When you use a circular saw blade, it should be sharpened and stronger. When it is used, its sharpness and strength can be reduced. So it is important to know about its durability. So let’s see, how long can you use a circular saw blade, and how can we increase its lifespan?
Usually, Circular Saw Blades come with a one-year lifespan. You will notice that the sharpness of saw blades gradually gets weakened when you use them several times. The wear line of circular saws usually be like one-third of the thickness of the blade.
You should replace it when it becomes greater than half the thickness of the blade. Still, if you follow the right method when using blades, you will be able to maximize their durability even for a decade. In this article, we will be discussing 8 tips assisting you in maximizing the lifespan of a saw blade. So let’s Keep reading.
01. Use A Proper Saw Blade For Wood CuttingYou can find a wood cutting blade in two categories: construction blades and plywood blades.
Construction blades usually come up with excellent cutting blades and are designed with a tooth count between 20 to 40. They are ideal for basic carpenter tasks where you do not expect a smooth cutting.
Plywood blades are designed with high-speed steel (HSS) with a maximum of 160 small teeth. If your task requires a neat, clean finish on both sides of the workpiece, always choose plywood blades.
If you fail to choose the most appropriate blade for your workpiece, you will experience the blade getting stuck while you are working. This will leave burning marks on the wood material. Due to this reason, you will have to replace saw blades constantly.
Thus, if you want your circular saw blade to last a long time, use a proper blade that goes with the wood material. This will save your money in the long run because you will not have to replace your blade so often.
You must read this guide, Is it worth buying a circular saw? Will help you to buy a proper circular saw using my experience.
02. Use A Clean Saw Blade A Dirty Saw BladeA dirty blade will wear out quickly and will not deliver an efficient cut. Any dirty blade can perform well like a new blade if you clean it properly. Therefore, in every way, it is wise to clean a dirty blade rather than purchase a new one.
After using it for some time, saw blades get clogged and caked with rust and lignin. Particularly, when the blade is heated, lignin begins to secret out of the wood and get glued to the saw. Consequently, saw dust gets stuck on the blade, making it more difficult for you to cut edges cleanly, increasing friction and generating higher levels of heat. More than that below problems will occur due to the dirty saw blade.
This accelerates the dulling process, widening the cutting path and you will see burning marks on the cutting edges. These 12 Reasons Will Cause to Burn Wood While Sawing
Subsequently, in order to protect saw blades from such situations, make sure that you clean your saw blade once a week by soaking it in caustic oven cleaners.
Remember, most of the other saw blade cleaning varieties and bit cleaners do not remain wet for a sufficient soaking time. Due to this reason, they fail to ease residue from the blade.
Sawdust accumulates on everything nearby, causing the saw to go out of alignment. Every time you finish cutting wood with your saw, make sure that you clean off all the debris using a brush. Apply some oil to keep the blade from rusting. This method benefits you to have saw blades that last longer.
03. Use A Well-Sharp Saw BladeA sharp blade is one of the most important things when it comes to sawing. A well-sharpened circular saw blade always delivers smooth and excellent cuts. Make sure that you do not use dull blades as they cause trouble, rough cutting, and can cause hazardous situations. To avoid these circumstances, you can either replace or re-sharp dull blades.
Sharpen your saw blades regularly using a file when you feel it is getting dull. Run your saw blade through the edge of the file at the same angle till it is finely sharpened. Nonetheless, you can not expect a re-sharpened blade to perform as similarly as a new saw blade.
04. Use Suitable RPMWhen you increase the RPM, the cutting will more rapidly accumulate a lot of chips between the teeth of the blade. This may cause a lot of splintering and burning marks on the workpiece. If this happens, you will need a new blade more often. That is why it is important to cut with the right RPM.
The following table displays the maximum RPM according to the saw blade diameter.
When you increase the RPM, the cutting will more rapidly accumulate a lot of chips between the teeth of the blade. This may cause a lot of splintering and burning marks on the workpiece. If this happens, you will need a new blade more often. That is why it is important to cut with the right RPM.
The following table displays the maximum RPM according to the saw blade diameter.
Saw Blade DiameterYou can easily sharpen dull saw blades on your own simply by using a file. Stainless steels can get easily sharpened while carbide-tipped blades are a bit harder to sharpen if they do not have a diamond wheel. It would be wise to get this type of blade sharpened by a professional.
If you are going to sharpen a saw blade by yourself, make sure that you remove it from the saw. You can remove the blade by loosening the bolts using a wrench if the blade release switch is not available.
➤ When sharpening a dull blade, secure it well using a vice grip. Clamp the saw blade facing upwards and teeth facing the user.
➤ To avoid any bending, do not tighten the vice too much.
➤ Then, mark the starting tooth using a tape or a marker to prevent the blade from double sharpening,
➤ Hold the file smoothly against the tooth at a 20° angle according to the bevel applying even pressure. Run the file in 4 sleeky strokes on the bevel.
➤ Repeat the same process for the next tooth as well, making sure to apply the same amount of pressure. After sharpening all the teeth, remove the circular saw blade from the vice clamp and flip-side.
Next, you have to make sure that all the teeth are even without burrs by trimming.
After sharpening the blade, remove it from the vice grip and clean if there is any dirt.
07. Use A Slower Feeding RateFeed rate is considered the measure of how much speed a circular blade goes through the workpiece?.
It is a well-known fact that when you saw with a high feed rate, you can finish the job faster. Some works require a high feeding rate, but too much speed can harm the workpiece. Most of the time, the higher the feed rate, the rougher and splinter will be the work. Besides, there will be tooling marks and burning patches.
A slow feed rate, particularly with a lot of tooth count, furnishes a neat cutting compared to a high feeding rate.
Remember, various saws have specific feeding rates according to the material they are used on. Therefore, exceeding the feed rate may dull blades before the estimated lifespan. If you often notice saw blades begin to dull or require replacements, check whether the feed rate is too high.
The following Saw Blade Feed rate formula will assist you in getting the accurate cutting rate for your cutting operation.
Saw blades get wobbled when they are not tightened up properly. Moreover, too much tightened saw blades cause rough cuttings, damaging your blade, which can highly affect the durability of the saw.
When tightening the saw blade, always be vigilant to unplug it.
Saw blades that have not tightened up properly can cause many hazardous situations. So, do not forget to check the blade regularly, testing whether the saw blade has tightened up properly.
If you are not confident enough, it is wise to get the saw blade tightened up by a professional.
Related Topic
If you have any questions on 14 Inch Concrete Saw Blade, Y-Turbo Saw Blade. We will give the professional answers to your questions.