What hook angle do you sharpen your swingmill at?

[Nate Surveyor]

I sharpen mine... um, at the same angle they come from the re-toother!

But, would an increase work better in pine, and a decrease work better in oak?

The guy I got my mill from said so, but he was not the most handy with his mill either. So his advice may not have been the best.

And the blades were over tensioned.

I'm mostly curious.

Is this good info about hook angle?

N

[Part_Timer]

Nate I sharpen mine at the angle on the blade sheet. 35 deg.  I don't run much in the way of soft wood but it works fine in hard wood.  Captain cuts a lot of white pine you might ask him.

[brdmkr]

Nate,

Just out of curiosity, how could you tell that  your blades were over tensioned.  I hear a lot about tensioning blades on the forum, but I always figured that applied more to the larger circle blades.  Still, I can't help but wonder if I may be missing out on something.  Of course, if I remember correctly, you have a 10" Peterson, so you would have 8" more diameter than I have on my Lucas.  Does that make the tension more critical?  Inquiring minds want to know.

[Nate Surveyor]

I have a 9" mill. Rare as hen's teeth.

And, and the info that they are over tensioned comes from Captain. He worked on this mill when the prev owner had it.

And my saw re-toother says they were "Tight".

I can see the blades wobble at certain rpm's and not at others.

N

[Captain]

A couple of Nate's blades were literally bowl shaped.  Too many passes on the roll tensioner.

The best angle is a bit of a variable, depends on a few factors:

What are you cutting
How many teeth are your blades
How many ponies does your mill have

35 degrees is a very good all around angle.
My 30hp Kohler rarely bogs with an 8" 8 tooth blade in Eastern White Pine with a more agressive grind, like 30 degrees.  Side clearance is more of a factor in Pine.


Captain

[brdmkr]

So, I should be able to see that something is not right if something is not right?

[Part_Timer]

Yep you should.  I over heated one and you could hear it "sing" when leaving the cut.  You can also put a straight edge across the blade.  If you see more than a hint of light something is not right.

[brdmkr]

Thanks for the info.  My mill is cutting fine, but it never hurts to know about these things.

[Captain]

Not necessarily....it is easier to spot loss of tension.  The best example of this is when starting the top of a log, and cutting the waste on the right side.  If the blade wants to ride the contour of the log upward with properly sharpened teeth and mill adjustments; chances are the blade is losing tension.  A swingmill blade in normal tension will still appear flat.

Captain

[Part_Timer]

 A swingmill blade in normal tension will still appear flat.
Captain

Did I get the straight edge part wrong. ??? ???

[Captain]

Not necessarily.  With a straight edge, the blade will never appear *truly* flat.  Locating spots that are high or low with a staight edge is possible.  Ususally these same spots will show up as "hot spots" on the blade as the blade rubs the wood during the cut.  Hot spots are an ominous sign of loss of tension.

Captain