Sharpener and Setter advice

[Kevin_Connor]

I know the subject had been talked about many times.  I am tried of sending blades off and not having any consistency in the quality of sharpening and setting of my blades.  Before I give Cooks, Suffolk, or someone else 3 to 4K for a sharpener and setter I would like to have the advice from the ones using the equipment.  I cut part time (my part time might be full time for others) cutting mostly orchard trees (olive, plum, walnut, etc.).  Cutting this type of wood is hard on the blades due to the dust in the orchards through years of tractor work, but the wood can be outstanding.

Therefore, my questions are:  What do you use?  Do you wish you had purchased something different?  What brand and modle would you recomend?

Thanks for your help.

[logwalker]

I would be lost without my Cooks sharpener and Dino setter. Expensive to buy new but I found mine used.

Having said that I think you would be happy with Woodmizer's re-sharp service out of Portland.The consistancy would be there but it does add up quick. Joe

[mike_van]

Hi Kevin, welcome to the FF - I use Cooks equipment too, and I'm happy with it. But, being the only sharpener & setter I've ever used, I can't really do a compairison. My advise to you would be to call or email all the mfg's. of these - Cooks, Woodmiser, Baker, etc.  Sometimes they take trade-in's or have demo's they sell for a real good price. Thats how I came by the Cooks sharpener, near mint, a little over half price of a new one.  The  Cooks setter I bought right through the classified section here on FF.

[Dan_Shade]

I have an old semi-worn out woodmizer sharpener.  I like sharpening my bands, but I find it very easy to get behind, and it's a hassle if you use more than one hook angle.  the wood-mizer sharpener that I have is a real pain in the butt to change the wheel angle, i'm not sure if the new ones are better or not.

If I were a wealthy man, I'd get the cooks setup, it has a HUGE motors on it, my woodmizer sharpener will get stuck sometimes and I have to help it along, but I figure that's partly because it's old and decrepid.

setting is the bigger hassle, and keeping buildup off of the blade is very important for a good set.  I need to fabricate a setup to wire brush my blades, and i'll be a happy camper.

[Tom Sawyer]

I have only used the Woodmizer system.  It takes about 5 minutes to change the cam and the angle of the grinder.  I can sharpen and set about 5 blades per hour, or about what I use in an average day.  There may be faster systems out there, but none that will do a better job.  Like sawing, it takes some practice to get the blades nice and sharp, and sometimes I put one on the mill that I thought was sharp only to find that it wasn't :  You get better over time.

Just recently I converted a few of my 10 degree blades to 12.5 and tried them on some spruce that was brought down by a tornado 2 years ago.  They cut that spruce fast and had no problem with the knots until they had cut 400-500bft.

[ladylake]

Timberking has thiers on sale now for $1895, made by Wright works great 5 minutes one pass and it's done. Hook angle can be set in a minute. They say it's easy to change cams also but I haven't done that yet.  Steve

[Kevin]

I'm fortunate to have a local guy sharpen my bands which saves on the shipping.

[flht01]

I'm using the Cook's sharpener and setter but like the others, don't have any experience with other brands to compare it to. One thing I didn't expect from sharpening and setting my own is the satisfaction of knowing no shortcuts were taken.

Cooks will send you a demo of their products that also has a clip on their thoughts about how the bandsaw blade works and the settings that affect it's performance..

[pineywoods]

I have the woodmizer sharpener and setter. They both do the job quite well, but I had a rather lenghty learning curve. I run lots of set (25 to 30 thou) and 15 degree rake, so I had to learn some things different. Both were all rusted and worn when I got them so I have a little experience at re-building also.  Even tried a diamond wheel on the grinder-didn't work very well. One piece of advice, don't let your blades get dull-dull before you run them past the sharpener. I usually make 2 light passes rather than a heavy one. One thing I would like to try is to make 1 or 2 passes with the regular grinding wheel, and the switch to a very fine wheel for a final touch-up pass.

[woodmills1]

i have woodmizer sharpener and setter, love the sharpener but hate the setter, but I still use it.  Tough on the back bendin over it, would rather shovel sawdust, though it does work like advertised.  Nothing like doing your own, cuts down on cash outlay, wait time, and let me tell ya I sharpens them to the nubs.  cutting what you do having a setter will let you hone in on the corret set angle for the wood.

