Help diagnose tracksaw problem

[Andrew Hughes]

I see the duel kerf. Have you determined what bent the tooth? I don’t figure your someone that tosses their saw in the corner or the back of the truck at the end of the day. MDF didn’t bend it.
The plot thickens mysterious bent tooth

[Derek Cohen]

Andrew, all I can think of is that the blade was not tightened down enough, wobbled and struck the chassis. I am super-careful of nails in reclaimed wood, but on reflection I did not check the end of the slab, and it is possible that there was one there. I do not recall hitting anything, but that may be a likelihood as I distinctly recall sawing up Hard Maple boards without mishap some time before all this.

Regards from Perth

Derek

[Patty Hann]

Patty, I made about 4 cuts on my friend's slab, all the same. I know what to expect from my equipment. There was a problem.

Regards from Perth

Derek

Derek... I glad you posted that last picture.
But also, you responded to my "Is that all that happened?".... I was addressing that question to Michael Burnside who had a bent tooth on his miter saw blade.
His miter saw with the bent tooth was showing the same problems as your track saw.
I asked him "Is that all that happened" because I had a different experience. Go back (if your interested) and read my post.

[John Kananis]

Patty, the bang was due to using round stock - the v block didn't prevent the stray tooth from grabbing a hold of the loose stock (the off cut) and sending it flying. Had your stock been square, all you would have had was a bad cut.

Derek... I glad you posted that last picture.
But also, you responded to my "Is that all that happened?".... I was addressing that question to Michael Burnside who had a bent tooth on his miter saw blade.
His miter saw with the bent tooth was showing the same problems as your track saw.
I asked him "Is that all that happened" because I had a different experience. Go back (if your interested) and read my post.

[Michael Burnside]

Is that all that happened? A bad cut?
(This was in class a few years ago): I was making a cut on a large dowel (2" diameter), on a 12" miter saw. I set it in a V block, started the cut and there was a sound like rifle shot.
The off cut (about 3 " long) was nowhere to be seen.

It turned up on the floor about 15ft behind me, pretty chewed up.
The instructor was suddenly right next to me (he must have teleported) and asked what I did.
I told him, including the part where he told me to use a V block.
So he took the dowel, marked off 3" , set it in the V block and BANG! same thing.

Later he told me examined the blade and that "it was bent".
I didn't think to ask him what specifically was bent.

I didn’t even know it happened. Didn’t even notice it until the next time I used it.

[Patty Hann]

Patty, the bang was due to using round stock - the v block didn't prevent the stray tooth from grabbing a hold of the loose stock (the off cut) and sending it flying. Had your stock been square, all you would have had was a bad cut.

Yes, the instructor explained that (sort of)... so I have to assume it was a bent tooth.
It was all rather ...dramatic.
Especially when the same thing happened when the instructor did it; class was at a stand still at that point.

[James Pallas]

Sometimes we do damage just by storage. If you have ever put a tool into its dedicated storage box and not have the lid close properly and just jammed it down you’ll know what I mean. Also if you find a loose blade but don’t find the chip behind and just wind it down. I have found drill indexes to be particularly prone to this, index doesn’t close right push it and small bits are easily bent. At times these little errors can be expensive especially with machine tools or measuring devices. You don’t come to the realization until sometimes months later.
Jim