Cooks sharpener

[Magicman]

I believe that Cooks uses all steel bandwheels instead of belted bandwheels.   

[bandmiller2]

Banjo, crow ain't bad if its fixed proper, I should know. In this light the top roller must stretch the metal slightly to take out the cupping, we're dealing in thousands of an inch, not much. Picked up a pair of gears at the old engine show in Dublin New Hampshire today, hope to build a roller when I'am not so busy. Thanks Frank C.

[Kbeitz]

At $135.00 this should do the job...

http://www.grizzly.com/products/Benchtop-English-Wheel/T25101?gclid=EAIaIQobChMI2aW2-aeZ1gIVDx9oCh2V4AD1EAQYAyABEgK4iPD_BwE&utm_campaign=zPage&utm_source=grizzly.com

[Magicman]

Kb, I am missing something.  What are you gonna crank to roll the blade through and how are you gonna keep the blade properly aligned??

[gmmills]

Just use 1¼ blades no rolling.

     That does not always hold true. Although, when new, 1 1/4" blade stock is inherently free of curvature, flatter, than 1 1/2" stock it is still subjected to the exact same physical forces while running around the band wheels. These forces cause distortion of the blade body. With each additional run cycle, after sharpening and setting, the blade becomes more distorted. This distortion causes the blade to become humped up in the middle on the inside cross sectional surface of the blade body. This in turn causes the blade to not be stabilized by the guide roller surface. This holds true no matter the width of blade that you are running.

Many of you seem to think you only have to roll blades if running steel wheels. Totally false conception based purely on conjecture.  The type of band wheels, crowned steel wheels or belted wheels, has absolutely no bearing on whether a blade needs rolled or not. The same forces are being applied to the blade body regardless of which type of wheel is used. Customsawyer has 2 LT70's that run belted wheels and still has to roll blades. He has been doing it for years. I have owned a LT70 With belted wheels and my current LT70 has crowned steel wheels. I've had to roll blades for both wheels types. I have been rolling blades a little while longer than Customsawyer.  This is a fact based on many years, hours, of maintaining my own blades and dealing with their performance in real world sawing conditions. 

[woodyone.john]

So I would really like to see a pic or 2 of the roller devices some of you are using to flatten your blades and for double the points could someone show or link to a video clip performing the operation. cheers john

[Kbeitz]

Kb, I am missing something.  What are you gonna crank to roll the blade through and how are you gonna keep the blade properly aligned??

I wish that I took pictures. I had one of these that I used at work that we used to make a crowned
band for the bottom of some grange doors. All we did was make a 1/2" cold role crank to replace
the lower bolt in the wheel and we made a U shaped chunk of steel to guide the strip of steel
as we cranked the handle. We was putting a crown on the strip but it would remove one just as easy.
It only took less than an hour to make the mods to this machine.

[kelLOGg]

So I would really like to see a pic or 2 of the roller devices some of you are using to flatten your blades and for double the points could someone show or link to a video clip performing the operation. cheers john

I saw a Cook video on their roller in operation but now can't find it on their site.  ???
Bob

[Peter Drouin]

Just use 1¼ blades no rolling.

     That does not always hold true. Although, when new, 1 1/4" blade stock is inherently free of curvature, flatter, than 1 1/2" stock it is still subjected to the exact same physical forces while running around the band wheels. These forces cause distortion of the blade body. With each additional run cycle, after sharpening and setting, the blade becomes more distorted. This distortion causes the blade to become humped up in the middle on the inside cross sectional surface of the blade body. This in turn causes the blade to not be stabilized by the guide roller surface. This holds true no matter the width of blade that you are running.   

How long have you been sawing?
By the time your 1¼ blade has a u in it all the hardness of the tooth is gone from sharpening. Then maybe you have a u in it. Have you tried to rehard the tooth tip?
That would be a good time to see if have a u in it and roll.

[xlogger]

Maybe you could just twist the blade inside out and run it for a little time. Might be best not to try to cut any wood while doing this :D

[Bruno of NH]

Got my popcorn out

[Bruno of NH]

Gmmills
We all saw wood in real world conditions.
In NH I saw real logs and I know Peter does because I seen him do it .
Bruno

[Chuck White]

This is just a GUESS!

I think that the reason bands will develop that "U" shape is due to running on steel wheels!

I run 1¼" Wood-Mizer Double-Hards on my mill, and have never had an issue!

