Sharpen your own circular saw blades?

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MitchelC

MitchelC

MGF, Master Grumble Framer
Joined
Sep 19, 2010
Posts
691
Location
Charleston, SC
Business
Custom Framing
Hello. I purchased a few weeks ago a tool for sharpening carbide circular saw blades. It is VERY cheap and will pay for itself in no time. Before purchasing it, I watched several videos on YouTube. After the 5th or 6th video, I decided to buy one. I first sharpened a couple of 7 1/4" blades to get use to the equipment. I made a few improvements on the equipment that really helped stability. Now, since I purchased it, I have sharpened a total of 11 blades... 2 - 7 1/4" blades, 2 - 9" blades, 4 - 10" blades and 3 - 12" blades. The cost to have these blades sharpened (excluding the 2 - 7 1/4" blades) would have cost me about $180.00, The shipping cost to send the blades AND receive them back would have been about $30.00 + $30.00 = $60.00. The total cost would have been about $230.00 bucks. The equipment total was only $54.99 with a coupon. Use this number in the "Coupon Code" box and save 20%: 16280135 (This coupon code is valid thru 12/31/20.) It has more than paid for itself in a very short time.
www.harborfreight.com

120 Volt Circular Saw Blade Sharpener

Amazing deals on this 120Volt Circular Saw Blade Sharpener at Harbor Freight. Quality tools & low prices.
www.harborfreight.com www.harborfreight.com
Click HERE
 
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I got one years ago, it works great. you can get replacement Diamond Coated grinding wheels on ebay
mine is setup to sharpen one size blade I found it time consuming to setup for different size blades
 
Carbide blades??
 
I have a few concerns but as I am not an expert I am hoping one will comment.

On a personal level, I would like to play with one, but not on my expensive framing blades. I could see a construction framer using one on cheap construction framing blades.

I don't know a lot about picture framing blades but I do know the geometry is different than normal blades; and more so for blades for acrylic. How does a cheap sharpener accommodate different geometries?

And this is a cheap sharpener. A quick look on amazon shows them in the $200-600 range. Harbor Freight is where I go for one time use tools or tools I don't care if I destroy them. Quality tools; I don't go to the Harbor.

Maybe TripleChip will join in the discussion.

I am not going to forgo professional sharpening.
 
Looking for advice on types of saw blades.
Most info online is for general construction saws, not picture framing specifically.

Since I started working for the place I'm at there has only ever been one type of blade being used on the double mitre saw.
They are 12" 90tooth for Non-Ferrous Metals. I don't have the box in front of me, not sure the brand.
They do get sharpened at a reasonable rate for the relatively low production volume I do.

I have had problems with miters not being completely flush when joined with v-nailer.
Most of the times they are good. But sometimes not so good.
Clamp and glue before joining usually has better results, but takes too much time when doing several frames all at once.

I assumed that the blades were getting dull quickly doing aluminum and wood with the same blades, which could make for poor cuts.
Since I stopped cutting metal, the cuts are better, but not perfect.

Then I assumed for a while that maybe the saws themselves need to be adjusted.
Been doing some research (on the Grumble) and online about that.
I haven't had a chance to try it.

Larry, your comment has me wondering if it's the blades I have which may not be ideal for cutting wood?
Are Non-Ferrous blades too thin and flexible for wood, especially hardwood?

What specifications should I be looking at for wood cutting only?
Tooth count? Blade thickness? What else is important?

Is there a thread on the forum specific to saw blades? I am not good at using the search function to find very specific subjects.
 
nikodeumus said:
I assumed that the blades were getting dull quickly doing aluminum and wood with the same blades, which could make for poor cuts.
Since I stopped cutting metal, the cuts are better, but not perfect.
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East is East and West is West and never the twain shall meet. Substitute Metal for East and Wood for West and you get the idea.

If you are a professional framer you don't use anything else but the proper blade for the job. I don't cut metal so I don't have a metal blades but I do have 8 sets of Quinn blades; one of my best investments.

Forget about anything else. the right blade for the job. Thin kerf blades; forgettabout it unless you want miters that won't join right because of the blade deflections.

No need for a forum on woodworking saw blades. Everything you need to know is in the thread.

In another thread yesterday I mentioned that my ITW Mitre Mite disk sander is a huge boat anchor. One of the reasons is that I use the right blades for the job.
 
We have three different saws.
One is a CTD D45 double miter saw that can cut wood and also has a liquid spray system to cut metal built in.
We have disconnected the sprayer, it can really make a mess, and only use it to cut wood with Quinn blades just for wood.
We have the 80 tooth ones and the 100 tooth ones and we don't have to change blades just to cut metal by using this saw just for wood.

Since most of our frames are wood, although lately we are cutting quite a few metal frames, we have a chop saw just dedicated for cutting metal with specific metal cutting blades.
We also have another saw just dedicated for cutting plastic and plexiglass with the correct blade for that.
 
You've got the import stuff, with duties, etc. I've been using FS Tools, a Canadian manufacturer, for twenty years. Lucky enough to have a professional sharpening company 16 miles away. FS Tools' blades just rock.
 
tedh said:
You've got the import stuff, with duties, etc. I've been using FS Tools, a Canadian manufacturer, for twenty years. Lucky enough to have a professional sharpening company 16 miles away. FS Tools' blades just rock.
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That's the lead I'm looking for, I need a source in Canada. Thanks! 👍
 
Let's say you have an 80 tooth blade and grind every tooth to a perfect edge. What if say, 15 tips or more are ground too high or low? Now you are cutting with only 65, or worse only 15 teeth. At best it will only work if everything else is perfectly aligned and true, and if you're working with any species that have tension in its grain that fights back you will be tearing your hair out.
 
nikodeumus said:
That's the lead I'm looking for, I need a source in Canada. Thanks! 👍
Click to expand...

You should be able to find a distributor close to you. Let me know if you need help selecting the right blade, and I'll give you the part number.
 
tedh said:
You should be able to find a distributor close to you. Let me know if you need help selecting the right blade, and I'll give you the part number.
Click to expand...

I found the FS Tool catalog on their website. There are a few blades that they say are designed specifically for picture framing...

-SM6 Good for soft and hardwoods, painted mouldings, gesso and prefinished picture frames, etc. Variety of sizes and tooth count, etc.

-LM4/LM6 Same description as SM6. A larger variety of sizes, tooth count, etc...

-LHMJ Also for picture frames. Smaller selection.

Do use any of these blades?

My current blades are 12" with 5/8" bore, looks like LM4308b fits the size, it's .122 kerf with 80 teeth. LM6308b is .134 kerf with 100 teeth.
Which is better, thinner kerf or more teeth?

And yes, there are two distributors in towns only an hour or so from where I am.
 
LM 6250. 10 inch, 80 tooth, miter.
 
And stay away from a thin kerf.

When you're talking to your supplier, confirm with them that this is the best. They should already be supplying framers.

For aluminum, the same 80-tooth, but in a non-ferrous with a different tooth profile. I've found over the years that this blade rarely needs sharpening. Probably because we sell far fewer metals.

For plastic, a 60-tooth non-melt.
 
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