Welding Tips and Tricks

So I bought a Northern Tool dry cut chop saw off CL and the saw has served me well. I bought a Morse blade for it and it was good for a long while. It got dull and I had it sharpened and after no more than 40 cuts I can tell it's getting dull already. It's to the point I just about can't keep using it. Should it last longer than that after resharpening? I would think so. Or did I just get took for the charge and still need another blade? Would the saw itself be a problem?

Might have to do with the angle they sharpened it at.

I've heard it said that with TC blades that you can resharpen them however if they have ever been overheated and they can become relatively soft. So even they they are resharpened, they aren't as hard and they dull quickly.

A mate of mine has tried getting steel cut carbide saws sharpened as have I & found the same as you - yes they cut for a little while longer but no way is the sharpening cost worth it for the extension in life against buying a new blade - we sent them to different places - I sent mine to the place that I've always used for wood blades up to the 48" on my tractor log saw with very good results & trust them to do a decent job so I think once they're blunt it's time to replace - due to the fact that most of the steel around here is import & contains all sorts of hard spots / inclusions / laminations neither of us use this type saw any more it's just not worth the operating cost - they seem like a good idea & when you first get a new one the cut is nice after using abrasive but we both have gone back to a bandsaw for anything that will fit in it & torch / plasma for everything else.

Tooth geometry can be very complicated. I used to sharpen hougen annular cutters in a shop I worked at. For it to be cost effective we had to settle with a simpler geometry than the manufacturer specs. and resulted in shorter life. The only time it really made sense was with big orders of some of the larger more expensive cutters. On 10 teeth it would cost $30.00/cutter, which is significant savings when you are getting 10 done. On the smaller bits with less teeth, the cost to sharpen was too close to the cost to replace unless there were dozens of them.

For circular blades it is probably only cost effective for the shop to simplify the process and call it good. and the only way that sharpening really works for the blade owner is if you have a good number of blades. And even that depends on whether or not the blade was sharpened to the manufacturers specs, Otherwise you are paying close to new price for much less cutting life.


I'm glad to hear yalls experiences. I guess it's to the LWS for another blade. I'll be glad when this jobs done. I have not enjoyed all this cutting haha.

I have a Evolution 380 and with the original 66t blade gave great service. Being new to this type of saw and blade I was not sure how to guage the optimal time to sharpen it to get the best blade life. After building a 10ft trailer ( mitres etc.) plus a lot of other misc. cuts it started throwing more sparks and the cut pieces got fairly warm. I had it sharpened and and it again it lasted very well. It now is in for the second sharpening at a different shop as the first fellow became sick and is out of commission. I will see how this works out. I cant really give a precise comparison between new and sharpened performance as I am a retired hobbiest and could be cutting any variety of shapes-sizes and mitres as the project requires. I have two of these same blades for the rotation. At aprox. $150 per blade new and aprox. $20 to sharpen with no broken teeth and manufacturers claim of 4-5 sharpenings it appears cost effective. I also have a CMT 90t blade that dulled very quickly but probably my fault because I cut up to 1/2in mild steel and it seems the higher tooth count may be for thinner material. It is in for sharpening and will be a backup blade only. Good luck

remember cutting steel in not like cutting wood.
you need to expose most of the blade to the material
and not just let the blade slightly protrude like you would
cutting wood. also use a cutting agent.
craig

but this applies more the circular saws than chop saws i might add.
craig

I don't know what other equipment you have or what your spatial constraints are, but if I was going to have one saw for metal working it would be a vertical / horizontal bandsaw. The HF 4x6 is a nice unit for the price, and if you have the time and the skill you can make it a much nicer saw.

Personally I would steer clear of abrasive saws, they wander if you aren't careful, their noisy as heck, and dirty. Mine sits under my bench most of the time. Maybe this is just my perspective, but I thought I would share. Others opinions may vary. Fwiw I have had my Milwaukee for over a decade and it has operated with out incidence. It's a well built tool and if I was in the market for an abrasive chop saw I wouldn't hesitate to purchase one again if they are still being manufactured to the same standard if quality.

Last spring I was looking for a new quality metal cutting saw and considered abrasive and band saw. I actually ordered the top of line Milwaukee 14in saw on amazon - they said out of stock. I had ruled out the band saw option due to room and portability issues. Came to find out that Milwaukee had discontinued their high end abrasive saw. They listed a 14in cold cut saw which I was not familiar with so I checked it out -liked it -canceled the abrasive saw order and tried to order the cold cut saw. Discontinued!! Did a bunch of research and bought an Evolution 380. It is a bit heavy but portable -cuts fast and accurate and makes one heck of a chop saw on the side. Just my take -I like tools that are well designed -well built and as versatile as possible. Good luck.