How do you guys manage your bands??What we do is start with a full box of bands use and sharpen them, then when they all start to fail [hairline cracks or big bang]start anouther box.Sometimes when you keep mixing old and new its hard to run heard on them.I also like to keep the same brand and set makes it easier to set and sharpen.Frank C.
I carry a square box with me to job sites. i start with 10-11 in the box, and set and sharpen the blades as they go dull, and they end up in the top of the box. I don't keep track of the number of sharpenings.
As the box runs low, I fill it back up from my "reserve" stash.
setting and sharpening kills me if I dull 10-15 before setting and sharpening.
I take a box of 10, use and sharpen as I go, putting them in another box. When the first box is empty I start over and continue the sequence til almost all the blades either break or are too thin to sharpen again. When there are not enough blades left to get me through the day I put them aside and start on another new box. When that box wares down til it won't get through the day I put the 2 boxes togather and use them til I don't have enough to get through the day. Then box number 3 comes in. The cycle continues on.
About once a year I will pick up a junk car and put all the old blades in it and haul to the scrap yard. Sometimes I get agrivated and give them to somebody to get them out of the way first. ;D
No management here, some of the blades end up looking like crap so they sit for a while. I pulled into a job last week and there were a pile of 10 to 20 year old white oak logs, no bark and hard as a rock and big. I had to change blades every hour on that stuff and at the end I put on one of those ugly blades with a little to much set, turned out to be the best cutting blade of the day. Steve
I'm down to 7 blades in stock right now, almost time for a new batch. I had a few dozen in the barn that I've been using & using 'till they're shot, I try to keep rotating the same 2 or 3 so I don't get backed up with dull ones. One I took off this AM had a barely visible crack on the back edge - Sharpen or junk? I sharpened it, I'll let you know tomorrow if it was a good move or not :D If you keep rotating the same few blades, the sharpener only needs the slightest tweak to regrind them, I find that helpful.
Sharpener adjust and stone dressing is why I use small lots. If I even think it is a crack I junk it. Too much time to set and sharpen for no more than it will cut.
since I got the sharpener I figure it's best to just keep five or so in rotation and change the blade when it even THINKS of making me work to get through a cut...
I use one box at a time, when the first ones start to break I order another box and it comes in about the time that the last few of the previous box are on their last few uses.