Cleaning your woodworking saw blades is a hugely important piece of the woodworking puzzle, one, in fact, that is a little too often overlooked. Please don’t get me wrong though, of course I know that none of us wants any extra chores on our plate or workbench, but seriously, the benefits of regular blade cleaning are staggering – and what’s more, cleaning your blades is really easy. 

Needless to say, working with blades in any capacity is dangerous – so, before I say anything else, I have to say be careful. Please be careful. Woodworking blades and the solutions used to clean them are dangerous to your person and the objects and persons around you, please be always cautious when working with or near them.

Back to the easy part though, cleaning your blades is really stinkin’ easy. A few hours of soaking, a few minutes of scrubbing and essentially your done. This small extra effort completely revitalizes your blades. You see, dirty blades act dull, they require more push-through force during use (which is also dangerous), they contribute to slower feed rates, and they can even generate enough heat to smoke out your shop. This of course brings us to perhaps the worst symptom of dirty-blade syndrome: the heat. The heat generated by a dirty blade can cause your blade to heat-up so drastically it can dull, lose temper and even warp. I don’t think anyone needs me to explain how catastrophic a compromised blade designed to obliterate the wood that builds our houses could be while spinning on your saw at 3000 rpm. Suffice to say that story doesn’t end well, as such, dirty blades spoil the integrity and usability of your blade bringing them to the end of their regular life-cycle a bit too early. 

Anyway, dirty blades are a mess, and they make life much, much harder. So clean them. Cleaning your saw blades regularly enhances both their performance and overall longevity. In effect, a clean blade performs exponentially better delivering easy, smooth, and always precise cuts – and, clean blades last longer too. They last exponentially longer producing more lifetime work. Additionally, and as aforementioned, dirty blades heat-up and dull, in turn, clean blades stay cool and sharp (at least for much longer periods), as such, clean blades require sharpening less often. Fortunately for us crafters this means that because your clean blades require sharpening and replacing far less frequently, cleaning your blades also saves you quite a bit of cash. Personally, I’d much rather buy some cleaning solution than an expensive saw blade. 

Furthermore, cleaning your blades regularly and often also means they’re far simpler to clean when you do clean them. So really, regular blade cleaning is a total no-brainer. A dang easy no-brainer that yields superior wood-cutting results, keeps you safe on the job, and saves you money all over the place.

How to Remove Pitch From Woodworking Saw Blades

Disclaimer: Because woodworking blades and the solvents used to clean them can be extremely dangerous, please exercise the utmost care and caution at all times when working with or near these items.

To begin, I suppose I should first say a little bit about this mangy little thing called pitch. To put it as simply as possible, pitch is that sticky build-up or, literally, tree sap and other natural materials that accrue on your blades with each pass through a piece of wood. These materials cling to the entire blade and essentially suffocate its effectiveness. Under a veil of pitch, your blades retain heat, they can lose temper, and even warp and will without a doubt quickly become dull and sloppy – your blade’s will overall performance will suffer. Pitch is also known to contribute to blade binding and kickback. Needless to say, it is important to keep your saw blades clean and free of this bloody pitch to ensure the best cutting results and most optimal longevity from your saw blades. 

Of course there are plenty of pitch and blade specific cleaning solutions available at your finer woodworking shops, but you might just have something around the house that will do the job just as well; oven-cleaner. Oven-cleaner is perfectly non-abrasive and, as advertized, designed to break-up and remove tough, stuck, baked-on gunk – essentially, pitch. Because pitch does literally bake onto your blades during the friction of use, oven-cleaner is as effective as the werewolf’s silver bullet. Another simple household cleaner that strangely seems to have been designed for cleaning blades is, well, toilet bowl cleaner. It’s tough on pitch, it’s my preferred blade-cleaning method, and it leaves your blades sparkling like polished porcelain.

After soaking your blade for an hour (or a few depending on the degree of pitch build-up) simply wipe or scrub any problem areas (paying special attention to the teeth and the gullets between them) with a non-abrasive pad, then rinse and dry thoroughly. Never use an abrasive scrubbing tool (i.e. steel-wool, a metal scraper, etc) or anything else that could scratch the surface of your blade. Surface grooves will effect both the blade’s performance as well as your ability to clean the pitch from them later. If there are scratches in your blades, those grooves will fill up with that sticky pitch you are trying to remove. Of course its possible to get it out, it’s just a much greater hassle and presents the serious danger of using compromised blades which are essentially a ticking time-bomb when spinning on your saw. If any scrubbing is necessary, use only softer scrubbing or scraping tools (i.e. plastic, nylon, brass bristled brushes, etc). I repeat, do not risk the integrity of your blade with abrasive scrubbing or scraping tools. Additionally, if your blade has a friction reducing coating (applied by manufacturer) use a scrubbing utensil designed or safe for Teflon kitchen-ware. This will ensure the coating remains intact and effective.

Repeat soaking and gentle scrubbing process until the blade is clean. Thoroughly rinse the blade with water and dry thoroughly with a clean, soft, lint-free cloth. Drying your blades will help keep them rust free. Before reinstalling your perfectly clean blade, apply a thin coat of WD-40 to keep that sucker cleaner for a longer period of time. This will also ensure the blade spinning and slicing as smoothly as possible.

Please Note: Although oven-cleaners are a very effective household remedy, they are, of course, risky methods as well. Some oven-cleaners have corrosive elements which overtime can damage the integrity of your blades. Ensure you use a product (whether oven-cleaner or not) without corrosive elements before subjecting your blades to the soaking process and yourself to the threat of a compromised blade.

