Forget about cutting anything other than paneling or thin plywood ... even 3/4" ply bogs it down a lot even when cutting a very VERY slow path. Probably Works great ru-vid.comUgkxjpBI8OOeUXib_iT7UomCrQ-uauwZJ62c on drywall but who needs the mess of dust flying everywhere when a knife cut will do. Oh, and the red tab on the guard blocks your view of the cutting line once the blade is fully engaged in a cut.
Since I ran a sharpening business back in the mid 70's, I already knew how to sharpen saw blades. As several other guys have stated, blades are either angled left and right to be sharpened that way unless it a flat ground blade. Also, as others have mentioned, that diamond sharpening blade is okay to do the initial grind on very badly messed up blades, you then need to go to a finer grind wheel to help with the sharpening, but then you need to go to at least a 500 grit grind wheel to hone the saw blade. The original grit on the grind wheel it comes with is a 120 grit blade which is way too coarse for final sharpening. You need to go to at least a 280 or 320 grit before using a 500 grit.
hey, don't be so picky, this isn't for the professional, its for us people out here in the woods that don't want to run 30 miles into town to pay someone to sharpen a blade> Gezz, its a damn $50 sharpener, beats the hell out of using a grinderl in which I had to do ..
@@cferguson6688 One should ALWAYS try to do the job RIGHT; regardless of their education or lack thereof; not to mention that "if you can't do it RIGHT don't do it at all". Because IF you do not follow this golden rule, your life will be as this BrushRadical lives. IE: Having tools that he has to "work around", because they have not done what they should have. Oh indeed yes. Believe it or not.
@@MrPatdeeee I agree somewhat, but some of these people are comparing this little machine to thousand dollar machines and they are stationary to get it "precise on". Of course it isn't going to be "right on". Otheres and myself agree, if the blade gets sharp and does the job, then the job was done right not matter if its not "right on". THAT is what I was getting at. The way your sounding is that "no one " should buy this and spend the money and time to go to town to a blade sharpened. Oh yea, I use to go and have the blades "professionally" sharpened until the sharpening place closed down, now I would have to drive 50 miles one way to do this, cheaper to just buy a new blade then. The little machines save money and time and gets the job done. That is all that matters to me.
Question sir... I was told that tungsten carbide teeth are square to the blade but regular blades are mitered. The carbide teeth are thicker than the blade so the cut provides the clearance needed but a 'regular' steel blade has the mitered teeth to achieve the clearance needed, cutting the left side, then the right side, alternately. Is this true?
Bought one of these a couple years ago and never got it set up. It has been sitting in my office with a chop saw blade on it since the day I took it out of the box. Finally decided to watch someone use it! Now I think I’ll get my stack of old blades and get them working again! Thanks for the good video!
Really well done Dave! I have to agree, this is by far the most competent review of this product yet. Thanks for taking the time to produce this video! Cheers ...
I bought one about four years ago just to see how it worked like you did. I sharpened the blade on my Ryobi chopsaw just like the one you have. And low and behold it was cutting near perfect. Was it worth the $49.95.? Heck yeah. I sharpened about 18 blades of all different kinds and then try them out. They worked good. Your review was just like I felt and experienced. Excellent review Brad
PRO TIP - The blades have right and left hand teeth. Each side must be sharpened separately with a 20-25 degree angle (similar to a chainsaw teeth). There is a setting on the back of tthe machine in order to tilt the motor to accomadate this needed angle. This one adjustment will make the blades cut smoother and cleaner!
Derrick Wood, Absolutely. That's why every OTHER tooth is making heavy contact with the diamond wheel. Just cut the life out of that blade in half, at least.
The kerf of the saw blade is very important because the cutting edge angle of the blade needs a relief angle provided by every other blade so as to reduce the friction of the blade cut and provide longer blade life! Obvious, both the instructions and the presenter, do not know the geometry of a saw blade!
The "right and left hand" is called fleam. Fleam is usually slight, or neutral, in a rip blade and more pronounced in a cross cut blade. A chop saw should have a cross cut geometry so my first thought was the same... running each tooth through that sharpener without changing the angle will ruin the original tooth geometry.
Yet another great informative and instructional video to watch and enjoy. A problem i get on my saw blade is not always that they go dull, but the teeth get a build up of resin on the side and back of the teeth. This I find leads to burn marks appearing on the cut surfaces, especially so on hard woods. Every so often i just take the time to clean the blade and it makes a big difference. David in the U.K.
