Touching Up Saw Blades - Harbor Freight Saw Blade Sharpener
ฝัง
- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 26 ก.ย. 2021
- 2:24 Setting up the machine
5:48 Mounting a blade
10:36 Touching up saw teeth
12:42 The results
Nick reviews an inexpensive "circular saw blade sharpener" from Harbor Freight/Central Machinery'. While this little machine is no where near sturdy enough to do precision sharpening or restore the symmetry of your blades, it does a decent job of "touching up" -- that is, lightly sharpening the teeth and restoring their keen edges. This will not eliminate to need to have your blades professionally ground from time to time, but it will greatly extend the time between these expensive sessions.
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#circular #table #saw #blade #sharpening #woodworking #DIY #howto #tool #tools #review
The best part of this video for me was: "Inspect the tooth's surface and make sure there are scratches all across the cutting face. If not, select one of your colorful words to best express your disappointment, and re-adjust the position of the blade. This may take several days". I can't remember the last time I laughed so hard! That was a good one Orv!
Yep, exquisite summary. I sure don't have the restraint or vocabulary to make that point..
Thanks folks. I'm here all week.
"mostly blue [words]." love it!
@@bluemalamute Th#nks.
I completely agree with you. Love this guy for that easy going wit.
I was a little worried about installing the blade after reading a couple of reviews. But it was amazingly easy. Took about 1 minute. Works great th-cam.com/users/postUgkxjpBI8OOeUXib_iT7UomCrQ-uauwZJ62c . Cuts easily and is perfect for pocket cuts I needed to make for replacing some old deck boards.
Thanks for the tip with the oven cleaner. Works great.
Outstanding video. You provided a very realistic review of the pros and limits of this tool. I appreciate your time.
Thanks for taking the time to learn about the product and making this video - very thorough and informative. I bought this a couple weeks ago (returned an awful belt sander and then just paid an extra $15 to give it a shot) and now I feel confident enough I’ll end up actually getting some use out of it. I have a small handyman business so I go through enough blades that it was worth a shot to see if it could either rejuvenate a stack of blades I have, or at least lengthen time for new ones.
Most welcome.
I throughly enjoy your way of breaking down everything! Great video sir 👍🏻
“Mounting a blade for the first time is an exercise that requires an extensive vocabulary of colorful words, mostly blue.”
That is one of my favorite TH-cam quotes ever. Great stuff; thank you,
“If not, select one of your colorful words to best express your disappointment and readjust the position of the blade. This may take several days.”
Second best quote.
Hey what a great video! You answered many questions I had regarding that very tool. Thank you so much as you have made my decision much clearer. Being a small home shop, I do not plan to build any rockets or watches, so I think this would work fine for me. When I sent my Forrest blade out for sharpening a year ago, it cost about $50 not including shipping. Two sharpening's and I could just buy a new blade. Very expensive! It wouldn't take long for the sharpener to pay for itself. Thank you so much for your help. By the way, I have many of your books and enjoy them!
Heavens to Murgatroyd, some kind words from someone who still reads! Thank you, sir, you have made my day.
Just caught this video. I love your comment: half the fun of owning a Harbor Freight tool is redesigning it so it does what it's supposed to do the way you want it too.
With that then; next time you clean a saw blade, chain saw blade, etc; use carburetor cleaner. Your life will be ever changed for the better!
Couple comments on a very good vijayo. In settings up the machine I started by tossing all guards in the f#*#-it bucket. Then replaced the fasteners holding and controlling the motor feed with appropriate shoulder bolts. Spring washers work really well for shims.
Next, and this a feature, not a fault because it tests the mindset. Fail this...,,, Stay on the porch ! If your nut loosens during the blade rotation phase stop everything, gather your thoughts, firmly grasp said nut, unscrew completely and disassemble down to the spring. Now the tough part. Rotate said spring 180 degrees. Top down, bottom up and reassemble. Good to go
Hi Nick ... probably the best review of this tool that I've seen to date. You just happened to answer all the questions I had about it. I always wondered that if a touch of common sense mixed with an understanding of blade anatomy and a touch of finesse would allow this tool a place in one's shop. Thanks for not turning you nose up at the opportunity to give this tool an honest shot at it's potential.
Cheers to you my friend ... dave
Thanks for the kind words. Cheers back.