Soaking your blades overnight in mineral spirits or kerosene are other non-abrasive, non-corrosive, effective pitch removal methods. Using the same soaking, gentle scrubbing, rinsing and drying process as above, these should get your blades clean and shining like brand-new. Keep in mind, however, when using these methods that these solutions are highly flammable. Be cautious and always utilize safe practices when working with blades, high-heat, or open flame. Be aware also of the dangers of using kerosene – use as little as possible and be sure to store and dispose of it properly. Additionally, before using any solution to clean your blades, either from under the kitchen sink or over the woodshop counter, thoroughly read the directions and safety/warning labels. Also remember to soak your blades in a safe and well-ventilated area away from pets, children, or any other living or non-living thing that can hurt or be hurt by your arrangements. Additionally, after being used as your “blade-soaking container”, blade-soaking containers should not be used for any other purpose. Clean them and either properly dispose of them or store them for future blade-soaking.

And after all that, your blades should be perfectly clean and in tippy-top, super-fighting condition. Remember to clean them regularly for the best cutting results and optimal blade longevity.

Bosch’s GCM12SD Dual-Bevel Axial-Glide Miter Saw

Its hard to find the right amount and caliber of words to adequately describe Bosch’s new dual-bevel axial-glide miter saw. Because the thing is so far beyond awesome, so far beyond any prior expectation of miter saw construction, the saw stands to not only entirely innovate the way woodworkers work, but the way power tools will be hereafter designed and manufactured. Truly, the saw deserves a hats-off moment of silence. In fact, it probably deserves a national holiday, an Avenue with its name, or at very least a few well-crafted paragraphs to lengthily accolade its ingenuity.

To begin, the Bosch GCM12SD dual-slide axial-glide miter saw‘s patented axial-glide system is nothing short of revolutionary. Producing a virtually unparalleled smoothness of cut the tool is unbelievably precise and offers optimal operator control throughout every conceivable working condition. The new axial system completely replaces the miter saw’s former and comparatively underdeveloped rail system with two multi-joint articulating (or hinged) arms which appear more akin to a space-robot than a power tool. These cast-iron arms also ensure the saw remains properly aligned and calibrated despite time and unfavorable environments.

Additionally, the saw’s axial design is not only responsible for its unmatched durability and crazy-smooth precision, but it also folds to sit flush with the back of the saw saving up to 12” of workspace compared with a standard sliding compound miter saw. This also allows you to push the tool directly against a wall for use with literally zero clearance behind it, and because the saw is insanely compact (weighing only 65 lbs), it’s simple to use in cramped, low-space work-spaces and convenient to store and transport. 

In place of the sliding rail interface of former saws, 12 sealed ball bearings make up the GCM12SD’s new enclosed system, one that maintains its integrity for, essentially, all-time providing the smoothest blade movement and vastly better control. Because this system is also enclosed, its bearings and rollers won’t accumulate jobsite debris thus ensuring it remains with a glide like nobody’s business for its entire life-cycle. The thing also features a glide damper allowing you to adjust the saw’s resistance changing the “glide” mechanism as you see fit. Built with a totally transparent lower guard, the saw additionally ensures you’ll have completely unimpaired visibility through each cut. The GCM12SD, in its perfect completeness, also offers best in class dust collection at 90% dust efficiency when cutting 2x material with a vacuum attached to its integrated standard dual-purpose dust port. 

The new axial-glide design also expands the miter saw’s cutting capacity to 14” horizontally, 6.5” vertically against the fence (base), and 6.5” when cutting crown against the fence (45 degree spring) for the most optimal usability. Additionally, the saw’s etched stainless steel, easy-to-read miter scale aligns with 10 adjustable miter detents allowing you to cut unique angles with accurate detents over the saw’s 52° left to 60° right miter range. Furthermore, two 33.9° bevel stops are conveniently integrated, and the saw’s high-visibility scale enables front bevel angle adjustments from 0 – 47° left or right. Situated conveniently at the front of the saw, its push-button miter detent override additionally offers fractional adjustments for the most precise cut-lines. The saw’s all metal bevel lock lever and range selector are also integrated perfectly into the front of the saw eliminating the need for users to crawl around the thing to make adjustments. The tool’s soft-grip trigger handle is also ergonomic and ambidextrous for the most comfortable use for every craftsman.

The GCM12SD additionally boasts Bosch’s high-precision Squarelock fence famous for requiring no adjustments, its one touch lock/unlock slide, and its always stable fence support. Precision machining also ensures the two-piece fence is always aligned to the table top at exactly 90° to produce cuts accurate enough to predict the weather (so to spaek). Each side of the miter saw also sports integrated expanding base extensions or material supports that pull-out and lock into position to provide 40 inches left-to-right material support – that’s a full 60% more than the leading competitor. Exclusive to Bosch, this feature provides maximum working space without the use of a bulky table.

Lastly, Bosch has stuffed this mighty miter with a gorgeous 15amp motor with 3 max horsepower and a resounding 3,800 rpm. In the end, this lion-hearted, space-craft of a miter saw has a surplus of authority, a surplus of power and truly superior innovation, and certainly the good-looks to complete the package with a perfect, glistening cherry on top. The saw is, for lack of a better term, flabbergasting, and performs with something like ethereal precision and perfect simplicity.

The Bosch GCM12SD axial-glide miter saw includes a 12” (60T) blade, a material clamp, and dust bag for your crafting convenience, and is compatible with Bosch’s LS010 laser washer guide, accessory flip crown stops, the T4B gravity rise, T3B TracRac, and T1B miter saw stand which are all available for purchase separately.

Clean Your Saw Blades Often

Dirty blades are dangerous, they can warp, lose temper, and will certainly slow down your shop. Cleaning your saw blades regularly ensures better, smoother, and safer cuts which also means better overall cutting results. Clean blades also require sharpening and replacement far less often keeping more money in your pocket and a stronger blade on your saw.

Click here for more information on the benefits of cleaning your saw blades.