time to buy a sharpener and setter(?)

[Magicman]

The 93 blades that I had resharpened this year does not include 11 nail strike blades that I used but did not send to ReSharp.  I charge the customer $45 and discard them because after resharpening they may leave tooth marks which is unacceptable for me.  

I sawed 3246bf this week using 4 blades and I could easily resharpen them today.  My jobs usually require 2-3 blades and I very seldom saw more than one job per week.  This will give me ample time to stay current with my blades, even with the manual sharpener/setter even if I still use 100+ blades per year.

As of now I intend to increase my sawing rate at least $25 per Mbf to offset the resharpener cost.

My "resharpening station" will be in a shop corner where the intake of my squirrel cage shop exhaust fan is so I believe that the "oil mist" situation will be OK.

[YellowHammer]

The short answer is "Yes, time to buy."
Better get them on order now before they have a two year lead time.

 
There are business nearby that offer sharpening services, and I've used several of them.  They all are terrible on bandsaws, although good on circular saw blades, table saws, etc.

Most are in the 10 cents per tooth range.

[Pinegrub]

I use Menominee Saw to sharpen my bandsaw blades. They service the US and Canada. 

[Chuck White]

For those of you, not interested in sharpening blades, why not use them once, then put the used blades up for sale at a reduced price?

That way, you wouldn't have to mess with them, just keep them looking good and they will sell!

[DanielW]

I shouldn't really comment, as I still use my circular mills for most of my milling - the bandsaw only comes out when there are some really nice hardwood logs I want to maximize recovery from. But I think you'll find there are still lots of small sharpening businesses who can sharpen/set for pretty good prices. Our guy charges $18 CAD per blade, which I don't think is too bad. If I were using the bandmill for a lot of work every day I'd deficiently invest in my own equipment, but for 5 or 10 logs a week it's just not worth investing in, nor having the footprint of the sharpener/setter take up floor space in my shop.

I'm not sure it's right to make recommendations on this site, but if you're looking for a simple, no-nonsense sharpener/setter, I've used a friend's CBN sharpener and setter made by Viel in Quebec on my Ripper 37, 7 degree blades. They're simple, rugged, and work well, and the sharpener uses a Made-in-USA Baldor motor instead of the offshore motors everyone else seems to use. Maybe not the fastest sharpeners/setters in the world, but very well made.

My Uncle has a sharpener/setter made by a small local company - Heath Tooling in Peterborough. Also simple, rugged, and no-nonsense. The Heath sharpener uses standard grinder wheels however, and you can't adjust hook angle, and I'm not sure that it actually does the gullet - it might just touch the tooth (I could be misremembering through). But both the Viel and Heath ones are a lot less $$ than some of the bigger names. I looked at the one from Woodland Mills one time and it seemed pretty chintzy compared to the Viel/Heath, and was about the same money.

[Magicman]

why not use them once, then put the used blades up for sale at a reduced price?

I seriously considered just using and discarding the blades.  $30 per Mbf in resharpening cost vs $45 for new blades is mighty tempting especially if you bumped your sawing rate up $25 per Mbf.

Actually with my sawing business profile and age, this would have probably been my best option, but.....

[Percy]

Been watching my son Warren's operation (much larger than mine) esp in the blade department. He does not resharp at all but uses WM carbide blades. Runs them till they break or start to wave. Gets around 10,000 -12000 bdft per blade. They cost trice as much as double hards but after doing the math, the carbides are near the double hards in blade cost per board foot. The downside is if you are  constantly hitting tramp metal. Hurts. I'm gonna try warrens method with the box of carbides I have. 

[Ljohnsaw]

I bought a Viel two years ago? and agree, very well built. I've done about 35 sharpenings with it so far. Have a homemade desetter and setter. With the exception of two blades that appeared to have missed the grinding pass,  : working great for me.

[Bruno of NH]

Been watching my son Warren's operation (much larger than mine) esp in the blade department. He does not resharp at all but uses WM carbide blades. Runs them till they break or start to wave. Gets around 10,000 -12000 bdft per blade. They cost trice as much as double hards but after doing the math, the carbides are near the double hards in blade cost per board foot. The downside is if you are  constantly hitting tramp metal. Hurts. I'm gonna try warrens method with the box of carbides I have.

