I bought a used sharpener and tooth setter when I bought my WM mill a short while back. I bought a angle template a few days ago to see what the past owner had the Sharpener set on--------------It is a little more than 13 degree's. I mainly saw softwood. Can someone give me a brief description(so I don't have to search for hours) on what angle I should run and what more or less angle affects?
I've got almost no experiance sawing softwood but I'd say more than 13 degrees is a bit much. I'd say between 12 and 10 - depending on if the wood is green or dry, etc.
In the Wood-Mizer blade section they have a menu type deal that you can brich down through and get recomended blade spec by wood type, condition, mill model, engine size. May be fun to "what if".
Wood-Mizer blade info (http://www.woodmizer.com/en/store/index.aspx?pcatID=1)
They've got more reading on this web page....
Choosing the right blade (http://www.woodmizer.com/en/blades/rightblade.aspx)
I really got into experimenting with hook a few years ago and found that 13 degrees does a real good job for most of the softwoods that I saw. If you get over 13 degrees, the blades begin to chatter. This determination was made on Southern Yellow Pine and Cypress. I have found that the same blades will get me by on most of the local hardwoods as well. These are water oak, Laurel Oak, Bay, maginolia and gum. Some of these can be a little tough on 13 degrees but I get by.. Live Oak, hickory and those types of woods, I find that 10 degrees workss better.
I generally set all of my blades to 21 thou. per side. and that works good too.
If you haven't much experience sharpening blades, pay attention to the tooth height. It's real easy to let your teeth become too short and that minimizes the gullet and allows sawdust to spill out. You will notice a degradation in the speed you can cut and it's tough on the blades too. Tooth height should be at least 3/16 of an inch.
I don't trust templates to be too accurate. The templates don't take into account for wear. The blade guide pins in the clamp do wear and sometimes not evenly. On my sharpeners the pins are shoulder bolts. I routinely rotate them so they won't wear grooves too deep. The only way to accurately measure the hook angles is using a protractor.
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10973/protractor%20sizes%20002%20jpg.jpg)
Tom, what HP are you running on your mill? I was looking into getting some 13 degree blades for the spruce I have to cut but WM said they dont recommend them for anything under 33 hp.
The 10 degree I used yesterday worked fine but if a 13 would work better I think with a 100 logs to cut it would be worth the expense.
Kirk, we run the 24HP Honda. We use 13° hook. We saw mostly Cypress (Soft), Heart Pine (hard) and some Live Oak and Exotics (very hard). Feed varies according to the wood, and the blade does chatter a little in the very hard wood. Don't matter to us. Saws smooth and clean.
Some of the guys have mentioned the hard knots causing problems in that Spruce. Might have to slow for them ???
I think when I'm over in Indy next week I may pick up a 13 blade and see how it works. Thanks
I've used 13 degree hook on my LT40 with a 24 horse Onan and also on my other mill which has a 38 horse Kubota. Works fine on both.
FLA_DEADHEADER
YOU ARE RIGHT ABOUT THE SPRUCE NOTS ;) SLOW DOWN. IF THE BLADE IS BRAND NEW YOU CAN CRUZ THRU VERY NICELY ;D ;D. AFTER ABOUT 20 MINS WITH THE NEW BLADE, IF THAT NOT IS OVER 3" DIA, YOU BESS BE SLOWING ER DOWN :o. WE CUT A LOT OF THAT UP HERE IN MAINE. SPRUCE, FIR AND WHITE PINE. SPRUCE BEING THE WORST OF THEM ALL >:(. WITH HEMLOCK I CAN RUN 1000BF WITH A BLADE NO PROBLEMS AT ALL 8) 8) 8). I LIKE AND SWEAR BY THE MONKEY BLADES ON MY TK1600. ;D
Back40: Are you running a 13 degree blade? Do you have a debarker?
I dont have a debarker but Im fixen to 8)
Kirk,
No, I am using 10 degree, with no debarker. MONKEY BLADES in My opinion are the best ;) ;) I got this old guy down the road who sharpens them for me, WOW :o :o :o Just like new again. $5.00 per blade. No shipping 8) 8) 8) I will never use anything again. Timberking Ultra's I have been told, are Monkey blades. They just charge about 6.00 more per blade. :o :o >:(
I have a single monkey blade 10 degree that I have been testing. Havent seen to see much of a difference from the WM blades yet. It is on its fourth resharp. I am getting 6-8 resharps on my WM. If it gets that many then it may be worth the switch since they are cheaper.
I have some simmons blades that was part of there free demo trial. I have been very pleased with them other than the times I put to much set in them. When trying to use the tool to take set out, the tips broke off. After this happen on three different blades from simmons I stopped trying to take set out. Just have to be more careful when setting.
I do have to say that I have some WM double hards that have as many as 10 resharps on them. Granted they are no long 1 1/4 blades but they still cut true.
Ya know Kirk, there are some real easy ways to take out set. I've learned a few the hard way! ;)
Back40,
I've seen some brand new Timberking Ultra's . I agree they only higher priced Munksforssagars blades. The Specs printed on the inside of the blade are the same. Put the two blades side by side they look identical.
Kirk,
I 've used monkey blades along with WM blades as comparision. They didn't seem to have as much flex life as the WM's . They all broke at 6 sharpenings. I, like you, get as many as 8 to 10 sharpenings out of my WM's. By that time they are getting pretty narrow.
I think what makes the monkey blade a real cutter in soft wood is the tall tooth height. The taller the tooth height the faster the feed speeds. I have seen many manufacturer's tooth configurations and the monkey blades
have a tooth height that is compariable with the WM's 10/30's at least 1/4" or taller. Simond's and WM's 9/29's are nearly identicle in tooth height 3/16". The shorter tooth isn't as aggressive and performs well in dense hardwoods.
I try to keep my tooth height to 1/4 min. I have found that 5/16ths works great on most of what I cut except for hickory and white Oak.