Suggestions for blades slipping from clamps

[Linda in Phoenix]

Quite often I see people asking about what to do for blades that slip in the clamps, and I have had my own issues with this one in the past too. The most common solutions suggested on forums and by the pros:  check to make sure you are clamping in the right area "sweet spot" in your clamps, tighten clamps appropriately, make sure your tension is right, don't be an animal and push too hard, let the blade do the work, slow down your feed rate, resurface your set screws or clamp pieces that touch the blade itself, and wipe the ends of the blade with mineral spirits or paint thinner to clean off oils from the manufacturer.  Here are 2 suggestions I don't see very often at all, but work for me quite well:  1) maintenance:  vacuum or brush the dust out of your clamps---it will act like graphite powder in a lock and make it slippery in there; and 2) use a 220 grit sand paper and sand/roughen up the surfaces on the ends of the blade where they go into the clamps (doesn't take much).

[jscott2]

Linda, I sand the ends of the blades and have no (almost) blade slippage.  Never thought to clean the clamps (men don't clean  ) but I'll have to try that.

Thanks,
Jim

[Billy in Va]

The procedure I use is   Every time I change a blade, I clean the ends of the blade, both sides of the blade, with sandpaper (medium grit -  what ever I have handy) This leaves the blade bright and shiny.  After cleaning the blade I remover the clamp screw and rub it on the sandpaper FLAT on the saw table. After installing the blade and setting the tension, I run the saw and use a sharpening stone on the back of the blade to round it over. Release the tension, thread the new blade through the work piece, clamp, reset tension and start cutting.  I seldom have any slippage.  Every once and a great while I get a blade that just does not want to  work correctly.   If after several tries, it continues to slip, I get a new one and start over.  The might happen once or maybe twice in a gross of blades.

[dirtrider73068]

Cleaning the dust out thats when the blow gun from the air compressor comes about in my shop.

[ChuckD]

I have a Delta P-20 I like except for the fact I can't keep blades in the clamp.  It is so bad I don't even use the saw.  I have done all the listed things to no avail.  I know it is the nut fault but this nut don't know what.  And I have cut a few items so I know what I am doing except for this.  I have even changed clamps. 

[Laurentian]

The procedure I use is   Every time I change a blade, I clean.... After installing the blade and setting the tension, I run the saw and use a sharpening stone on the back of the blade to round it over.

Hi, just wondering, what kind of stone grit do you use on the back of the blades...I have some diamond grit paddles 600x...would that be adequate?

[TheKingmontKid]

The procedure I use is   Every time I change a blade, I clean.... After installing the blade and setting the tension, I run the saw and use a sharpening stone on the back of the blade to round it over.

Hi, just wondering, what kind of stone grit do you use on the back of the blades...I have some diamond grit paddles 600x...would that be adequate?

Time to ask my stupid question of the day, but been scrolling 8+ years now and have never heard of this. What benefit does rounding off the back of the blade give you? I would think this would increase the likelihood of blades snapping.

[dirtrider73068]

Allows the blade to make a smoother turn rather than having a sharp edge and burn in the turn and think helps the blade go through the cut with a rounded edge rather than a sharp edge. Blades are stamped out of steel and in the stamping process leaves a burr on the right side of the blade.

[ChuckD]

I have tried this before and I could never tell the difference.

[jackrabbit7822]

Will have to try thank you slippage is a problem i have big time.

[NormB]

Sheila Landry Designs her site has some tutorials on it one covers cleaning the blades prior to use removing the oil that is naturally there from the manufacturing process.  Might want to look at that.


http://www.sheilalandrydesigns.com/

[smw]

If blades are slipping out, the problem surely must be with the clamp faces not being square against each other.my approach would be to tighten  the clamps against a piece of very fine wet and dry paper then loosen it of just until you can move the paper back and forth and sand the faces this way,then turn the paper and do the other face the same way