Which cam to use?

[Carpenter]

     So, I'm pretty new to sharpening band blades, but of course I want to do the best job possible.  I am sharpening for myself and as a side business.  
     
     I started off with a TimberKing sharpener and setter, which has an adjustable cam.  I got it pretty well  dialed in for my Woodmizer double hard 10* blades, and it worked pretty well.  Then a customer brought me some Timberking 10* blades, and I put them on that machine, and the profile seemed to be the same.  Now with the one adjustable cam I don't think it's possible to get it dialed in perfectly, and in the Timberking sharpener manual, it states that there is no perfect gullet profile, but they appeared to be exactly the same.  So, I sharpened them both on the Timberking sharpener and they were sharp. 
    But I was having issues with the Timberking setter.  I think part of the issue with the setter is that I was sharpening, and then setting (which is what is shown in the instructional dvd that came with the machines.  But, you always get a burr when sharpening, removing the burr is just an extra step, and if you don't get all of the burr off, it will throw off the setter.  Furthermore, the way that the Timberking setter clamps the blade leaves a lot to be desired.  At any rate, I was not getting consistent sets, even after getting everything dialed in, I would get consistent sets for a few teeth, (think that I had the situation whipped) and find out half way through the blade that my sets were very inconsistent. 
     By the way, I don't want to knock Timberking too much here, the blades that I sharpened and set for myself cut like a dream.  So, I thought that I had the equipment dialed in enough to do a customers blades.  I think the equipment worked fine for personal use, but not on a scale to use it as a side business. 
     At any rate, I had always wanted a Cooks sharpening set up, so I considered just getting the Cooks setter, but with the discount for the sharpener, setter combo, I went ahead and bit the bullet.  
     So, naturally, I got the cams that I needed which are the woodmizer 10* and the Cooks supersharp cam, with the plan to expand my cam inventory as the need arises.  
     I felt bad about the inconsistent sets of the customers Timberking blades, so I fixed them with the Cooks setter, and then, I went ahead and ran them around on my Cooks sharpener with the Woodmizer 10* cam.  They are very sharp now and set well.  And, I told him that I had done that, (of course he was fine with it).  But, now they are essentially Timberking blades with a Woodmizer profile.
     Is there any difference?  Because I couldn't tell a difference.  But, I see that Cooks does sell a cam for the Timberking blades, and one for the Woodmizer blades both 10* 7/8" pitch.

     Which brings me to today.  A customer brought in some Woodmizer 10* blades, (perfect, I have the cam for that) and some Jerry's resharp ripper 10* blades, (frankly, the profile on those looks identical to the Woodmizer's), and some Jerry's resharp 7* blades.  
     I can see a difference in the 7* blades.  It's actually quite a difference and obviously requires a different cam.  However, (and I haven't compared them side by side yet) it does look similar to the Cooks Supersharp profile.
     Naturally, I can adjust the cutter head angle on my sharpener, so with enough passes, I could probably make them any degree that I want.  But, the Jerry's are supposed to be 7*, and I believe the Cooks are 8*.  I haven't sharpened any of my Cooks blades yet.  But, on the Cooks website, I don't see a cam specified for the Jerry's resharp blades.  I did put a call into Jerry's today, but I haven't got a return call yet.

     That brings me to my third question.  How can I tell as a saw sharpener what profile the customer brings in?  Personally, I've got three different profiles of blades, and they have gotten mixed over the years.  So, if I was to bring in my blades to my re-sharp service, I would be able to spot the Cooks blades right away, but I might get a few of the Timberwolf blades mixed in with the Woodmizer.  

     I have seen templates of different blade profiles, so they do exist, but I don't know where to get one.

     Sorry, this is long
     Thanks
     Jeff Carpenter

[barbender]

 I try to keep it as simple as possible. Woodmizer 4°, 7° standard, and 10° have a very similar or the same gullet, with he hokk angle being the only difference. 

Turbo 7/39° have a much deeper gullet, as do 7/47°.

Most manufacturers blades are pretty close to the standard Woodmizer profile, until 20 years ago there weren't many options in blades. 

There are some like Cooks Super Sharps, Kasco has a 7° that is similar to a Turbo 7, and I'm sure others that have the deep gullet and steep back angle.

I have a Cooks sharpener as well. Even if it only gets the face and back of the tooth the first sharpen or two, it will cut great. I personally think the concern over grinding the gullets to get rid of "micro-cracks" is a bunch of hogwash. The only blades I've had break prematurely was when I tried to regrind WM 10° to a Turbo 7 profile. Even trying to take a light grind, those blades all broke after the second sharpening. 

Whats my point? I think if you had one cam for the standard gullet blades, and one for the deep gullet blades, you should be able to take care of most of them. No way I'd be buying a different cam for all of those different blades myself.

[Carpenter]

     Thanks for the reply Barbender!  

     Yep, that's what I'm seeing on the Jerry's 7* blades, is the deeper gullet and the steeper back angle, which to me looks very similar to the Cooks supersharp blades that I've got.

     I think I'll probably just quit worrying about it, and put a blade on with the grinder turned off, and see how well it follows the profile.  

     I'll keep you guys posted, as I think this is probably good information for others getting into sharpening.

[barbender]

When I got my Cooks, the cam it came equipped with was the Cooks Supersharp profile. Well I had been running Woodmizer standard 7° blades, and that came wouldn't grind much without really getting into the gullets hard. I got out a file, and eventually a side grinder with a fine flap wheel, and got that cam to grind those blades pretty well. 

The problem was, eventually I switched to Woodmizer Turbo 7/39's. Now it wouldn't get the gullet...then I had to get out the welder and put the metal back on the cam, and reshape it😁 

They're pretty forgiving, but my experience shows that it would be prudent to have a "shallow" and "deep" cam, I think the other fine tuning you can do by grinding your grind wheel.