The blade will be dulled over time no matter how expensive your circular saw is.
But that doesn’t always mean you have to spend further to get a new blade.
To keep the blade always ready for work, you can get a circular saw blade sharpener machine from Amazon, or you have the option to learn how to sharpen circular saw blades of your budget circular saw by yourself.
You heard me right; there is no need to spend money on an electric circular saw blade sharpener when you can do it yourself with a diamond file.
In this guide, I’ll show you a simple way to sharpen the circular blade that doesn’t require you have fancy sharpening machines.
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How to Sharpen Circular Saw Blades
Why Do You Need to Sharpen a Circular Blade?
Anyone can give a straightforward answer to this question, which is to sharpen the dull blade.
Apart from this reason, there are some other reasons why you need to sharpen your circular saw blade.
Working with a dull blade will not provide you with an excellent finish. Instead, it will roughen it.
Dull blades take more effort to cut things, making the motor work harder than usual.
This extreme working condition causes the motor to burn out soon.
You are about to save money by sharpening the blade.
A sharp blade can give you better cuts, and the saw will stay inside your workplace for a long time before you replace it.
A guide to buying the circular saw blade is by Thesawlab to give you more insight.
Sharpening a Circular Saw Blade Using Diamond File
Sharpening a blade with a diamond file is the most-simplest and widely used method.
It doesn’t require you to be a professional and costs way less than a mechanical sharpener.
Follow the steps below to bring back the sharpness of your circular blade.
Step One: Remove the Blade
It’s recommended for you to remove the blade first to prevent any injury
. Removing the blade from a circular saw doesn’t take much effort. Y
ou will find a release switch that unlocks the blade when you press it.
However, some saws don’t have any locking system.
In that case, you will need a wrench to unbolt and remove the blade.
Step Two: Be Careful with the Blade
Even though you are about to sharpen a dulled blade, accidents can happen at any time.
Therefore, it’s highly recommended to use gloves to hold the blade and put it in a safe place.
Make sure the blade is facing up, and teeth should be facing towards you, and the vice grip isn’t too tightened, or it will end up wrapping its holding metal.
Step Three: Make Marks
Make marks to the blade’s topmost point so that you don’t unwillingly sharpen at the same point over and over again.
It will help you track the sharpening progress and prevent double sharpening if not necessary.
Every two points in the blade have a bevel facing you.
Now, take your diamond file and hold it at a 20-degree angle, and consistently stroke four times up and down along the bevel.
You will need to change the file if necessary.
Step Four: Observe the Bevels
As you might know, there are bevels on every other blade.
You can skip a blade and head to the following beveled edge.
Keep repeating the stroking process until you have covered the entire blade.
Step Five: Repeat on Other Side
After done with one side of the blade, it’s time to do the same with the other.
Don’t get lost and keep overdoing it.
The marks will let you know once you will reach the starting point.
Step Six: File
Now, you have to file the tips of every tooth.
There is no need to do multiple strokes.
Run the file back and forth across the blade’s pointy edges once.
If you further file the blade, it will wear the blade down more than is required.
Do the same with all the blade tips on your saw’s blade.
Step Seven: Install the Blade
When you are finished sharpening, now it’s time to put the blade as it was.
Unlock the circular blade from its vice grip and install the blade back onto the saw.
Few Things Related to Sharpen a Circular Saw Blade
You can easily sharpen a steel-tooth circular saw blade.
But things are not that easy when it’s about a carbide-tipped blade.
It’s highly recommended to hire a professional to sharpen a blade of this type.
Because carbide is a hard material, you will need a diamond wheel sharper.
Furthermore, sharpening this blade is quite complicated.
If anything goes slightly wrong, you will ruin the blade.
As the carbide blades cut with both the tips of its teeth and its sides, a moment of unawareness can damage the edges.
For these reasons, you should either get a carbide circular saw blade sharpener machine or hire a professional to deal with such blades.
You can also get the orange circular saw blade sharpener.
This machine sports a diamond sanding wheel that takes good care of carbide-tipped saw blades.
Few Tips for Getting Better Cuts with Circular Saws
Don’t set the blade too deep, or its exposed blade will kick back.
For more efficient cuts, make sure the blade is properly set.
Before pulling the trigger, you need to determine how deep the blade is.
Hold the blade alongside the board, adjust the lever, and make sure the blade is extended about ¼ to ½ inches below the board.
When dealing with crosscutting plywood, ensure there is support for the board.
Otherwise, it will cause tears or splinters.
For precise angle cuts, use the blade guard and when you are about a few inches into the cut, release the blade guard and let it rest on the board.
Stop the blade and withdraw the saw if you are out from a straight line while cutting.
Bring it back along the line and start again.
Final Words
Hopefully, after reading the article, you know how to sharpen circular saw blades.
You will undoubtedly save a lot of money each time your blades are dulled.
However, don’t do it yourself if your blade requires a more complicated sharpening method like a carbide blade.
Get an automatic circular saw blade sharpener for your carbide blade, or hire someone who knows how to deal with such material.
Check out our Top 5 Power Tools for even more reading.