Manual for Cooks Cat Claw Sharpener

[Rickcnc]

Any one have a manual for a Cat Claw Sharpener. I recently picked up a used sharpener and I'm wondering if  there is a process / procedure for calibrating the hook angle.

I could reach out to them. but it's Saturday and appears to be a US long weekend  ;D

[4x4American]

The manual isn't very in depth.  Just take a look at the grinder and it will put you Bout where the manual does.  what do you need help with?


The stock hook angles are on the back.  There is a little stop bolt thing, put that in the hole that says what hook angle you want.  Make sure the rock is square to the clamp.  Make sure the finger pushes in a straight line.  Put something to cover the electrical box.  Tighten the grease fittings on the pillow block bearings and don't hardly ever grease them. 

[Rickcnc]

I have the sharpener set to 10 degrees based on the rear setting, however when i reference the face of the cutting stone to the glide pins for the blade I am closer to 14 degrees..

There appears to be some shim material under one of the pillow blocks that might account for this, I was hoping the manual would help.

[bandmiller2]

If I recall most of the instruction was shaping the wheel (grind rock). Shaping is best done with a diamond wheel dresser, Radius the left side of the wheel to match the curve of the gullet below the tooth face. Right side a slight radius. If you don't have a dressing stone or diamond you can use a worn small grinding wheel from a bench grinder. Frank C.

[4x4American]

Now I'm not an expert but I think that the rock is at a different angle than the angle the blade is ground to, because of the way the head comes down.  Not 100% sure.  But I had tried to set the head to a 4 degree hook.  Got it as close as I could with a protractor.  When I bought the head angle gauge from Cutting Edge, I found I was way off.  And that's what I had figured.  I think it's because the leading edge of the rock cuts.  I could be 100% wrong.  There are some really smart guys on here that may chime in, and hopefully they do.  But yea the manual won't tell you anything about that

[bandmiller2]

Rick, Don't take the rear degree marks as gospel. You will find the best hook angle to be somewhat less than 10 degrees. You should be able to reduce the hook with the rear adjustment. I kinda forget but I think I drilled and tapped another hole to reduce hook even more. The only accurate way to check hook is with a machinists protractor head. Don't sweat a couple of degrees, but you better less than 10, than over. Frank C.

[kelLOGg]

Just measure it as BM2 said. I added 4°, 6° and 8° by guessing where it should be and grinding and measuring. It really didn't take long. I cut very deep (about 3/4 of the way thru a scrapped blade) to make it easier to measure the angle.
Bob

[4x4American]

This is how I set the head angle:

[bandmiller2]

4 Bye, very clever mate, those would be ideal if a fella was changing angles with regularity. I'am too lazy for all that switcheroo and just leave mine set at about 6 degrees. When I sharpen for customers they get 6 to, no one has ever complained, in fact they tell me the bands cut better than new. Been many years but if I recall its tough with the Cat to get around 4 degrees, you can just clamp it without using the tapped holes and shoulder bolts. Frank C.

[Rickcnc]

Thanks for the information, I tend to make things much more difficult then they need to be.. especially when equipped with a tool I typically don't use (machinist protractor).


4X4.. I really like your method to setting the angle. very simple. I checked my motor base angle to the glide pins and found its very close to the associated pin holes on the back.. however when I reference the face (right side) of the grinding stone to the glide pins, it is off another 5 degrees or so..

I concluded this was because one (and only one) of the pillow blocks has a shim and a 1/8" strip of rubber under it.. Is this normal or did the original owner modify this.

So thinking this is easy I'll remove the shim and rubber; and reference from there...... not so easy for two reasons.. 1 the pillow blocks were seized.. got past that.. 2: The pulley the belt rides on is  to big and prevents the pillow blocks from sitting flat without some form of shim(s)

A couple of new questions
1: My pillow Blocks are Dodge 124130s it this the correct block or did someone swap them out?
2: Are there shims under your pillow blocks?
3: 4X4.. Looking at your picture the bolts on the right bolts appear to have fewer threads compared to the left.. which would lead me to believe you right pillow block is shimmed or the bolts are shorter. The picture looks the same as mine except the shims were under the left Block in my case.

