Do blades "age" or turn to junk at some point?

[Casey Jourdan]

I bought some FD spirals last year and they sit in the garage so it's been super hot and cold throughout the year. Tried using them yesterday for the first time in months and had 3 break within seconds of turning the saw on (2 before I even touched wood). 

 

They are tiny bits of metal, do they start to corrode or weaken with time?

[tuner]

I can't say for sure but there only steel, I leave a garden tool out and it gets rust the next day. Even in a garage Unless your tensioner has gone nuts it sounds like the metal got weak, was the package sealed.

[Scrolling Steve]

Casey, I guess you can get a bab batch of blades on the rare occasion, but unless those blades were rust red or corroded, I don't think thats the problem ?....I use a lot of 2/0 and3/0 FD spirals and it does get hot and cold in my shop....I have never experienced what you are describing......Good luck !

[crupiea]

My set up is near a window so all of my blades are rusty now. n oway to clean them off other then using them. at least no way i am going to use.  some do seem a bit more brittle then others but hard to say. 

[hawkeye10]

I bet you had the blades to tight. Lighten up a little and see if they still break.

[merlin]

I had some old blades given to me a few years ago and they were about 30-40 years old and have have had no problems.

[Rolf]

If it gets hot or cold enough in your work space to trash the blades, that would be the least of your problems.

I would check your tension first, have you used any of these blades before or are they a just opened?

It is possible that you have a bad batch. Where are they breaking?

[Lucky2]

No Casey, blades don't generally go bad over time. I have some blades that are over twenty years old, and they work as they were meant to. Blades can rust, and that will make them break quite quickly. As long as the blades are kept reasonably dry, I don't think you will have any issues with them. I've tried using spiral blades, and I had happen to me the same thing as you describe. I couldn't stop the blades from breaking as soon as I touched the wood, I just considered it an inability of mine to be able to use spiral blades.

Len

[CharleyL]

Normal Weather changes should not affect them, but rust can. Keep them in a container like a 5 1/2" high pill bottle and/or spray them with WD-40.

 

If you are breaking blades quickly, look closely at your blade grips and the tension setting of your saw. I have had bundles of bad blades, but it's been years since then. It is possible to find a few blades in a batch that break quickly or won't cut straight though. Just try some from a different bundle and chalk the problem up to mass production with inadequate quality control. At $3.65 a dozen, they can't afford much QC on the production line.

 

Charley

[lawson56]

I have had blades given to me that were several yrs old.I have had no problem with them,My shop gets pretty darn cold in the winter,till I go down and warm it up.

[Casey Jourdan]

Casey, I guess you can get a bab batch of blades on the rare occasion, but unless those blades were rust red or corroded, I don't think thats the problem ?....I use a lot of 2/0 and3/0 FD spirals and it does get hot and cold in my shop....I have never experienced what you are describing......Good luck !

 

I've used a few out of this batch when I first bought them, but I guess that doesn't mean there are bad one's in there. Do you use less tension with a 0/3 spiral than a flat blade of similar side?

[Casey Jourdan]

I bet you had the blades to tight. Lighten up a little and see if they still break.

Thanks, didn't really think about tension it I was frustrated and just switched plans. Do you use less tension typically with a spiral vs flat? Also am going to try again to day with some 1/4" and see if the wood was part of the issue.

[Casey Jourdan]

If it gets hot or cold enough in your work space to trash the blades, that would be the least of your problems.

I would check your tension first, have you used any of these blades before or are they a just opened?

It is possible that you have a bad batch. Where are they breaking?

Haha, good point on the temps!

I have used a few out of this batch, but not on this saw (the tension setting is way different, I might just be putting it a touch to high)

They're snapping right at the top of the table. I'm going to try again today with some different wood and see if it wasn't just a tension and project issue.

[Rolf]

tension is determined by the blade size If they are popping immediately someplace other than at the clamp back off on the tension.

[Scrolling Steve]

I've used a few out of this batch when I first bought them, but I guess that doesn't mean there are bad one's in there. Do you use less tension with a 0/3 spiral than a flat blade of similar side?

Nope, same tension.......good luck !

[tomsteve]

I was trying to determine iffen you've used spirals before. if not, spirals require a wee bit less force than straight blades when feeding the workpiece into them.

[stevan]

When I bought my 25 year old Hawk, it came with about 250 25 year old blades (and an abundance of #5's). So far, they're great. I'm still in practice/learning mode so I don't mind running though them at the first hint of dullness. I do "wipe" the ends with some 1000 grit sandpaper before installing.

Edited February 22, 2017 by stevan

[Casey Jourdan]

Must have been the 1/2" pine.... Pulled out some 1/4" walnut to play today and the spirals held up fine. Well, snapped one but that was a tension/clamping issue for sure...