Excellent tutorial. I’ve stood in front of this tool many times. Never pulled the trigger. Thanjs
This is the first time I’ve ever heard of cleaning a saw blade. Thanks!
Most welcome.
I live in Central Washington. I needed some blades sharpened, so I went to the trusty internet. Nobody close sharpens blades. Burns Tools does. They do a really good job. When I worked in Rhode Island Burns was a great choice. I know them personally; they had a pickup and delivery service from their store in Fall River Massachusetts. If you check the map, you will notice that Fall River is 3000 miles away. So, I went to my local Harbor Freight and bought the sharpener you are showing.
Don't bother with the instruction manual, just put it in a drawer somewhere. Then watch 3 or 4 of these setup videos and give it your best shot. I was able to do three blades in about 10 minutes. That is a savings of $45, the same as the price of the machine. I don't have a Saw Stop or a Powermatic. I have a Rigid with 10-inch blades and a Hitachi with 8 1/4 blades. I know what a sharp blade looks like and feels like. Win Win.
It's the hairy, pudgy fingered 60 minutes correspondent. Quite a bit of work must have gone into organizing that expose, very instructive, thank you.
Great video! I like using the blade cleaner sold by CMT. It's effective and not expensive. It's also a lot less harsh than the oven cleaner.
Well done and great demonstration! 👍👍😉😉👏👏
Hello! Thank You for sharing your great thoughts! Harbor Freight should give you a gift card and a free membership for your help! I bought a Harbor Freight sharpener for chain saw blades 3 years ago and kept staring at the box on the shelf until I dug into it last year. I saw another TH-cam video on setting it up. I used the instructions in the box with the tips from the video and I was very pleased with the results. After sharpening 3 chain saw blades, I realized the machine almost paid for itself. Guys, you said it best! I just barely touched off each tooth and I was amazed at the difference that made. I just found your videos during the holidays and you're stuck with another viewer! Nick and Travis, Thank You Both so very much for all you share! I am grateful!
Thanks for saying.
Very interesting.
And yes, I too have discovered how much better a cleaned blade cuts.
I say, we’ll done.👍👍🤜🤛
Great evaluation. Thanks.
Another great video. I love the almost subliminal wisecracks towards Harbour Freight tools. Lol. Also “finesse is what makes a craftsman” is something I will love repeating. Well said.
Thanks.
Nick, I’ve had one of those for many years and use it often to “touch up” the teeth on my saw blades! It definitely is persnickety and requires some precise fiddling with, but works very well when it is finally set up. The use of that special vocabulary and the frustration of adjusting one part requires readjustment of another. Haha I usually sharpen all the blades in my shop when I pull this out and set it up. Anyway, I thinks it’s worth the money if you’re a diy fix it yourself type of person.
I would add, "a DIY-fix-it-yourself type of person with time, patience, and an extra blade you can afford to lose while you shake hands with this persnickety little machine."
Very useful information. Thank you for sharing your experience and gained nights from this machine.
You're most welcome for saying so.
My wife bought me this tool for my birthday this month. I have to say that everything you just outlined in this video is spot on.
I did not know to clean my blades with oven cleaner. I used a dermil with a wire brush.
As always, good job with your video.
Thanks.
Thank you for standing on the base principles of square, stright, level and perpendicular. Add in Pharrell, sturdy, accuracy and finesse. Well thanks for your wise observations and conclusions.
Most welcome.
Nicely done ✅
Nice review on the sawblade sharpener thanks for sharing. Have you thought about showing how you do it by hand?I look forward to hear from you by for now Kim
Yes it is somewhat unstable in stock form, however with some simple machining you can greatly enhance the stability. Also you can either modify those problemed arms you are talking about with shoulder bolts or such, problem solved. I don't think I have any tool that I haven't modified somewhat in the shop. Have a protable bandsaw sawmill and have a modified chainsaw blade sharpener to sharpen the bandsaw bade.
I wonder how much just cleaning off the pitch would of done to improve the cut quality, love the video and thought process. I am now subscirbed
Toucher Upper, love that...just found your channel and subscribed...cheers from Florida, Paul
Welcome.
Excellente my friend..
Excellent. Thank you very much. Subscribed.
You're welcome...and welcome!
I watch every one of your videos, regardless of whether I think I know the subject (woodworker for 45 plus years and still making mistakes every day) as your humour greatly enchants me. Actually, I always learn something from each of your videos.
