Tuesday, November 1, 2011

Cheap Sawblade Cleaner

Some of my saw blades have been getting kinda gunky and have some sap and resin buildup. However, I really didn't feel like buying the expensive "blade and tool cleaner" that is recommended. So then I found this cool tip on the internet. It said you could use laundry detergent to clean off the gunk since the detergent is designed to remove organic stains and smears. It made sense and sounded cheap so I thought I would give it a try. How did it turn out? I'll let the pictures speak for themselves.

Before: All filthy with sap and resin buildup

After: While it won't pass as brand new, it does look 90% better!
Before: The teeth were coated with a layer of sap and resin
After: Almost all the gunk is gone, and the dark tinge around the edge is simply the way the blade is!
 Note: Let the blades soak in a bath of water and detergent for about 30 minutes. (I had about a 1/4 inch of water and about 1 1/2 cap fulls of detergent. Then I scrubbed them with a Scotch Brite.

I did this to two of my saw blades and they cleaned up wonderfully! Hooray for laundry detergent!