UK Sawblade sharpening

[jt073]

I have just changed the blade on my TS75 - the original blade that has been fitted for longer than I care to think.

I needed to trim some 75mm butcher block worktop and, whilst the old blade was cutting ok, I thought I would get a better finish with fitting the spare new blade I have had sitting there for ever.  Wow! What a difference - new blade gave a much better cut.

Not surprising really as the old one has done a lot of work, mostly on man-made boards; but the moral of the story is that I have clearly not been changing blades often enough, even though they do the job and look in good condition - next suspect is the Kapex.

I would be interested to know what others do about sharpening as, whilst I have numerous blades for different machines, I have never actually had any sharpened:

- do you sharpen or just replace?
- what are the economics?
- how do resharpened blades compare with new ones?
- where do you get your Festool blades resharpened (why do Festool not offer this service?)
- how many resharpenings do you get per saw blade?

I think there is no answer to the question of how to tell when a blade needs replacing - but any suggestions?

Cheers

 

[joiner1970]

I just use my local tool shop. They send it away , takes a week and costs about £10 for a ts55 48 tooth blade

 

[Toto]

Same here I have 10 blades for my 55 and I always just bought a new one and left spare in garage (Couldn't bring myself to bin anything with Festool written on it) Have them re sharpened at FC Hardware Hoylake wirral  , They do a brilliant job for about £7 (Bargain) They come back like new and cut perfect. I have been told you should get about 7 times re sharpend before they become wall art.

 

[Deansocial]

I pay £6-£10 depending on size nd tooth count

 

[ajones]

I have just changed the blade on my TS75 - the original blade that has been fitted for longer than I care to think.

I needed to trim some 75mm butcher block worktop and, whilst the old blade was cutting ok, I thought I would get a better finish with fitting the spare new blade I have had sitting there for ever.  Wow! What a difference - new blade gave a much better cut.

Not surprising really as the old one has done a lot of work, mostly on man-made boards; but the moral of the story is that I have clearly not been changing blades often enough, even though they do the job and look in good condition - next suspect is the Kapex.

I would be interested to know what others do about sharpening as, whilst I have numerous blades for different machines, I have never actually had any sharpened:

- do you sharpen or just replace?
- what are the economics?
- how do resharpened blades compare with new ones?
- where do you get your Festool blades resharpened (why do Festool not offer this service?)
- how many resharpenings do you get per saw blade?

I think there is no answer to the question of how to tell when a blade needs replacing - but any suggestions?

Cheers

cleaning a blade is very important, keep it clean and it will stay sharper longer, the way to tell if a blade needs sharpening is with your fingers on the tips of the blade, you will quickly get your eye in.

sharpen your blade as soon as it starts to dull. Using a dull blade is bad for the blade as well as the saw,, as dull carbide tips wear faster than sharp. so more material needs to be removed to resharpen.

so for the most economic use of blades is clean and resharpen regularly

 

[jonny round boy]

I don't have a place to get mine sharpened ATM. I used to get them done at my old Festool dealer, but since they went by the wayside I thought I'd try somewhere else.

There is a saw sharpening business just a couple of miles from me, and they have all the equipment & do them in house. I don't know for certain, but I'd guess that all the local tool shops send them to this guy, but you can take them in directly.

Unfortunately, I'm not too impressed with the service there. I took about half a dozen TS55 blades & a Kapex blade in there a few years ago. First thing he said on seeing them was "ah, Festool blades. You must have more money than sense". Not the best way to build a rapport with a new customer!

When I got them back, they were OK, but not brilliant. They certainly weren't as sharp as when they were new. Also, the (presumably) first TS55 blade he put on the machine, he didn't realise that the tooth spacing is uneven so the computer was set wrong. This meant that the tips were in the wrong position relative to the sharpening bit. As a result, most of the teeth ended up with the wrong profile on them (odd angles, points, etc). He didn't admit to it either, so it wasn't until I got it out of the packet some weeks/months later that I saw it.

After that, I got some cheap disposable blades that lasted me quite a while, but I came to the conclusion that the genuine Festool blades were a better option. I've recently bought a TS55-R (which obviously came with a new blade) and a Panther blade for it, plus a fine tooth blade for the Kapex. Eventually I will need some sharpening doing, but not for a while yet.

More recently I have made a point of cleaning the blades much more often than I used to, which has seemed to help increase the life of them significantly.

 

[jt073]

Thanks for all the input.  I have clearly been negligent on the sharpening front and will change blades much more frequently.  It is easy to just ignore it for too long.

I have my planer blades sharpened by Bedford Saw & Tool Co and they provide a good service, so I shall probably send the blades off to them.

Quite a few comments that Festool blades seem to last longer than others - I don't know why this is, as I guess they all use much the same material, but I agree that is my experience also.  BTW I saw an episode of How it's Made showing circular Sawblade mfg - it was a Leitz facility and it showed a Festool blade being etched, so I guess that's where they're made.

Also my experience with Festool jigsaw blades is that they are way superior to others.

Cheers

 

[John Bates]

Bedford Saw do mine, they also pointed out that the original Festool blade had unevenly spaced teeth that would have wrecked their machine if they hadn't been on the ball. What do you use to clean the blade?

 

[jt073]

Bedford Saw do mine, they also pointed out that the original Festool blade had unevenly spaced teeth that would have wrecked their machine if they hadn't been on the ball. What do you use to clean the blade?

I use CMT 2050 - comes in a spray bottle - and an old toothbrush.

Cheers

 

[joiner1970]

A little warning if the place that sharpens your blade coats them in rubber, like the stuff router cutters come covered in. Be careful I left this on my spare blades and put them in the insert in the sustainer. A few weeks later I noticed it had melted right through the insert god knows what's in that stuff.