THE WAY to dress saw blades
May 10, 2015 17:09:43 GMT -5
SirRoxalot, Fossilman, and 3 more like this
Post by mikeinsjc on May 10, 2015 17:09:43 GMT -5
I have a summer business in Montana where I sell the rocks I prep all winter. I cut seemingly a ton of slabs each season. The saws I use are an 18" Covington, two 24" Highland Parks and my new-but-not-used-yet 36" Frantom.
Over the years I have tried all the usual recommended ways of dressing blades. You know them- cut a red brick; no cut a concrete block; wait, cut old carborundum grinding wheels, or waste time and money on the nearly-useless white blocks they sell at rock shows.
If you are a carpenter, or have much experience using a Skilsaw you know how a dull blade works. The first indicator it is dull is the sound it makes. A sharp blade has a nice hum to it- a dull blade develops an ear-splitting screech as you plow it through the wood. If you persist in using it you find it wanders of the line marked on your board. Keep on, and it starts smoking.
Your slab saw acts pretty much the same. I can tell by the sound they make when the blades need dressing. The blades begin to create rougher cuts if you continue.
If you look at a new blade vs. a blade in need of dressing, you will notice an obvious difference. The new blade has squared off, sharp edges, while the dull blade is rounded. To restore the blade to its proper sharpness, you need to recreate that original profile. I have never figured how just cutting something harder, or cutting anything else, is supposed to do that.
Enter the great folks at Richardson Ranch, who turned me on to this procedure. Their method is cleaner, faster, cheaper and doesn't require the saw to even be plugged in. For this all you need is a 4" angle grinder and a Makita #741423B metal grinding wheel. Plus eye and ear protection and gloves- don't try doing it without them. If you cut a lot buy the wheels in a box of 25 on Amazon for about $35.
Hold the grinding wheel perpendicular to the blade with one hand rotate the blade with the other. In about ten seconds you will get the feel of it. The difference will become immediately apparent. Lightly grind the blade just until the square edge is restored. It takes me one wheel and about ten minutes to fully dress a dull 24" blade.
This method blows sharp pieces of hot grinding wheel everywhere, so I can't stress enough the importance of wearing proper protection. If you use this method you will never go back to anything else.
Over the years I have tried all the usual recommended ways of dressing blades. You know them- cut a red brick; no cut a concrete block; wait, cut old carborundum grinding wheels, or waste time and money on the nearly-useless white blocks they sell at rock shows.
If you are a carpenter, or have much experience using a Skilsaw you know how a dull blade works. The first indicator it is dull is the sound it makes. A sharp blade has a nice hum to it- a dull blade develops an ear-splitting screech as you plow it through the wood. If you persist in using it you find it wanders of the line marked on your board. Keep on, and it starts smoking.
Your slab saw acts pretty much the same. I can tell by the sound they make when the blades need dressing. The blades begin to create rougher cuts if you continue.
If you look at a new blade vs. a blade in need of dressing, you will notice an obvious difference. The new blade has squared off, sharp edges, while the dull blade is rounded. To restore the blade to its proper sharpness, you need to recreate that original profile. I have never figured how just cutting something harder, or cutting anything else, is supposed to do that.
Enter the great folks at Richardson Ranch, who turned me on to this procedure. Their method is cleaner, faster, cheaper and doesn't require the saw to even be plugged in. For this all you need is a 4" angle grinder and a Makita #741423B metal grinding wheel. Plus eye and ear protection and gloves- don't try doing it without them. If you cut a lot buy the wheels in a box of 25 on Amazon for about $35.
Hold the grinding wheel perpendicular to the blade with one hand rotate the blade with the other. In about ten seconds you will get the feel of it. The difference will become immediately apparent. Lightly grind the blade just until the square edge is restored. It takes me one wheel and about ten minutes to fully dress a dull 24" blade.
This method blows sharp pieces of hot grinding wheel everywhere, so I can't stress enough the importance of wearing proper protection. If you use this method you will never go back to anything else.