How to Sharpen a Carbide Saw Blade

While the conventional wisdom surrounding carbide saw blades reserves sharpening for industry professionals, more and more individuals are choosing to touch up and care for their own blades at home. While most starter sets for sharpening can be purchased for $100 to $500, with fully professional kits nearing $5,000 in cost, anyone with a working Dremel tool and diamond paddle hone attachment can learn the basics of finishing and sharpening carbide saw blades.

Instructions

1. Decide on a working area with ample lighting for the cleaning and sharpening of your saw blade. Make sure that the working surface is clear of any dirt, dust or other debris.

2．Fill the basin or other water container with hot water while adding copious amounts of the citrus oil soap. Continue adding soap until the water surface is thick with soapsuds. Submerge each dull carbide saw blade in the basin and let it soak for 15 to 20 minutes. Once dry, carefully lift each blade and scrub out any resins or trapped oils between the blade teeth using a small brass-bristled brush. Repeat for each blade before rinsing the blades in hot water and setting them out to dry.

3. Insert the diamond paddle hone attachment into the nozzle of the Dremel tool and wet the tip in soapy water. Put on your safety gloves and goggles and turn on the Dremel tool at a medium setting. Apply the wetted paddle hone tip to the flat steel sides of your carbide saw blade, re-wetting the tip if sparks occur. Continue finishing the saw faces until both blade surfaces display a uniform sheen and color.

4. Hold the blade vertically in one gloved hand to position the saw blade for sharpening. Re-wet the paddle hone by dipping the tip in soapy water once more before carefully inserting it against the flat "leading" face of one of the carbide teeth. Turn on the Dremel tool to medium setting and apply the wet hone to each face of the carbide teeth, making sure not to round out the sides of the teeth as you work. Gently touch the tip of each tooth with the paddle hone to aid in cutting. Repeat for each of the carbide teeth until the blade has been entirely sharpened with the wet paddle hone.

5. Rinse the completed blade in hot water and let dry before returning it to the saw. Repeat the process for any other carbide saw blades that require sharpening.

How to Clean Tungsten Carbide Rings

Tungsten carbide rings are made from tungsten and carbide powders, resulting in an indestructible, scratch-proof metal. The metal is used to create rings, wedding bands and bracelets. Tungsten is a rare metal that, according to titanium-jewelry.com, is almost 10 times harder than 18-karat gold, five times harder than tool steel and four times harder than titanium. Tungsten carbide rings require little care, although cleaning is required to remove dirt, exposure to chemicals, soap residue and fingerprints.

Instructions

 1．

Combine 1 cup of warm water with ½ tbsp. liquid dish soap in a bowl or cup. Submerge the tungsten carbide ring in the water for five minutes.

2．

Lift the ring above the bowl or cup. Rub a toothbrush or cloth over the ring to gently clean any remaining grime or buildup from the ring.

3．

Rinse the ring in cool water to remove any remaining soap residue.

4．

Rub the ring with a soft or microfiber cloth to dry it and prevent water spots.

Tips & Warnings

Tungsten carbide metal is extremely strong and can be cleaned with cool, warm or hot water. However, it is recommended you clean a tungsten carbide ring with warm water, only because the warm water helps dissolve the liquid dish soap.

Avoid using any jewelry cleaners, cleaning solutions and cleaning products when cleaning Tungsten carbide rings. Chemicals, such as ammonia, bleach and chlorine react poorly with the composition of tungsten, which can damage the ring. Prior to working with any of these chemicals, remove the ring or wear protective rubber gloves. Should your ring come in contact with any of these chemicals, rinse it immediately.

The process of making carbide inserts

A carbide insert is a bit with multiple cutting edges and is useful because it can be replaced once the edges are worn. The process for manufacturing inserts varies somewhat between companies.

1. Tungsten

Carbides are carbon compounds noted for their heat resistance and durability. Tungsten carbide is the variety typically used for tools; this carbide uses another metal, usually cobalt, to cement the carbide powder together to create a usable substance.

2. Molds

Carbide is pressed into a mold to create the basic shape. It is ground at later points in the process to refine this shape and create an edge.

3. Coating

Carbide inserts are often coated with another substance during the manufacturing process to increase the lifespan of the insert. Such coatings are added by chemical vapor deposition (CVD), which involves using ionized gases to cause a chemical reaction on the surface of the insert, binding the coating.

4. Variation

Specifics of the manufacturing process vary between companies, as there are many options with the ratios of chemicals, design of the insert and coatings.

How to Sharpen Tungsten Carbide

1. Determine if your tool needs sharpening. One easy way to decide if your tool is becoming dull is to see if it reflects light well. Shine is an indication of wear. You can also gently scrape a fingernail on a blade and see if it shaves off a sliver; if it does not, the blade is dull. Touch is not necessarily a good way to determine if a blade is sharp, as a dull carbide tool may still feel sharp.
2. Find a professional sharpening service. Sharpening carbide is not recommended for non-professionals, as it requires skill and specific sharpening machinery. Imprecise sharpening can ruin a tool, and a professional can restore a blade to like-new condition.
3. If you are interested in learning how to sharpen blades yourself, it is recommended that you locate a teacher.  
4. Carbide tools require diamond for sharpening, due to their hardness. Wet grinding using an abrasive wheel on an automatic grinder is a very precise method of sharpening. It is also possible to sharpen a tool by using a diamond lap, but this is very imprecise and time-consuming.

