Blades? Resharping, How Meany Times ect...

[LoneDuck]

I got 35 to 40 blades when I bought my mill and would like to know your opinion on a few things. All but three are used (supposable only once) and will need to get them sharpen.

How many blades do you keep on hand? I will only be sawing part time and would like to sign up for Wood-Mizers re-sharp and figured I would like to have at least 20. 10 that will be used and 10 that will be sharping. I like the idea of them replacing the ones that need to be but do I really need to keep 35 in the loop?

How has your experience been with re-sharp? Dose it make sense when you figure money wise? I'm only sawing part time but if the unthinkable happens and I lose my job, I may try it full time.

How many times can a blade be re-sharpen on average? I understand every blade is different and some will brake but what do you believe should the average live of a blade?

I'm sure there will be more questions but my mind is blank right now so I will leave it at that for now.
Thanks

[Dave Shepard]

I think ReSharp is a great service. For me, there are many more things that I need to do before I worry about sharpening my own bands. Some of them might even be profitable. :D

My .055" thick bands seem to go about four ReSharps before they break. Thinner ones may go 10 times.I have probably 40 bands on hand. Mostly 10° and a box of 4°. I don't want to get in a situation where I don't have enough sharp bands. WM is quick about turnaround, but I would think having at least a couple boxes of your favorite style is reasonable. If you've got 35 now, then I'd start sending them out as your budget allows. Eventually you will break a few, and when you get down to your 20 limit you can decide whether or not to order a new box. I think the thinner bands ship 15 to a box, my thicker ones are 10.

[Nomad]

     I've got a ton of blades.  That said, I sharpen my own.  (Forgive me,) but I really enjoy putting a razor edge on tools.  I just like it.  I think in your case I'd take Dave's recommendations and go with resharp.  If you're only sawing part time then you only need to send them out once in awhile, right?  It just makes sense.

[Tim Lea]

I resharpen my on blades. Don't know how many times. But have started marking them to keep tract of the times they are sharpened. Got one that has been sharpened 7 times so fare.

[Magicman]

Just so you know, Wood-Mizer Resharp will only resharpen Wood-Mizer blades.

I have used Resharp for 12 years and am satisfied with their service, but that is my personal decision.  Other sawyers have very valid reasons for resharpening their own.

As to how many times they can be resharpened, I have no idea or curiosity because WM replaces any blades that are rejected.  I send 10 and get 10 back. 

[Chuck White]

I sharpen my own blades, but I do think that the resharp service is a great thing!

If you're sawing full time and always busy, you don't really have the time to sharpen blades.  Now, I know some do!  ;)

[pineywoods]

I set and sharpen my own, use them until they break. General thoughts. Every blade will break sooner or later, plan accordingly. How many sharpenings ? I've seen them break right out of the box, and had some go 10 or more sharpenings. The thicker blades will break sooner. Most of the time, blades that have hit metal will fail sooner, even if you repair the damage. Whether to do your own or use resharp will depend on your individual situation. There are pros and cons both ways..both financial and time..There are a few folks around who use a blade until it's dull, then discard it. (I'm still looking for their scrap pile)  ;D Some sharpen once or twice and then discard. Then there's folks like me who run a blade until it breaks or gets so narrow the sharpener won't sharpen it..

[Brucer]

No resharp in Canada, but I used a guy recommended by Wood-Mizer with good results. When he retired I used another guy, also recommended by Wood-Mizer. Last fall I started sharpening my own.

Worst blade -- broke after just one sharpening.
Best blade -- broke after 13 sharpenings.
Average -- 7 sharpening before they break (that's based on about 40 blades, not just the two extreme cases).

I was using those blades a little longer than I should have, mainly due to the cost of shipping them. Perhaps I could have got more out of them with more frequent sharpening, but the math said that was a bad idea.

I haven't been sharpening long enough to have a number for doing it myself. I mark on each blade with an indelible pen how many times I've sharpened it. The ink gets worn off during use. I also cycle through all the blades I have in use so they are all approximately the same width. That means less need for adjusting the depth of the setter.

