How to Sharpen Circular Saw Blades by Hand?
Introduction
A circular saw is only as good as the blade attached to it at any given moment. They are not immortal even though you take good care of them. They will chip on sneaky knots of wood and they will become greasy and grimy over time but most importantly, they will become blunt. This leaves you with two options; buy a new blade, or simply sharpen the one you already have.
Useful Key Points
If you seem to be struggling to cut through a piece of sheet material, it could either be too thick for your blade or it could very well mean that your blade is dull and blunt. As soon as you find yourself having to put more effort than usual into a cut then you know it’s time to either sharpen or replace your blade.
How to Sharpen Your Blade
- Remove the blade. Most circular saws come with s spindle lock system which makes it easy to remove the blade. Some models might require a wrench but luckily most devices have a built in wrench storage option so that it is readily available.
- Secure the blade. Place the blade into a vice grip with the blade facing upwards and the teeth towards you. Be careful not to tighten the vice too much or you risk warping the metal that holds the teeth.
- Make a mark at the top most point of the blade so that you know when you have gone all the way around the blade. You should see that every two blade points have a bevel on the side that is facing you. Take a diamond file, hold it at 20 degrees and give it 4 strokes up and down along the bevel of the first tip.
- Since the bevels appear on every second blade, you should be able to skip one in-between. Repeat this process until you have gone around the whole blade.
- Turn the blade over and repeat steps 2, 3 & 4.
- File the tips of each tooth by running your file back and forth once across the front edge of the blade point. Do this on each blade point. Carefully unlock the blade from the vice grip and install back onto the saw. Remember to store your wrench on tool again for future use.
Other Important Specs
This might seem like a very tedious process but it goes very quick once you get the hang of it and can actually be very therapeutic as well. Sharpening your own blades is very easy to do and all you need is a diamond file and a vice grip. You wouldn’t use a dull razor on your beard so why use a dull blade on your saw?
Conclusion
It is never a good idea to use cheaper or poor quality blades on your circular hand saw. They will cause you more damage and financial loss in the long run. A poor quality blade can wear your motor out and place your saw under unnecessary strain. So if you are strapped for cash, rather consider sharpening your blade by hand instead of buying a cheapie.