Sharpener

[wbrent]

Looks like I may be losing my go to blade sharpener. Not really interested in sending blades away to be sharpened. So considering buying my own sharpener. Can't break the bank though. Is there one in particular that gets good reviews?  Is a tooth setter an absolute must as well. My current sharpener doesn't reset my blades and the seem just fine to me. What other things do I need to consider? 

[Joe Hillmann]

I cant give a suggestion on what type of sharpener to get but I would say a setter is necessary.  You can maybe get one or two sharpenings without resetting g bit much more than that and you wont be able to go as fast or the blade will start to wonder.  Although too much set can require more power to cut at the speed the blade is capable of.

[jimbarry]

If you don't want to spend the money on a larger setter, pick up a tooth set gauge like the one sold by Woodmizer Tooth Set Gauge  

I use it in combination with their automatic setter BMT250 Automatic Tooth Setter , but it works fine on its own for a person sharpening their own blades. Once you dial in the gauge to zero, checking a tooth set is super easy, and using a thumb wrench, I can easily set a tooth wherever I want.  With just that gauge, I can set a 180 tooth blade in about 20 min checking and fixing the inside and outside teeth (raker rarely needs checking), so only checking 120 teeth to look at.

Only sharpener I've used and own is a  WM BMS250 BMS250 Bandsaw Blade Sharpener
 Paid for itself in a year.

[highleadtimber16]

I'm running a BMS250 sharpener and I love it. For me it was the right price and is very easy to use. I was running a woodmizer single tooth setter and had no complaints. I could set a blade in 6 minutes. I upgraded to a Suffolk dual tooth setter to speed things up, and am very pleased with it. I'm using about 25 blades per week right now but that increases in the spring. In my opinion, setting is just as important as sharpening. 

[barbender]

I only reset after probably 3 sharpenings. If I am using the thicker .050 or .055 blades, they break before they ever need set🤷🏽‍♂️ I ran with just a sharpener for quirlte a while, I was just saving my blades that need set and when I finally got a setter I had a good supply of blades to go through😁

[jimbarry]

@barbender makes a good point about tips breaking.  I also find that the hardened tips of certain blades will break if the blades are new so I wait until its into the 3 sharpening. Actually, I'll check the blade with the gauge first and if its good enough I don't bother setting.

[Gere Flewelling]

I have the Cat Claw sharpener and dual tooth setter from Cook Saw Manufacturing.  I have used it for three years with good success.  I mostly only sharpen my own blades at this time but have done a few for others as well with good success.  The Cat Claw is a dry sharpening system.  The machine is very heavy duty and very heavy.  The setter is the same quality.  I think it is a good investment.  GF