Woodland Mills band sharpener

paul case · May 02, 2017, 11:46:31 PM

Wondering if anyone on here has one of these and how do you like it?

I found them when I was looking around for edgers recently and thought they looked reasonable and a lot like my older Woodmizer sharpener.

Here is the link;
https://woodlandmills.ca/product/blade-sharpener-automatic/

PC

fishfighter · May 03, 2017, 06:21:32 AM

Well, that is a new product from them. Still, at $850, I can't see paying that much for one. There is no way that it cost more then $300-$400 to make it. For people that buy Woodland mills, most like me saw for our self. To start with, we are buying a base mill to start with looking to save money.

Still, it looks like it is doing a nice job sharpening the blade. The con is that it only sharpens 7,10 and 14 degree. Would like to see a 4 degree too. But then again, I haven't tried a 4 degree on my 126. Wish I could buy 1 or 2 Kasco blades just to see if they would work on my mill.

Ga Mtn Man · May 03, 2017, 06:44:15 AM

$699 US

https://woodlandmills.ca/us/product/blade-sharpener-automatic/

bandmiller2 · May 03, 2017, 07:05:05 AM

No doubt this grinder works, two things I don't like first its 12v, a grinder is best set up in a well lite shop not somewhere on a site. Second I like to have the wheel just kiss the back of the tooth on the way out in other words a complete grind. This grinder would do yeoman duty for a hobby miller. Sawing for hire and daily use I don't think it would hold up for the long haul. Would be nice to have the option of 115v motors. Frank C.

goose63 · May 03, 2017, 07:42:12 AM

Paul I've had mine for 2 years now and like it thy are slow bought 20 minutes a blade it's a good rain day

fishfighter talk to deer88 he has his set to 4 degree's

fishfighter · May 03, 2017, 07:50:22 AM

Quote from: bandmiller2 on May 03, 2017, 07:05:05 AM
No doubt this grinder works, two things I don't like first its 12v, a grinder is best set up in a well lite shop not somewhere on a site. Second I like to have the wheel just kiss the back of the tooth on the way out in other words a complete grind. This grinder would do yeoman duty for a hobby miller. Sawing for hire and daily use I don't think it would hold up for the long haul. Would be nice to have the option of 115v motors. Frank C.

I agree 100% here. Still at $700 US, that is way to high.

paul case · May 03, 2017, 08:54:24 AM

Quote from: goose63 on May 03, 2017, 07:42:12 AM
Paul I've had mine for 2 years now and like it thy are slow bought 20 minutes a blade it's a good rain day

Thats not kinda slow, thats REAL slow. My old Woodmizer will sharpen a band in less than 4 minutes. It is totally adjustable on feed speed and 115v.

I didn't see at first that it was 12volt only. :-\
PC

EZland · May 03, 2017, 10:16:16 AM

Are there other new sharpeners out there for less than $700? That are a/c power? I have been looking for a bit.

paul case · May 03, 2017, 03:10:05 PM

EZ Boardwalk

http://www.ezboardwalk.com/Item/ezboardwalk-sharpener

Their price list says $450. This one is all manual, and identical to the one I bought from them in 2008. Worked well for me.

PC

fishfighter · May 03, 2017, 04:14:32 PM

I use a radial saw with a 1" wide stone. Paid $25 for the saw. There was a thread on cheap sharpeners that I posted in about it. Does great for a hobby sawer like myself.

Sure, I would love to have a auto, but as a hobby sawer, I just can't see spending $700 on this auto sharpener that is 12V and takes 20 minutes to do a blade when it takes me to do that on a radial saw.

Deere80 · May 03, 2017, 04:26:43 PM

Fishfighter, you can set it to whatever angle you want to you just need an angle finder to set the angle. It isn't a bad grinder other than being slow and the grinding wheel that it comes with wears out real fast. For a hobby guy like me I couldn't find one cheaper and got more time than money so I bought one.

maple flats · May 03, 2021, 03:08:21 PM

I just ordered both a Woodland Mills HM130Max and a blade sharpener.
I checked a few other places and most were at least $100 more than the $699 US. While I'm retired, I'd far rather have an automatic blade sharpener and be able to do something else near by, than have one where everything is manual. I also ordered 15 blades from a company recommended in a video by a FF member who does you tube under the name Out of the Wood.

