# Circular saw blade sharpening



## John Mikulski (Sep 5, 2018)

Did a quick forum search and apologize if this has already been discussed...

I recently finished making a jig to sharpen my joiner/planer knives and am now looking to sharpen my circular blades (dado included).

I haven't researched much yet, but thought I might start here for some expert help and advise 

Any tips, tricks, or insight is appreciated!



Found this pretty cheap from harbor freight, looks simple and effective.. can anyone vouch for it?

View attachment 152616


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## John Mikulski (Sep 5, 2018)

is there a way to delete or move this entire thread? I fear I posted in the wrong forum...


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## barry richardson (Sep 5, 2018)

John Mikulski said:


> is there a way to delete or move this entire thread? I fear I posted in the wrong forum...


John, I can move the thread, but it looks in the right place to me. I would also be interested in any feed back about that device as well..


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## John Mikulski (Sep 5, 2018)

Didn't know if the shop matters area was more appropriate, this is as good a home as any I suppose!


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## Mike1950 (Sep 5, 2018)

Me, i would not trust my $100 blade on a 50 buck sharpener. But I have to add I have zero faith in harbor freight and NEVER shop there.

Reactions: Agree 5


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## rocky1 (Sep 5, 2018)

If it's anything like their chainsaw sharpener, it probably won't last long enough, nor have enough power to wreck a $100 blade. But, I don't have any experience with this one, so I honestly can't say. 

@Schroedc -would be your go to man on saw sharpening John! 

As for the Harbor Freight Chainsaw sharpener... First one lasted through one blade and died. Second one I babied, have to be very gentle when grinding each tooth, and it doesn't have enough power to remove a lot of material. Great for touching up a blade, resetting the grind, trying to fix a severely damaged blade, you'd be money ahead to go ahead and spend the bucks on a decent saw sharpener in my experience.

Reactions: Agree 1


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## Patrude (Sep 5, 2018)

I'm in the same neighborhood of thinking re. Harbor Freight. Quality doesn't seem to follow them around. With the prices of good blades these days it's probably best to have em sharpened by someone you can trust. Word of mouth is how I found a local machinist who runs a small shop with neighberly prices.

Reactions: Agree 1


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## woodman6415 (Sep 5, 2018)

I take all my blades .. router bits and shaper bits to a professional sharping Shop ... have never had a bad one come back ..and always sharp

Reactions: Agree 3


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## Tony (Sep 5, 2018)

For a 40 tooth blade with carbide tips I think I pay about $12 to have it professionally sharpened. To me it's a very small price to pay for quality. Tony

P.S. I don't buy anything at Harbor Freight that I don't plan to throw away after I use it one time. JMO.

Reactions: Agree 3


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## rocky1 (Sep 5, 2018)

C'mon guys... 

NOT ALL THINGS AT HARBOR FREIGHT ARE BAD!

The chainsaw sharpener just happens to be one that is!

ZERO complaints on my toolbox. I will buy another!! Almost did it last weekend.
ZERO complaints on my wood clamps.
ZERO complaints on my floor jack.
Really don't have a complaint on my benchtop lathe. Yeah, it's under-powered; most 1/2 hp benchtop lathes are.
(_For what I got in it..._ )
Belt Sander... it's a $59 belt sander, I don't expect much out of it; it don't disappoint me. Still running 3 years later; use it all the time!
Best damn Nitrile gloves you'll find anywhere!

I have a bunch of their goodies around the shop, can honestly say not many have let me down, and several have proven to be quality tools. If it looks like bat guana, I don't buy it. I didn't buy the chainsaw sharpener, yo-yo at work did!!

Reactions: Agree 3


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## woodtickgreg (Sep 6, 2018)

Tool boxes are the best bargain out there. I need a new floor jack, I'll buy one of theirs. Nitrile gloves, yup I buy em all the time. Need a cheap tarp? Buy one of theirs. Just be selective on what you buy from them.

Reactions: Agree 4


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## Sprung (Sep 6, 2018)

I agree with Rocky and Greg that there are some things at Harbor Freight worth buying. Their tool boxes are awesome and my one from HF is the best one of the three tool boxes I own. While I did install a larger impeller in it, I am happy with their dust collector. I have some of their wrenches, mostly combination wrenches, and haven't had any issues with them either. With HF it's about doing some research before buying. Yeah, some of their stuff is complete junk and not worth buying. But they also have some stuff that is worth buying.

As far as the saw blade sharpener goes, I couldn't say if it's worth it or not. But my preference is to have a professional sharpen them.

Reactions: Agree 1


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## barry richardson (Sep 6, 2018)

Around here the going rate for sharpening is 50 cents a tooth, so it gets kinda expensive, I'm getting quite a pile of blades that need sharpening, gonna have to bite the bullet one of these days......


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## woodman6415 (Sep 6, 2018)

barry richardson said:


> Around here the going rate for sharpening is 50 cents a tooth, so it gets kinda expensive, I'm getting quite a pile of blades that need sharpening, gonna have to bite the bullet one of these days......


Wow sounds a little high .. all my 10” and 12” blades are 80 tooth ... I would definitely learn how to sharpen at $40 pop ..

Reactions: Agree 3


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## Schroedc (Sep 8, 2018)

I don't do circular saw blades but either invest in good equipment learn to use it well and pick up coin sharpening for other folks, or send them out. In my area 7-12 cents a tooth.


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## Mike R (Sep 8, 2018)

I have looked into it before and from what I found most of the newer better quality blades have every other blade tip beveled different so I don't think it will work properly, also the precision needed will be lacking unless you get a very expensive piece of equiptment

Reactions: Agree 1


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## JerseyHighlander (Jan 5, 2022)

I don't have any experience with one of those. I'm in the "send it out" camp, though I was spoiled for many years working in professional shops, we had a guy come once a week, pick up dull blades and drop off sharpened ones. Cost was always very reasonable $12-$15-ish.
I'm also in the camp I won't even step foot in Horror Fright but I certainly wouldn't trust my blades to a Made in Cheaper sharpener. It's a precision operation where thousandths of an inch matter greatly. The bearings on your saw aren't going to like an out of balance, vibrating blade too much either. 
If you really want to try that route, I've seen several people make such a sharpener that mounts on their table saw and put a diamond blade on the saw itself. You could easily do as well or better than a $60 plastic HF piece.

Reactions: Like 1


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## sprucegum (Jan 9, 2022)

John Mikulski said:


> Did a quick forum search and apologize if this has already been discussed...
> 
> I recently finished making a jig to sharpen my joiner/planer knives and am now looking to sharpen my circular blades (dado included).
> 
> ...



That looks to me like a good setup for sharpening those lower cost carbide framing blades to get a little more milage out of them, that's what looks to be mounted on it in the picture. I probably wouldn't start out on a $100 miter saw blade; you wouldn't have to sharpen more than a half dozen to break even. I used to hand file my framing blades on the jobsite all the time back when carbide was not as common, I could file them a half dozen times before the set went out of them. When that happened, I would toss them and pay $4.99 for a new one. I agree HF is not great quality stuff.


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