cooks ss blades- problems?

[mike phillips]

hello all. its been a while since I have posted here as I haven't been using my saw much. I have a 94 b-16 timberking. like the b-20 but with fewer bells and whistles on it. it works good for me though, mostly. I am wondering if anyone has used the cooks ss double welded blades. I bought 20 of them about 1-1/2 years ago and just got where I could try them out. I have only used cooks ss blades in the past and always had good results with them. the double welded blades only cost me about $8 each so I got 20 of them thinking they should cut as good as the regular ones. wrong. they dived in the cuts and had wavy cuts and even rounded the log face. surprised me. I fully expected them to work great. were new and very sharp and the welds looked just fine. anyway, I called cooks and talked to kennedy first and then Brenden,[I think], and was hoping they could make it up a little bit if I ordered 20 more regular blades but they wouldn't do anything for me. not downing them but I was pretty disappointed. the thing is, I could put a dull or used ss blade on and it would cut fine at a slower feed rate so I know my mill is adjusted ok. I spent a lot of time making sure everything was just right and the tracking is ok too. blade is perfectly level, guide rollers are new and level, and wheels are plumb. new bearings and machined wheels also. sure threw me for a loop as the blades looked just fine. I wonder if anyone has used these lower cost blades and they worked ok for them. the set looked ok but I did notice on one of them there were 3 raker teeth in a row. don't know if that would cause it. anyway, if anyone is tempted to buy these because of the price you may want to think on it as that's what happened to me. they looked just like the other ones but performance was terrible. I wish they would have at least paid the shipping or knocked off $2-3 on the 20 I was going to buy but they wouldn't. anyone know of a brand that isn't super expensive that works ok? I don't saw much like a lot of you guys do but I do enjoy it. I am trying to make some rustic timber beds and sell them just to supplement my income. thanks all.

[Woodpecker52]

I was thinking of trying cooks ss but now I think I will reconsider, Yikes to customer service!

[charles mann]

haven't bought blades for my build yet, so i can't say to the blades in question. But i did use cooks for a portion of my build, i.e. 26" band wheels, roller wheels, mega blade guides and few other smaller items. before buying, i had some questions, called, was told id be called back in 20 min, 2 days later, i called back, was told again, 20 min, 2 days later, i get a call back. i asked my questions and the answers seemed to be spot on with what members on here were saying. when it was time to place my order, there was an issue in shipping of the band wheels, so received a call to correct the issue, and during the convo, was recommended other items, so i asked if those could be charged too and was told yes. well, yes was the wrong answer, and had to email the order in bc the items were not on their website, no biggie. upon receiving the bulk of the items, i noticed some of the items seems to be a bit rough in shape, possibly from improper storage, handling, and or from shipping. their shipping dept needs a class on proper packaging of some of their heavier items, cardboard and duct tape don't seem to be the best protection for machined surfaces. the roller wheels (for use as carriage wheels) evidently come in 2 sizes, but not mentioned on their site, but an option of either running the wheels on the top leg of the rail, or the bottom of the rail (the V viewed upside down on angle iron) was an option. I chose top leg rail, and when the 4 of them showed, i test fitted 1 on my 3/8" angle, and it seems a bit small, so i inquired and that is when i was told about the 2 different sizes, so they sent out the rollers for the 3/8" angle. well when i got them, they too didn't seem to fit the top leg of the angle, had more of a 22.5° machine angle, for riding on the bottom of the angle, instead of a more rounded contour, for the top leg. plus there was a .025" deviation in the machining of the grooves on all 4 rollers. i inquired again, and this time, i was told to use them or return for a full refund. 

all in all, my eps with cooks has been to say the least, 4 strokes above a par 4 course. now that i see how the rollers are built, when they wear out, i will have, if i haven't purchased a lathe by then, a local machine shop make me a new set of roller, machined for running on the top leg, and if the band wheels wear out, i guess ill try to find some elsewhere, or scrap the mill, before buying from them again.   

[DPatton]

hello all. its been a while since I have posted here as I haven't been using my saw much. I have a 94 b-16 timberking. like the b-20 but with fewer bells and whistles on it. it works good for me though, mostly. I am wondering if anyone has used the cooks ss double welded blades. I bought 20 of them about 1-1/2 years ago and just got where I could try them out. I have only used cooks ss blades in the past and always had good results with them. the double welded blades only cost me about $8 each so I got 20 of them thinking they should cut as good as the regular ones. wrong. they dived in the cuts and had wavy cuts and even rounded the log face. surprised me. I fully expected them to work great. were new and very sharp and the welds looked just fine. anyway, I called cooks and talked to kennedy first and then Brenden,[I think], and was hoping they could make it up a little bit if I ordered 20 more regular blades but they wouldn't do anything for me. not downing them but I was pretty disappointed. the thing is, I could put a dull or used ss blade on and it would cut fine at a slower feed rate so I know my mill is adjusted ok. I spent a lot of time making sure everything was just right and the tracking is ok too. blade is perfectly level, guide rollers are new and level, and wheels are plumb. new bearings and machined wheels also. sure threw me for a loop as the blades looked just fine. I wonder if anyone has used these lower cost blades and they worked ok for them. the set looked ok but I did notice on one of them there were 3 raker teeth in a row. don't know if that would cause it. anyway, if anyone is tempted to buy these because of the price you may want to think on it as that's what happened to me. they looked just like the other ones but performance was terrible. I wish they would have at least paid the shipping or knocked off $2-3 on the 20 I was going to buy but they wouldn't. anyone know of a brand that isn't super expensive that works ok? I don't saw much like a lot of you guys do but I do enjoy it. I am trying to make some rustic timber beds and sell them just to supplement my income. thanks all.