I like having some carbide bands on hand (Wood-mizer) they cut the hard to saw logs really nice. 
I got 5 sharpening out of one before it broke.
I saw alot of tree service logs so I can't switch over 100% 
I hear from a good source that a better carbide tip is in development at Woodmizer. 
Carbide does chip so blade handling must have care.

[TimW]

Rocking D Sawmill in Kirbyville, Texas will still be sharpening blades.  My LT40 wide blades are $9 each to sharpen.   Email address..................... tx@woodmizer.com
phone # (409) 423-2319
hugs,   Brandi

[Bigly]

Does anyone have experience with the various WM setters?  I'm thinking the manual options would be sufficient (maybe the BMT150) paired with a BMS250 & just set the blades every other sharpen, or every third maybe.  Any opinions appreciated.

[terrifictimbersllc]

Just my 2 cents, id never buy another tooth setter without dial gauge/gauges. 

[caveman]

We opted for the manual WM BMT-200.  It is the same as the 250 but costs less and your arm is the motor.  I timed the last blade I set the other day, after setting 18-20, and it took 1 minute and 17 seconds from the time the blade was put into the setter until it was taken out.  The crank turns relatively easy, and I was not in a race, just a good steady pace.  It has dial indicators and a gauge to check the set.  The few we have used since we bought the new equipment saw as good or better than new blades.  If I were sharpening for a living, I'd have a motor on the setter.   

YellowHammer and Nathan (Outofthewoods) have some videos that are very much worth watching if you are considering the WM 250 sharpener and 200/250 setter.  

[Bigly]

Thanks for the input.  What specifically is the issue if the setter does not have gauges?  Will the teeth be imperfectly set and scratch up the lumber?  Does it cause blades to wander?

[barbender]

The gauges let you keep an eye on your tooth set in real time. My sharpener doesn't have any. It would make setup a little easier, but I don't miss them otherwise. I get my setter adjusted, and then just set the blades. I'll check every 4th one or so to make sure everything is good, otherwise I don't worry about it. My reset blades leave a great sawn finish, so I'm happy🤷

[Mesquite cutter]

How do you resharpen the razor tip blades from woodmizer?  

[Bruno of NH]

I use a diamond wheel and have had great results 

[Mesquite cutter]

I use a diamond wheel and have had great results

The CBN wheel or just a regular shaped diamond wheel?

[Mesquite cutter]

I have the woodland mills blade sharpener but cannot seem to find a diamond coated wheel for it.  

[jpassardi]

I see Woodland now has a Pro model sharpener with cbn. Does anyone here have that unit? 

[terrifictimbersllc]

I use a diamond wheel and have had great results

The CBN wheel or just a regular shaped diamond wheel?

Not like the CBN wheel. Same diameter and shape but has only a 1/4" approx of diamond on flat face that touches only the face of the tooth. 

[barbender]

CBN for steel, and diamond for carbide.

[Bruno of NH]

I use a diamond wheel and have had great results

The CBN wheel or just a regular shaped diamond wheel?

Not like the CBN wheel. Same diameter and shape but has only a 1/4" approx of diamond on flat face that touches only the face of the tooth.

Yes that's what I use

[CCCLLC]

Is there any advantage with the 230v model wm250 sharpener  over the 110v?
 Both are already on the wall in the shop.
Thanks

[Stephen1]

By far the best bang for the buck is the BMS250 sharpener and setter with CBN grinding wheel and gauges to set with. 
Once set up and running they are simple to operate. Simple enough that I have taught my 2 students that work for me on Saturdays how to sharpen and set blades. 
Ted, if you find some teeth out of set, I run those on a trash log and then if it survives I sharpen again, does not take long before the bad set has been sharpened out. The other choices is a set of pliers to take the set out. 
I sharpen blades for others. I have 2 CBN wheels,  WM 7/39T and the WM 10. I sharpen all blades that come my way with those 2 wheels. I learned that from the FF