One bad tooth on table saw blade

[Greg Magone]

I bought a table saw a few years back, in part because it had a nice Freud table saw blade on it. I didn't check it over very carefully and noticed when I brought it home that it has one tooth that is badly chipped.

Well, I never got around to replacing it and actually haven't used the table saw very much. I'm getting back into woodworking again, and decided I better figure out if this is a problem.

Any thoughts?

[Lee Schierer]

One chipped tooth is probably not going to cause a problem unless it is also mis aligned. There are machine tool sharpening shops that can replace chipped teeth. I don't know if Freud offers this service, but you might call them.

I would try the blade on a piece of soft wood scrap and see how it cuts and if there is much vibration. If the cut isn't good or there is lots of vibration I would make the blade into a clock and buy a new one. Then try the blade on a piece of hardwood. Just so you know Freud Blades typically sell at Rockler and Woodcraft in the $40 range.

[David DeCristoforo]

Take it to the dentist. If he can't deal with it, take it to a saw shop. They will replace the "bad tooth" for a "few" dollars.

[Todd Burch]

No biggy. It's it's loose, remove it with pliers if you need to use it. If it's gone, use it as you need it. My guess is you got the worst blade the seller had and it probably needs attention anyways. A good sharpening service can test it for flat, replace teeth and regrind to original (or your) specs.

I broke a carbide tooth off the other day when I dropped a blade and it hit the concrete. I normally try to break the fall of anything I drop with my foot - but not a 10" saw blade.

Be prepared for the "I won't sharpen this blade" response if the blade is no good.

[Byron Trantham]

I have a Forrest cross cut blade and lost a tooth about htree years ago with NO effect. I was told that one of two missing teeth aren't a big deal.

[Cliff Rohrabacher]

run it till it's dull then send it to a service like Forrest that can replace the tooth. I've had lots of teeth replaced

Last time I needed blade repair I had just mounted a Brand Spanking New $100.00 Felder blade and I dropped a forged Armstrong 6" heavy C clamp on my blade while it was up to speed. That'll wake ya up~!!

The blade came back from the sharpener just fine

[Stan Johnsey]

I talled to the folks a Forrest and they told me they replace carbide teeth at about five bucks a pop plus the cost of sharpening. I didn't ask if they did other brand blades.

[CPeter James]

They will repair/sharpen any blade worth doing. Also try Ridge Carbide. John at Ridge really knows his stuff. They are both in NJ. I have both and have used both and personally like Ridge better, but that is why they have chocolate and vanilla.

CPeter

[Thomas Canfield]

I dropped a blade once and bent a tooth out of alignment - no apparent damage to any teeth. The resulting cut was bad giving a ragged edge. I made a jig (brass screw to wood runner set in miter track) to determine how many teeth were out of alignment. I then found the bent tooth and bent it back to where it was inside the kerf space adn use the blade for rough work even though the cut is fairly good. My big fear was having the carbide come loose like a bullet but the weld was not damaged.

[Dell Moore]

run it till it's dull then send it to a service like Forrest that can replace the tooth. I've had lots of teeth replaced

Last time I needed blade repair I had just mounted a Brand Spanking New $100.00 Felder blade and I dropped a forged Armstrong 6" heavy C clamp on my blade while it was up to speed. That'll wake ya up~!!

The blade came back from the sharpener just fine

Holy batcrap Cliff, how long did it take your nerves to settle back down after THAT? I think I'd have closed up for the day and gone and had a cold one....

[george wilson]

I had a tooth come off a brand new Forrest. Just used it,and when I sent it back,they put on a new tooth and sharpened it all for free. One or 2 teeth aren't going to make the saw vibrate.

[Fred Hargis]

I'd use it until it needs sharpened, then have the tooth replaced...should only be a few bucks (for the replacement).

[Dell Moore]

I'm going to assume that the policy for having teeth replaced on blades changes from company to company?

I just got a couple used blades with a new (used) saw, that had some damaged teeth on them. Now, I only have give the blades a cursor inspection at this point, and don't remember the manufacture, but I do remember that when I first held them I got the "feel" that these where once good blades and may be worth repairing.

If you've got experience with this, please let me know.

Dell

[Vince Shriver]

They will repair/sharpen any blade worth doing. Also try Ridge Carbide. John at Ridge really knows his stuff. They are both in NJ. I have both and have used both and personally like Ridge better, but that is why they have chocolate and vanilla.

CPeter

+1 on Ridge Carbide (595 New York Ave.; Lyndurst NJ 07071)

[Bruce Wrenn]

In the last couple of years, I have had two experiences having carbides replaced. The first was a Forest WWII, which hit one of those staples that hold a SKU tag on. It lost FIVE teeth, or parts there of. Sent it back to Forrest. They replaced the teeth, reground blade, and charged me DOUBLE for having to "side grind" the blade. Including shipping both ways, a new WWII was almost as cheap. Later we sent a 100 tooth Freud high ATB to Dynamic Saw (dynamicsaw.com) with five teeth damaged, which they replaced.Total charge, not including freight was less than $30. Because we sent several blades to Dynamic, the freight per blade worked out to less than $2. I reccomend Dynamic over Forrest due to good service, and a heck of a lot cheaper.