You might try Kasco 4* blades with that mill. I know they are more expensive but I believe you will be much more satisfied with their performance.

[Chuck White]

I have set and sharpened a few of the double weld blades for a local here!

Not sure what brand they were, but he never said anything but "good" about them!

Maybe you just got a bad batch!

[dgdrls]

What is a double welded blade?

D

[petefrom bearswamp]

My question exactly DGDRLS
I tried Cooks Super sharp about 10 years ago and had 50 percent break at the weld.
They did make good on them but after sending some for sharpening and waiting 3 1/2 weeks for them went back to WM and havent looked back.

[Cutting Edge]

What is a double welded blade?

D

A blade that is made up from (2) shorter pieces in-lieu of using (1) single piece of proper length.

[mike phillips]

thank you all for your replies. sorry, a double welded blade is like cutting edge said. its made when they get to the end of a roll and they can add another piece to make up the length. like chuck said, I fully expected them to be ok and cut really well. they looked like they would. all the others I got from cooks cut just fine. I only wish they would have taken 20 bad blades in consideration when I wanted to buy 20 more regular ones and gave me at least some kind of a break. I may look at the kasko or the woodmizer. mainly I just have to watch the price on them. thanks again guys.

[dgdrls]

Mike,  to be fair, how many blades did you try from the pack?
There are plenty of stories here of folks pulling
a "new" blade and it will not saw.

With that said, piecing together bands from the 
"butt of the loaf" is perhaps a stretch?


D

[mike phillips]

hi dgdrls. good question. I think I tried 8 of them each time hoping they would be ok but none of them I tried cut good. surprising too, as they were all very sharp and you would think they would do great. I would fault my mill, but when I tried a cooks ss that was used and kind of dull, it would cut flat and true. I have 12 more I could try but I bet I wont find one that works. maybe they just got kinked a little with that second weld. thank you.

[ladylake]

 How is the set on those blades, I got some in a while back that wouldn't even cut basswood straight.. Mostly due to not enough set.   Steve

[barbender]

I'm with Steve, check the set. I think Cook's catalog states theres is no warranty on those double weld blades. That should tell you what to expect, you're cleaning out their scrap bin. If it was my operation, I wouldn't even sell something like that, it's just an opportunity to tarnish your reputation. Of course all of this is my opinion, take it fwiw😊 Find someone to reset those blades, or just scrap them. Then buy some real blades👍

[gmmills]

   Mike, sorry to hear of you experience with your blades with double weld joints. Not the least surprised with their lack of performance. I would bet money it has little to do with your mill itself. They would probably be acceptable in a pallet re-saw application where the widths of cuts would be under 6".  Blade remnants should never be welded together resulting in a blade with multiple welds. Too many variables as a direct result of the weld itself. You may have read a previous thread where it was stated that the weld process is almost foolproof. Just shut safety hood and activate welding process totally automatic. No variables in regards to operator error. I can assure you this is not so. It very saddening that Cook's would not work with you to rectify the situation. Unfortunately, I am not surprised.     

  The only advice I can offer, at this point, is to not bother to try to make these blades work. You are frustrated enough. Just order new blades from another manufacturer. I have been using Kasco blades for quite a while now. Great quality. If you choose to buy Kasco blades, give Cutting Edge a call. I buy my blades from him. Great customer service.  

[mike phillips]

thank you gmmills. I think you are right. 2 other people mentioned kasco blades and said if I called and ordered them,[15 lot], I may could get them for maybe $13 ea. I tried calling kasco and couldn't get through so I went to their website and sent an online message. maybe they'll reply. I wonder how much they cost from cutting edge and do you know how to get in touch with him? I live in southern ok. and kasco is in Missouri, so not very far as far as the shipping price goes. and i'm with you as I think my mill is ok. thanks again.

[Southside]

Mike, try sending a PM to Richard @Cutting Edge I tagged him here for you so hopefully he will chime in.  

[Cutting Edge]

Mike,

Contact info is in my signature line or CLICK HERE

Looking forward to hearing from you.

[esteadle]

This is the worst suggestion ever, but were your blades turned the right way out for your mill? 
That is, are the teeth facing the right direction when you cut? 

[Southside]

That's not a bad suggestion at all, more than a few have put a band on backwards, myself included. I did see a guy try to cut some dry white oak with a backwards band once, it actually cut, not well and boy oh boy did it make noise, but it cut. 

[mike phillips]

This is the worst suggestion ever, but were your blades turned the right way out for your mill?
That is, are the teeth facing the right direction when you cut?

hi esteadle. I wondered that myself and I checked that and they were turned the right way. very good thought though. thanks.

[mike phillips]

Mike,

Contact info is in my signature line or CLICK HERE

Looking forward to hearing from you.

thanks Richard, for all the advice and information. I will be getting in touch with you.