harbor freight saw blade

[cecilB]

Hey, can anyone advise on the blades for the HF wet saw? I already have to replace the blade! Their blade is cheapo - it has a quarter inch of "diamond" around the rim, which is already gone!
I guess this is the problem because whenever I start sawing, as soon as it hits the brick and goes any faster than practically sitting still, the blade stops and I have to reset the little circuit button thingie.

My questions are what blade will last longer than about three sessions of cutting, and (I think I know the answer to this question, but I have hope that I'm wrong) Can I get a bigger blade? Bigger than 10", that is?

Thanks,
Cecelia

[drogers]

Re: harbor freight saw blade

If you have a supply house for flooring contractors in your area purchase a blade from them. They are in the business of supplying contractors and will know what works.

[jmhepworth]

Re: harbor freight saw blade

I went through two blades building my oven. Although the firebrick is soft, it eats blades. I found that I just had to slow down when cutting to avoid tripping the circuit breaker. If I recall correctly, the warning on the saw says to use only a solid blade, and all the possible replacement blades from the brickyard had teeth. And they were a lot more expensive than a couple of the cheap China blades. I would just plan on running through blades.

Joe

[RTflorida]

Re: harbor freight saw blade

interesting.....even an "el cheapo" HF blade should last longer than described. This leads me to a few questions -
do you have the pump circulating plenty of water (preferably from a separate bucket so it remains clean)?
More importantly - is the water coming out of the nozzle directly over the blade? The pump has a flow adjustment, crank it almost to "max".....yes it creates a spray mess, but it drenches the blade, keeping it cool.
I'm not saying lack of water is the issue, but it sure sound like it OR is it possible you are using "heavy duty" firebricks? They are considerably harder than light duty.

One thing most of us "novices" don't know - just because it is a diamond blade, it does not mean indestructable. There are different compositions of diamond impregnated compounds. Those that are for wet use (tile saw blades) will self destruct pretty quickly when run dry. Just ask any granite installer, there are blades/bits designed specifially for use with their "wet" tools and entirely different (look the same to most of us) blades/bits for their standard angle grinders and drills. The dry blades/bits are designed for lower RPMs but considerably higher, continual heat.

RT

[jmhepworth]

Re: harbor freight saw blade

I used the HF saw to lay a paver patio in front of the oven. I went through 2 blades on the patio (I set the pump at max and put it in a bucket of water). I wasn't too surprised that the pavers ate up the blade, but I was surprised that the firebrick (low duty) did as well. And there was no doubt when the blade was done. It was smooth on the cutting edge and just flat stopped cutting.

Joe

[christo]

Re: harbor freight saw blade

My first blade lasted the entire oven build and almost the entire patio build for my outdoor kitchen.

Make sure the water nozzles inside the blade guard are pointed towards the blade. I needed to adjust mine as they were not even close at directing water on the blade. I think this is a key point.

Clean water is a plus - I used a recirculating system with a 5 gallon bucket to keep recycled grit down to a minimum. My pump died before my blade did - I went to a direct garden hose set up for a while.

Feed rate - don't force it through the brick - slow and steady. If you try to go too fast - I suspect you are if you are stopping the blade - you'll create more heat than the water can disapate and ruin your blade. It should just be pulling the brick forward with only light pressure - it will still cut quite fast!

That's all I can think of at this time.

Christo

[cecilB]

Re: harbor freight saw blade

Thanks.
Hmmm. I know that when I was cutting the brick, the bricks got drenched - the water was definitely coming down on the blade -
I never thought to put the pump in a separate bucket - But can I submerge the whole pump in the bucket?

Yes, the entire diamond edge was completely gone on the HF blade.
I purchased a new blade - a DeWalt - for 45 bucks at Lowes - got it home only to find out that the 10" blade is 1/2" too big for the 10" wet saw!
Ok, so i'll return it and go buy the cheapie at HF.
Frustrating!

cecelia

[dmun]

Re: harbor freight saw blade

I purchased a new blade - a DeWalt - for 45 bucks at Lowes - got it home only to find out that the 10" blade is 1/2" too big for the 10" wet saw!

Say what? Now there's a new one!

[cecilB]

Re: harbor freight saw blade

yep! I held up the old blade to the new one and it's a total of a half inch difference.

has anyone else ever replaced their Harbor Freight blade with another brand?

Cecelia

[splatgirl]

Re: harbor freight saw blade

You need to raise the saw head up using the adjustment knob on the left side of the head.
I thought the HF saw was crap for the same reason...that the blade would bind up with just about zero provocation. It didn't matter how slow or careful I was. Part of the problem is that the tray and rails are super junky. I don't think mine ran true from moment one and it was impossible to make right. I used up a blade about 1/4 of the way through my build and by that time I was fed up enough with the saw that I returned it and bought a Felker. I'm sure the HF pump was on it's last leg by then as well even though I only ever ran fresh water through it.
For the couple of hundred extra bucks, the Felker was totally worth it as it's a pleasure to use and it'll be around forever.
I know lots of folks have done fine with the HF saw, so I have to think they've changed them somehow for the worse. I wouldn't give $50 for the one I had it.

[kebwi]

Re: harbor freight saw blade

Hmmm, well, I just bought one (HF) but haven't even opened it. I don't expect to get to that point in my build for several weeks.

I guess I'll just have to see how it goes.

[cecilB]

Re: harbor freight saw blade

you say you returned your HF wet saw? After how many uses? What did they say/do?
When you say to raise the saw head up using the thing on the left - yes, that's for the whole head - not the guard only, right?

I only have to do a few diagonal bricks for the tops of the soldiers - had I known all this, I would have stuck to small - half bricks from the bottom up, instead of starting with full length soldiers. hmmmm - and then just used the brick cutter (manual).

I did have my 12 year old cutting bricks in half the other day - that's fine - but some would just break all the way through after only one smack. A lot of waste!

Cecelia

[RTflorida]

Re: harbor freight saw blade

I'm all about quality in tools...but the Felker 10" is a bit pricey for the average DIYer. Isn't it $600+? Considering the lack of precision needed for an oven build, really overkill.
If you know you have several other big projects, by all means, it makes sense and is REALLY a great saw.

Maybe I am one of the lucky ones with the HF saw and blade, honestly the best $200 I have ever spent on a power tool and my FIRST Chinese tool (and I have more than a few - a little over $20,000 invested).

RT

[christo]

Re: harbor freight saw blade

I've bought a few chinese tools and most are no longer with me. I bought them for low precision/one time use and most of them died before their intended use was complete.

I've noticed that there is a farily wide range of quality from lot to lot. Maybe a few of us got lucky and ended up with saws that were set up paralell with the rails and had higher than standard blades.

My blade still had over 1/8 of an inch of edge on it when I quit using it. It just wouldn't cut easily anymore.

I bet there is some tuning you could do if the ralis are not running paralell to the blade.

Christo

[fxpose]

Re: harbor freight saw blade

yep! I held up the old blade to the new one and it's a total of a half inch difference.

That's because the old blade has worn down. They actually get smaller as they wear down.