Arrgh…I was cleaning my Ridge Carbide 40t ATB blade last night and it fell on the concrete floor, chipping off the high point of the bevel of one tooth. This has never happened to me before. Should I get this fixed immediately, or because it’s only one of 40 I’m ok for a while?
Thanks.
Replies
it's only one of 40 I'm ok for a while
It only costs a few bucks to fix, don't use it till you do.
I had one of my tape measures meet my Ridge blade, and chipped three teeth. I took it to Ridge, and asked if they would replace the teeth. After examination, they decided it needed just a little grinding and I got it back. Seems to work fine. One chipped tooth won't make a big difference (try it and see for yourself).
johnniev ,
I agree with Paul ,Since a 40 tooth blade is not a finish cutting type of blade it will make little difference in the results of the kerf. Next time you take it in for sharpening have it re toothed at the same time.
dusty
If you consider the amount of time one tooth in is contact with the material, it wouldn't matter much if it was missing completely. However, if it is getting close to needing sharpening anyway, go ahead and take it in so it will be fresh and you'll have peace of mind. They can also check it to see if it's flat, too.
"I cut this piece four times and it's still too short."
>> Since a 40 tooth blade is not a finish cutting type of bladeI would think that Ridge would disagree with you on that. Their 40 tooth ATB blade was designed to rival the Forrest WW II. In comparison tests, one or the other consistantly rates at the top for smoothness of cut. In fact, the guys from Ridge used to work for Forrest.The Ridge blade is an outstanding general purpose blade.If the blade is sent to Ridge they will may repair it at no charge.Howie.........
Howie ,
I have no experience with a 40 tooth blade of any brand that one would use for say crosscutting fine veneered products or say Melamines or even laminates . Those are the type of cuts that make up what I would call a finish type of cut . So , would Ridge or you not agree with that statement ? In all honesty I have never had the opportunity to use either Forrest or Ridge brand blades . I am in no way making any quality claims of any products , rather addressing a chipped , not missing tooth on a 40 tooth blade .Do these 40 tooth blades have a negative rake ? Are they designed for fine cuts in sensitive materials , I'm not simply talking about a good clean smooth cut in hardwood. One of my favorite blades for Melamines and veneer crosscutting is an 80 tooth 10" F.S. brand with a negative rake , when it is sharp you can't tell the top from the bottom of the cut . I would be surprised to learn that these 40 tooth blades could perform the same . I'll bet they do very well for what they are designed for , but as a rule a combo multi purpose blade is not designed for all types of materials wouldn't you agree ?
dusty
Edited 7/3/2005 11:54 pm ET by dusty
It's apparent that no one posting has seen a piece of carbide come shooting off a blade. Let me make it clear, it is not worth the risk. Have the blade fixed before you use it.
A few years ago, I saw a guy take a piece of carbide to the cheek. Looked like he got shot with a .22, and probably felt like it.
It's apparent that no one posting has seen a piece of carbide come shooting off a blade. Let me make it clear, it is not worth the risk. Have the blade fixed before you use it.
A few years ago, I saw a guy take a piece of carbide to the cheek. Looked like he got shot with a .22, and probably felt like it.
What Dustin said. If that chunk of carbide had hit lower, say near the carotid artery, he'd have been lucky to survive.
Get it fixed, ASAP, before using.
Leon Jester
Perhaps I'm a bit grumpy about this whole thing but...
You've got a TS that probably cost over $600.00, and you're running a board through it that may be upwards of $50.00....So you keep the blade as is, run the board(s), figure out things aren't working, start tuning the saw, maybe decide the damn thing is getting old and need a new one?
Penney saved....isn't much
Fix the blade! Your project is worth it! In all my years, the most important thing I ever figured out is the blade is EVERYTHING!
$# Rant Rant $&#
>> I'll bet they do very well for what they are designed for , but as a rule a combo multi purpose blade is not designed for all types of materials wouldn't you agree ?
