MD Sawyers

[bandmiller2]

MD owners,How well does that little 12/24 dc sharpener work,is it better and faster than a file??Reason I ask,could it be used on a circular mill headsaw,MD just uses a mini inserted tooth headsaw.MD'ers how well do carbide bits work on your rigs?? I use a Dexter file guide now that would probibly work well on your mills if you could get the clearance to use it.The saw guide has a handle ,hooks in the gullet and rollers to keep the file at right angles to the bit.Diamond file available for carbide bits.Frank C.

[DanG]

Frank, I don't have one of those sharpeners but I've seen one work before.  It seems to do pretty well, but I thought it was kinda pricey.  I just swap the bits out for sharp ones, then sharpen several sets at a time on the bench grinder.  Since there are only 6 bits on my main saw, it takes longer to remove and replace the blade guard than it does to replace the teeth.  I use Stellite tipped bits, so I would need a diamond file to do them by hand.  The edgers use the same type teeth, but would be very awkward to get to with a hand file.

The main saw is a standard 30", 8ga headsaw.  I guess the way they get away with only 6 teeth is that they run the blade at 1100-1200 rpm.  The edgers are 12.5" 10ga with 6 teeth on each.  Both use 3 pattern bits.

[oakiemac]

I use the 12v sharpener. I works pretty good. I don't use carbide teeth but I do use the stellite teeth from MD and steel teeth depending on what kind of logs I'm sawing.

[StorminN]

I use the 12V sharpener, but as you probably saw in the other thread, I'll most likely use it on 24V from now on.

It works fine on 12V, but if you've let your teeth go too long between sharpenings, it takes a while to get down to where the teeth have square corners again... it's quicker on 24V. DanG is right, that little sharpener WAS pricey! I assume that's because it's adjustable in two directions (two dovetailed metal fittings)... that, and I assume they're made one at a time in the USA. A handy guy could rig up something similar and simpler that pivoted off one of the shank holes, and maybe use a cordless Rotozip or one of them fancy new Li-ion cordless Dremel tools... or, go with the cheaper, corded 12V red chainsaw grinder that mine has. Like DanG said, a hand file and / or jig would be awkward to fit in where the edger blades are.

I've got the 12-tooth main saw... so 24 teeth total to sharpen, with the edgers. I use Stellite teeth, too... never tried carbide... from what I've read, Stellite is superior to carbide in everything except very dry wood, and everything I've ever milled has been green...

-N.

[bandmiller2]

Thanks for the quick info,we've got quite a clubhouse here.Does that round stone travel across the bit leaving it flat like new or hollow grind it??Any advantage in the standall style bits with the shoulder.A box of 100 bits must last just short of forever.Frank C.

[StorminN]

Hi Frank,

The grinder clamps to the blade and indexes off the shank holes... the round stone travels in an arc, and leaves the tooth hollow ground a little bit...





I don't know anything about the different types of bits, but yeah, I don't go through many bits, only use 24 at a time...

-Norm.

[karl]

I haven't used one- I use a 4" grinder with a careful eye and sorta steady hand.....

Looks like that might work well at keeping bits all the same length and square.
I like the idea of not having to remove the bits to sharpen, don't need to wear my blade and shanks as much that way.
On the - side I would expect the stones to wear/fill up rather quickly being so small.
Sounds like it might be pretty slow

[StorminN]

Looks like that might work well at keeping bits all the same length and square.

Karl,

I thought the same thing at first... and I guess if all your shanks were exactly the same, this would be true... but I've found that the quality control on the shanks... ie., where the two holes are drilled in each shank... is NOT consistent these days, so either you adjust the sharpener a little for each tooth, or each tooth ends up sharpened just a little bit different. Someday I'll buy more new shanks and mix & match to get more that have the holes in closer to the same spots... however, most of my blades are 38 years old, so they take oversized shanks in some of the sockets, and so I need to keep certain shanks in certain places and can't mix & match freely...

I like the idea of not having to remove the bits to sharpen, don't need to wear my blade and shanks as much that way.

Yes... I like this little sharpener exactly for that reason... and because my blades are old and some sockets worn already, it's that much more important...

On the - side I would expect the stones to wear/fill up rather quickly being so small.
Sounds like it might be pretty slow

True... but the stones are dang cheap... I'm only on my second one... this grinder is much slower than a bench grinder when used on 12V, but I'm liking the 24V way so far...

-N.