Thread: Do the blades need sharpening or maybe replacing?

Note to self on cleaning:
Any tips to tell if this circular saw blade needs sharpening or replacing?

A sharpen won't hurt.

What exactly aren't you satisfied with? Is the angle wrong? It the blade drifting/the cut surface not flat? Is it burning?

If the red blade is Diablo, I've found them to be unreliable for accurate cuts. Both blades do look like a sharpen wouldn't go astray.

A good sharpening solves a lot of problems... It certainly won't hurt..

Been out in the 18° weather getting a good start on yard work.

Sharpening it is.

Many thanks.

The angle is spot on.
I'm sure its my push technique.

Shifting my weight.
Extending my arm.
The second set of barrel guides engaging on the Makita LS1216.
Might be rust build up.
It only takes a micron of wobble or a micron of shift somewhere.

Originally Posted by barrysumpter

The angle is spot on.
I'm sure its my push technique.

Shifting my weight.
Extending my arm.
The second set of barrel guides engaging on the Makita LS1216.
Might be rust build up.
It only takes a micron of wobble or a micron of shift somewhere.

There is a technique for cutting moldings accurately with a compound mitre saw. First mark your cut as accurately as you can with a pencil or marking knife and a combination square or bevel gauge. Mark all four sides. Make your first cut about 3 ~ 4 mm (approx one kerf width) on the waste side of the line. Next slide the piece towards the saw blade by about 0.5 ~ 1 mm and make another cut. There will be a lot less resistance on the 2nd cut because there was a lot less material to cut through and the saw should cut through with little effort. After finish cutting, compare the cut with your marking or pencil line. The lines should be parallel on all 4 sides. If they are indeed parallel, then you saw is good to go. If not, then you need to adjust your saw. (You only need to do it once to establish your base line). You then offer the saw a little more to trim off and you can do that continuously without turning off the saw (you only need to make the notch wider and wider until the kerf is exactly on the pencil line). Then cut the board right through. That cut should be a accurate as the saw allows it.

Unless you've done a lot of cutting. your tungsten carbide tip probably won't need sharpening. I would try the technique first and see how you go.

I had been using digital guides to measure the angles.
Then cut two pieces at 45° and check with builders square.
spot on.

But wasn't finishing a proper test by cutting 4 pieces at both ends.
To make a square.
Then adjusting by 1/8th. and repeat.

My bad.

Originally Posted by barrysumpter

.....Not satisfied with the mitre cuts accuracy on the Makita LS1216

Although its made and promoted as Deep eXact Accuracy.
It's not a Festool.
.....

Hello Barry

Others have commented on blade sharpness !

Equivalent Festool costs double the Makita .....

But a chopsaw or a Sliding Compound Mitre Saw is not a precision instrument, even the Festool. The Kapex is less imprecise than the Makita which, in turn, is better than a Ryobi or what ever...


Cheers

Graeme

Stand by for flack from Festooliots !

I've recently had the opportunity to use 10 year old Festool Kapex.
It was still spot on. And easy to set to the angle I wanted.
Both bevel and miter.
The owner mentioned it was spot on out of the box and hasn't needed adjusting.
I was reluctant to use it knowing full well it was considerably higher quality.
And double the price.

... The Kapex is less imprecise than the Makita ...

Didn't quite understand that.
Kapex is more precise than Makita presets?
Yep, proven myself.
Compared my Makita presets anyway.

Originally Posted by barrysumpter

......

... The Kapex is less imprecise than the Makita ...




Didn't quite understand that.
Kapex is more precise than Makita presets?
Yep, proven myself.
Compared my Makita presets anyway.

Hi Barry

There is always a little flex in the sliding mechanism, less so in the Kapex than the Makita, but it is still there and measurable. A well set up good quality table saw is inherently more stable.

But what precision is needed? If Makita is not quite there, then a couple of strokes on the shooting board should work wonders.


Cheers

Graeme