hi,,,,1st off i want to make a comment about person(s) buying tools at harbor freight and complaining about quality and service. I frequent HFT often. BUT>>>> i realize what i am buying.... the quality of all their product are average at best. If you do not realize this then dont shop there.It only makes you look like the fool. 2nd>>>> As far as service and policies ..most of the time the cashiers will tell you without asking about return policies and offer you a supstanual warrenty ,,,at a cost of course... IF YER NOT TOLD ASK!!.. the policy especially on anything electric is worth it and recommended. for the most bpart you can get another new one through out the warranty which if you had used it alot then what is the problem? 3rd>>>> compared to a $800 + machine to sharpen yer blades ,unless you have them done or make yer own jig then... i recommend this one and make yer own adapters to be able to use it to yer liking..after all it a great place to start.pesonall i buy quality tool when it is something ill use alot....if its something that i will use very little and not often then ill at least look at hft products......Good Luck

PATHETIC CUSTOMER SERVICE !!! There is not a HFT near me. While visiting Lafayette, La. I bought the circular saw sharpener. When I got home I assembled it to find it was missing the flanges that holds the sharpeneing blade in place. I work retail so I'm use to missing parts. I Emailed customer service explained the problem gave receipt info and asked them to ship the parts since I do not live near a HFT. They responded saying they " would not ship the part " that I needed to take it back to the store.
Now I will summarize the following Emails to shorten many Emails.
I replied saying again not near a HFT.
They replied saying they would not send parts needed but could return it for replacement.
To shorten more. We'll pay shipping but there could be " restocking fee".
Me: why should I have to pay restocking fee when parts were missing ?
Them: no restocking fee.
I just want my money back by now.
Them: No. Replacement or take it back to a HFT for refund.
Me: I drove 2 hours one way to the closest HFT to get my money back.

I will never set foot in a HFT AGAIN !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

My experience is nearly identical to the previous reviewer, dougvl. The machine desperately needed an adjustable stop. I spent a lot of time building one only to discover that the support for the blade has so much flex in it that it was no better than the original. Inaccuracy is inherent to the construction of the machine.

All I run are carbide blades and after some Google research it appears that carbide blades are all ground square to the face of the carbide tooth, 90 degrees to the saw blade. I found this hard to believe, but a check of my saw blade collection showed it to be true. So ignoring the stop altogether I would "kiss" the diamond blade off the face of the tooth and go on to the next tooth. This actually worked quite well to touch up the carbide. IMHO this machine does not have the sophistication or the precision to consistently sharpen a blade without more effort than the sharpening is worth. But for touchups it is OK.

Would I buy another one? Maybe. Would I recommend it? With a lot of reservations.

The Harbor Freight 96687 Circular Saw Blade Sharpener.

[Oops - first post missed the first paragraph - ]

I bought this in April, 2010, at my local HF store. Normally $70, they were
on sale for $60. And in the advance sale flyer they handed out, there's a
coupon for only $50, valid in a week or two.

I also bought a package of 2 spare wheels (one diamond, one emery) for $10.

I searched the web to see what other people had to say about it. Mostly I
just found postings asking for owner's opinions. I did find one page on a
welding site describing using one for sharpening metal-cutting cold saws.
He said it worked out quite well. The next step up that I've seen in
circular blade sharpeners suitable for a home shop is on ebay from a couple
of sellers in China and costs about $400 ($270 $130 for shipping). It
looks like a substantially nicer machine from what I can see in the small
pictures. I'd sure like to try one. (Donations to the fund will be
gratefully accepted!)

First of all, I'd say the sharpener is easily worth its price. It takes a
lot of experimentation and learning and practice, and quite a bit of setup
time converting from one tooth angle to another. And its tooth alignment
registration stop pawl is tricky to adjust for the right grinding wheel cut
on the tooth. It badly needs a fine adjustment mechanism of some sort. The
knob that holds the blade-holder arm in position is hard to get tight
enough. The pivoting arm that the blade tooth registration stop slides on
needed to be smoothed with a file, and moving the stop is still a bit
jerky. Changing the grinding wheel is made a bit inconvenient by the 3
small screws that hold the wheel guard side onto the rest of the guard. So
far I've been leaving it off while I'm experimenting.

