Here is the original blog post over at Lumberjocks.com
Spring is here and the itch to get back in the shop is biting. First things first though and the first of the first things is cleaning up. It’s a wonder how much a mess the shop can get in even when I’m not actively working in it. One of the many things due to be cleaned are my table saw blades. Here’s how I do it:
First get some Simple Green Pro HD, not the regular green stuff, the purple stuff. Rumor has it the green stuff is hard on the brazing but the purple is ok. I don’t have proof of this other than what I “read on the internet” so take it with a grain of salt. I don’t know if Simple Green hurts the blade or not but it does get the crud off. Another advantage of Simple Green is that is doesn’t smell horrible. I cleaned my blades in the house in the kitchen without choking out everyone in the house like some cleaners can do.
Next get a brass bristle brush. I use the cheap kind from Harbor Freight.
You’ll need a container to soak the blades in cleaner. I used the tupperware lid from one of my sweethearts serving bowls.
Finally gather up your dirty blades.
Next comes time and elbow grease. I place each blade in the cleaner for maybe a minute and then start scrubbing gently with the brass brush.
After scrubbing gently until all of the crud is gone rinse the blade well. After rinsing make sure to dry the blade and double dry it. You don’t want to leave any water to end up rusting.
After your blades are clean and shiny now is a good time to check the teeth for missing or chipped carbide. You can see on this ripper a couple of chipped teeth. Probably time got get this one sharpened.
After cleaning my blades I usually put each one in my saw and spin it up to speed and let it run for 30 seconds. On the off chance any teeth are loose now is a good time to find out. I stand to the side and spin each blade listening for anything out of place. Running them up to speed also makes sure any remaining water is spun off.