And , despite having to watch the grinding action a bit too often, the different angles helped answer some questions. Liked the different size diameter demonstration as well...but the question that brought me here is - how to sharpen hole saws?
Bushradical Good video and review friend! I’m seeing this tool online for $55-$70 new, less for used. I’m a woodworker, not in concrete, short of small jobs. Wondering if a steel blade would be best for your dirty lumber for concrete work. Carbide doesn’t like sand and minerals. I’d think you’d be loosing teeth with a carbide blade on that type of lumber. Also, wondering if adjusting blade stop on steel in gullet, below the carbide would give more consistent tooth grind. If carbide tooth is chipped, you’d end up with different grind depths I’d think. Thoughts? Also, for dedicated wood working, I’d spend the extra bucks on a bit better blade. If wood being cut is clean, they’ll stay sharp a good while. The red Freuds are a great mid range economical choice. For high end, Forrest is hard to beat. As to the question of hole saw sharpening - I haven’t tried that yet. I’d think Dremel or hand file, and a steady hand, might be the only options there.
I, also, found the presentation to be logical, well presented and very informative - as opposed to other, not-so-well-done, ones from other sources. Based on the clearly and logically done content I chose to buy a sharpener, too. I have plenty of blades to work on and I'm sure the neighbors will have even more, too. The clear camera work was exceptionally well done as well.
Yup, every other tooth is different. That's why the grinding blade hogged in on every other tooth. Should have checheed the pitch and skipped one all the way around. Then reset the grinder for the new angle an cut every other one all the way around
Hi Dave, great review bud. Love when you review things, both new and old, your honest and detailed description make them all worth watching, thanks for sharing, Rock On!
@@Bushradical I did some research it is commonly 1075 or 1084 both would be good for knife blades. I may try one and see and will let you know. I often see old saw blades at yard sale for nothing so it may be a good source of cheap steel.
I'll definitely have to check one of those out myself, thanks Dave! BTW...I've had good luck with the Harbor Freight chainsaw chain sharpener. Had mine for about 4 years and it's really come in handy and makes quick work of sharpening chains.
Thanks for showing this. I've got several dozen blades that need sharpening which would cost $288 At the saw shop. I'll have to give it a shot this weekend and pay myself instead. Most blades being the same styles will help minimize setup times. It's ordered.
Very useful video. I have accumulated a box of blades over the last 30 years that I have never gotten around to resharpening and this will turn a 3 week job into a day or two. Thanks man
Or maybe a couple of hours. I clean the pitch from the blades by soaking them in a pan of Simple Green from a couple of hours to overnight, then use WD40 to prevent rust. The cleaning/soaking takes most of the time.
I agree 100% with what you were saying about a cup of coffee and taking the time at the end of the day. Been fixing stuff my whole life, partly due to lack of money but a lot of times back in the day here in rural Alaska you had to fix it or do without. That was way back before the throwaway economy and all of the big box stores. The way I see it is if your option is buying a new one or repairing the one you have then, the time spent divided into the replacement cost becomes your value per hour of your time. Of course sometimes it works out where your time has no value in which case you chalk it up to honing or learning new skills or just practice. Thanks for the review of the sharpener. Think I'll be adding that one to the tool pile.
Nice show and tell video with great description and instruction, a good fair and honest endorsement from someone who uses tools for a living, well done Dave :) stay warm, be safe.
Dave I use to use and collect all my friends metal drill bits because my grandad gave me a drill bit sharpener and before then I’d grab a new drill bit or cut it on the edge off a grinder until the drill bit sharpener now I just save them up in a box until I need one and stick the radio on and sharpen 30/40 at a go I hate throwing stuff away and at first I thought it was a gimmick when he gave it to me and showed me how to use it I’ve had it now going on 8 years and it’s still going strong your videos do make me smile because your resourceful Thank you
Great review, I burn a lot of wood especially old pallets lots of nails and crap to cut through. I will be investing in one of these. Use old transmission fluid in a squirt bottle on the blade every pallet or two keeps the blades cleaner longer
I was at Harbor Freight today and saw this sharpener. I wanted to see a demo/review before buying. My questions are answered... great video thanks. Like and subscribed.
