I have some 3 inch brass screws in studs and I hang my not in use blades on the wall from the arbor hole. I ran into a woodworker at Lowes tonight that said not to do that saying idle blades should be laying flat. I’ve never heard that before. Any knowledge or opinions on this?
Don
Replies
Hope he's wrong, 'cause I just made a storage system that involves just-behind-vertical storage. The vast majority of blade storage ideas I've seen in magazines, and in the background of various shop pictures, have been vertical.
forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)
Ditto's to that FG. I have a feeling this is going to be a new one to quite a few people. But---you never know, and that's why I asked.
Don
In my Freud Ripping Blade thread, there's a post that indicates the head of Freud posts over in one of the other WWing forums. I'll drop in and see if I can post a message there, see if he has anything to say!forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)
I remember being told that blades not only had to be stored flat, but only by their arbor holes. I have no idea why and have never gotten an explanation. I don't think it could possibly make any difference. If it did, what about a blade mounted vertically on a saw? Would it eventually go bad like that?
Rich
Rich:
I'm with you. I'm totally puzzled as to why. I don't think it has to do with moisture absorbtion or gravity warping the blade...I tried to call Ms. Cleo, but I get no answer. Guess I'll have to wait for reply from the guy from HD or another reliable source for the answer..
sarge..jt
Sarge,
Cleo, being the psychic that she is, knew that it was you calling, and pretended to be out!
Rich
Probaly knew the credit card wouldn't authorize either!
sarge..jt
After rereading my post I see I left out that I did ask the guy why they're stored flat. The best I could gather from what he was saying was that it's what he was told, and how he's always done it. Maybe FG will be able to get something from the guys on the other site. It was said that the owner of Freud hangs out there. Seems like he should know. Oh yea, thanks for the project sarge. 5/8 ths dowels on mdf. Any particular finish need to be on that mdf? Well, I guess since Rich has heard this in the past, it must not be totally off the wall. You know, I went to Lowes for a box of toggle bolts for the job I'm on. If I could go there without the mandatory trip to the tool crib, I might have never known this!
Don
Don's so tired he's talking to himself. I'm so tired, I was sitting here trying to figure out what a ths dowel was. ROFL!!
(as in "5/8 ths dowels")
forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)
Edited 9/11/2002 1:45:08 AM ET by forest_girl
Oh, come on. This is getting silly. Don't be such a bunch of silk blouses!! This topic is not worth serious debate. Hang the darn things on a nail, or lay the bleedin' things flat. When they're blunt, send them to the saw doctor. Put this daft topic to bed, please. Slainte.RJFurniture
C'mon Sgian, wake up! -- don't you like absurd little posers to challenge your brain?
My feeling is that if a blade is stored flat without any support at the arbor hole, the blade will, in fact, be resting on the teeth edges (since teeth have a side clearance and the width of teeth is greater than plate thickness).
This does not sound like a good idea because you could damage the teeth and unless you flipped the blades over so that both sides were treated equally, one side would be more likely damaged than the other.
An ideal situation would be to store them flat but to have 'em sit on a disk that is of a smaller diameter than the saw diameter so the plate is supported and the teeth are not making contact with any surface.
Personally I never thought about it before; and unless I want to waste time and materials, I will continue to hang my dull blades from a nail. The sharp ones I transport in a box and store them in that box (flat) until I need 'em.
Well, Stanley. Ha, ha. Just about the funniest thread in a long time. I think I'll continue to hang my blades on a nail, or lay them flat------ as the mood takes me. Slainte.RJFurniture
You should accept the premise that, for someone trying to learn something, there is no such thing as a stupid question!
There are however real stupid questions -- like "Can you give me $100?
Yes I can Stanley, but I won't. It doesn't stop people asking for thousands of pounds or dollars in the small ads of newspapers and magazines though, and almost unbelievably, people actually do give. Slainte.RJFurniture
To ALL: Does the flat/vertical issue also apply to handsaws? If vertical, should the teeth face down, up, left or right? If flat, should the toe of the saw point left or right?
I believe wisdom dictates that they be stored horizonally, with the teeth pointing precisely down. To best accomplish this, one must keep a reliable, scientifically accurate level handy at all times (spare no expense!!!), and check the level of each handsaw as it is hung on the pegboard (oh, yes, must use pegboard). One must not leave the shop until the level is adjusted and cofirmed perfect!forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)
FG -- On a circular saw blade, how does one store the blades vertically so that all the teeth face down?