Mine control in Congo

Mineral wealth has been a driving force in the conflict. The Congolese military and the rebel forces such as the ethnic Tutsi M23 movement have taken over the mines and transportation networks and raked in hundreds of millions of dollars. Villagers, including children, are rounded up and put to work, often in virtual slavery. More than 60 workers were killed in a mine collapse just last week. Rape is widespread, and women and girls are forced into brothels in the mining areas.

Given the scope of the problem, the SEC measure is relatively weak. It would not forbid manufacturers from using minerals from any source; instead it would simply require about 6,000 companies to let consumers know where the minerals originated. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce objects that the sourcing would be prohibitively expensive, but the actions of many companies involved in the trade belie that claim.

Intel Corp. (INTC) deserves particular credit. It has committed to making “conflict-free” microchips by next year, and has led a global effort to audit the smelting plants in the high-tech supply chain that process the minerals (most are in Asia) to discover where the raw materials originate. General Electric Co. (GE), Hewlett-Packard Co. (HPQ) and Motorola Solutions Inc. (MSI), among others, have joined in the auditing program and helped create the Public-Private Alliance for Responsible Minerals Trade, which works with nongovernmental groups and the U.S. government to promote a Congolese mining industry free of military and rebel control. Apple Inc. (AAPL) was the first corporation to provide a list of the 175 smelters in its supply chain and require suppliers to use audited, conflict-free smelters when possible. (Shame, however, on Mario and Luigi: Nintendo Co. has made no effort toward responsible sourcing, according to the Enough Project, a nongovernmental group that tracks crimes against humanity in Africa.)

These measures have had real success. According to the Enough Project, armed groups’ revenue from tin, tantalum and tungsten is down by 65 percent over two years. Still, much of the material is making its way illegally out of the country. Rwandan mineral exports increased by 62 percent in 2010, although domestic mining production only rose by 22 percent.

Some criticisms of the SEC rule are reasonable. One is that it might hurt the hundreds of thousands of small-scale “artisanal” miners in Congo whose families and communities depend on meager income they can scavenge from the earth. Yet the idea behind the rule and the industry efforts is to clean up the Congolese industry and improve the welfare of workers, not to force manufacturers to look elsewhere. It need not lead to a boycott if companies use due diligence.

 

INFOGRAPHIC: The Truth About Conflict Minerals

The valuable minerals mined in the barbaric conditions of armed conflict are termed as ‘Blood minerals’ or ‘Conflict minerals’. These are prominently found in the Eastern Provinces of the Democratic Republic of Congo, the epicenter for the illicit trade of these metal-minerals. This phenomenon of mining is a multi-dimensional jeopardy to human race. The profits of conflict minerals are used by the armed forces to raise funds for violence & riots. This trade also provides some rebel groups & slices of national army with a significant amount of money used to buy guns & other weapons.

The four chief minerals mined in this region are 3Ts i.e. Tungsten, Tin & Tantalum and Gold, that mostly reach the electronics industry. They are a common feature of the automobile sector, consumer electronics, sports equipment & jewelery.

As per the statistics of ITRI, more than 50% global tin supply is used in Solders. Also, the U.S Geological Survey estimates that the tantalum capacitors for use in automotive electronics, cell phones & other applications account for over 60% of total use of the metal. The tungsten metal has a huge sphere of use. From heat & water resistance applications to being used as cutting tools, it is profoundly used in the industries. While all of these minerals are of undue importance in our daily lives, perhaps most revered of these all is gold that is globally used as jewelery & as coinage in financial industry & to some extent in aerospace.

The other side of conflict mineral – misery is the extortion of people planted as laborers at the mines. Hired at gun-point, these people are threatened for their lives to work at the mines under the horrendous conditions of horrible tools, tough locations and tons of lifting. Such work conditions are also responsible for human death. According to a sinister fact, the lives lost in the Congo Civil conflict i.e. over 5.4 million are way more than those lost during the U.S Civil War & Vietnam War. Another highlight is that as much as 35% of Congo’s total mineral profits goes to the armed groups & the mine-related revenue of these groups is a whooping 75% of their total revenue.

But to combat this ongoing trade, the government policies have been framed & implemented. The U.S Government’s Dodd-Frank Wall street Reform & Consumer Protection Act (signed in 2010 into law) states in its Section 1502 that it’s mandatory for the American firms to track & audit their raw material supplies to make sure that they are not associating their products to mines ruled by the brutal armed forces.

Out of a total of 12,000 companies affected by the Dodd-Frank Act, as many as 1,200 companies have reported the cases, forming 10% of the target volume. While the Dodd-Frank Act has to its credit the attainment of substantial decline in revenue of militias i.e. by 65%, the major challenge underlying the crisis is that as high as 65% of current trade involves smuggling of the minerals.