Charles M

Bruce,

You are correct about that thread. Oven cleaner is caustic and attacks the cobalt binder in carbide resulting in surface deterioration and is also hard on the brazing of carbide tipped tools. There is a quote floating around somewhere in forum land that is purported to be from a representative of Simple Green which indicates that it may be damaging as well.

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Charles M
Freud America, Inc.

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bennybbc

I just read my post again and realized that the brazing I was talking about was the kind you do to a pot roast. Braising...Mmmmm...Pot roast...

Bruce

Lee Brubaker

My little shop ALWAYS has BS, sawblades, & router bits waiting to be cleaned. I use a 12" aluminum pie plate, coil my BS blade & place in the plate. Remove bearings from router bits & put them in the plate as well. Saw blades go into the plate by themselves.I then pour in Simple Green or Fantasik...both are degreasers & work equally well. Let soak about 10 min. Remove & brush with an old toothbrush. Wipe down. Reinstall router bit bearings. See above reply on how to oil them if needed.
For those using oven cleaner I would point out that tip speeds of sawblades is approx. 105mph. Tip speed of router bits over 1" in dia. when run at the speeds recommended for the size of the bit ranges from 104 mph up to 107 mph or pretty close. I for one do not want to be in the way of a piece of thrown carbide travelling at over 100 mph so I see no sense in taking chances with oven cleaner when there are cleaners available that do the job without attacking the integrity of the brazing. And don't be complacent about the quality of brazing. Applying a magnifying glass to brazing can sometimes produce the surprise of voids in the brazing. Great place for oven cleaner to attack.
When you are through cleaning, pinch a pour spout into the rim of the pie plate and pour into a container that can be sealed with a cap.

Lee