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Woodmizer blade sharpener maintenance / tooth setter query

Started by gdingee, January 16, 2006, 11:03:01 PM

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gdingee

I moved my blade sharpener unit from the unheated garage to the more comfortable confines next to the basement wood furnace. I figure this might be a good opportunity to clean the beast.

what should I be using for coolant in the water tray? motor vehicle prestone? what ratio of water to coolant?

What about cleaning the tray- is wiping it our with a rag sufficient?

How often should I be changing the coolant/water mixture?

I noticed some of the teeth points are darkened after the grind stone has passed over- is this due to too little water? grinding too fast oor too heavily?

Concerning the toothe setter- when I bought this stuff from the previous owner the setter was out of whack & I tried to set it as best as possible following the instructions in the manual. I think I have it correct now. The dial reads about 0. I tested a new WM blade and recieved a pretty consistent  reading of 25 thousands.

to check the set I am advancing the handle slowly until contact with the tooth is made with gauge foot  just before the handle "throws over"  Is that the correct expression? The blades don't seem to require much set added. Is this becasue I am not grinding enough?


Any other tips a new sawyer should follow in sharpening and setting?

Appreciate the help.



woodmills1

As far as the tray, it sounds like you are draining it after using.  If so I would think wiping it out is ok.  Mine sits around sometimes with water in it and I end up scraping the tray out.  I keep a short length of blade around to clean out the blade holder part of the machine.

If your teeth are showing a change in color I would say you are grinding too much.  I use two light passes.

If you are setting every time you saw, and haven't done anything to damage the blade, like metal, rocks or frozen mud, I wouldn't expect much change in the bend
James Mills,Lovely wife,collect old tools,vacuuming fool,36 bdft/hr,oak paper cutter,ebonic yooper rapper nauga seller, Blue Ox? its not fast, 2 cat family, LT70,edger, 375 bd ft/hr, we like Bob,free heat,no oil 12 years,big splitter, baked stuffed lobster, still cuttin the logs dere IAM

Tom

I sure don't clean like that when I sharpen.  Actually, I'm a grunge. 

I use only water for coolant.  It was recommended by Wood Mizer, to me
to not use Anti-Freeze with the provided stones.  I don't know if it had
to do with the grit binding material or that Wood Mizer was selling coolant.

The black marks that show up in the gullet and back of the tooth can be
burn marks from grinding too deep, like Woodmills1 said, or from a dirty
grinding wheel. The wheel will leave burn marks when it begins to become
impacted with debris.  Touching it with the shaping stone to expose new
grit fixes that problem.

A black mark at the tip of the tooth is usually heat.  That is caused by the
water flow not being directed perfectly at the grinding point of the stone.
The stone grinds on its surface all the way from one side to the other.  Water
must flood that area to take the heat away.  As thin as the material is at the
tip of the tooth, it gets hot real quick and must have water flooded over it on
the backgrind as well as the face grind.

A magnet placed in a ziploc bag will attract metal particles to the outside of
bag.  It keeps them out of the pump.  It doesn't keep the debris from the
stone out, but there isn't much in the pump to hurt.  Cleaning is made easier
with the magnet.  Just take the magnet from the bag and most of the grindings
will fall off.  Or, turn the bag inside out and through it away, putting the magnet
in a new bag.

I usually leave water in the tray from day to day until it becomes so thick
that it gets in the way.  But then, like I said, I'm a grunge.  I also use the
grinder very frequently would rather go get supper and go to bed than
clean up the grinder.  I do clean it up when the clamp isn't working to good,
or the buildup behind the stone gets too thick.  I spray the working parts
and the outside of the motor and all surfaces, pretty much every day, with
aerosol White Lithium grease.  It keeps it lubricated and protects from rusting too.

To Zero your tooth setter basically requires that a flat piece of metal placed
in the clamp will zero the gauge.  It is easy to think that it is zeroed when
it isn't and I would suggest that you get the instructions from Wood MIzer.

New blades checking at .025" would be suspect, to  me.  I would expect
new blades to be more in the .021" range.

It's difficult to check set with the real old style of setter.  The newer ones
have a two stage clamp.  To check the set, the clamp closes on the blade
body before the "hammer" (foot) is anywhere near the tooth.  If you are
touching the tooth, you are moving it.

Another reason for the instructions from Wood Mizer is that the gauge
must be square, the hammer should contact the tooth at a certain
point and the handle should be set properly. 