Yes, I agree. A "General Purpose" or "Combo" blade is a compromize. The 40 tooth GP blades do very well with 3/4" stock and begin to have problems with 1" stock that is susceptable to burning. They are designed with a very minimal tooth sidecut so that they "burnish" the cutline. Of course, burnishing is heat production so with thicker boards or woods with sugar like maple and cherry, the heat causes burning. Because of the Hi ATB grind however, they do very well in melamine and hardwood plywood veneers.
The 50 tooth ATB&R "combo" blades are better in ripping because of the raker tooth which clears sawdust more efficiently. The combos do not generally have the minimal side tooth clearence so run cooler. This means that they can handle somewhat thicker more burn prone woods. Again though, they are designed to handle the standard, most used thicknesses. Stock over 1 1/4" can be a problem for them and they do not do as well with melamine or hardwood veneer plywood.
Clearly for materials that tend to splinter when cut like melamine and veneered plywood, a blade specifically design for these cuts is superior. For frequent ripping of stock 1" and thicker, a dedicated ripping blade is faster and will produce surfaces ready for glue.
Howie.........
Edited 7/5/2005 12:40 pm ET by Howie
Hi everyone,
My $.02, even new blades can shed teeth (I can vouch for this, luckily no physical injury, just trauma) so always stand out of the way when spinning up for the first time or after a change, the same goes for power grinding wheels.
John
Southern Carbide in Shreveport, LA does my sharpening and will replace a tooth as needed. They do really good work.
I agree that one tooth in 40 won't make much difference, provided that you havent' increased the run out on the saw.
Also, if you have damaged the brazing on any of the teeth, you have increased the risk of throwing a tooth while it's running. You don't want to be in the firing line when that happens.
I would take it to a saw shop to be checked out before I used it.
Tom
Johnniev, the only real danger is that you loosened a couple of other teeth which could fly off later. The chipped one may not matter much but the one that hits you could matter alot. Be careful and have the blade fxxed and inspected by the sharpening company you use. Grinding should reveal any other faults. Aloha, mike
Thanks everyone. It's nowhere near sharpening time but I hadn't thought of damaging the brazings. I'll call Ridge on Tuesday and see what they say.
Just me... If the carbide is just chipped a little and if it were me.. I'd make a cut and see what it looks like..
However, I am not sure if dropping it would somehow damage the bond to the metal/carbide so it may fly off someday????
Sorry to hear about your expensive blade hitting the floor.I just bought a Forrest WW II and I was worried about damaging it, so I bought a tool I found at Lee Valley called Saw Jaw. The blade locks inside for re&re from the tablesaw and is used for carrying and even storage. Works great. After I bought it I saw it in the july issue of FWW. ----I would send it in for service. Saftey first always. Refering to your sawblade.
Edited 7/4/2005 11:56 pm ET by Walker1
Johnniev,
One chipped tooth will make absolutely no difference to the quality of cut at all.
You should just examine the damaged tooth to be sure that there are no fractures in the remaining tooth that could result in disintegration later-use a strong magnefying lense.
When it goes for sharpening the saw doctor will do whatever needs doing.
Apart from that one posting in this forum ,I have never in 25 years plus, heard of teeth flying off from the brazing.Trust me.
Yes, they do come off. If the chip is big enough (I'm not talking about a little chip to the point on a tooth or two, which is what it sounds like in the case of this poster.....I agree that will get taken care of at the next sharpening), or you lose a tooth, then the next one in line gets more force than it is designed for.....then it goes, or at least potentially may go.....the next one in line gets even more force, and it goes....etc. I have certainly seen a tooth come off, and this was something stressed to me by the guys I trained with, who had seen the 'domino effect' I'm describing.
Anyway, I choose to err on the side of caution in this case, if the chip is significant. A new tip professionally installed should cost about $3.00 Cdn from a good sharpener.....it's a standard service, and they do it all the time; that's what I paid last time. These guys list a retip at under $2.00 USD (http://www.bullsharp.com/pricelist.htm). Cheap.
cabinetmaker/college woodworking instructor. Cape Breton, N.S
Apart from that one posting in this forum ,I have never in 25 years plus, heard of teeth flying off from the brazing.Trust me.