A similar jig costs about £95 over here in the UK (Sealey on Amazon). I get all my blades sharpened at JJ Dooley in Faversham Kent; really excellent in terms of quality and service but I pay way less than the $55 (£40?) that another responder quoted. I do bundle up several blades (table saw, track saw and planer) for Dooley to collect one week and normally return the following week.
At those prices (machine and professional service) I don’t feel the need to touch up blades mid way through their life. Others may do for their own reasons and that’s great for them. Personally, I prefer to have experts do their jobs whilst the amateur efficiently turns expensive timber into fire wood.
Locally, we have already lost one saw blade business because the owner wanted to retire and couldn’t find anyone who wanted to take the business on. I do feel that unless we use these fairly niche businesses, we will lose them completely; that would be a shame and very inconvenient.
I would also say a few words about the quality of the blades you buy. I know it’s not easy for many but buy the best blades that you can; my experience is that they will serve you much better than a cheap blade and will actually work out cheaper in the long run.
If you can, buy several blades for any saw you have. One for rip cuts and one for cross cuts; one with up near 80 teeth and one with far fewer teeth; one with flat bottomed grind and the other with normal angle grind. You might well have to build up the collection of these blades over some time because good ones are an investment, but I recommend that should be your aim.
Finally, perhaps, I would give a recommendation for table saw sanding discs. I bought mine from Mike Farmington although I know that there are others. I went with Mikes because of the camber set into the blade which reduces burn to, well, I haven’t had any. Again, not cheap to buy but they are a very efficient way to sand smoothly and accurately long pieces of timber.
Thanks for sharing. We have similar problems here. In fact, the only reason I bought this tool is that our blade sharpener retired and all the other sharpening services nearby suck dead toads. I'm hoping to find someone who knows what he's doing, but in the meantime I can at least touch up my saws.
enjoyed review you said the base flexes but there are holes to mount the machine which would stop flexing also find people complain about its cheap machine but in Australia it costs around $130.00 dollars the the next machine from this is around $1200,00 so i am prepared to spend a little time making this tool better
Thank you love your videos.
Most welcome.
Even in the video you can see the whole grinding motor move around. It just isn't stable enough to give consistent cutting.
Here is what I do. I remove the finger spring completely...don't even use it. Next I mount the blade, and align the blade in the right position to make a flat grind on the tooth. Next I adjust the movement collar on the machine to prevent too deep of a cut, then I put the blade into POSITION to cut and slightly apply pressure on the blade itself to make contact with the wheel. Repeat around the saw blade. Since a very slight touch is needed to sharpen, you can use your eyes and ears to see how you are doing...and if you have a cheaper blade where the finger clicker "thinks" the blade is aligned rather than accepting the clicker is right, you never over grind the blade. Each tooth has been sharpened regardless of what place the tip in the blade has been welded. The whole slide carriage is flimsy and literally can torque the machine to touch a blade tip or not touch it just by torqueing the whole unit one way or the other. So yes you can sharpen but not as nearly precise enough to do as this video describes. Examine the blade after grinding and in time you should just toss the blade and buy a new one. You should be able to sharpen a blade a dozen times before it is done. Another note is cleaning the blade as stated is way under advised. A sticky blade doesn't cut very well. Clean them up with solvent and they will always work better.
"this may take several days"
can't say how much I appreciate your honesty 😆
Well done. I've seen quite a few YT videos demonstrating this machine by YT content producers who I strongly doubt know what a sharp, good quality blade is. It's very interesting to see it done by someone I trust knows what they are talking about.
My best guess is that the highest and best use for this machine is to touch up disposable blades of the type you would be very unlikely to have professionally sharpened. Those in the $20-$40 range where the cost of the sharpening is nearly as much as a new blade or the carbide is so thin a true full re-sharpen is not possible. In this case the plausible risk of ruining the blade is low compared to the plausible gain of improving the cut.
Thanks for the kind words, Thomas. I have mostly Amana and FS Tool industrial-quality blades; and see no problem touching them up on this machine between sharpenings. In fact, I bought this machine because my sharpener retired and I haven't yet been able to find someone I trust with a good blade. The machine will work for the entire spectrum of blades. The key, as you pointed out, is knowing what you're doing.
@@WorkshopCompanion Great points. I don't have access to convenient and cost effective sharpening either. And I have ALMOST purchased this machine at least 47 times. Very tempting.