I don't use the handle with its "break" function.  You will find that
it becomes a crutch rather than reading the gauge.  Because each
tooth bends at a different pressure, depending on the handle will
never get you as accurate a blade as setting to the gauge every time.


Cedarman

I took a piece of electrical cover plate and flat filed to make a perfectly flat surface.  Any perfectly flat piece of metal will do.  This is what I use to zero the setter.  I start at the weld so I know when I am finished and check a few teeth already set to make sure the guage did not change.  In leveling the guage, I move the tooth to right,the  left to make sure the guage is parralel, bottom then top to make sure the guage is true.  When done you should be able to move the tooth all around the guage foot and get the same reading.

I am with Tom on cleaning.  I clean it when there is mostly grit and metal. Never had a pump problem.  I use small amounts of WM coolant as antirust. This sharpener and setter has been in use for 20 years or so.  Wore out the blade holder on the sharpener a few years ago.
I am in the pink when sawing cedar.

woodmills1

and what ever you do don't put lestoil in the water.  I did and took the bearings right out of the motor. >:( >:( :o :D
James Mills,Lovely wife,collect old tools,vacuuming fool,36 bdft/hr,oak paper cutter,ebonic yooper rapper nauga seller, Blue Ox? its not fast, 2 cat family, LT70,edger, 375 bd ft/hr, we like Bob,free heat,no oil 12 years,big splitter, baked stuffed lobster, still cuttin the logs dere IAM

logwalker

Let's all be careful out there tomorrow. Lt40hd, 22' Kenworth Flatbed rollback dump, MM45B Mitsubishi trackhoe, Clark5000lb Forklift, Kubota L2850 tractor

woodmills1

it is a cleaning product for grease removal.  Ifin ya have a saw blade or planer knife with pitch on it, drop it in straight lestoil and the pitch will soften then fall off,  So, apperently will the grease in sealed bearings. :D
James Mills,Lovely wife,collect old tools,vacuuming fool,36 bdft/hr,oak paper cutter,ebonic yooper rapper nauga seller, Blue Ox? its not fast, 2 cat family, LT70,edger, 375 bd ft/hr, we like Bob,free heat,no oil 12 years,big splitter, baked stuffed lobster, still cuttin the logs dere IAM

sawwood

I don't want to shang high gdingee thread but have been looking at
sharpners and have a question. On most of the sharpners the stone
drops down on the front side into the gullet and cuts from there to the
top of the next tooth. I looked at a sharpner to day on a dvd they sent
and it just cuts the tooth on the face to the gullet only or you can adjust
it to cut the back side of the tooth to the gullet. Is seems not to good
of a way to sharpen a blade. Witch one is the right way to sharpen ?

Sawwood
Norwood M4 manual mill, Solar Kiln, Woodmaster
18" planer/molder

Tom

Sawwood

My opinion is that the entire tooth and gullet should be ground.  The face grind squares the tooth to the direction of travel and the back of the tooth sharpens the point.  The grinding of the gullet is called gumming out and it's purpose is to retain the transition curve at the base of the face and  to retain the height of the tooth.

In a tight situation, one could get away with just a face grind.  Or, if only one thing was to be ground, perhaps he could get away with a back grind.  But, properly sharpened teeth have the entire surface shaped and the point is razor sharp.

Not gumming out allows the teeth to become shorter with each pass.  Short teeth spill sawdust and run hot.  You can't effectively saw any faster than you can get rid of the sawdust.  The gullet is as much a part of the tool as the point.  :)

Directionally, I think that grinding from the point backwards to the gullet would create a faulty point. :-\

Minnesota_boy

In addition to what Tom said, the gullet is where cracks start.  If you grind to the bottom of the gullet you remove these tiny cracks before they get a chance to spread.  If you only grind the face and deep enough in the gullet to remove the cracks, the tooth profile changes with the tooth getting taller in profile.  When you do a full profile grind, the profile stays the same.
I eat a high-fiber diet.  Lots of sawdust!

sawwood

Thanks Guys, that is what i though it would be. Not sure how they can
sell a sharpner that would not give the best sharping on a blade. I have
plans to buy a sharpner some day and when i do i know buy reading
all the post here i will buy the one that will serve me will.

Sawwood
Norwood M4 manual mill, Solar Kiln, Woodmaster
18" planer/molder

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