Broken Tooth

[Jay Knoll]

I was breaking down some sheet goods the other day with my ATF55 when I noticed a spark -- like I had hit a nail -- although I didn't hear any metal on metal sound.  Shut down, checked, didn't see anything -- we were cutting new ply direct from a cabinet supply house -- and went back to work.  The cut seemed to be a bit hard to make and there was some burning on the edge of the ply.

I pulled the blade to clean it last night, and discovered that one of the carbide teeth was gone.  First time this has ever happened to me with a saw blade.

So, is it toast?  Can I get a new tooth welded on?  Is it worth the cost?  What do you think caused the problem?  Should I just trash the blade and buy a new one before the price increase?

Thanks for the assistance

Jay

 

[peter halle]

Jay,

There was recently a thread here on sharpening blades.  Forrest or Leitz can certainly replace the tooth.  Based on how much you use your tools it might be advisable to also have a spare.

Peter

 

[sancho57]

I always have a spare. Not to expensive maybe 30 bucks or so. Lots of aftermarket blades to be had.

Chek out the prices of a tooth repair/shrpening. It might be cheaper to buy a new one.

 

[Kev]

Be interesting if we ever got teeth that we could change on a saw disc. I'd probably be nervous about them flying off !

 

[GaryLaroff]

Forrest's service is highly recommended.  They will evaluate your blade, replace the broken/missing tooth, re-braze any teeth that might need it and then balance and sharpen the blade.  They offer a no-compromise, fast and reasonably priced service.

I have no relationship at all with Forrest other than using their blades on all but my Kapex and being a satisfied customer from the other side of the country for over 20 years.

Gary Laroff

 

[Jesse Cloud]

Hey Jay,
I hate it when that happens!
First of all, a spare blade is always a good idea.

Secondly, any decent sharpener can replace a broken tooth.  Ask a local cabinet shop where they get their blades sharpened.  As I recall, last time I had that done it was about $5, well worth it.

Thirdly (on the soap box now), you don't need Forrest or other speciality firms to sharpen blades anymore.  These days just about everyone uses CNC so even the small guys can sharpen just about anything very well.  The cab shop guys will know where to send you.  I get my Festool blades sharpened at a local place that has always done great work at reasonable (per teeth) prices.