I have never in 28 years plus, seen anyone get struck by lightning. Does that mean it can't or doesn't happen?
Trust me, it only costs a few dollars to fix, it's not worth the risk.
Folks,
So far jniev has received a wide variety of advice based on people's interpretation of his submission which said that A Small Chip had happened to One tooth out of 40. However, I think he is more likely to be struck by lightening (twice) than take a hit from tooth 39, which is unaffected by tooth 40which as I read it is largely still there. Brazing is brazing i.e very strong.
I almost took a hit from the Stealth Bomber, but am keen to survive the full course in order to witness the post conforming to the "Change a lightbulb" direction.
Phillip, A dropped blade may have damaged or weakened other teeth than the one showing chipped. My experience in watching them drop to the floor (always appears to be in slow motion) is more than one tooth makes contact with the surface. Sometimes they even rotate like a coin when they hit. We cant know what happened and I assume the safe answer is to have the blade checked out without using it. Of course, if you only have one blade you can take your chances with it and its not a serious danger--we just cant tell from here. Aloha, mike
Thanks for the replies everyone. I do have spare blades (a Systimatic Budke and a Freud combo) and I have nothing big going on at the moment so I'll send the blade back to Ridge when they get back from vacation to have it looked at and fixed. It would bother me knowing that I was using a damaged blade, especially for what I paid for it.
I still can't believe I was careless enough to have this happen.
I have a nice freud super dado that after 8 uses had one of the teeth on the outer blade come lose - I was able to touch it and have it fall off. I had moved between buying it and using it for the 4th time ( I packed it real carefully and that was not the cause) - a total of 8 months - by the time it came off it had been 14 months since purchase. I contacted Freud and they had me send it in and sent a brand new blade to replace it - no hassle. Only cost for for me to mail the damaged one to them, they paid shipping to me of the new one. Admittedly Freud may not be the top of the heap in blades, but their support has earned them my business.1 - measure the board twice, 2 - cut it once, 3 - measure the space where it is supposed to go 4 - get a new board and go back to step 1
Perhaps not the top of the heap but pretty close...glad you had a good experience with them.I have at least three "toothless" (and brandnameless) carbide blades in my shop. I don't use them but I don't have the heart to throw them out (I should just pitch them)What's a good use for a bad saw blade? Frisbee?Mark
Measure it with a micrometer, mark it with chalk, cut it with an ax.
Make a clock with the blade as the face.
keep one in the shop and give the others as gifts ( you made them safe so no one would get cut by a sharp blade - LOL ) or sell them.1 - measure the board twice, 2 - cut it once, 3 - measure the space where it is supposed to go 4 - get a new board and go back to step 1
it will probably only be a couple of dollars. I would get it fixed to maintain ballance even though it may well cut ok. Other teeth could be loose and can be professionally checked.
If money is a problem, you may if you don't already, be safer to where your safty glasses.
If a tooth fails on a circular saw blade the tooth in the same path directly behind it will have increased load and will be subject to possible failure and the problem would then escalate. I recommend that you contact Ridge for advice.
Freud America, Inc.
That's the point I was trying to make; thanks for emphasising it.cabinetmaker/college woodworking instructor. Cape Breton, N.S
Johnnie,
Sorry to hear about your accident. I have a WWII and it has 3 chipped teeth; one badly two not so bad. I use it to cut pretty much every type of wood product there is, including lots of thick hardwoods. There seems to be no difference in the cut. I will be sending it off to be sharpened in the next couple of months and Ill have the whole thing rehabed then. It will probably cost $60 or more!! Some times it dosen't seem worth it, but I am something of an enviromentalist and I'd rather not toss something that required so much natural resourses and energy to make.
Dont worry about it.
Mike
Mike, if you have not already done so , please read post#24432.21 carefully: then take cover from impending air strike.<g>
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