Eureka it works!!!

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michaelgarner

New User
Michael
I was perusing the latest shopnotes edition this past weekend and saw an article on blade cleaning. Something I have to say I have not done a lot of. Well I pulled out the Freud Diablo that I thought needed to be sent out to be resharpened and threw it in the low cost baking soda magic for 8 hours. After it was all said and done, with a little scrubbing the blade cuts as good as new. Didn't even need to be sharpened. Just in case you want to know the ratio is 1/4 cup to 1qt of water 8hrs and then scrub with a non abrasive. Works great!!
 

JimmyC

New User
Jimmy
Michael,
Thanks for the tip, I've got a few blades that could use a good cleaning and I'm going to give it a try.

Jimmy:)
 

Alan in Little Washington

Alan Schaffter
Corporate Member
After seeing that article, I pulled my blade off my TS and hit it with oven cleaner, and after about 5 min, scrubbed a few spots with a tooth brush. Rinsed it in the sink, dried it off, and back in operation in under 10 min. I've used Simple Green and White Lighting and they work well also.
 

mburke911

New User
Mark
Hi,
I heard/ read somewhere that oven cleaner can weaken the bonding of the carbide tips to the blade. Has anyone else heard this? Really wouldn't want those flying around the shop.

Mark
 

Alan in Little Washington

Alan Schaffter
Corporate Member
Hi,
I heard/ read somewhere that oven cleaner can weaken the bonding of the carbide tips to the blade. Has anyone else heard this? Really wouldn't want those flying around the shop.

Mark

There was a report awhile back, that a couple of types of high alkaline cleaners, including standard Simple Green (as opposed to Pro) could weaken the brazing. I don't remember where I saw this, but believe any type of problem would only result from extended immersion.

Here is what Freud says:

“Definitely avoid oven cleaner and other caustics. They attack the cobalt binder in the carbide and can lead to carbide failure (translates to tiny missiles of carbide at 100+ mph). Also, Freud and some other brands of blades have a tri-metal brazing foil that uses copper alloy for a cushioning layer. The copper can also be affected by these cleaners (translates to larger missiles of carbide). We recommend soaking overnight in kerosene in a vented container and using a stiff nylon bristle brush to clean. Teflon coated plates will clean up with a soapy cloth (except for the teeth as mentioned earlier). There are commercial blade cleaning products that are not caustic but we don't officially sanction them. I've personally used Simple Green concentrate with good results.

Charles M
Freud, Inc"

Here is what the Simple Green folks had to say:

"Thanks for your inquiry. We actually do not recommend any Simple Green products
on the cobalt/carbide blades that you refer to in your email. Simple Green can
cause embrittlement and cracking on this kind of metal.

Believe it or not, we have heard from several sources that strong coffee is
great for removing pitch from blades. A plastic bin can be used for soaking
blades overnight.

I hope that this information is helpful to you. Feel free to share it with
others in your profession or online discussion groups. And we hope that you'll
keep using Simple Green for the rest of your shop-cleaning needs!"

However they followed up with the following:

"Dear Mr. Delano and XXXXXXXXXXX:

I am sorry for the confusion I may have caused with my short answer to Mr. XXXXXXXXXXX question yesterday. Please allow me to give you the long answer, and feel free to also post this in your discussion group.

Simple Green has been successfully used by many woodworkers over many years as a good spray-wipe-and rinse cleaner for saw blades. When pitch is fairly fresh (within a 12 hour period of deposit,) it is fairly easily removed by Simple Green. Older, dried out pitch is much more difficult to remove. What we do not recommend is long-term soaking of cobalt/carbide blades in Simple Green. Long exposure like this can possibly cause cobalt leaching that will, in turn, effect the integrity of the carbide. Shorter term "spray/wipe/rinse" applications do not pose that kind of problem. We would recommend dwell times of full-strength Simple Green upon cobalt/carbide steel to be no more than about 15 minutes.

As mentioned in my earlier email, if you have a blade that has an older, tougher buildup of pitch, try soaking the blade in strong coffee overnight. Several folks have told us that this does work.

I hope that this information is helpful to you. I apologize for confusing the issue previously. I made an erroneous assumption that the blade would be soaked for extended periods of time.

If you have any additional questions or concerns, please let me know.

Sincerely,

Carol Chapin
Environmental & Regulatory Coordinator
SIMPLE GREEN
(800) 228-0709
cchapin@simplegreen.com"

Here is what Tom Hintz has to say in "NewWoodWorker"
 

michaelgarner

New User
Michael
Man you guys are awesome! That is some detailed information, after cleaning my blade and realizing the world of difference that it made I am going to try to make it a normal event. I was totally convinced that after Pete and I ran a lot of hard maple through the blade it would need sharpening. But after I cleaned it up, the teeth were still super sharp and it cuts like butter. Just goes to show we can loose focus on the little things at times, and its always the little things that make the biggest difference.
 

Gofor

Mark
Corporate Member
I was using Greased Lightning and it worked well, but is also a caustic substance which caused me concern after reading about the oven cleaner effect a while back. However, I have found a more benign method for those that need a quicker cleaning than soaking overnight. I lay my blades in the bottom of my oil drain pan (plastic), squirt them down good with DNA and cover it with a plastic bag. After about 20-30 minutes, the resin will come off with a natural bristle parts cleaning brush (toothbrush also works well).
Throw the router bits in an old peanut butter jar and a little DNA and it works the same.

Just my experience

Go
 

childe

New User
Chris
WOW! 8-O I had a friend tell me about the oven cleaner method, and I've tried it. Yea, it gets them clean, but after hearing this, I'll never try that again.

Thanks,

Chris
 
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