Which sharpener/setter to buy

[gjgauthier]

I'm ordering a Timberking 2000 next week. I'm also going to purchase a sharpener and setter. TK sells theirs. I've looked at several others on the web.  Should I order it with my saw or look at another brand? The prices seem similar across manufacturers but I can't tell if there's a meaningful difference in the equipment. Your guidance is really appreciated.

[york]

What does TK offer for a sharpener???

Cooks has theirs on sale,right now-better check them out-soon,i will be get a machine myself and it will be a Cats Claw.....albert

[Bibbyman]

We bought a Wood-Mizer CBN grinder and dual-tooth setter about two years ago now.  It does a wonderful job compared to the old stone "drag" grinder.

Here is a long topic about our adventure with others adding in info about other equipment.

https://forestryforum.com/board/index.php/topic,42691.0.html

Often a company will make a bundle deal on everything you buy when you get your mill.  That may be good info to know.

[John Bartley]

I use a Champion sharpener and setter that I bought when I bought my mill. It works well, but I wish that I had been more experienced when I bought it and had known that for a few dollars more I could have had one that has options for a variety of bands with different gullet profiles etc. I can only do one profile and no other cams are available for this grinder. Have a good look around - do some research.

John

[thecfarm]

gjgauthier,a new TK 2000. I could look it up,but I suppose you want to brag on it some?  :D  HP? hyds?  What's the plan for the lumber.

[bandmiller2]

Probibly the CBN grinder is best, but expensive and specialized,myself I have a Cooks Cats claw with which I am well pleased.The cats is  adaptable and very heavy duty.If your earning your living with a bandmill consider the CBN,if a part time sawyer give the cats a close look.Whatever grinder you buy be sure to get a good dual tooth setter. Frank C.

[fat olde elf]

Cook's Cat Claw is now on sale for $1495.  Mine is 8 years old and never a problem.

[Chuck White]

Cook's Cat Claw is now on sale for $1495.  Mine is 8 years old and never a problem.

Whow!  If that price is correct, that's a very good deal.

I've used mine for 4 years now, had to change the drive belt once, no other problems.

[Will_Johnson]

Hi GJ:

Thanks so much for choosing TK! We will look forward to chatting next week -- please feel free to call me personally if ever you need to!

Really on the sharpener issue there are no wrong answers. All of the sharpeners mentioned above are in fairly distinct price classes. The higher the price, the more features you get.

I think all of the experienced sawyers above will agree with me that at the end of the day you probably need to look at both a sharpener and a setter. They are almost equally important (55% sharpener, 45% setter?) So this may affect your decision here as well.

Keep in mind too that having blades sharpened & set locally or with the supplier's service is often a good choice, especially when you're first buying a mill and money may be a bit tight. That way down the line you can spend a little more on a complete blade maintenance set-up of sharpener & setter.

Reading between the lines of some of the posts above it seems to me this is what many of these guys did -- invested in the equipment some time after buying their mill.

Look forward to chatting next week!

Will

[ladylake]

I bought my sharpener and setter when I got my mill and glad I did, must have well over 3000 blades through it by now with nothing but new wheels.    As Will said you have to have a setter also.    Steve

[CharlieA]

I use the WM CBN sharpener at work.  I like it a lot.  No profiling wheels, just get to sharpening.  The setter we use is an old single tooth WM one.  It's not very good.  It takes a lot of time to set one side, invert the band, then hit the other.
  I am trying to convince them to get a dual tooth setter, at this point I don't care if it's manual, anything would be an improvement.

[Art_H]

It appears that the Cat's Claw sharpener on sale for $1495 is the 'AMISH' version, without an electric motor.  Great if you set up to a windmill...  Otherwise the 120v motor version is on sale for $1795.

[PineNut]

I did have an older Woodmizer sharpener and was having problems with it. Most of the problems were lack of maintenance before I got it. So I called Cook's for some help. They were not interest in helping until I told them I wanted to salvage the space and put a Cat's Claw in it. Next day I went to the factory and picked it up. Best decision I made. It is a heavy and solid sharpener.  At $1795, it is a very good buy. I still have an old single tooth setter, which is a pain to use. Guess I should probably build one of Pineywoods' dual tooth setters. 

[PineNut]

I received a Cook's catalog today.  They have the regular Cat Claw sharpener with a price of $2495 with a strike out and a price of $1795. This appears to be their regular price. However on the third page of the catalog, they have the price listed as $1495 as a limited time offer that ends Feb 28. This is their regular 120 volt sharpener, not the Amish sharpener. A very good price for an excellent machine.

[fat olde elf]

Hey Pine Nut ! Thank you for validating my earlier post. Young folks should listen to us 75 year old geezers,,,,,

[redbeard]

Tax time again, and as another year has passed adding up my receipts for 2012 I could have bought another sharpener & setter this last year. What holds me up is the learning curve and which brand to buy. Not sure if I continue on with what has been working for me or pull the trigger and get a setup.was hoping for more feedback on TK newer set up

[millwright]

I have the WM CBN sharpener and a Dino dual tooth setter, both work very well and have been trouble free.