Ben -- If one believes in Santa Claus, the teeth should face north; if one believes in Mickey Mouse, the teeth should face Disneyworld; if one believes that Bush II is telling the truth (whether it is about Iraq or his corporate links) one should cover their face with the blade in shame because nobody should be that stupid or gullible.
Forest Girl: Good one.. I have been storing my Blades and Hand Saws on hooks on peg board for more years than I can even remember.... It seems to me that we all have gotten crazy with this subject.. The only important thing to remember with any type of storage of blades and hand saws is to always protect the cutting teeth.. For that matter when storing any cutting tool just protect the cutting edge..
Take Care.. ToolDoc
But,butbut,but.... which part of the saw is supposed to be level? The teeth or the back edge?
I think the Dilbert factor is beginning to be felt. (g)
Dennis in Bellevue WA
[email protected]
The teeth silly!! Didn't your mom every take you to the dentist?!? Sheesh. :-) In order to make this work, if your saw doesn't have a hole in the blade tip, you are expected to use dental floss to hold that end in place, unwaxed, no mint!!!forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)
Interesting thought about the teeth being protected. I hang my blades vertically on a dowel mounted in MDF. The dowels are spaced so no blade will touch. I cut 3 notches on the top of a 3" dowel spaced 7/8" apart. I can get 3 blades on 1 dowel supported by the arbor and no teeth touch. The notches keep the blade from accidentally being jarred off or sliding together. Just an idea I picked up in late 70's at a Tage Frid seminar.
I suppose that is probaly a waste of time. I think I will just drive a big nail as per the advice here and put them all on one. That will free up wall space near my saw. I could use it to hang targets for .45 auto practice. Maybe I will in-corporate posters idea and attach motor to spin the blades and make the target move at the same time. Most real targets don't stay stationary when they have a weapon pointed at them. Nah, that probaly is a waste of time too. What would I know about having a weapon pointed at me!!
sarge..jt
Hey, I want to apologize to anyone that let this question get under their skin. It wasn't my intention. I've been hanging blades on screws as long as I've had blades. In fact, I have old HSS blades buired behind others that I haven't seen since I don't know when. It's just that when I was told this about laying blades flat, I just wondered if there was something to it. Hell, maybe someday I'll know everything, but unfortunately, that's not going to be today! Maybe tomorrow? ;^)
Don
Don, if you're apologizing to Sgian, please don't, LOL!! He might get the wrong idea (about something, not sure what though). Too funny. I think now that the experts over at the other forum have confirmed the idea of "flat only" as being an old-husband's-tale (hah-hah), we're all just having fun with it. forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)
> ....an old-husband's-tale
!FOUL! (bsg) [Big Silly Grin]
"Old *spouse's* tale"
If we're goin' PC, let's go all the way! (hahaha)
BTW, if I store my hand crosscut saw horizontally and slightly *out* of level, I can convert it to a RIP saw, no? Just have to be careful to make sure it's not leaning to one side so the set all runs to one side.
As far as the table saw blades go, I have a sheet of plywood nailed to the wall where I store 'em. I just fling the blades at the plywood like one of those martial arts dart things and they stick real nice. The beauty of this system is, after a time I have a variety of off center dado blades as well.
Dennis in Bellevue WA [email protected]
Edited 9/12/2002 4:14:54 PM ET by DENNIS02
> ...(as in "5/8 ths dowels")
Say "5/8's" fast. The "ths" is the 's on the end of 5/8. (ths) -hehe-
Dennis in Bellevue WA
[email protected]
Yes, I figured that out! That's how I knew it was funny, LOL!forestgirl -- Remembering the heroes and the victims
Forest girl: Was wondering if your going to post that queston at workbench?? would be interested to see what the saw blade experts there say about it..
Not trying to rush you or anything..LOL
Take Care.. Tooldoc
Ooops, doing it right now.
Well, I got the post up at Workbench, but the search function here at Knots really cra*$ed out on me. Sheesh! I was trying to find the name and position of the Freud guy. Did a search for "Freud" updated within the past week in all forums and to or from Anyone and got "No Matches Found" -- GrrrrrrrrRRRRR!forestgirl -- Remembering the heroes and the victims.