@@woodshopnerdery As you can see by some of the comments, it's touchy. You can't manhandle it; you have to maintain a light, consistent pressure for each tooth. I had to sacrifice two old blades to it just to figure out a procedure that would make it work. If you do buy this thing, don't start with a blade that has been in the family for a long time.
@@WorkshopCompanion I did review the other comments, they are about the same mix as any other video on this tool. Like I said, I've watched quite a few carbide circular saw blade sharpening videos in pursuit of a solution. The general consensus is that a polish to the face of the carbide can be achieve, without spoiling the face angle, with practice and liberal application of finesse. Also, within the general consensus, is that there is not sufficient mechanism to guarantee that the face of any tooth will not be under-ground or over-ground. And there is no mechanism to polish the top of the tooth.
I assume that under-grinding the face of a small number of teeth would be the most harmful to a good cut. Because the tooth's top slopes away from the outer circumference, under-grinding a tooth would leave it TALLER than the other teeth. This would place most of the cutting burden on a few teeth that would always run hot and dull quickly.
I see other systems running from the low 200 dollar range to the 500 dollar range. If this video does well for you, perhaps you would consider making a video doing a "paper" review of the specifications of these more expensive units. I would appreciate hearing your take on what kind of investment would be needed for the home shop to be self sufficient in sharpening.
My first thought on the adjustment was.. I would be there for hours.... Days is the right idea
I use the emery blade to sharpen the top of the tooth. I move the machine 10 degrees with the butt of the motor sticking up. This position does the teeth pointing down. Then move 10 degrees the other way with the butt of the motor down. This will do your blades stick up. Then move on with the diamond blade as you showed here.
Thanks for sharing.
One extra comment if I may. Many years ago I believe I gleaned this tip from Wood Magazine. I used to soak my saw blades overnight by laying them in a frisbee and covering them with Formula 409. The next day or two, I'd take a tooth brush and clean them up. What a difference! Then, I'd save the 409 in a jar and keep it for future cleanings. It works well on router bits too so I just dropped them in the jar. Best Wishes!
Thanks for sharing.
👍
lol, I love how politely you let harbor freight know there tools need better engineering.
I own 2 miter saws, a Festool Kapex and a Chicago - no one touches the Kapex, the Chicago is for anyone who wants to borrow my tools
Hi Nick I’ve had one of these for years mostly because saw sharpeners don’t exist were I live deep in Kent ( uk ) and yes all you have said is spot on but the machine has another fantastic function, it’s not to be done by the faint hearted. I remove the guard from the body work leaving the blade exposed and with practice you can offer up almost all router cutter to the side of the blade and you now have much butter cutting edges
I can see how that would work. I personally touch up my carbide router bits on the corner of a diamond stone. It doesn't take too long to do by hand, and I can remain comfortably faint-hearted.
@@WorkshopCompanion 👍😂
I like your videos. This one caught me eye because I think it might offer a solution to a minor problem. And i really appreciate the tips on getting Harbor Freight tools to kinda-sorta work. Didn't think it was possible! However, I do have on comment. Why does it look like you're going to beat that sweet little dog with a hammer at the beginning of the video. Poor thing is terrified!
Just wondering, would adding a blade stabilizer plate improve the grinding?
I recently resharpened my evolution metal cutting blade freehand with angle grinder. Now it cuts metal again.
I believe sir if you thought about it you could most likely build something to help stabilize that machine to make it even more functional. I believe in your craftsmanship.
I appreciate your confidence, but this particular machine would need to be rebuilt to make it more stable. Best just use it as is for touch-up.
Není třeba nastavit úhel - sklon při broušení zubů? Polovina zubů má úhel "+" a polovina " - " . Vy máte nastavený pravý úhel...
one question on this if it may help stablize the blade. Can a stiffner backer plate be used like on a tablesaw for thin blades???
No. The blade is mounted horizontally on a post, and it's both the diameter of and height of the post above the base that makes the blade unstable. You would either have to add a more substantial post, reinforce the post, or reduce the height of the post. And that's not to only problem; there are others that need to be addressed before this could be considered an accurate sharpening system. I find that the quickest way home is to use some finesse and only depend on the tool for touch-up.
🛠
“This may take several days.”
