Sharpening bandsaw blades on my radial arm saw

[nrp0450]

I had read about sharpening bandsaws on a radial arm saw on here so I decided to give it a try. I ordered a grinding stone wide enough to get the whole profile in one pass. An extra 4x6 with a groove cut in it holds the band. And I put together an indexer with random parts I found in the shop.
Here's a pic just before I started shaping the stone:


And here's the stone pretty close to ready:


And here's a video putting a blade in it and sharpening a few teeth.


It seems to work well and only takes a few minutes to do one blade. I haven't decided if I'm going to put some kind of shield between me and the stone or just always stand to the side when I start it.

[redprospector]

Well, that settles it.
There really isn't anything that can't be done with a radial arm saw. 
Pretty cool.

[Jeff]

awesome.

[WmFritz]

I'd say you nailed it.
Nice job!

[Ocklawahaboy]

To use the vernacular of today's wayward youth... You got mad skills

[boxygen]

For those that sharpen themselves, do you have to set the teeth every time or can you do it once every X times and be ok? From my minimal experience, it seems like if you  hit metal with the blade then the teeth will need to be reset. How well do these bands saw wood now is the question? Nice work. I gave away my radial alarm saw because it was no longer relevent to the shop. Oops.

[bandmiller2]

Boxy, it depends, I check my set with a dial indicator each time I sharpen if its close  I'll let it ride. If tramp metal is hit the band must be examined closer for often some teeth will be set over too much those I use a small adjustable wrench to bring back in line. Very clever use of the radial arm saw, we've got some clever rascals here. Frank C.

[nrp0450]

For those that sharpen themselves, do you have to set the teeth every time or can you do it once every X times and be ok? From my minimal experience, it seems like if you  hit metal with the blade then the teeth will need to be reset. How well do these bands saw wood now is the question? Nice work. I gave away my radial alarm saw because it was no longer relevent to the shop. Oops.

I set the teeth (with my Pineywoods setter) every 2-3 times. I use a caliper to tell when a band needs it. I think the sawing itself bends the teeth back in. But also each time you sharpen you take material off, which reduces the set as well.

Nate

[drobertson]

Nice!   no need to set the teeth really for at least two sharpening's, just my experience, but it never hurts to check them, unless it's known that the cycle was a good clean one, I like it!

[Delawhere Jack]

 

Pretty slick there NRP!

[POSTON WIDEHEAD]

I would have never believed it. But now i have seen it. You may get a call from CUSTOMSAWYER and a plane ticket. 

[Chuck White]

That's really impressive!

Good job!


FYI:  I set my blades every time!

You don't have to hit metal every time to warrant setting the teeth!

[redbeard]

Nice idea! Now I need to find the guy I sold my Craftsman radial arm saw too last year. I will be shopping on Craig's list, I knew I should have kept it.

[ljohnsaw]

I like it, too!  Looks to be way simpler than making a cam move a angle grinder - and faster to boot.  All you need to do now is devise a hand cranking do-hickey to advance the blade.  No issue with the blade trying to rise up and mess up your cut depth?  I'd be tempted to put some urethane wheels on top of the blade to keep some down pressure.

As far as turning the blade inside out, couldn't you have stood in the middle of the blade instead of it running around the back of the saw?  Seems scary to try and turn a blade inside out

[Nomad]

     Great idea!!  To set your depth adjustment, are you lowering the saw head or shimming under the wood block?

[nrp0450]

I like it, too!  Looks to be way simpler than making a cam move a angle grinder - and faster to boot.  All you need to do now is devise a hand cranking do-hickey to advance the blade.  No issue with the blade trying to rise up and mess up your cut depth?  I'd be tempted to put some urethane wheels on top of the blade to keep some down pressure.

As far as turning the blade inside out, couldn't you have stood in the middle of the blade instead of it running around the back of the saw?  Seems scary to try and turn a blade inside out

Yeah, I've been pondering the best way to do a "hand cranking do-hickey". It gets tiring on the wrist advancing the blade by hand.

There have been a few times where the blade didn't settle all the way down in the groove. The stone seemed to push it down when it passed over. But it probably took too much of a "bite", like you said. Some wheels holding it down might be a good idea.

It's actually pretty easy to turn a blade inside out. And I wanted the blades going out the back of the RAS because I already had a long board at the right height to support them. 

One thing I would do different, (and will probably switch out at some point), is to use eyebolts over some hefty screws on the indexer. My current setup is too flexible. If I pull too hard it only grinds the front side of the tooth and misses the backside. 

[nrp0450]

     Great idea!!  To set your depth adjustment, are you lowering the saw head or shimming under the wood block?

Yeah, I lower the head. It's a little course of an adjustment. But 1/8 of a turn or even just until I feel pressure on the crank seems to be small enough. Next time I'm going to use my caliper and see how much I'm actually taking off. I don't think it's much.

[Joe Hillmann]

That is a wonderful idea.  Looking on craigslist you can find radial armsaws for cheap or free all the time.  It would be easy enough to build a tooth setter to go along with it for the cost of a dial indicator and some scrap steel.

[Lonely Sawer]

That's a slick idea. I'm all over it. NRP , how did you profile the stone? I have now found a use for my radial saw.

[backwoods sawyer]

on the cooks sharpener atightening the clamp up helps to hold the saw on the lower roller as it advances, so oiling the boards and tightening a clamp may solve the rise problem. Take a look at the advancing arm set up on any of the tooth setters to make advancing the saw smooth, consistant and with less efort.