Trying to master the new Dinasaw Sharpener

Quebecnewf · October 01, 2021, 07:03:10 PM

Sorry to keep bringing this up but I'm still not having much luck getting this ( new to me ) fully auto sharpener running .

I've fiddled with the adjustments for a full day now . It's much the same as my old Dinasaw sharpener but with more adjustment options .

I've come to the conclusion that I will have to readjust the internal cam in order to get it up and running . This unit is second hand and I have no contact with previous owner . My question is how could he have used it ( if he even did ) to sharpen given the way it is set up . Unless the blades he was working with were a strange profile .

Anyone on here who uses one of these fully auto units and has went down this same road ?

It took me a while to master my old model many years ago but this one is so far out of whack ( or I think it is ) that maybe there's something I'm not doing right . I've read the Manuel from front to back and still not getting ahead .

Quebecnewf

barbender · October 01, 2021, 11:30:08 PM

Sorry Quebec, I'm not familiar with that machine at all. Do they actually have an adjustable cam?

Quebecnewf · October 02, 2021, 06:40:08 AM

There are two cams in the unit .one controls the lift of the grinding head the other controls the timing of the pusher stroke .

Both are mounted on the same shaft . The grinding head one is pinned and cannot be adjusted . The other is held by set screws and can be rotated on the shaft .

I'm still not sure if I'm on the right track with this and would like more feedback from any members who use this unit . Although the units are similar the older models have certain features that do not transfer over to this unit so setup and adjustments on those older models don't apply here.

The biggest change is that on this model you cannot move the head lift adjustment screw up or down the arm as you can on earlier models .

Anyone out there using this unit who can join in here would be great .

Quebecnewf

Quebecnewf · October 02, 2021, 07:56:41 AM

After studying the unit again in my workshop this morning a friend who's a mechanic happened to drop by .

He quickly pointed out that the unit had at one time been disassembled . The bolts holding it together show wrench marks .

This has me thinking that maybe this is why the unit seems so far of . Someone took it apart and maybe reassembled it incorrectly . After that got fed up and sold it

Quebecnewf

farmfromkansas · October 03, 2021, 08:42:22 PM

Thinking you are on the right track. I have a machinist friend who can look at anything and explain how it works. Too bad he is retired, lost access to the shop he worked at.

Quebecnewf · October 24, 2021, 05:09:45 AM

Well I dissembled the sharpener today . It has been disassembled before . I get the feeling that maybe the unit was dropped or something .

One screw that holds one of the bearings in place was badly bent . It's only about 1/2" long pan head maybe #12 so took a big whack to bend it .

I freed up the movable cam on the shaft. Rotated it 180 deg.

Will finish assembly today then install a blade and see what I can do .

If I'm way of I can now just slacken the set screw and rotate it back to its original position and make small adjustments without having to disassemble the entire machine .

I will see how it goes and post some video if I get it running .

Quebecnewf

Quebecnewf · October 31, 2021, 05:56:29 AM

Well it looks like I was correct on the cam adjustment .

I have beeen moving the cam ( once I got it freed up on the shaft ) bit by bit .

I have got it pretty much dialled in now . I've sharpened a couple blades and tried them out . I'm pleased with how they preformed . I'd give them a 9 out of 10 .

The last of my logs that I'm sawing now are quite dry and a bit dirty so there tough on blades anyway.

Will continue to fine tune the unit and I'm thinking it will be a good tool .

I will in the coming months ( once I get some new logs ) attempt to master the angle grinding option that is available on this model .for now I will leave that option disengaged and just grind square to the tooth face .

Whoever had the unit before was way of with the cam . Maybe that's why there are crooked screws in the unit . That got *pithed of and tossed it .

Quebecnewf

Bruno of NH · October 31, 2021, 08:45:20 AM

I'm glad you getting it dialed in.
That's the sharpener I want to buy when I can.
The bands i use in the winter are different and can be sharpened on this unit

Quebecnewf · October 31, 2021, 02:53:58 PM

I was also thinking maybe this unit had been used to sharpen some really different type of blade . Who knows .maybe that's why it was so far out of whack .

A few days back as I was working with the unit I had it where the stone would just drop and do the face of the tooth . No gullet and no up the back of the tooth .

I took and old blade ( 10 sharpens on it for sure ). Ran it through the machine and marked it . Yesterday I gave it a try. Was a no go . Very rough cut and just bad overall . I sawed one small log and pulled it off . When I returned from the mill I took that same blade and redid it on the sharpener with the proper setup .

This morning returned to the mill and gave it another try . Cut as good as a new blade . I was more than impressed . I sawed about 15 logs and it was still going pretty good . These are old dried logs so they dull up the blades pretty quick .

It took a bit of head scratching and a full tear down of the machine but I think I've made a big step foward
I'm now toying with the idea of a rebuild of my old machine . Will have to fab up some of the worn parts but I could do that .

Seems a waste to toss it aside . Maybe rebuild it and sell it on the FF. It served me well for 28 years and would be a good machine for someone wanting to sharpen but not have to invest too much money .

Quebecnewf

Bruno of NH · October 31, 2021, 05:05:23 PM

Is it dry spruce you are sawing?
If so that will test any sharpener.
I was in some dry curly maple logs last week , that will test a grind as well.

DesertHobo · October 31, 2021, 05:12:46 PM

Quebecnewf, is your old sharpener a Dinasaw?

Quebecnewf · October 31, 2021, 06:48:03 PM

Quote from: DesertHobo on October 31, 2021, 05:12:46 PM
Quebecnewf, is your old sharpener a Dinasaw?

Yes it is . A semi auto ( hand crank ) model .
No I was not sawing dry spruce . There is spruce mixed among the balsam fir but it is not ( dry spruce) per say .
I have sawed dry spruce before and it's a bear to saw for sure
Quebecnewf

DesertHobo · October 31, 2021, 09:40:39 PM

If you do the rebuild, and look to sell, I'd be interested. From what I've heard/read, seems like Dinasaws are tanks. If they're able to sharpen frost notch bands, even better.

Quebecnewf · November 01, 2021, 04:17:17 AM

I would guess that any drag style sharpener would not be able to do frost notch bands .

That being said this is only a guess . Maybe someone jump in here and say they have already done it ?

I will see about the rebuild . Got a few things on my plate right now but if and when I do I will post it up .

Quebecnewf