Great video....funny thing, I've had that exact tool for several several years...still in the box right next to my stack of dull blades... Now that I know it works..... I'll set it up and get to sharpening ... 👍👍👍
I've owned one for 6+ years. I dress my finish blades as soon as they start to show fuzz or chipping. For an inexpensive machine it's held up well and it's saved me a lot of money in not replacing blades! Joinery requires extremely sharp tools!
I do a LOT of hobby woodworking, using all sorts of soft and hard woods. and over the last 3 or 4 years that i've owned this machine i cant even estimate how much money it has saved me... YES it takes some fiddling to get set up right but once done, i've sharpened half dozen blades in prob way less than an hour start to finish. have not bought a new blade in in at least 5 years. at some point the carbide will wear down into the socket in the gullet, and by then i'll feel justified in buying new, but for the forseeable future, i'll just keep sharpenin' away. great value for $$
I have one and the motor tilts, if I find my blade has alternate angles i can tilt the motor, sharpen every other one then go back to the beginning, tilt the motor the other way and sharpen the others, trust me it's a great machine
Very useful video! There are several of these grinders around with different logos on them so this will be applicable to most of them. This is what I need!! Thank you!
Hi Jim. Your best indexing off the gullet as the last tooth to grind will be indexed off the first tooth which has already been ground. Also if the blade has a tooth missing you've got nothing to index off. Tony
Very nice video and thanks for explaining how the sharpener works. Don't really feel like arguing with anyone but I took a look at an old blade of mine and the faces were all set 90 degrees to the body of the blade, so the procedure you outlined will work perfectly. There may indeed be blades where the grind of the face is at angles with the body of the blade and so you would have to take that into account if you have such a blade. In the blade I have, the tops of the teeth do indeed alternate angles, but that is a function of how the top of the teeth are ground. I've read that this sharpener will do that but my opinion is that if you have a sharp edge on that tooth, it really wouldn't make much of a difference. Mind you, I don't need super fine cuts to do the work I do.
@@Bushradical Try oven cleaner on them with a wire brush. Then give it a good rinse off afterwards. A plastic bucket lid makes a great tub for cleaning saw blades in. When I'm done after a rinse I give my blades a shot of WD-40 too. Helps keep them from rusting up.
Diesel fuel and emery cloth works decently. For rust, 48 hours in apple cider vinegar will have rust wiping right off. Mind you, you'll have to put a light coat of oil on them afterwards.
I really liked the video, you've shown how to use it better than anyone else on RU-vid. Now, I agree with GR, clean the blade of rust and other ick and it should be better!
@@Bushradical So far so good said the guy from the eightieth floor to the ground......Am a bit leery of the wobbly chop saw at 11:12 but good video demo of the sharpener overall....Thanks
As ProTip pointed out, there are left hand and right hand kerfs on any blade. Some high end finish cut carbide blades have a center chisel tooth every third tooth. When sharpening high and low end blades you should expect to re-set the machine for each tooth condition ie. every other tooth is facing right or left with a corresponding angle so on a low end blade you need to do half the teeth in one direction and then flip. On some high end finish blades you will need a third process for the chisel tooth configuration
ATB tooth set up or ATBR tooth set up. There are just Flat top tooth blades which are basically all raker teeth. These blades are used for joinery work or ripping.
Great review, I didn't know HB had one! I keep buying cheap blades for my skill saw (not Skill brand) and before I know it, its dull! I have also seen blades that threw me off my line because the two sides were sharpened unevenly. So make sure you are considering the two sides of the blade and its angle or it can drag you off line.
i believe you only need to touch each tooth once, probably a little sooner than when it starts throwing smoke though, and notice next time youre aat the store the 100$ blades have alot more carbide on them than the 40$ ones, so you can sharpen them 8-12 times rather than 2-4 times and theyll last alot longer and cut cleaner between sharpenings.. might have a dedicated blade for the concrete uincrusted nail embedded wood though
You should also be able to pitch that diamond wheel and motor forward or backward and sharpen every other tooth then pitch the diamond wheel and motor the other way and sharpen the rest of the teeth.
Why would there be 207 thumb's-down? He walked us through every single aspect and showed the results? Screw these idiots. Well done and thanks for taking the time to present a totally unbiased opinion of this product.
