
Multipurpose (combo, general purpose) blades can save time when the absolute sweetest cut isn't needed, either rip or crosscut. My Freud combo blade gives beautiful crosscuts and will rip quite nicely, so I use it most of the time. But when I'm ripping a bunch of stock, or something thick and esepcially hard, the TK rip blade (24-tooth) comes out to make things easier on me and my saw. For the absolute best crosscut, it's a Freud Ultimate Cut-off blade, but I rarely need a crosscut of mirror-like finish.forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)
Yes, that sounds reasonable. I've only used a wire wheel on slow speed on the combo blade that came with the Ridgid saw. Only keep it around for cutting old things I don't trust. I have three special purpose thin kerf Freuds. Guess I'll have to save the old toothbrushes. :) thanks,
Andy
If you're anything like us, you get so many toothbrushes from the dentist, you could just use the new ones! I don't like the brushes they hand out, so I ask for firm ones, use them to clean blades with and buy my own soft TB's for my toofers. ;-)forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)
Marking, you won't need anything more sturdy than a toothbrush if you clean your blades often enough. What I've found since switching to Simple Green is that I don't procrastinate cleaning the blade, because it's so damn easy. A pizza pan, a toothbrush, and a roll of paper towel, and you're on your way.
If the crud gets so hard it need a wire brush, it's been on the blade toooooo long and gotten tooooooooo hot!
Sorry for the delay of my expression of gratitude to all who gave their 2¢ . I don't always check in on a daily basis. And I'm better at reading than writing.Forestgirl, i think my question re: blade tooth fronts is best answered by your comment concerning time between cleanings. Now that I know how easy it is, I think I can clean more often so the buildup on the fronts of the teeth will be less of an issue.Secondly, I don't have a lot of old toothbrushes around because we use ones with replaceable heads and the handles last seemingly forever. I guess I could just bear down and spring the 59¢ for a "shop" brush. Hey maybe I'll get two!Thanks againpeace
mark
Edited 10/24/2007 9:04 pm ET by marking
"Now that I know how easy it is, I think I can clean more often...." Yep! Having it be so easy has done wonders for my blade cleaning regiimen!forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)
I just put my blades on a cookie sheet and spray them with arm and hammer "fume-free" (lye-free) oven cleaner let them sit for 10 minutes or so and scrub them with an old tooth brush and they clean up nicely with out much effort.
Troy
Two other reasons to value a combi blade:
Flat bottom cut e.g., using it to cut, say, a 1/4" dado
And, my old instructor said if he was starting out he'd buy the best combi blade in the world and set up his fence with that blade; then he'd have dead on cuts not affected by varying blade width. (I did not follow his advice.)
Jim Bell
A combination blade isn't always a flat-top grind, just to clarify.forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)
On your next trip to the grocery store, get some of those throwaway, aluminum, pizza pans, a stiff bristle toothbrush (or a vegetable brush), and a jug of Simple Green.
Sit a pizza pan on a flat surface, pour in ~1/4" of Simple Green and lay your blade in it. After 15-20 minutes, remove the blade and scrub it with the toothbrush (or vegetable brush). Scrub everthing - teeth, gullets, sides, etc. I've been doing this for years and the only "damage" has been that all the printing on my blades has long since disappeared.
I also keep a small collection of plastic containers (sour cream, cottage cheese, cake icing, etc) handy in the shop. When necessary, I use one of them filled with Simple Green to clean my router and shaper bits.
P.S. - I once told my dentist about this and he suggested that I put the new toothbrush in the bathroom and give my ancient brush the retirement job it probably deserves. - lol
Here's a quote from Simple Green's web site (http://consumer.simplegreen.com/cons_tips.php)
"We do not recommend long-term soaking of Carbide blades in Simple Green. Long-term exposure like this can possibly cause cobalt leaching that will, in turn, affect the integrity or carbide. Shorter term “spray/wipe/rinse” applications do not create that kind of problem."
That's good to know! Thanks for doing my homework!Now, what's "long term"? 30 min? 2 hours? 12 hours? 6 Days?
As I recall the SimpleGreen did it's work in 15-20 min. Does that sound like "long term" to anyone?And Hey! Cobalt leaching? Maybe Simple Green isn't as benign as I thought.
