Automatic grinder

[Cruiser_79]

With my sawmill there came an (old) grinder as well. I used it with the settings it came with. On top you can read the angle, and the previous user marked which setting they used. But when I measure the angle of the wheel itself, there is a difference. When I read a 25 degree angle, I measure a 30 degree angle of the wheel. Is it a kind of preset for the travel up/down of the wheel or is something bended?? I never checked before, but cause I want a smaller angle I noticed it.

[donbj]

Seems awful steep for the angle there. 4-10 is what most are depending on what you're cutting. The angle you're reading there may not be referenced to the blade. Put the gauge on the bottom of the blade and see if it's level. If not you'll have to add or subtract from your wheel reading depending on that.

[barbender]

Is that angle maybe for the back of the tooth? I'd get a machinist protractor and check the existing angle on the blade, face and back. I'm not familiar with those big manly bands like that!🤷🏽‍♂️

[Cruiser_79]

Seems awful steep for the angle there. 4-10 is what most are depending on what you're cutting. The angle you're reading there may not be referenced to the blade. Put the gauge on the bottom of the blade and see if it's level. If not you'll have to add or subtract from your wheel reading depending on that.

Yeah they are. At the moment I'm cutting Azobe (Red Ironwood) and it is quite hard to keep it straight. But the tooth are stellite tipped, and aren't set sideways. Kind of Euro thing I guess. The Polish guys used to saw pine and beech trees with these blades.
The digital level I'm using has a zero function. I placed it on the tooth and set it to zero. So what I measure is referenced to the blade. When I place the level exactly parallel to a tooth it reads 25 degrees as well, just like the shaft.
Yesterday I found out that the head of the grinder is adjustable. It is clamped to a kind of swivel with two bolts. Loosening these bolts and I could turn it freely. So now I set it to the correct angle. Trial and error I guess. Next thing to figure out is how to grind the gullet/back of the teeth. Should be possible, but the grinder head is lifting to early it looks like. 

[esteadle]

Seems like you are looking to reduce your hook angle to let your horsepower match up better with the tougher wood you are cutting. I agree this is the right approach.

If you are having trouble getting in the gullets, look at the cam that the grinder head is following. There is usually an eccentric wheel that it rides on. You may want to file that a bit to let the wheel reach in there deeper.

Another option is to start with a new grinding wheel and dress it manually to match up as best you can with the profile of the gullets for the bands you have, and see if you can get it deeper into the gullet that way?

Wavy cuts can be caused by insufficient cut clearance. Saw blades are usually set to let the blade body clear the wood, so it's odd these blades have none. I wonder if it may have been ground off in prior sharpenings?  ???

[Cruiser_79]

Seems like you are looking to reduce your hook angle to let your horsepower match up better with the tougher wood you are cutting. I agree this is the right approach.

If you are having trouble getting in the gullets, look at the cam that the grinder head is following. There is usually an eccentric wheel that it rides on. You may want to file that a bit to let the wheel reach in there deeper.

Another option is to start with a new grinding wheel and dress it manually to match up as best you can with the profile of the gullets for the bands you have, and see if you can get it deeper into the gullet that way?

Wavy cuts can be caused by insufficient cut clearance. Saw blades are usually set to let the blade body clear the wood, so it's odd these blades have none. I wonder if it may have been ground off in prior sharpenings?  ???

Thanks for your comment, indeed I want to reduce the angle for this wood. Not exactly for the hp, I have 22 kw electric and on my amp meter I can't see it slowing down. It is more to keep my cuts straight.  Some people around here call azobe 'soft iron'. The wood I got in exchange of my work for staking out new bridges. These poles are 30-40 years old supports of bridges.

'Wavy cuts can be caused by insufficient cut clearance. '
I'm still struggling with keeping the blade straight. I increased belt pressure to 70 bars (calculated 3.5 ton pressure) and set the blade guides exactly parallel with a precision of 0.05 degrees. Never knew 0.10 degrees would make that much difference. When cutting spruce even 1 degree isn't noticeable. I'm also experimenting with sawing dry, really wet and something in between. With too much water it looks like the really fine dust is forming a kind of muddy layer.

I can get deep enough in the gullet, I can set the entire depth of the grinding wheel as well as the tooth height (difference between minimum and maximum height). But I think the grinding head is lifting too early, for grinding gullet and back of the teeth it should lift very slowly. I found the excentric wheels and changed the stance of it to factory settings, those were marked. The polish owner changed it but the grinding wheel was hitting the pusher arm.

Grinding a band looks quite simple, but it is a real craftsmanship!



 
this is one of those bad boys