Rusty Blades

[P.A. RESHARP]

Hello, wondering what you guys do to keep blades from getting rusty between resharps, or from one time to the next. I have people all the time asking me how to keep them from rusting, figured you guys would have all the answers. I think most of the people that ask me this question, leave them hang in a shed or out building for period of time. Thanks Guys

[dovetails]

I made a box about same size the blades come in to keep the dull ones in.

Got a question, can you sharpen old rusty bands? I have about 15 that came with my mill that are from 1985 or so.I quess I could put on mill and clean them up a bit cutting some junk logs for firewood.

[wwsjr]

I usually hang mine in the saw shed, open on 3 sides and if I think they will be there for a few weeks, I spray with WD40 or some other oil/solvent. The humidity is bad here in MS and blades will rust quickly.

[P.A. RESHARP]

Hello Dovetails, As long as they are not pitted real bad, you should be good to go. We have what we call wash tanks that have high pressure 180* water solution with 8 wire brushes that clean the blades. As a norm that will get the most of the rust off. If they are pitted real bad, then the setters will get funny on you because you are talking 1/2 thousands to a thousands of an inch in set. We keep all our blades within 1 thousands from 1 side to the other. Hope this helped

[west penn]

I keep a spray bottle with some  diesel fuel in it and just before changing the blade give it a shot of  diesel and  that seems to work pretty well'

[Tom]

I sharpened my own and didn't worry about rust too much, as long as it was surface rust.  Even a fairly deep rust may not hurt the band too much, but eventually the band will lose it's ability to bend and will break.

What I did was try not to get too many bands in production.  I used two or three bands a day and kept about nine to a dozen on the truck.  By doing that, I wore them out before they suffered from the elements too much.  I carried two or three new spares packed away, just in case.  That way I knew I could always get through the day.

I ordered my bands two boxes of 10 at a time.   when I entered my last box, I ordered two more boxes.

[Magicman]

I keep them in the shipping cube until I need to refill my "carry can".  The real secret to prevent bands from rusting is to keep them dry.
 


It's a sawed off plastic garbage can
 


It carries 10 bands nicely
 


and always dry....

[ElectricAl]

Stop the competition, we have a winner !

MagicMan has a trick to impress you all.

[P.A. RESHARP]

WOW  Magicman, That is impressive, i would have to say so far, that is the best i have seen.

[sdunston]

And there's room there for a sandwich or two . Great Idea
Sam

[backwoods sawyer]

I have a cedar 4x4 that is ceiling height that I hang the saws on while I wipe them down with oil and diesel mix after sharpening them. I just use an old rag that has plenty of oil mix on it and rotate the saw backwards while holding the rag on the backside of the saw. The cedar 4x4 is soft and as long as you do not drag the teethe around it, it does not affect the set in the teeth.

I borrowed Magicmans idea for transporting saws and use a large tree pot that you get from a nursery and made a top for it out of wood. If you have to hit the brakes and the tools shift in the back of the truck this offers the saws some protection.

[submarinesailor]

When they come back from sharping, we spray them down with AMSOIL MP, http://www.amsoil.com/storefront/amp.aspx.  If we know that we won't be using them for a long time, we will use the Heavy Duty MP, http://www.amsoil.com/storefront/amh.aspx on them.

In my opinion, these are 2 of the better metal protectors on the market.

Bruce

[bandmiller2]

I think using the "Majic" container with the seperating cardboard seperators soaked with rust preventing oil would be as good and handy as you could get.Frank C.

[robnrob2]

Well I dont use water as a blade lube cleaner, due to the blade guide bearing setup I have on my mill,, so a deasel mix is what I use, and I have a wipe/wick like system, so the lube is only necessary once in a while anyway,, But that said, after the blade is removed, it its taged, recoiled up and goes into the Dull blade barrel with lid,, holds a bunch,, then the fresh blade barrel holds a bunch too, with a pair, back to back, then a round cardboard seperator between,, there always rust free, both the dull and the fresh,, I set and sharpen my own also, and rust is no problem,,  My Bands being just under $20 a blade I want to get the longest life out of them, I keep them out of the elements,, the only band that is exposed to the elements is the one on the mill.

[bandmiller2]

A guy I know in the next town just uses a band once then hangs them on a tree,when I visit I scamper off with those old rusty bands.Wire brush, a little oil, set and sharpen its been a wile since I've bought new bands.Frank C.

[NMFP]

I have an enclosed trailer that I keep all of my sawing equipment in categorized by tooth angle and brand.  As far as rust, I spray all of my bands each time I put them away with dw-40 or walmarts brand of Lubricant.  This keep the rust to a minimum.  Usually if I spray the bands before they are put away, I have some that are almost 2 years old that were sprayed and do not have a bit of rust on them.  I spray after they return from being sharpened and after they are used on the mill due to the acid in the logs. 

Thanks!

[Chuck White]

If I am going to be awhile before I sharpen them, they get a spray & wipe with Liquid Wrench. 

They get the same thing after sharpening! 

I don't have any rusty blades. 

I have a cedar 4x4 that is ceiling height that I hang the saws on while I wipe them down with oil and diesel mix after sharpening them. I just use an old rag that has plenty of oil mix on it and rotate the saw backwards while holding the rag on the backside of the saw. The cedar 4x4 is soft and as long as you do not drag the teethe around it, it does not affect the set in the teeth.

I do the same as BWS, only I have a pine 2x4 laying on the ceiling stringers (joists) in the back of my garage, where I store my mill, and I do my setting/sharpening there also!
The 2x4 is such a height that the blade hangs with the bottom of it about 7 feet above the floor.
This is a good idea for SAFETY sake, we don't need anyone getting cut with the hanging blade.
The blades stay hung on the 2x4 until they are pulled down for sharpening, and after that they go into my transport case.

[P.A. RESHARP]

Thanks for all the replys guys, This really gives a lot of good ideas to pass on down to other sawyers.  Thanks Again