I think "long-term" is overnight-ish, and many, many, many times overnight. One common method of cleaning extremely dirty blades is to soak them in kerosene overnight. I'm betting they're concerned about oldtimers doing the same with Simple Green multiple times. Simple Green is a powerful de-greaser (as simple household products go) but using it as we've discussed (5 minutes, quick scrub with a toothbrush) it's surely benign.forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)
Good now I can proceed happily.Now I only have to worry about cobalt leaching from my ungloved hands! haagain, many thankspeace
mark
JamieI finally bought a bottle of the Simple Green concentrate. I diluted it as recommended and was underwhelmed by the results. (Compared to the stuff I ordinarily use.) Are you supposed to use it in the concentrated form?Frosty"I sometimes think we consider the good fortune of the early bird and overlook the bad fortune of the early worm." FDR - 1922
Frosty,
Are you supposed to use it in the concentrated form?
Yes.
P.S. By the way, Frosty is gleaming! Polished him through the grits up to 4,000.
Regards,Bob @ Kidderville Acres
A Woodworkers mind should be the sharpest tool in the shop!
I'm glad he is in good, loving hands. Were you able to clear up the chip clogging problem?Frosty"I sometimes think we consider the good fortune of the early bird and overlook the bad fortune of the early worm." FDR - 1922
Hi Frosty,
I think so. I know that's a funky answer. Let me put it this way, I haven't had any problems with chips clogging. I did some serious honing on the chipbreaker as I noticed a very small gap in the center.
I also filed/honed the Lever Cap so it sits perfectly (well to me anyway) on the Chipbreaker and about 1/32 from the edge and keep the throat small. Also, I take very thin cuts. Haven't done any hogging with ot yet.
The shavings roll out with no clogging. I'll try to get some pics this weekend. Got some sherry to prepare.
I like that plane so much you'll have to pry it loose from my cold hands when I die! I use it for everything as it's just the right size for me. I do use the #7 for a final planer on biggish panels. Now that I've got Frosty I primarily only use two others now, the #7 and a low angle block plane. Life is good.
Best Regards,Bob @ Kidderville Acres
A Woodworkers mind should be the sharpest tool in the shop!
Bob, Perhaps you noticed that I tried some work on the chip-breaker and lever cap. Not too successful, so I quit. I'm not as patient as you are on that sort of thing. Glad to hear it is working well. Your "cold, grey hands" are safe.Frosty"I sometimes think we consider the good fortune of the early bird and overlook the bad fortune of the early worm." FDR - 1922
Frosty,
Oh, I forgot one other thing.
The front of the mouth was factory, or looked to be anyway. I carefully filed (so as not to widen the mouth) back so there was an angle facing up and toward the front of the plane. Read that somewhere amongst the plethora of handplane fettle writings. I think that's what made the difference.
It's interesting about the small gap between the chipbreaker and the blade. I think I may have tightened the screw on the Lever Cap a bit more than you had it and that may have cause the slight gap.
I'm not sure it was the patience but more likely the picky ol fart that I am. :-)
Regards,Bob @ Kidderville Acres
A Woodworkers mind should be the sharpest tool in the shop!
Dear Picky Old Fart,Thanks for making excuses for me.Frosty"I sometimes think we consider the good fortune of the early bird and overlook the bad fortune of the early worm." FDR - 1922
Don't dilute it at all for blade cleaning. Just spritz it on (it doesn't need a huge puddle, though). If you're blade is obscenely dirty, thick dried-on black, rock-hard pitch, for instance) you might have to do something more drastic, but if it's semi-normal dirty blade, it should work fine.forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)
Thanks. I'll give that a go.As for "obscenely dirty" blades, etc. I don't even want to think about waiting that long.Frosty"I sometimes think we consider the good fortune of the early bird and overlook the bad fortune of the early worm." FDR - 1922
I had really good results with simple green straight out of the sprayer. Full strength. Undiluted.Just spray on, spread on with a finger. Wiping away from center and with sharp teeth in mind. Let sit for (read above posts)I think you'll be pleasantly surprised.peace, mark
Thanks. I'll try that.I've had some trade-marked blade cleaner that worked like a charm. But - I've used all of it and I don't remember where I got it. Thus the move the SG.Frosty"I sometimes think we consider the good fortune of the early bird and overlook the bad fortune of the early worm." FDR - 1922
Did you happen to catch the Simple Green section on tough pitch build ups. Long term soaking in strong Coffee.. At the end of a long day in the shop. We can pull up a seat and "rip" off a cup with our blades.Work Safe, Count to 10 when your done for the day !!
Bruce S.
I ;have had success using plain hot water to clean all my blades. Just soak a couple of minutes and they are clean. Why make it difficult or expensive?
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