Ruined Bandsaw Blade

[Leo Vogel]

Well, this afternoon I installed my new Timberwolf blade (3 tooth 1/2 X 105 inch) on my Grizzly bandsaw and couldn’t wait to try it out. Pulled out a piece of scrap wood from my barrel and promptly cut five 18 gauge brads in half. I don’t know how they got into my scrap barrel, but they did. Do you think the brads damaged the blade? The blade appears to cut a little rough when I use it. Why couldn’t it be the blade that came on the saw!!

[glenn bradley]

That is just too painful. You didn't even get a chance to have a "good" cut to now compare to. I am truly sorry to hear about it.

[John Keeton]

Leo, that sucks! Were the brads close together? If so, it is likely that the teeth that were damaged are in close proximity to each other. It may be possible to touch up those teeth with a stone and smooth out the cut a bit. Of course, a 3 tpi blade isn't going to cut super smooth anyway.

[Bill Huber]

I know what I would do, I would make the person that put that scrap in the barrel buy me a new blade....:D

That really does suck. that is kind of like buying a new chain for the chain saw and then cutting into a fence that the tree had grown around. Not that I know anyone that has done that.:rolleyes:

[george wilson]

If you are careful,you can barely KISS the tip of each saw tooth on a grinding wheel,but just barely. I have sharpened many a blade this way more than once. They usually cut sharper than new when done right. You don't need,or want to take more than a little spark off each tooth,and must be consistent. You won't remove enough set in the teeth to hurt the blade if you are careful. This operation does take skill.

Mark where you start with a magic marker.

Practice on a blade that is to dull to use,so you won't ruin a good one learning how.

[Phil Thien]

I sharpen bandsaw blades using a 1/8" diamond bur in my rotary tool (like a Dremel). I just push it into the gullet of the blade. It typically contacts the tip of the tooth, and the back of the gullet. Get 'em sharper than new.

Of course, my blades are only 72-1/2" long. So it goes pretty quickly.

[Mike OMelia]

I dunno... if you have never sharpened a blade, you might want to think hard about that, especially if you could send it back and have a pro do it for $40. Cal the manufacturer and tell them what you did and see what they say.

Mike

[george wilson]

Only takes me about 15 minutes to re tip a blade 11'9" long,6 tpi.. I will save my $40.00!

[Phil Thien]

Only takes me about 15 minutes to re tip a blade 11'9" long,6 tpi.. I will save my $40.00!

I agree. Give a man a sharp blade, and he'll cut for a day. Teach a man to sharpen a blade, and he'll cut for a lifetime. Or something like that.

If someone is concerned with whether it will work, I suggest taking an old dull blade (hopefully people haven't thrown them all away) and trying it.

[Paul Atkins]

I can't see how 5 little brads would ruin that blade. Most brads are not hardened compared to the blade. I have cut 1/4" metal strap and then gone to wood without much problem. Not your recomended procedure though. John's right, that it wouldn't cut that smooth anyway. Try it on a thick piece and a thin piece and see if there is any 'drift'.

[Mike OMelia]

I agree. Give a man a sharp blade, and he'll cut for a day. Teach a man to sharpen a blade, and he'll cut for a lifetime. Or something like that.

If someone is concerned with whether it will work, I suggest taking an old dull blade (hopefully people haven't thrown them all away) and trying it.


So you fellows are saying its OK to take a dremel stone to the tip... just a split second at the right angle... and one can easily self sharpen a BS blade? When I get a dull blade I will try this.

My blades are 137" long. How long should it take me assuming moderate proficiency? I ask this because this should give me a good idea of what time to spend on each tip. I also assume you are doing this with the blade mounted under some tension? Also, are there any issues with carbide, trimetal, etc?

Mike

[george wilson]

I don't use a Dremel myself. What I have been doing is putting a 1/4" or so narrow grinding wheel on the bench grinder,and dressing it off at an angle similar to the shape of the tooth. I am not grinding the whole tooth,I just put the angle on the wheel so that I can touch the tip of each tooth without the wheel hitting another tooth. I touch the tip of each tooth coming down on the top of each tooth,till it just sparks. You need to learn to be consistent about this,or all the teeth will be different heights. You could sharpen the FRONTS of the teeth instead with a well shaped grinding wheel. Just barely kiss each tooth.

The REAL solution would be to make a jig out of hardwood that has a stop finger on it,and a depth stop to allow you to present each tooth in a controlled manner to the shaped grinding wheel. Many have done this. I never bothered to do so.But,if you made such a jig,you could sharpen your blades several times before you grind the set of the teeth away.

I had a friend who had a Wood Mizer sawmill. He had a jig for regrinding his blades several times before they lost their set. He was compelled to do so,due to the fairly short life of the blades sawing dirty logs,and the cost of those larger blades.

[Phil Thien]

So you fellows are saying its OK to take a dremel stone to the tip... just a split second at the right angle... and one can easily self sharpen a BS blade? When I get a dull blade I will try this.

My blades are 137" long. How long should it take me assuming moderate proficiency? I ask this because this should give me a good idea of what time to spend on each tip. I also assume you are doing this with the blade mounted under some tension? Also, are there any issues with carbide, trimetal, etc?

Mike

I remove the blade from the saw. I mount two blocks of wood (separated by about 2") on the bench. I hold the blade against the blocks of wood so as to keep the blade straight. Then I run the bur into the gullet so the bur is 90-degrees to the blade body*. I hold it there for just about 1.5 to 2 seconds.

I start at the weld, and keep working around the blade till I see the weld again.

*Some guys try to match the angle of the bur to the angle of the tooth's set, but I don't. I primarily use the blades I resharpen for resawing, and I find a straight grind works better. I thought I was nuts but then I spoke to others that came to the same conclusion, and there was apparently even an article in FWW where the author stated the same.

For resawing, I also often "squish" my blades. This is because I find a minimal set improves finish quality and improves cutting speed. So I run the blades through a metal vice and squish the teeth flat to reduce the set. When the vice is opened, the teeth spring back about 1/2 the original set.

I know this all sounds nuts, but I encourage people to give it a shot with an old (dull) blade.

[george wilson]

I have noticed that resharpened blades,with less set seem to work better. Of course,this has its limits,and as you use a blade,some of the set will get squeezed out of it by the wood. Too much set will make a handsaw cut horribly rough.