← Back to context

Comment by cityofdelusion

8 months ago

Carbide teeth are actually the part that gets destroyed on SawStop activations. Carbide is very brittle, so the sudden stop fractures it.

4 comments

cityofdelusion

Reply
bitbckt  8 months ago

Yes, and they are consumable and replaceable by design, which goes to my point: the blade is not irreparably destroyed by the activation.

The missing teeth need to be replaced and the plate needs to be re-checked for runout, but most carbide-toothed blades are repairable.

  • 0x0203  8 months ago

    How much does it cost to repair a carbide toothed blade, and how accessible are shops that can perform those repairs? Is it realistic that most consumers would be able to get a blade repaired rather than just running to the hardware store and getting a new one? Not being snarky; I've just never been under the impression that repairs could really be done for less than the value of a new blade.

    • bitbckt  8 months ago

      I’m paying about $50 service fees for the two blades currently out for repair. The 10” replacements cost over $200, and the 8” dado would require buying a new stack… around $250. The same folks who sharpen and true my blades do the repairs. They’re local to me here in Maine.

      Ruminating a bit:

      Cheaper blades are replaced more often with use and can’t generally be sharpened; SawStop tech doesn’t change the lifetime of a blade unless an activation happens. So, if you’re already willing to run to the box store for another blade semi-regularly, whether one survives activation perhaps isn’t material?

      On the other hand, somebody who doesn’t regularly use their saw is probably both more price conscious and less likely to need sharpening/replacement often. I assume they care most about whether an activation forces them to buy a new blade (and a $100 brake). I suspect those are the people who propagate “SawStop = trashed blade”. For them, it’s true.