[mike_van]

Woodmills - I c-clamp my setter to my tablesaw extension, then sit on a tall stool to set blades - As crappy as my back can be, that doesn't bother it -

[Radar67]

I got a used Woodmizer sharpener and setter and love them both. If your setter is on the stand, build a base to raise it to a comfortable level.

Stew

[dail_h]

   I use a Norwood sharpener,and setter.Not too expensive,and does an adequate job. Like most manual setters,it's sort of a pain but works I have used a Woodmizer sharpener,and like the wet grind,although you need to do something to keep the blades from rusting if you're not going to use them rightaway. If I was going to buy new tomorrow,and price was not an issue,I'de go for the Cook's

[fat olde elf]

Shop around and be patient..... I was too slow on the uptake for two different sharpeners on the Sawmill Exchange...Lucked upon a like-new Cook's Cat Claw for less than half price...
Finally bought a Cook's setter new.......I like the flexibility of doing my own bands....I"m still on the learning curve but have several excellent mentors including TOM...The profile of the stones is very critical on most sharpeners...My only experience is with Cook's and Woodmizer...Both will do the job. The Cook's is built just like their mills, super solid.... Buy used if possible........

[Tom Sawyer]

   I have used a Woodmizer sharpener,and like the wet grind,although you need to do something to keep the blades from rusting if you're not going to use them rightaway.

I have to respectfully disagree with you there dail_h.  I don't find that my blades rust at all even if it is weeks after sharpening before I use them.  And even if they did, the little bit of surface rust that would form would disappear by the time you were about 1 inch into the first cut with the blade. 

Tom

[LT40HDD51]

We use an antifreeze/water mix in our grinders in the shop. We have a pair of WM grinders and a WM setter. We have the grinder pumps both running in a 5 gal. bucket with return lines from the drip pans. The pumps are located a bit off of the bottom of the bucket, so that the grit and grindings can settle out and let our pumps run longer. I can go take a pic if anyone's interested...

The biggest reason I like antifreeze is for the corrosion resistant properties (and it wont freeze if the shop gets cold...). The biggest thing is the grindings rusting in solid in the back of the grinder. Ive rebuilt several that I had to chisel the rust out from behind the clamp to get the clamp off  : :D.

Its worth mentioning that WMs new setters come with a crank-screw type of handle. You turn a handle about ¾ of a turn to set the tooth. Many guys seem to like it because it is easier to avoid over-setting. Personally I didnt, but its probably because Im used to the old style...

[dail_h]

   Hey TS,
    I knew that,just threw that in for cause some guys get kinda upset if they see a little spot o' rust on a cuttin instrument. Like you said,even if it does rust a little,a little sawdust ,and kero makes good polishing compoiund.

[pineywoods]

Never thought about using water/anti-freeze mix in the grinder. I use a mix of water and water soluble cutting oil. No rust on the grinder or the blades.

[Tom Sawyer]

No Problem.  I don't like rust either, but experience has taught me that rust on the blade is nothing to worry about.  There is plenty of other stuff to worry about though :D

[Warren]

I looked at several used WM sharpeners / setters before buying a new unit.  When I got the new WM unit home, I was (pleasantly) surprised at the additional pieces / parts that came with the new unit that were not included with the used units (magnets, cams, angle guage, manuals, cutting oil, dressing stone).   Coupled with training and peace of mind from having a new unit, I felt the additional $$$'s were worth it. 

As mentioned above, it took me some practice to get the hang of sharpening.  I use 0.055" blades.  I found that for me, I need to run at least 3 laps around the blade to grind out enough material to prevent premature breakage on the thick blades.

Warren

[musikwerke]

I am in the same "boat", wanting to buy a sharpener and setter but really undecided on which one.  I have been leaning towards the Wood-Mizer blade maintenance package.  Water cooling makes a lot of sense to me but being in Maine, having to drain it or locate it in a non-freezing space had me thinking about other sharpeners.  I'm glad to hear about anti-freeze working well.  Most likely, becasue of these posts, I'll go with a new WM outfit.