TroyC · May 03, 2021, 08:44:39 PM

I have one and for hobby sawing it works OK. It comes down at the angle you set, sharpens the face of the blade and the gullet as it advances. The blade raises just after the gullet so it does not sharpen all the way up the backside of the tooth. You can reset and make 2 passes if you want to finish that backside but I never have. It does my EZ40 blade in less than 15 minutes. Has a shut-off attachment so you can get it going and do other stuff while it runs. It goes all the way around and hits the stop mechanism that clips to the blade. I take off very little material so I have not noticed the blade wear. It is 12V but that hasn't been a problem. If you wanted to drag it out while sawing you could run it off the mill battery and sharpen your blade while taking a short break. I usually run it off the golf cart since it is handy.

Tristen · May 04, 2021, 03:20:42 PM

I have the woodland mills grindlux 4000 and the tooth setter, I have used them for 6 months of pretty regular sawmilling (4 days a week 8-10 hour days). Before that it was, send them out to sharpen at $8 per blade plus shipping or sharpen by hand while blade was still on mill and neither one of those was working for me.

After the first time setup and learning curve it has now become an easy part of my day. I take two new blades out of the box at a time. I walk into the shop, set the teeth on the dull blade (3 min) them put the dull blade on the grinder and start the sharpening process. Then set the auto shut of (2 min) Grab the sharp blade and walk back to the mill and start sawing lumber (5 min total down time) . I assume the blade sharpener runs for about 20 min (never waited around to time it). Then just repeat the process until one blade breaks, then i fold up the other blade, mark how many times it was sharpened, and get out two new blades and start all over.

Some of the blades have broke after 6 sharpening's and some i have sharpened 11 times. I will save those old blades just in case i suspect metal in a log that i really want to cut for some reason. lol

Lots of people say the grinding wheel will not last as long as some other brands, however, look at
the price of their wheels v/s other prices and it is an easy choice.

The real plus about the woodland mills is i can change the angle of the grind to anything i want. There is no preset holes that you HAVE to be locked into. Example I use the 10 degree double hard blades and then costume grind them to an 8 1/2 degree angle.

This is NOT a professional blade sharpener, but they cut just as good as a new blade after i sharpen them. If you need a professional sharpener then find a different one. For a one man sawmill operation, full time or hobby mill, this is a great choice. A five min break to drink some water and blow the sawdust off, is usually a good idea anyway.

lindgcw · May 02, 2022, 05:52:17 PM

I curious for the hobbyist is I need a sharpener or just a setter and get my blades sharpened elsewhere. Is it cost effective at $600-$800? I do think a setter would be important though.

DanMc · May 03, 2022, 10:11:02 AM

I see a good amount of discussion about whether it's worth it to get a sharpener. I don't have one yet myself. But as I accumulate dull blades, it becomes more and more cost-effective to spend the $ to get one.

I hear that a lot of times, blades come back from a sharpening service as "too far gone" to bother with. That would bug me. If I have a blade that hits some metal and has one or two messed up teeth, I agree that it would result in a visual irregularity in the millmarks left in the wood, but is that really that big of a deal, if you are milling for yourself? Also, as others have stated, those compromised blades can be used for logs that are considered risky to mill.

Finally, considering the time spent packing up blades and shipping them off, or of driving to some place to drop them off and then pick them up again, could be time spent putting them on and taking them off the sharpener.

fluidpowerpro · May 03, 2022, 12:19:45 PM

I just recently bought a Woodland Mills sharpener and setter. Historically I have not used a lot of blades, so if I looked at it strictly from a cost standpoint, the purchase was questionable. I do expect to be sawing a lot more, so that will help justify spending the money. Another thing I think will be of value is the fact that I know that I often tried to push a blade too far and saw when it was getting dull. Now that I have my own sharpener, I won't be as hesitant to change the blade. I also value simply having the ability to do it myself which I think is a common trait amongst most on this forum.