What % sawyers on this board sharpen /set own blades ?

zombie woods · January 29, 2013, 06:23:58 PM

How well does doubble thooth setters work compaired to every other tooth style ?
Advantages of cbn wheel over drag set up ?
Anyone runing new lennox woodmaster c sharp blades , or the timberwolf cobalt .

pros and cons 0.042 vs 0.055 blades ?

Has any one done back to back test of different mfg's blabes right out of the box ?

I suspect this topic comes round alot ,but techonology is evolving and the bar keeps being raised slowly but shurely .

I cut mainly ultra hard exotics so blade performance and serviceability is really important

Gasawyer · January 29, 2013, 06:35:35 PM

I don't sharpen and set my own since I'm 60 miles from a WM resharp. But as far as band thickness the.055 will out cut thinner bands in hard to saw wood if you have the HP to pull them. Down side is short life as far as number of revolutions that the band makes before breaking. At least that's my experience. As a general compromise I run 1 1/2. .045 7deg.

pineywoods · January 29, 2013, 07:33:59 PM

I set and sharpen my own, pretty much stick to wm 1 1/4 .045 10 deg. Good compromise for a wide variety of logs..Don't mess with something that works ;D Sharpener is old (1995) drag type which works quite well, but there is a learning curve. Setter is old wm single tooth, modified with pineywoods dual tooth mod. One of my better brain storms..

Goodndusty · January 29, 2013, 10:23:17 PM

I sharpen and set my own blades. I get about 8 sharpening s out of a blade before it has run its life out. I limit the number of settings to only 1 or 2 times. I set to about .028" and mostly cut pine, birch, tamarack, black ash and aspen.

thecfarm · January 29, 2013, 10:39:04 PM

Goodndusty must have a mill. What kind it is it? been sawing long?

I only saw for myself,so I don't count. I have my done by someone else. I probably only have about 20 blades sharpen a year,than may not even start the mill for another year. I went just about 3 years in between once. My Father could do it real easy. I would struggle with it.

Magicman · January 29, 2013, 10:44:04 PM

Hello, Goodndusty, and Welcome to the Forestry Forum.

In answer to the thread title, I use WM Resharp. $10 per blade sharpened/set which includes shipping both ways. If a blade is rejected, they add a new one at discounted price.

It is simply a personal preference and business decision that we all make for various reasons. When I am not sawing, I spend my time with my family.

hackberry jake · January 29, 2013, 10:57:25 PM

I sharpen and set my own. I got a good deal on an old brewco sharpener and I built a pineywoods vise band setter. I Placed an order with Menominee saw a while back and got a variety of bands. I got two woodmizer bands, three Simmons red streaks, three woodmaster c's, and two monkey blades. Before that I had a box of timberwolf. Now I have some unused woodmaster c-sharps I need to try out this weekend. Of the ones I have tried so far, timberwolf and monkey blades are tied for first. I really liked the red streaks as well especially the price. Every mill is different so I would reccomend you do the same thing I did and order a variety pack and decide for yourself. I might sharpen the same band three or four times in one sawing session. That $40 gets to stay in my pocket and I keep a sharper band on average than if I were trying to milk my money's worth out of them to send them off.

Okrafarmer · January 30, 2013, 12:05:33 AM

For right now, I am going to use the resharp. We used a resharpener service with our previous mill, and now I just need one more dull blade to complete the box of 15 to send WM shortly. However, we do have the old-style sharpener and single-tooth setter, and have never used them. Whenever I have somebody mechanically-inclined available to help over a long period of time, we may get to doing it in-house.

customsawyer · January 30, 2013, 04:36:07 AM

I sharpen my own mainly because it gives me better control over my blades. I seem to get a better edge then a new blade that cuts better and last longer. I have a WM cbn pro series sharpener a cooks sharpener and a cooks dual tooth setter. I have tried hiring helpers to do my sharpening but the quality just isn't there as when you do it yourself.

Peter Drouin · January 30, 2013, 06:59:36 AM

For Me I use to have the old WM drag type and single setter, and when I had the 1 1/4 x 45 x10 on my old WMs it was ok,
but with the new mill and useing the 1 1/4x55x7 the old one din't make it :D sharpen one blade and have to redo the stone on each blade was a pith
Now with the CBM and dual setter Im doing good, I can set and sharpen a box of blades in just over an hr, I did use WM resharp for a short time and they did good
so with the new WM CBN and after I sharpen all the blades to pay back the money I spent for it , now Im paying my self 70+ an hr to do my blades 8) 8) and I run them till they brake :D :D

Chuck White · January 30, 2013, 07:38:42 AM

I set and sharpen my blades.