5:23 just super glue a bubble thingy level , what are they like .50
5:41 Bahahahahaha! Greatest Harbor Freight joke I’ve ever heard! I better go grab some HF toys!
Gotta love Harbor Freight - the Aldi’s of tool stores! I see this machine is on clearance right now, I’m kind of thinking about jumping in the old jalopy and going in search of one of these bad boys before they are all gone 👍🏻
one must be aware of the dangers of tungsten carbide, the stuff the teeth are made of, it is dangerous to sharpen without proper protection, the dust will not only cut your lungs up, but it contains heavy metals that will poison you over time.
if you must sharpen blades, please wear the proper respirator cartridges and do it outside.
and look up the CDC warning and dangers of this material
if you bolt it down well can it be made more precise?
No. It's very flimsy. And there is no way to set a precise hook or skew angle, no fine adjustment for positioning, no way to feed the grinding wheel to take off a precise amount of carbide or steel. You could rebuild this thing out of inch-thick titanium and bolt it to the bedrock, and it would still be imprecise. It's all feel.
what is the hole diameter for the diamond blade for the sharpener, thanks
1/2", I believe.
Please dont do this more than once before you head to the saw guy/gal ,It will touch up only 1 of several facets that do need to be addressed . I also found the WEN brand on Amzn to be the best blade I have bought . The great thing is it's less than 25 for a 12 or 10 inch 80 tooth and it cuts better than the $$$$ blades that are Red & Orange .Great YTV tip !
I went out and got one of these a few years ago and now it resides in the land fill. The diamond wheel is way too course for my standards. I don't understand how you can, with a straight face, claim it gives good enough results. If a rough carpenter needs to "touch up" their 7 1/4 skill saw blade cause all they do is cut dimensional lumber and plywood, then this is for them.
When you set the limiter to one of the teeth, you will at some point reach the tooth you grinded first, which is therefore missing a bit of material.
Wouldn't it be better if you instead set the limiter to touch the bottom so you don't run into that problem?
Doesn't quite work that way. The limiter, or blade stop, cannot easily be adjusted to contact the gullet (bottom?) before it contacts the tooth.
@@WorkshopCompanion I see.
Well, I am happy with my machine. It has saved me a lot of money.
I have made a jig to sharpen my 1000mm blade.
One sharpening is $125, the machine is $80.
Next project will be to try if I can set it up for bandsaw blades, make a jig for that too, I have quite a few 190" blades that are getting worn out. They are a bit expensive.
@@gsp911 True that. Hadn't considered that this thing could be adapted for band saw blades, but you're right. All it would take is a fixture to hold them.
WD-40 gel is also a good crust remover without the toxicity of an oven cleaner
just let it soak overnight
Good tip. PB Blaster and ordinary kerosene also works if you don't want to mess with the lye in oven cleaner.
Seems like I've been able to soak them in just water for a few minutes. Maybe there's a species of wood I'm not cutting that leaves pitch requiring the use of a powerful solvent. But for pine, hickory, maple, red oak, poplar, and random foreign plywood, even just water alone has usually been easy enough in like 30 minutes. Overnight? Ain't nobody got time for that! I just stick some wood scrap in the bottom of a $3 oil pan that can be bought from autozone, and between each blade. Then I can soak and then wash several at a time.
If you're in a real hurry, you can use lacquer thinner. It immediately loosens solidified pitch if you can agitate it before it evaporates. It's bad for you and it's more expensive, so I don't usually do that.
It's not toxic, just corrosive. Once washed off, there are no lingering effects or buildup. It's the active ingredient in lye bath soap.
At the 5:45 mark you said, "....these Harbor Freight "Central Machinery" tools?" You mean Chicago Electric.....which is the HF brand, right?
Central Machinery is one of the HF brands, along with US General, Chicago Electric, Central Pneumatic, Driilmaster, and more. Multiple brands seems to be all the rage these days at the big box stores. For example, Menard's has Masterforce, Performax, Grip Fast, and others. Getting hard to tell the players without a scorecard.
Indonesian subtitles
6:05 Azure. Aqua. Navy. Sea. Sky. Cerulian. Light. Dark. Grey. Am I. Mr.
Hi from England 👍.I bought the Sealey version of this machine and *"cked up 2 blades before getting rid of it. Very flimsy and inaccurate machines are not worth the money.I would not recommend one of these to anyone.
Mine it payed for itself in the first 3 blades I sharpened