Sharpening Munkfors blades

[3Dog]

I did a search and only found limited information on sharpening Munkfors blades.  I did some sawing for a customer that bought some of his own blades for the project and would give them to me upon completion of our sawing.  Originally when we talked I was under the impression that he would purchase Woodmizer blades since that is what my saw is, as well as the mill the customer owned some years back.

Now I am fairly proficient with my woodmizer drag sharpener and it is worth its weight in gold (that may be an exaggeration on my end) but it has been a huge money saver for me.

I have a couple of cams for the blades I use most.  The Munkfors are 1 1/2 inch 10 degree .0050 blades. The tooth spacing is 7/8".  Now I had my 10 degree cam on and thought I could adjust the grinder to do a fairly good sharpening...NO.  I spent almost 1 hour taking several light passes around the band.  I couldnt get the gullet ground for nothing. >:( 

So I am searching for some information as to how I will handle these blades.  I would hate to just chuck the blades now that they are dull.  Is there a source for cams for these blades?  Would it even be cost effective to purchase 1 since I currently only have 8 of these blades?  I nomally get 5-8 sharpenings out of a band before they are taken out of service.  The cost of a new cam could be divided over 40 or so sharpenings and not be too bad depending on the cost of the cam.

thoughts and suggestions appreciated.

[LeeB]

Cookes will make you a cam for anybody's blade for around $70. If you have a cam that you don't use, you might try customizing it with a file and grinder to get the profile you need. I've done a few that way.

[bandmiller2]

I use a Cooks cats claw sharpener and I'am not big on changing cams for each band.Sometimes with a new band of different brand I'll just sharpen the face and the tip on the way out and use it,next grinding or two I'll get down to the gullet,why grind away good steel.You could try reshaping your grinding wheel,or just use em, you'll get to cleaning the gullet soon.Frank C.

[ladylake]

Same as Frank here, no need to hit the whole gullet on the first sharpening or two.  My grinder will get deeper in the gullet with less hook.    Steve

[3Dog]

Thanks for the advice. I will sharpen the face and tip until I get to a full gullet grind.  It makes perfect sense that each sharpening will get me closer to the full grind.  I never thought about the fact that gullet cracks are unlikly with newer blades. When I learned to sharpen (from the forum, thanks to Toms posts) the point about getting the gullet was stressed.

Thanks again

[Chuck White]

Yup, leave as much metal as you can on the band, just make sure it's sharp!

[bandmiller2]

Grinding gullets to eliminate hairline cracks is one of those things repeted so many times by so many people its become law.I think maintaining gullet depth and shape is as important and probibly sharp edges to reduce stringing. Frank C.

[gmmills]

     The gullet shape of the WM 9 deg blade is very similar to a Munks. The Munks blade has a taller tooth hence a deeper gullet. I have sharpened the Munks blades using a 9 deg cam. Just dress more material off the back edge of the wheel allowing a taller tooth. It may take a couple of times around the sharpener to get the whole tooth profile, but still closer than you will ever get using the WM 10 deg cam.