Blade cleaning

bobtskutter

bobtskutter

Member
Joined
Jun 5, 2021
Messages
365
Just thought I'd share a quick message about using Lidl (UK  supermarket) Kitchen Degreaser to clean saw blades, works a charm.
I'd got the blade rather mucky from cutting lots of plywood that was stacked up (55mm deep), spray the stuff on the blade, use a toothbrush and the dirt was gone.  Just wish I'd taken some before and after pictures.
Bob
 
Just make sure that stuff doesn't contain anything that will deteriorate the bonding of the carbide on the teeth of your sawblade. I am not saying this product does, but there are household cleaners that do.
 
From Simple Green:
Caustic oven cleaners are sometimes recommended as the best way to clean table saw blades. Sodium hydroxide, also known as lye, is the main ingredient in many spray-on oven cleaners. This can cause severe respiratory irritation, nausea, dizziness, skin burns, and more. Other varieties of commercial blade and bit cleaners often don't stay wet for the prescribed amount of soaking time, which doesn't do much to loosen residue from the blade.

In addition to being toxic, oven cleaner and saw blade cleaning products with caustic ingredients can potentially damage saw blades. They attack the binder in the carbide and the brazing used to secure the teeth to the blade.
https://simplegreen.com/cleaning-tips/rooms/garage/saw-blades/
 
Has been using Simple Green (HD) for as long as I can remember. The smell is good, too. Simple Green has another use in my shop: as lubricant when using a diamond stone.
 
I hate the smell of Simple Green too. It only works so so.

A long time ago I started using 409 cleaner in my ultrasonic cleaner. It works great for just about everything. Very common to use 409 during firearm service for cleaning ultrasonically too. Unfortunately I can't fit the bigger saw blades into my smallish semi industrial ultrasonic cleaner.
 
I vacillate between Simple Green & CMT Orange... I prefer CMT Orange but if I’m out of the stuff,  then Simple Green is used.
 
This is what I have been using for years now. It is a great cleaner as far as I am concerned. I use it on saw blades and all sorts of tools, with or without cutting edges.

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I use a tray of hot water and several denture cleaning tablets.  But I never thought about the bond between the steel and carbide. 

It removes organic matter. 

It also safely removes coffee and tea stains from stainless steel mugs. (You don't want to use bleach as it will disrupt the passivated chromium oxide layer).

It works on ceramic mugs also, and is generally accepted as safe.  Don't drink the stuff.  Some people are allergic to it.  Rinse well, add some WD-40 after cleaning or the steel will rust after all the oils have been removed by the cleaning operation.

Most of my blades come with a red teflon coating and I have not cleaned a blade for close to 20 years, when I used to clean the DeWalt blades I got back then. 
 
laundry detergent, i got powder only. already have it on hand, costs next to nothing.
safe for my hands, blade, environment, doesn't foam up much

cleans sap and residue with a gentle brush action

what more can you ask for

 
What more could I ask for?  The red coating on my Freud blades.  No cleaning seems necessary.
 
Packard said:
What more could I ask for?  The red coating on my Freud blades.  No cleaning seems necessary.
Click to expand...

The red PTFE coating only protects the plate from resin buildup, the carbide teeth will still be subject to resin/pitch buildup. Try a quick rip cut in oak or maple and look at both pieces, if there is any burning of the wood it's time to clean the blade.
 
The red coating, I think, is to reduce friction/burn marks. But in blade cleaning, I'm only concerned about the teeth, not the plate/body itself. I haven't noticed any serious buildup on the plate itself in the past. The teeth, not the body, do the cutting.
 
It was a major issue with the old steel tooth blades.  And is still an issue with the plywood blades with steel teeth.

avanti-pro-circular-saw-blades-p07140r-64_1000.jpg
 
Hello all.  I did some research - well, used Google.  I dug up this...https://www.federalcarbide.com/corrosion_resistant_tungsten_carbide_grades.html
the article talks about the corrosion resistance of tungsten carbide and it's binder agent.  I get the impression that Tungsten Carbide teeth are a mixture of Tungsten Carbide crystals and a binder material, either Cobalt or Nickel.  Seems like the two different binders are affected by different pH values, low pH (acidic) seems to corrode the binder.  Both materials seem to be OK with high pH (caustic) materials.
I checked the details of the Lidl W5 degreaser and it's caustic, I don't know how much but it's pH is about 10 (which is caustic).  Reading the back of the bottle, it lists "highly corrosive / hazardous" and "risk of sever damage to eyes" - probably best I keep the stuff away from the children.
I checked the Simple Green MSDS (material safety data sheet) and it lists Sodium carbonate and a pH of about 10.https://www.simplegreen.co.uk/index.php/material-safety-data-sheets/category/1-msds?download=16:crystal-simple-green

Has anyone seen a blade that's been damaged by cleaning with caustic cleaning agents?
Regards
Bob
 
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