[4x4American]

Rick I will look into that when I get back to the shop later.  I'm about 100 miles west right now.  The head angle gauges (and cam) you can get from the forum member Cutting Edge...I'm really happy with them, I didn't even bother to drill out slots for it I just use the gauges each time I switch between 4 and 7, which is fairly frequently.  You can call him right up if you wanted some 304-878-3343 and ask for Richard.  I also have maybe 7-8 stones in stock, every time I change a profile or hook angle I change the stone to match it.  Suffolk Saw Machinery sells some good quality stones too, their number is 631-289-7153 ask for the 3/8 ruby stones for the cat claw.  They grind cooler and keep their shape better than the blue stones that come with it.

[4x4American]

Mine does have a rubber looking shim on the left pillow block bearing if you are looking at it from the front.


I don't see a part number on the bearings themselves, but, I did find there's a parts list in the manual and it says:
115-0060 1/2 pillow block bearing.  Not sure if that's their part number or a parts mfg's.  And I'm assuming they mean 1/2". 


The spacer is also listed in the parts list.  Part number 178-023.

[Rickcnc]

The shim appears to tilt the grinding wheel  4-5 degrees, which would in effect give you a different angle than off the base of the motor. On the lowest setting of 8 on the rear shoulder bolt, my grinding stone was at 12 degrees. Hopefully someone can shed some light on this..

I may have to wait unit spring and try a few of the blades I sharpened and see how they work.

Slightly different topic.. Does the manual explain how to square the grinding stone to the clamp? Looks like a pillow block adjustment

[4x4American]

I think it says to reverse tighten the 4 bolts and use screwdrivers to square it.

[Kbeitz]

I betting the rubber under makes for some fine adjustment.
tightening the bolts more or less would change the angle of
the blade.

[4x4American]

I betting the rubber under makes for some fine adjustment.
tightening the bolts more or less would change the angle of
the blade.

I never thought of that...good call.

[Chuck White]

If you really want an operators manual for the Cat Claw sharpener, call Cooks!

I'm sure they would send you one!

Good people to deal with!

[Ga Mtn Man]

The shim appears to tilt the grinding wheel  4-5 degrees, which would in effect give you a different angle than off the base of the motor. On the lowest setting of 8 on the rear shoulder bolt, my grinding stone was at 12 degrees. Hopefully someone can shed some light on this..

That is how it's supposed to be.  Tilting the stone causes the left radius of the grindstone to be what sharpens the tooth face rather than the flat side of the stone.  If the entire flat side of the stone contacts the tooth face, the stone will quickly wear to an angle on the left side, reducing the effective face angle grind and before long you will be grinding a 4° angle when you think you're grinding a 7°. 

[redprospector]

Cook's emailed me a manual. I had it the same hour I called them.
They seem to understand great service.

[4x4American]

The shim appears to tilt the grinding wheel  4-5 degrees, which would in effect give you a different angle than off the base of the motor. On the lowest setting of 8 on the rear shoulder bolt, my grinding stone was at 12 degrees. Hopefully someone can shed some light on this..

That is how it's supposed to be.  Tilting the stone causes the left radius of the grindstone to be what sharpens the tooth face rather than the flat side of the stone.  If the entire flat side of the stone contacts the tooth face, the stone will quickly wear to an angle on the left side, reducing the effective face angle grind and before long you will be grinding a 4° angle when you think you're grinding a 7°.

Ahhha.  Thought so.  You can tell by watching it grind

[Rickcnc]

The shim appears to tilt the grinding wheel  4-5 degrees, which would in effect give you a different angle than off the base of the motor. On the lowest setting of 8 on the rear shoulder bolt, my grinding stone was at 12 degrees. Hopefully someone can shed some light on this..

That is how it's supposed to be.  Tilting the stone causes the left radius of the grindstone to be what sharpens the tooth face rather than the flat side of the stone.  If the entire flat side of the stone contacts the tooth face, the stone will quickly wear to an angle on the left side, reducing the effective face angle grind and before long you will be grinding a 4° angle when you think you're grinding a 7°.

Ahhha.  Thought so.  You can tell by watching it grind

I told you I'm really good at overthinking things or in this case not thinking it through clearly.. Makes sense now..  At least my little exercise  on the weekend got all the gunk cleaned out from in and around the bearings.

Thanks for your help..