Forest Girl: His name on there is Charles M he is from the Freud company, also Scott Whitting post there he has a saw & tool Sharpening shop and is very good with saw blade or sharpening questons..
Take Care.. ToolDoc Hmmm cant wait to see your answers on there hehehe
Edited 9/11/2002 1:46:07 PM ET by TOOLDOC
Charles and Scott have both replied now, and their blades hang on the wall. Unless their universe is 90-degrees to ours, that means they're hanging vertically. I agree with Sgian, a silly urban WWing legend.forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)
Actually you are supposed to attach a small motor to the dowel your blades hang on to keep them rotating continuously. No need to have the blades spinning at cutting speed, maybe 12 rpm would suffice. This will prevent any "out of round"ness.Jase--Is there a better way?
Forest Girl: When I got home from work I checked the power tool forum to see what kind of response you had there, WOW Charles & Scott gave you a answer right away, Hey by the way now your a member there too, they are a great bunch of guys and girls..Take care Buddy.. ToolDoc
Forest Girl : WOW you had him answer your post in like 5 minutes that is the record over there now we know... only 5 minutes see I keep telling you its cause your cute & nice but you just dont listen.. catch ya later Im off to work....
ToolDoc
Don:
I also store vertical on a piece of MDF mounted to wall. I did add 5/8" dowels to hang the blades and so they were flat to wall. I reasoned that if I grabbed one in a hurry and had used screws, I might gash a burr on the inside of arbor.That could be filed off easily, though. Probaly just an excuse to build something different. grin<>
sarge..jt
Ha, ha. That's funny. Your woodworking friend has heard of the ''blades hung vertically go out of round story," i.e., they end up egg shaped. Biggest load of pish that's ever been put out as an urban legend. Now I can go to bed with a wee smile, ha, ha----ha, ha, ha. Slainte.
Hi Don:
I do store my blades flat in their original cardboard only because I have a little cubby hole where it's convenient to store them. It's easy to grab the right blade and the cardboard protects the teeth. My system and it works for me.
I think the only important thing to do when storing a blade is to put some rust protection on the blade. I use Dricote, but there are lots of other products out there.
Be safe,
Dennis
Doesn't make a whole lot of sense, Don. Like Rich says, what about when the blade's left on the saw.
I cut a square piece of masonite about 11" a side, drilled a 5/8" hole and put a 5/8" bolt through it and store my blades on that with a nut to hold them on. Not a good thing since there's a risk of the teeth gnashing against each other but I'm careful not to let them rattle around. But I only have one really *good* blade and it's usually on the saw.
[email protected]
He must have been thinking about his LP's. Bent steel? from gravity? He's a brick short of a course.
Well, I guess we have an answer. The guy that told me this though was not an employee of the store, but just another woodworker in the store I had a conversation with as this came up. Yep, he may have been confusing his old LP's, but I sure hope his reasoning, which I don't feel I ever got out of him, was not gravity! It could have been an old wives tale he was brought up with, or he may have had anal retentive parents that taught him that everything has to be just "so." Who knows. ;^)
Don
My best explanation(tongue in cheek?):
Imagine a blade vertically stored under your tablesaw extension table getting jarred when you bump the table. It comes loose from whatever device is holding it, jumps to the floor denting two teeth, then proceeds to roll around the floor like a frisbee.
>"My best explanation(tongue in cheek?):"
We live in a siesmic zone 3 area - high probability of earthquakes. I wouldn't want to store them on a peg from which they might get dislodged when the "big one" comes along.
(hehe)
Dennis in Bellevue WA [email protected]
Edited 9/11/2002 3:47:21 PM ET by DENNIS02
You know Dennis, that actually may be it. A safety issue. There's not much chance of one falling on someones head or foot if they are put away laying flat. Probably not much of an issue in a shop, but in someones basement or garage, that may be a different???? Especially with earthquakes and volcanos.
Don
> ...Especially with earthquakes and volcanos.
I found some special heat resistive wrap for storage after Mt. St. Helens.
You just can't be too careful!
Dennis in Bellevue WA
[email protected]
I put mine in Rubbermaid pie containers bought at Walmart and store them flat in my cabinets. I hit them with WD40 before storing. The containers are sealed and I always put something between each blade (cardboard, or whatever is handy). Different type blades go in different containers.
I get the thicker Rubbermaid containers for my BS blades and store several in each container.
PlaneWood by Mike_in_Katy
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