The instruction manual is minimal. The parts are not well identified and
there is no picture or drawing of the machine set up and ready for use.
There is no information on actually sharpening a blade. You have to already
know how to use the grinder before you get it, or else teach yourself to
use it. It might be nice to have an old scrap blade or two to learn on.
It's not really too bad, though, because it doesn't take off much metal at
one time, so you're not too likely to totally ruin a blade. It does take a
lot of fiddling to get the angles set right for the bevel angles and to get
the cutting edge of the tooth parallel to the wheel.

But the machine is a lot handier than trying to keep consistent angles with
a file as I go around a circular blade in a vise. And it does carbide. I
know - I can use diamond hones on carbide tips, but that's really slow. And
it's hard to keep the tooth surface flat.

So far I've had the grinder for about a week and I've used it on three
steel blades and a carbide one. I can't sharpen the sloping top of saw
teeth. The grinding wheels just work on their edges. Well, the diamond one
for sure, because it's a very thin steel plate. The emery one might be
usable on its rim but it's very narrow. The wheel tapers to a thin edge on
the outside or right hand side. In the instruction manual is a diagram
showing grinding the top of a blade tooth with the edge of the wheel, but
the wheel shape in the diagram is not the same as the wheel with the
machine. The rim of the wheel would need to be a bit wider and beveled
instead of thin and rounded.

If you're not already quite familiar with sharpening principles like
clearance angles and judging surface flatness by the bright spots left by
filing or grinding, don't buy the machine. If you can't teach yourself or
you don't want to experiment, learn and practice then don't buy the
machine. If you're in a big hurry to get your sharpening done, don't buy
the machine.

But if you are patient and like learning new skills, then it's a fun and
rewarding purchase.

I recommend it.

2 spare wheels (one diamond, one emery) for $10.

I searched the web to see what other people had to say about it. Mostly I
just found postings asking for owner's opinions. I did find one page on a
welding site describing using one for sharpening metal-cutting cold saws.
He said it worked out quite well. The next step up that I've seen in
circular blade sharpeners suitable for a home shop is on ebay from a couple
of sellers in China and costs about $400 ($270 $130 for shipping). It
looks like a substantially nicer machine from what I can see in the small
pictures. I'd sure like to try one. (Donations to the fund will be
gratefully accepted!)

First of all, I'd say the sharpener is easily worth its price. It takes a
lot of experimentation and learning and practice, and quite a bit of setup
time converting from one tooth angle to another. And its tooth alignment
registration stop pawl is tricky to adjust for the right grinding wheel cut
on the tooth. It badly needs a fine adjustment mechanism of some sort. The
knob that holds the blade-holder arm in position is hard to get tight
enough. The pivoting arm that the blade tooth registration stop slides on
needed to be smoothed with a file, and moving the stop is still a bit
jerky. Changing the grinding wheel is made a bit inconvenient by the 3
small screws that hold the wheel guard side onto the rest of the guard. So
far I've been leaving it off while I'm experimenting.

The instruction manual is minimal. The parts are not well identified and
there is no picture or drawing of the machine set up and ready for use.
There is no information on actually sharpening a blade. You have to already
know how to use the grinder before you get it, or else teach yourself to
use it. It might be nice to have an old scrap blade or two to learn on.
It's not really too bad, though, because it doesn't take off much metal at
one time, so you're not too likely to totally ruin a blade. It does take a
lot of fiddling to get the angles set right for the bevel angles and to get
the cutting edge of the tooth parallel to the wheel.

But the machine is a lot handier than trying to keep consistent angles with
a file as I go around a circular blade in a vise. And it does carbide. I
know - I can use diamond hones on carbide tips, but that's really slow. And
it's hard to keep the tooth surface flat.

So far I've had the grinder for about a week and I've used it on three
steel blades and a carbide one. I can't sharpen the sloping top of saw
teeth. The grinding wheels just work on their edges. Well, the diamond one
for sure, because it's a very thin steel plate. The emery one might be
usable on its rim but it's very narrow. The wheel tapers to a thin edge on
the outside or right hand side. In the instruction manual is a diagram
showing grinding the top of a blade tooth with the edge of the wheel, but
the wheel shape in the diagram is not the same as the wheel with the
machine. The rim of the wheel would need to be a bit wider and beveled
instead of thin and rounded.

If you're not already quite familiar with sharpening principles like
clearance angles and judging surface flatness by the bright spots left by
filing or grinding, don't buy the machine. If you can't teach yourself or
you don't want to experiment, learn and practice then don't buy the
machine. If you're in a big hurry to get your sharpening done, don't buy
the machine.

But if you are patient and like learning new skills, then it's a fun and
rewarding purchase.

I recommend it.