circular saw sharpening

[bedway]

Has anyone else bought the harbour freight sharpener?

[texbob]

I bought one a while back and it is still in the box. It was on sale and I just couldn't resist. If and when I get my shop done I will try it out. By that time you should have it all figured out. Sorry I can't help.

[bedway]

The reason i asked is i bought one a few weeks ago. I see a lot of mixed reviews on harbor freight stuff. Some of the things are junk, or maybe one step above. I have to admit im very impressed with what it does for the minimal investment. http://www.harborfreight.com/120-volt-circular-saw-blade-sharpener-96687.html Ive been in the woodworking game for many years and id like to share with you what ive found works best for me. I have many circular saw blades, some of which are quite expensive and others that are not worth the price of paying to have them resharpened. When i deem one of my blades isnt cutting up to my expectations it goes into the dull pile. I run a warm container of water with Lestoil mixed in. After allowing the blades to soak a day or two, i then pull them out and wire brush them lightly. Another couple of days of soaking, more light wire brushing and a hosing off have them clean as new. An awful lot of people think their blades are dull when they only need to be cleaned of the pitch and gum etc. I took several of my blades. both high speed steel, and carbide tipped which i felt needed actually sharpened. Keep in mind some of these blades have been used for months, or years without being sharpened. It took me a few hours of puttering around with the sharpener to get the feel for it and understand its operation. I realize ive rambled on here for quite a while so ill try to wrap this up. Long story short! I sharpened 23 high speed steel and 17 carbide tipped. Granted this is not a several thousand dollar machine and it doesnt have the accuracy of one. All in all, i would highly recommend it.

[bedway]

Just a quick update on the sharpener. I did some blades for two different neighbors near me and both said they couldnt believe how good it did. For $49.00 this machine is a great investment.

[D Hagens]

  It'll be interesting to hear how this sharpener works out. Be very interested in hearing how it works with bigger blades. I pay roughly $20.00 per 12" blade for re-sharp and that's not too bad as my blades run me around $250.00 each.
For $60.00 this would be a great asset especially on site.

[bedway]

I have to admit that i thought this topic would peak more interest and response. I know that so many of us who saw wood started out as wood workers. Cleaning blades and keeping them sharp is one thing all of us deal with.

[WH_Conley]

I will be getting one, probably this weekend. I have read as many reviews as I could find on the net. Apparently, not a high dollar piece of machinery, but , should do the job. I think I will try out the $14.00 moisture meter too. Have a neighbor that has a large supply of lumber, some kiln dried, some air dried, some kept inside, some outside. He checks his upper end moisture meter against oven dry samples fairly often. Should be interesting.

[Handy Andy]

  What kind of stone does this thing have?  Thought you had to use a diamond blade to sharpen carbide?  If it really works well, I'll look at getting one.  Still have a bunch of steel blades, although mostly just buy new carbide.  Cleaning is all I do to the carbide.  I use that rockler stuff and soak in a plastic pan and a brass brush to scrub.  Amazing how much better blades cut when clean.

[D._Frederick]

If you have to take your saw blades to a saw shop to be sharpened, I question the wisdom of spending the money on a old design blade. I bought a new rip blade and there is a night/day difference in how this new blade cuts. The new blades have anti-vibration slots cut in the blade that reduces the blade from vibration back and forth. It give a smoother cut and takes less force to feed it.

[WH_Conley]

Just tried out the Harbor Freight sharpener on 2 Irwin blades, I had been ripping green White oak, they were so dull you really had to lay on them to get through. Tried both blades, can't say as they cut as good as new, didn't expect it, a couple of the carbide tips were gone and with learning curves what they are I hit the next tooth wrong. This effectively had 2 teeth in a row gone. They cut much better than before sharpening. They started out very, very dull. I did not try to grind them to a new profile in one session. Now that I have a sharpener in house blades won't get that dull to start with. So far I am pleased. Will add more later if opinion changes.

Also picked up the $14.00 moisture meter. Haven't made it to my buddies' yet. Took it out to the garage that is open on one side, unheated, pine, inside for years 14%, oak, inside 14%. White oak that was standing on the stump a week ago 42%, 42% is as high as this meter will go. Came in the house, wood stove going, everything came in at 1-2%, the support beam in the basement, almost directly over the stove would not even get off 0. Can't say how accurate this is yet.

[KnotBB]

  What kind of stone does this thing have?  Thought you had to use a diamond blade to sharpen carbide?  If it really works well, I'll look at getting one.  Still have a bunch of steel blades, although mostly just buy new carbide.  Cleaning is all I do to the carbide.  I use that rockler stuff and soak in a plastic pan and a brass brush to scrub.  Amazing how much better blades cut when clean.

Comes with two different wheels.  One for HSS and the other is for carbid.
I think a replacement set cost around $10

[WH_Conley]

$10.00 is right on the replacement stones, comes with one each in the pack.

I have played with mine some more. I am not crazy about the depth of grind adjustment. You have to loosen an Allen screw and move the thing manually. No allowance for minute adjustment, just trial and error. I am going to try to figure out some type of thumb wheel adjustment. All in all I still think that it is worth the money, at least Harbor Freight lets you know it is cheap stuff and doesn't try to pawn it off as our American made tools.

[Ernie]

Sometimes I really wish that we had the same voltage as you guys, ours is 240 volt at 50 hertz.  The same machine here, at least it looks the same http://www.topmaq.co.nz/product_detail.aspx?id=MEGR8100  is $203.42. >:(

[bedway]

Yup, Sure looks like the same machine to me Ernie.

WH-Conley,  Most times i dont use the depth adjustment. I just set it to max. depth cut and then set the blade to that,,,,,if that makes any sense to you 

As i stated several weeks ago, i sharpened a whole bunch of my blades both HSS and Carbide. Since that time ive had the same HSS blade on my table saw, and its still cutting great. By the way, did i say i liked the sharpener!!!! ;D

[WH_Conley]

Do you mean that you just rotate the tooth face into the wheel til you decide that it has had enough?

[bedway]

After i think i have the angle and depth of cut (into the gullet) set, i then kiss one of the teeth. All im looking for is a complete clean up (shiney face) of the tooth. If im satisfied with the set up i traverse the wheel away from the blade. Most of the time i dont even use the indexing stop. I put a magic marker spot to indicate the tooth i started on. I then turn the blade to every other tooth and kiss the face. I hope this helps  ;D

[WH_Conley]

Now that I have had a chance to use mine a little more.

I slide the motor/wheel all the way in, set the blade rest where I want it, angle and depth. Lock the holder down. Rotate the blade into the wheel til cleaned up, slide wheel/motor back out of the way. Rotate the blade til the wheel will go down in the gullet, repeat. I have not been using the indexing stop. Though not exact, I figure by the time the carbides are worn down enough to take a different bite per tooth they will be worn out anyway. I have an ongoing order that involves cutting a lot of White oak. I have saved enough on blades that the sharpener has paid for itself almost twice in 1 month. Still got 14 months left on the extended warranty (full replacement in store).  

[KirkD]

I thought I would bring this old thread back up since I was researching the Harbor Freight circular saw sharpener and share what I found. This guy made a video on how to improve the accuracy and ease of setup for different blades.

Circular saw sharpener, Modified Harbor Freight sharpener