Manual bandsaw blade sharpener

[fishfighter]

After debating of spending a arm and a leg for a auto sharpener and being retired with more time on my hands then money, a manual one will do.

After reading thru post here and getting ideas, the quest was on. And thanks to those that posted their builds. ;D

First off was to find a cheap radial saw.

Took a few months, but found a very old Craftmen built in 1969. I is like new and came with all the manuals and three new blades for the sum of $25. ;D Only thing was missing was the safety key. Swapped that out to a toggle switch which I had on hand. 



 

This saw is rated at 3450 rpms. Was kind of scare installing a grinding wheel at those speeds. But, after checking, I happen to have a 6"x3/4" wheel that was rated at 3600 rpms. More on that later.

The build. First, I needed something that would hold the blade tight. So, I took a 2x4x20", set my circle saw and set it to cut 1" deep and made my pass. The blade sits in very tight. ;D



 

Using 1 1/4" blades, that left more then enough to sharpen. I had mounted it to the saw base with some C clamps. Just for temp at this time. Once I did that, I tool some wood stock and mounted it on the back side to support the blade with C clamps.



 

After that, I took a grinding wheel dresser and dressed the grinding stone to match the blade. I did set the angle at 7 degrees as these blades are that.



 

Once that was done, I added a clamp to lock in the blade. I can adjust it as needed.



 

After that, I had sharpen the full blade which took about 15 minutes.



 



 

This was a practice blade. Was rusty and gummed up. Also, to make this work, I did have to invert the blade.

Over all, I think it worked good, but will not know till I try out this blade which I will try today. Then I will report back. ;D

On the grinding wheel. I do have a 8"x1" I rated fine stone ordered that I will be replacing the wheel I have now.

At this point, I have about $40 into this sharpener. ;D

[bags]

Looks good fishfighter--- wheres theres a will, theres a way.

My sharpening rig is pretty much the same as yours except I use a chop saw. I put my band blade stop one tooth away from the grinding wheel--- that way I only have one different size tooth when the sharpened teeth finally come around back to the grind wheel.

[bandmiller2]

You "done good" mate. If you took several drywall screws and screwed them part way in on the two back support arms to make the loop more elliptical it would feed easier through your grooved two by four. Frank C.

[fishfighter]

Thanks guys, it is still a work in progress. :D

As far as the lock down. I took the time to sharpen the first few tips, then started using the lock down.

[Joe Hillmann]

Have you tried that blade yet?  I find that if I only sharpen the face of the teeth a burr folds back over the top and I can't get it sharp without also sharpening the top of the teeth to fold the burr back the other way.

[fishfighter]

I am very pleased of the out come. In fact, I pushed my mill hard and a lot faster then I could before and it cut better then a new blade in a Water Oak. ;D

100% rain for tomorrow, so I know what I will be doing. ;D

I do have one question. I have some 10 degree blades. Can I resharpen them down to 7 degrees? Do I need to reset the tips before hand or after? I have the stuff on hand to make a Pineywood setter that will be made ASAP. ;D All my blades are on the first time around to be sharpen. I have around 25 or so.
I haven't check to see how much metal would be cut matching my 7 to the 10. I will tomorrow. I found that 7 degree blades work best for me and would like to sharpen all my blades to that.

I will progress on the blade sharpener tomorrow by cutting down the table size, screwing down the2x4 and doing something for the back extensions. ;D

I'm a happy trooper with it. ;D

Oh, I forgot. The true test came once I sawed a 12"x12"x12' cant. I had set the blade about 3/16" down and made a pass. I could hold out the piece and see daylight and the thickness was the same end to end. ;D

[bandmiller2]

FF theirs not much difference between 10's and 7's just go ahead and convert to 7 degree. The time is rapidly coming when you will have to set those bands, usually you can do two or three grindings before the set is too little. Most of us set before sharpening. Frank C.

[fishfighter]

Thanks Frank. I just never compared the two. Just know the 7's did so much better. :D

[yukon cornelius]

Nice work. I like your resourcefulness.

[Brucer]

Here's something you might want to check out after you've sharpened a few blades.

Wood-Mizer recommends when using their drag sharpener that you just barely touch the face of the blade. The actual sharpening is done by grinding the back of the blade. Obviously you can't do that with your setup.

Wood-Mizer also makes the gauges they supply for setting the angle 2° more than the number stamped on the gauge. This is consistent for all the angles on two different gauges and I confirmed with WM that it's done that way on purpose.

Eventually I put those two facts together and did a little more figuring. What happens is that as the grinding wheel drops down the face of the blade, a tiny bit of material is removed from the wheel where it first touches the tooth. Less material is removed further from the edge of the wheel, because it is moving over the part of the tooth that has already been ground. The effect after sharpening several thousand teeth (i.e., a dozen blades) is that the side of the wheel where it grinds the tooth face is no longer parallel to the rest of the wheel. Look carefully on a well used wheel and you'll see the slight change in angle -- about 2°.

So the WM gauges are designed to compensate for the wear on the grinding wheel.

In your case since you have no choice but to grind the face of the tooth, you may see a little more wear on the side of the wheel, which will reduce the tooth angle. You might want to measure the actual tooth angle after you've sharpened a few blades. Of course it will be much easier for you to compensate for any loss of angle ;D.

[fishfighter]

Hey, thanks for the in put. The stone I have ordered is harder then what I am using now. The stone I'm using is taken very little off the blade. Heck, I saw just for myself. Once I get all my blades sharp, that should last me an easy year. ;D But, I have a future project that I will be sawing a lot for a timber frame shop/barn. Still getting some SYP logs in and I need more then 50 big ones. Bad thing is, they don't grow on my place. All I have is hardwood trees. :(

[pbeauchemin]

Looks like a great idea.  I have the same craftsman radial arm saw.  Just wondering how you fit a 3/4" stone on the shaft.  With the cupped washers I have, the stone wont fit.  Did you use different washers?  If so,  what did you use?