Tableware saw blades are often used to rip boards vertically along the natural grain of the wood, such as plywood and other long pieces of lumber.
Often, users of this equipment wonder how to change a table saw blade and how often they should do so.
How Often Should You Change a Table Saw Blade?
For carpenters and woodworkers, a table saw is a very common tool to use.
Often included in its usage is the regular maintenance of this particular instrument.
To accomplish this, changing table saw blades regularly and ensuring that sharpness is applied properly is essential.
There are no added reminders that notify you when it's time to change your saw blade.
Perhaps, in a couple of years but for now, you have to decide based on your common sense.
If you use your saw every day or just a few times a year, the blade will gradually wear down.
That is until a point that it will need sharpening or replacement, just like every other piece of equipment or machine you own.
Factors To Keep In Mind
How often you replace your blade depends on a few factors like how frequently you use it, the materials you use it on, and the quality of the blade.
Frequency of Use
The frequency with which you use your saw is the most important aspect.
If you use your saw every day, you'll need to replace the blade sooner than if you just use it once or twice a month.
Material Durability
The toughness of the material you're cutting is another consideration.
Cutting hardwoods will quickly wear out the blade compared to softwoods.
Blade Efficiency
Compared to a cheap blade, high-quality blades can cut effectively and accurately for extended periods.
Sharpening a high-quality blade several times is possible.
On the other hand, it wouldn't be worth it to sharpen a bargain blade.
Replacing it with a new one by following the correct steps on how to change table saw blades is a better choice.
How Do You Change a Saw Blade?
As established earlier, blades and teeth can wear out, depending on the materials you've been cutting.
If you use your saw on dense or rough materials often, you will need to change blades more often than if you only cut wood.
The question is, how to change a table saw blade?
Below are some safety steps you can take.
Unplug
Remove the saw's power cord from the socket or extension cord.
You should never make any adjustments to the saw or blade when it is still turned on.
Set
Set the saw on a wooden board and pull the blackguard back.
Rotate the blade when pressing down on the arbor-lock button on the saw before the locking mechanism is triggered.
The arbor is the shaft on which the blade is mounted.
Push the blade into the wooden surface if there is no lock button.
Loosen
Remove the nut holding the blade in place with a wrench.
Spin the wrench in a direction similar to how the blade cuts to loosen the nut.
You'll be able to remove the old blade after retraction of the saw's upper blade guard.
Mount the Blade
Place the new blade over the saw's arbor at this stage, making sure the saw teeth face the direction of rotation.
If you're unsure, there's an arrow on the blade or guard to point you in the right direction.
Diamond arbors are used in some circular saws. If this is the case, straddle the blade between two woodblocks.
The middle of the blade should hang over the space between them, and remove the arbor with a hammer.
Tighten
Tighten the arbor bolt only until it is snug with your blade wrench.
If you overtighten the nut, loosening it the next time you change the blade would be difficult.
Final Touches
Once the nut is secure, reconnect the saw by plugging it back into the power socket.
Switch on the saw and let it run to see if the blade is in the proper place.
If it's shaky, tighten the arbor and double-check that all other components are safe.
You can get back to work now that you've mounted the new blade.
Which Direction Do You Turn the Table Saw Arbor Nut To Loosen It?
Just in case you glossed over point four on how to change the blade on a table saw and are having trouble loosening the arbor nut, this is the guideline to follow if you're not sure which way to turn the nut.
The nut tightens in the opposite direction of the movement of the saw blade.
Otherwise, the blade's rotation might unscrew the bolt, leading to the blade falling off every time you use your saw.
Right-handed saw blades, in general, turn counterclockwise, so tighten the bolt counterclockwise.
The blades on left-handed saws turn clockwise, so tighten the bolt counterclockwise.
How Do You Remove a Table Saw Blade Without a Wrench?
As noted on the steps on how to change table saw blades, if you don't have a wrench to hold the blade in place, a wooden block will suffice.
It will quickly avoid turning by wedging teeth, allowing you to loosen the arbor nut with the only wrench.
For the same reason, you can get a blade lock. You may also use a pair of pliers to loosen the nut slightly and then untighten it with your fingertips.
However, since this is a potentially dangerous situation, you should wear highly durable and protective gloves.
You can also make use of the Arbor lock. It is a mechanism found in some smaller table saws that perform the same purpose as the blade lock.
In the step of how to change the blade on a table saw where you need to loosen the arbor nut, the arbor lock function is enabled by a switch to prevent the blade from turning.
How To Change a Table Saw Blade: The Conclusion
It becomes easier to change a table saw blade once you understand the right procedure of changing table saw blades.
You also don't need to prepare ahead of time.
If you use your table saw often, you can notice that the blade needs replacing regularly.
If you're dealing with different materials, the situation is the same.