I set my blades every time.

I use the Cook's single tooth setter and the Cat Claw sharpener with good results.

I usually average around 8 sharpenings before the blade goes in the scrap metal box.

I use Wood-Mizer .045x1¼x10°

bandmiller2 · January 30, 2013, 07:59:59 AM

Zomber,if your into milling for the long haul and not just A "puttermiller"doing your own will pay,it is an investment that will pay you back.Disclamer, some don't have the time or inclination to do there own,their option.I started grinding bands on a modified bench grinder and homemade single tooth setter.I now use a Cooks cats claw and a dual tooth setter,boath have paid for themselves and its pure savings now.As suggested each mill has a preferance for a "best" band try em then settle down to what works best for you.Much easier to sharpen and set bands that are all the same.Its all in how much you cut. Frank C.

slider · January 30, 2013, 12:30:11 PM

Cooks has them on sale right now.I think their dual tooth setter is down to $995 .I have them both and very well pleased with them.

boman1 · January 30, 2013, 01:22:43 PM

I sharpen and set my own. I typically sharpen three times...and "set" on the third time. Works good if I dont run them too long before sharpening.

bandmiller2 · January 30, 2013, 08:26:17 PM

One good thing about light powered mills they keep you honest with your band maintenance.Big engines you have a tendency to BS your way through and not sharpen as often as you should. Frank C.

Mooseherder · January 31, 2013, 06:09:36 AM

I had taken some video of customsawyer's process. His operation is impressive.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qJOL0xb6VsY&feature=player_profilepage

drobertson · January 31, 2013, 07:16:25 AM

sharpen and set when needed, nice set up Jake, thanks moose for the vid,

POSTON WIDEHEAD · January 31, 2013, 07:54:10 AM

Pretty SHARP video you made there, Moose.

rooster 58 · January 31, 2013, 08:01:23 AM

Uh, dumb question here ??? Is Jake using 2 sharpeners to speed the process or does each blade have to go thru both machines before the setter :-\

drobertson · January 31, 2013, 08:13:48 AM

It would speed things up, maybe he has two different hook angles, and profiles,

customsawyer · January 31, 2013, 07:04:23 PM

I use two different sharpeners to speed up the process. As you can see in the video that setting is the fastest part of the operation. I have actually been thinking about adding a third sharpener as I have no trouble keeping up with the two sharpeners. Keep in mind that I take multiple light passes so my sharpening is a bit slower than some. The quality you get from the light passes is priceless. All of my blades have are the same hook angle.

Peter Drouin · January 31, 2013, 07:14:34 PM

so customsayer you go around 2 or 3 times on a blade

customsawyer · January 31, 2013, 07:27:08 PM

On the first sharpening I am going around 5 times. On the following sharpening I can clean it up in 3 passes. The reason for 5 times on the first sharpening is that that (RIP Tom) is what it takes to clean up the very edge of the set teeth. I have and use a magnifying glass. If you use it regularly, it will show you when you need to take another pass. It is easier to take another pass then it is to have the blade on the mill and it not cut right. ;) I don't worry about how long it takes me to sharpen the blades. My main concern is how the blades cut. If you saw the other video that Mooseherder put up of me sawing you can see that I am pushing these blades pretty hard, so they have to be right.

Solomon · February 01, 2013, 09:53:27 AM

I will be picking your brain Customsawyer. My blades are 229 inches Inch and a half. I have an old old old WM Sharpener and single setter. Slow like a snail.
As soon as my wallet permits, I hope to purchace the cooks cat claw sharpener. So I'm sure I will be in need of some constructive advise.

Goodndusty · February 01, 2013, 10:09:37 AM

Thanks guys for the warm greetings. I will try to add some info in my profile later to show my set up.

From what I am reading here it looks like I am getting about average use from my blades. My mill has 24" wheels and I believe that the larger the wheels the longer the blade will turn. Another thing that seems to add to longevity is how close you can have the guides to the wood along with the speed of cut (how aggressive). I have a friend that cuts his cants on a circular mill and uses the bandsaw as a modified re-saw using a powered infeed and return similar to the Baker re-saw unit. Anyway, he gets a lot of life out of his blades. I sharpen and set his blades for him at a cost of $10 per blade cut and set. I do some custom sharpening and setting for the local fellows and has helped me recover my costs for the setter and sharpener. I should add that I have a Dino double tooth setter and a Cat Claw sharpener with 4 different cams to allow for the different tpi.