Just sayin'!

[ladylake]

   Seems like most of us running 1 1/4 blades including me have no trouble as my sharpened blades cut as good as new until they get too thin or break.  Steve

[customsawyer]

I thought my mill cut fine too, until I started rolling my blades. I can remember when some thought all you needed was a 10° blade. I think back on some of the logs I struggled with when all I had was 10° blades and I just cringe. The time I wasted checking adjustment of my mill when there wasn't anything wrong with it. Sure would like to have those hours of lost production back. The same holds true with the rolling of the blades. I hate taking the time to check new blades before I use them but I do to minimize my troubles at the mill. If y'all are happy with what you have then by all means run it. To those that say you haven't ever had a blade that needed rolled. How many have ever checked one for flatness and then corrected it? Try running some that are done right. I will venture a bet you have had some blades that needed rolled you just didn't know that was what was wrong with it. 

[ladylake]

 
My mill  cuts just fine with blades that aren't rolled, using all the power my 30HP has and they cut straight until dull.  I'm running 1 1/4 blades, never tried 1 1/2 and really no need for 1 1/2 as my 1 1/4 use all the power I have.  The biggest help was switching from 10° to 4° for tough wood.   Steve

[drobertson]

I agree with Custom and Gmills, they are just explaining what they do, no one is criticizing anyone or the techniques being used, at least the way I read it, just pretty good information on how to improve,, heck I figured everyone would at least want to try to improve,,folks around here can get to town by the gravel roads just fine, but can get there quicker and smoother on the black top,

[gmmills]

    The physical forces that are applied to the blade are the same no matter the width of the blade or the type of band wheel used.  Have any of you realized that crowned steel wheels were standard OEM equipment on all of WM industrial line of mills for years. The first LT 300 I witnessed sawing back in 2001 had crowned steel wheels.

[ladylake]

I agree with Custom and Gmills, they are just explaining what they do, no one is criticizing anyone or the techniques being used, at least the way I read it, just pretty good information on how to improve,, heck I figured everyone would at least want to try to improve,,folks around here can get to town by the gravel roads just fine, but can get there quicker and smoother on the black top,

What would rolling improve on my mill with 1 1/4 blades, I use all the power I have and cut straight until dull. If I had a 50hp diesel running 1 1/2 bands sounds like Id be rolling my blades too.  Steve

[Ox]

Why do some folks need rolling and others not need it?  Does a mostly aligned mill show problems with a curved blade body more readily than a perfectly aligned mill? 

It seems that 1 1/2" blades will get a curvature sooner and easier than 1 1/4" blades?

Does a thicker blade get a curvature sooner than a thinner blade?  It seems that a thicker blade will need more "hammering force" to get around the wheels thus causing a curvature in the blade body sooner?

For the record I've never checked for blade flatness.  The blades I set and sharpen for myself cut straight until they're dull and start wandering around a bit in knots.  The other blades I set and sharpen are for two fellers down the road and they don't have many blades coming through and run Turner mills which run on trailer tires and don't get enough tension to deform and also don't have a thin bandwheel profile to hammer the center of the blade body.  I'll have to pay attention to this in the future with some of my older, many times sharpened blades.  I hope I remember to one of these days.

[customsawyer]

FYI I run belted wheels.

[barbender]

I don't saw enough to get around to messing with band rolling. Here's what I do know- running new, or resharpened , 10° and 7° blades of various manufacturers (mostly WM) I have never been able to saw with enough speed to work my 40hp diesel without getting waves. It frustrates me to no end. To be honest, I think it would saw as fast with a 20 hp engine. So, if I was sawing more, I would be checking into band rolling.

[ladylake]

I think a 40 hp diesel needs a 1 1/2 " blade, a 1 1/4 can only handle a 30 hp diesel or 35 hp gas.  Steve

[Chuck White]

All I'm saying is I have not seen a need to roll my blades, they cut just fine and I sharpen them (lightly) 12 to 15 times and they either crack or break, then I put a new one in the box and recycle the old!

But if rolling the blades helps your sawing, then by all means roll them!

[barbender]

Steve, I'm running 1 1/2" bands, with the 1 1/2 rollers. I really don't see a lot of difference between the 1 1/4" and 1 1/2" bands. But take my experience witha grain of salt- I saw about 5000 bf a year with my mill. An LT15 would probably be more fitting, for how much I use it😊