Table saws are beneficial equipment that can make a variety of cuts. Table saws use specialized blades to make these varied cuts. But, with continued usage, their blades become dull. Fortunately, you can sharpen your table saw blades!
You can either use a professional service or do it yourself at home to sharpen your blade. To sharpen your own blade, first, remove the dulled blade from your table saw. In its place, you’ll install a diamond blade to your table saw to sharpen the blunt blade.
Maintaining the sharpness of your table saw blades is crucial for optimal performance and longevity. In this article, we’ll delve into the art of table saw blade sharpening and guide you on how to sharpen table saw blades at home. By understanding the essentials of blade maintenance, you can effectively enhance the lifespan of your table saw blades. Let’s explore the steps and tips to ensure a smooth and efficient table saw blades sharpening process, enabling you to make the most out of your equipment.
Can You Really Sharpen Table Saw Blades?
Whether you’re a self-proclaimed DIY expert or a professional woodworker, a table saw is one of the most useful tools you can have in your arsenal. Most stationary table saws have a flat work surface and a rotary saw blade used to cut wood.
A table saw is a must-have if you want to cut big pieces of wood into pieces that are easier to work with for your projects. This tool is surprisingly flexible and lets you make cuts quickly and easily. Your table saw can be used for many things, like ripping, cross-cutting, dado cuts, bevel cuts, cutting rabbets, and cutting joints.
However, to perform these various cuts, the relevant blade your table saw is utilizing will need to be adequately sharp. A blade that has been used for a long time and has become dull will make the work look sloppy and unprofessional. To avoid this, you need to ensure your saw’s blade is sharp.
Luckily, there are certain signs you can look out for when using your table saw that will indicate your blade has become dull. We’ll look at those signs in a moment, but let’s consider the bottom line first. If the signs indicate your blade is no longer sufficiently sharp, will you be able to sharpen your blade, or will you need to replace it?
While you might eventually need to replace your table saw’s blade, it is completely possible to sharpen your blade! By regularly and safely sharpening your saw’s blade, you’ll ensure that you don’t shorten the lifespan of your tool by using dull blades. This will ultimately help you get more out of your investment.
When it comes down to actually sharpening your table saw’s blade, there are many ways you can go about doing this. In this article, we’ll look at the different ways you can sharpen your blade. But before we move on, you need to know when to sharpen the blade of your saw.
To do this, you’ll need to know more about how a dull table saw blade looks and acts. If you know how to spot these signs, you’ll be able to sharpen your blade when you need to. This will keep your woodcuts neat and professional.
When Should You Sharpen Your Table Saw Blades?
The blade of a table saw can be sharpened, but it’s important to know when to do this. You can look out for a number of signs and symptoms that will tell you when it’s time to sharpen your table saw blade. Let’s get going so you can start getting better.
Indications That Your Table Saw Blade Needs Sharpening:
#1: Using Your Saw Takes More Time and Effort:
As you use your table saw more and more, you’ll get a sense of how it works and what it can do. But if you start to notice that using your table saw takes more effort or takes longer than it used to, it could be because the blade is dull.
Because you have to use more force to get the right cut with a dull table saw blade, it could even cause an accident. If you find it harder and harder to cut with your table saw, it’s probably time to sharpen the blade.
#2: Your Blade’s Sound and Speed Change:
As the blade on your table saw loses its edge, so to speak, you may notice changes in how it sounds and how fast it moves. If the blade has worn down over time, you will have to work harder to use the table saw, and the sound and speed of the blade will show that this is the case.
The less sharp your table saw’s blade is, the harder it will be to cut. This makes the blade turn more slowly. The more dull your blade is, the slower it will spin. This will cause more friction to build up. You could even burn out the motor of your table saw this way.
A dull blade that is hard to spin and cut with will make a different sound than a blade that is sharp enough. This change in sound might be hard for people who aren’t used to it to hear. By listening to a sharpened blade in action, you will be able to tell when your blade’s sound changes in the future.
#3: A Difference in the Quality of Your Cuts You Can See:
As we’ve already talked about, a dull blade will cause friction to build up. This happens when your table saw meets the piece of wood you’re cutting. In turn, this leads to cuts that look rough and unprofessional.
In fact, if the blade on your table saw is dull, it can chip your wood or leave burn marks on it. So, a dull blade can make the final product not as good as it could be. Luckily, you can avoid this by making sure the blade you use is sharp enough. Let’s look at how you can sharpen your blade!
Is it Worth It to Sharpen Table Saw Blades?
Now that we’ve established that your table saw’s blade can be sharpened and that you can tell when it’s getting dull, it’s time to ask another important question. Does it make sense to sharpen the blade on your table saw? Oh, it depends!
If you use your table saw for DIY projects and buy cheaper blades, it might be easier to just buy a new one when the old one gets dull. In this case, it wouldn’t be worth the time or money to sharpen a cheap blade.
But if you’re using more expensive blades, it will be worth it to sharpen them, whether you do it yourself or hire a service to do it. If you use high-quality blades, it would be better to sharpen them instead of replacing them. This will let you get the most out of the money you spent on a good table saw blade.
As a general rule, you should replace table saw blades that cost less than $50 when you first bought them. On the other hand, blades that cost more than this, especially those that cost more than $100, should be sharpened and kept in good shape.