[Tom the Sawyer]

Brucer,
I started sharpening and setting my own blades and had the same problem with "permanent" markers.  I found a battery operated engraver at HF and it works great.  I create a serial number for each blade and track them - haven't been doing it long enough to generate much statistically but I am tracking about 6 different brands. 

[Solomon]

I have a WM grinder (not the CBN)
It takes several passes to get a good grind on my inch and a half 7/8 by 229 inch blades.
I am wanting a Cooks Sweep Grinder.   I think it about two grand with shipping , not absolutely sure about the price.
  Blade life depends on a lot of things.   The brand and type, the size of your band wheels, the spiecies of logs you generally cut,
how hard you tend to push the blade through the cut,  the environment your sawing in,
How well the blade gets sharpened and how long you keep cutting with the blade when you know it is getting to the point where you need to change it.
  I can pretty much promise that your results will differ from some and be similar to other sawyers expierences.
  You'll pretty much have to run with it and see how blade life pans out with your mill and the way you run it.   As you have your own style and sawing habits like all of us do.   May you cut a million bf between sharpenings, get a hundred sharpenings per blade and never break one!!!!!
Now go make some saw dust Brother  !!!!!

[dboyt]

I've just gone to sharpening my own blades.  It is a little like sharpening my chain saw-- if I do it myself, I tend to swap it out while it is still cutting fairly well.  That is better for the blade, sawmill, wood, customer, and me!  When a 1-1/4" blade is sharpened down to 1", I pitch it, even if it still looks OK.  If you're new to milling, I'd recommend a resharp service so that you have one less variable to deal with as you learn.

May you cut a million bf between sharpenings, get a hundred sharpenings per blade and never break one!!!!!
Now go make some saw dust Brother  !!!!!

Solomon, where do you get your blades?  I want one (that's all I'd need)! :D

[YellowHammer]

You might consider buying a few new or just sending back a small assortment of blades for sharpening until you find out which hook angle and thickness work best for you.  Then you will know how your saw performs with new blades as well as resharps.  You can get a feel for the ones you like.  After a little while, buy sharpening equipment if you want, or use Resharp routinely, but you will have gained invaluable experience on how the blades ought to perform in your saw and wood.
YH

[Brucer]

I started sharpening and setting my own blades and had the same problem with "permanent" markers.

It's not a big problem for me. When I put the blade on the mill, it has a number saying how many times I've sharpened it. I have to remember what the number was when I take it off, so I can write it on again once the blade is dull. That usually isn't hard to remember because I grind every blade I the same number of times.

When I grind the blade the clamp in the grinder wears off the marker and this is good because I'll need to increment the number after grinding it.

Originally I kept track of the blades using the WM serial number that's engraved on each blade. I find it's a lot simpler to have the information written on the blade (but that's just me).

[kelLOGg]

I have 0.042" thick bands and 7 sharpening is my record. With a manual mill I start and stop a lot; I don't have a debarker.

[LoneDuck]

Lots of good info. The biggest thing I brought out of it is that you can't really expect anything from a blade other then it has its own life and I will just have to deal with it. They will ether brake or I will be lucky and get a full life out of it. Thanks. I think I will just start send the dull ones in and start to cut. When I get going then I will be able to get a better feel of what I will need. Right now most of my cutting will be dry cedar electrical polls and what ever I can round up, so I may try to get a number of different ones to see what's best for what.  ???

[bandmiller2]

To keep track of bands buy a box of tags with wire,have the bands history and comments on it take it off when milling put it back when you take the band off. Frank C.

[Stephen1]

To keep track of bands buy a box of tags with wire,have the bands history and comments on it take it off when milling put it back when you take the band off. Frank C.

The simplest ideaa are the best. A tag to record the history.
At my age I have problems remembering 2 hrs ago.

[cutterboy]

To keep track of bands buy a box of tags with wire,have the bands history and comments on it take it off when milling put it back when you take the band off. Frank C.

Yes, that's the way I do it.

[Chuck White]

Just put a hash-mark on the blade with a hand-held engraver each time you sharpen it!

Pretty easy to keep track that way!

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