The contrast in tooth grind is most probably due to the crosscut blade as opposed to a rip blade ( which is what this sharpener is designed for. It’s for flat faced ripping blades. It doesn’t address the alternating bevel blades of a more complex blade designed for combination cuts or specific cross cuts. Nonetheless a sharp blade is better than a dull blade even if it’s grind is less efficient
Soak the blades in a pan with Simple Green for a couple hours to overnight, use old toothbrush for scrubbing. WD40 for rust. Works great and inexpensive.
Great video. I’ve been looking at that HF sharpener for 2 years now, but haven’t seen a review yet that has convinced until now. You’ve done a great job with the review. I’m headed to HF to get a blade sharpener because I have a life time of saved blades that need sharping. Have a blessed day. After watching the video, I subscribed, I want to see more. Keep up the good videos.
They do adjust to sharpen the alternating angles of saw teeth.....I didn't cover that in this video because I didn't know it was adjustable at the time. Good luck
I have this and use it when my blades get dull, Works really well for me, just a diy type girl. But It does get to a point where you run out of carbide on your blade and you have to toss them. But the machine is a great value once you learn to set her up correctly. Great no nonsense video, handsome fellow.
Nice review. Tip: Mark the tooth you start with a felt tip marker. Tip: When you find a tooth where it barely touches put a dot on that tooth. When one misses, put 2 dots. After you make the first round, move the stop up by a bit (This tool needs a screw adjustment for that.) and regrind all the teeth. Repeat this until it has the same contact on all teeth. In theory you need to do the top face of the teeth too. This one doesn't seem to be able to do that.
I did a review on this tool here years ago. It works pretty good but I only delegate it to older blades. My good ones I send out to be professionally sharpened. Another note: If you look at the directions I think you left out a very important part. Notice underneath the sharpening wheel there is a place to put an allen wrench in and tilt the whole motor/sharpener unit up or down. One tooth needs to be sharpened at one (+) angle and the other at another (-) angle. This is how a saw blade works. The same reason teeth are offset on a handsaw. Your blades would cut much better if you did that. So you sharpen every other tooth in one angle then change it and do the other teeth the negative angle.
Thanks Daniel....but I don't understand exactly what you mean. Ive been hand sharpening saws for years. I know all about set. These teeth have alternating tips (left /right) when you look at the blade face one.....but the faces of the carbides themselves seem to be totally flat like a rip saw.
Yes, I should have said tooth angle. The term 'set' is only used for handsaws. Most circular saw blade types have alternating angles. If you don't tilt the grinding wheel, each angle will be square. Here is a graphic I found that shows different blades and angles. And, look beneath the grinding wheel. There is a -10 degree and +10 degree adjustment for just this purpose. The directions that came with the device go into length about making this adjustment. s26462.pcdn.co/wp-content/uploads/Sawblades_5F00_anatomy1.jpg Also, a link to the old 2012 video I did on this. It shows me doing it. ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-qBSjO0HKBDM.html On another note: Nice cleanly done video BTW.....
I like this video ! If nothing else this is a honest review ! What is more is the fact that you really can get a no cutting blade to cut again ! A highbrow cabinet-maker is liable to tell you This can not be done ! I am not a cabinet-maker ! If it cuts it cuts :) Best TU U and TNX
Looks like your purchase of the saw blade sharpener was better than my drill bit sharpener who's tolerances were designed by the hand grenades and horse shoe engineers specifications
Fantastic review. You did a great job of showing what you were doing and why. I will buy one after seeing your review. Thanks for sharing and well done.
Get rid of the tooth holder and use your hands to push the saw blade against the diamond wheel. Also mark a few teeth with a marker to confirm the angle is correct. you can do this by turning the diamond wheel against the saw blade. When the marker is scrapped off on the tooth you will see your angle adjust angle if needed. Be careful of saw blades that have a angle on every other tooth.
Good advice on getting rid of the tool hold and pushing the saw blade against the wheel. I’ve had one of these sharpeners for several year and sharpened countless blades. The tooth holder is just a big nuance and can even lead to a lot of frustration.
@@Bushradical Not good info. The force of the wheel is going to push backwards and you end up with a negative angle face. If your just touching the face to a wheel you may keep it straight only if the face of the wheel matches the size of the tooth. Still, you won't be taking an equal amount off each tooth. Not to mention losing a fingertip because you have no control over the blade anymore.
You need to start by cleaning the blade first with solvent to get the gums and varnishes off it. There is a lot of difference between a gummed up blade and a clean one.