At the end of the day, you’ll have to spend time and money on sharpening or replacing your blades. Because of this, you should always compare how much it costs to sharpen a blade to how much it costs to replace it. By doing this, you will be able to make the best decision for your woodworking needs.
If you’ve looked at the blade of your table saw and decided it needs to be sharpened instead of replaced, there are many ways to do this. Keep reading as we break down the different ways you can sharpen the blade on your table saw!
How are Table Saw Blades Sharpened?
You have two main choices when it comes to sharpening your table saw blades: hire a professional or do it yourself. The path you choose will depend on a number of things, like how good your blade is, how much time you have, and how much money you’re willing to spend.
Let’s look at the first and easiest choice, which is to hire a professional. Even though this method is more expensive, it is the best choice for blades that are not just dull. For example, over time, the teeth on your blade can bend, making it harder to sharpen yourself at home.
There are different factors that will determine the cost of getting a blade sharpened by a professional. The size of your blade, the number of teeth it has, and any damage it has incurred from usage will play an important role in the cost of getting your blade professionally sharpened.
As mentioned above, it’s crucial that you weigh the cost of getting a blade sharpened versus replacing the blade. In the end, this will tell you which option is best for you. Of course, you don’t have to replace your blade or pay someone to sharpen it for you.
To do this, you’ll need a diamond saw blade. You can find this online or at a hardware store near you. You can use this blade to sharpen your table saw blades in the future. Let’s look at how easy it is to do this in 6 steps.
How to Sharpen Table Saw blades by Hand in 6 Steps:
Step 1: Make Sure You’re Safe:
Before you start to sharpen the blade on your table saw, you should put on safety glasses, a face mask or shield, safety gloves, and earmuffs to protect your ears. You must also make sure that your table saw is turned off and unplugged.
Step 2: Take the Dulled Blade off:
To sharpen the blade on your table saw, you’ll need to take it off. You can’t sharpen the blade while it’s still in the table saw because there’s no way to keep it in place while you sharpen it. You can either loosen the arbour nut on your table saw with a wrench or use a switch to remove the blade. This will depend on the table saw you have!
Step 3: Putting the Diamond Blade in Place:
The next step in sharpening is to attach the diamond blade, which will be used to sharpen your dull blade. To put this on, you’ll have to do the opposite of what you did in the last step when you took the blade off. To fix the diamond blade in place, you can either use the release switch or the arbor nut.
Step 4: Get Your Blade Sharp:
Once you’ve put your diamond blade in your table saw and tightened it down, you’re almost ready to sharpen your dull blade. But you need to check the teeth on your dull blade before you turn on the table saw with the diamond blade attached.
If all of the teeth on a blade that needs to be sharpened point in the same direction, you’ll only need to make one pass to sharpen it. But if the blades point in more than one direction, you’ll need to do one pass for each direction.
As soon as you know this, you’re ready to turn on the table saw. You want to bring the teeth of the saw blade up to the diamond blade while the diamond blade is spinning. When you do this, you want to make sure that the diamond blade touches the inside edges of the teeth on your dull blade. This will make sure that your blade is sharp enough.
You will need to do this for each tooth on your blunt blade. After you’ve done all of this, you’ll have a sharpened blade that’s ready to use!
Step 5: Take the Diamond Blade Off:
When you’re done sharpening the dull blade(s), you can turn the table saw off again. To remove the diamond blade, you’ll need to use the table saw’s release switch or loosen the arbor nut. You can then put it away until the next time you need to sharpen a blade.
Step 6: Putting the Blade That Has Been Sharpened On:
The last step is to put your blade back on after sharpening it. To mount the blade, you will need to use the table saw’s release switch or arbor. This is the same process as in Step 3, where you attached the diamond blade to your table saw.
How to Take Care of Your Table Saw Blades:
Sharpening is just one part of keeping your blade in good shape. You should clean your table saw blades often to keep them in good shape and make them last longer. By keeping your blade clean, you’ll actually need to sharpen it less often.
You will need to buy the right kind of cleaner to clean your table saw blades. You don’t want a cleaning product that will make your blades rust. Citrus-based cleaners are the best way to clean the blades on your table saw.
Once you’ve mixed your cleaning agent with water, you’ll need to let your blade soak in the solution for 15 minutes. After that, you can use a soft wire to clean your blade. When you clean your blade’s teeth, you should pay close attention.
After you’ve cleaned your blade, you can rinse it off and let it dry. By keeping your blade in good shape by cleaning and sharpening it, you can make sure you get the most out of it.
Bottom Line: How to Sharpen a Table Saw Blade
Blades on table saws get dull from being used over and over again. A diamond blade can be used to sharpen these blades, which is good news. By sharpening a table saw blade, you can make sure that it will last longer and always make clean cuts. Cleaning and sharpening table saw blades are important maintenance tasks that will help your blades last as long as possible.
FAQ’s: How To Sharpen a Table Saw Blades
What to Do with a Used Blade For a Table Saw?
At some point, your saw blades will need to be sharpened or thrown away. Saw blades can be sharpened at home or by a professional, but you can also recycle them if you no longer need them.
Since they are made of steel, any place that recycles metal should be able to take them.
How Do You Paint an Old Saw Blade?
After you’ve cleaned the saw blade well, let it dry. Put on a layer of metal primer and let it dry. It doesn’t matter if you paint it on or spray it on.
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