cutting bowl blanks

[Fred Perreault]

I have been using my Rikon 14" bandsaw to rough out my bowl and platter blanks for quite a while. It works much better than a chainsaw as they are better balanced, etc. My problem is getting the blades resharpened. Does anyone know of a service that resharpens the smaller band saw blades? Lots of places want to sell 'em, but I can't seem to find a place that doesn't just sharpen the larger log sawing blades. thanks for any help, Fred P.

[Dave Fritz]

Several different ways to sharpen your own. Google sharpening band saw blades and you'll have instructions and videos. I've done it and it really works well.
Dave Fritz

[carl mesaros]

I also cut all my bowl blanks to round using my 14" bandsaw ( Powermatic).
I found the best solution to premature dulling and breakage.
I have started using Highland woodworking's Woodturner blades.
They are 3/8" wide and half again as thick as most blades on the market.
They seem to last a very long time. I haven't considered sharpening them however.

[William Bachtel]

I re sharpen mine, works good, not perfect but good. u tube is helpful

[Reed Gray]

I found a local shop that does it for my blades. Big ones are 150 inch with teeth at 3/4 inch, and the small one is 96 inch blade with 3 tpi. Costs about $9 for the big blades. I do use the Lennox Diemaster Bimetal blades which do cost a bit more, but cut straighter and cut far longer than others. They are worth resharpening many times. I don't think I have sharpened the teeth off any of them. They seem to get to a point and then break. I do prefer the thicker blades.

robo hippy

[Shawn Pachlhofer]

band saw blade sharpening:

http://www.suffolkmachinery.com/distributors.html

I don't know how accurate the information is.

[Dwight Rutherford]

Have you tried these folks?
http://www.saw-sharpening.com/where-to-bring-blade.php

[John K Jordan]

I have been sharpening mine for years now using a small metal-cutting disk on a Dremel, touching it briefly to the front of the tooth at an angle. This doesn't take long on my 14" bandsaw with 3-4 tpi; longer on my 18". I usually sharpen two times before I replace the blade.

Another option is to find the best price on new blades. A local bottled gas company has a guy who makes any size, any type of bandsaw blade from Lennox stock, often while I wait. He can cut and weld and grind a blade and put in in a box in what seems like less than a minute. The price is about 1/2 of what I have paid elsewhere. I usually get a bunch of blades made at one time so I never get frustrated late Saturday night. Many companies in the area use this guy, many for metal-cutting blades.

Sorry, don't know anything about sharpening services except for my big WoodMizer band mill blades.

BTW, I process a lot of green wood, mostly to make smaller blanks to dry for spindle turning. I used to use large, wide blades on my bigger saw. I now use thin 3 tpi 1/2" blades and they work better. And they are much cheaper.

JKJ

[David Hill]

I too use my bandsaws to round my blanks. I use my dremel tool with the chainsaw sharpening tip (gray one) to sharpen my 3 tpi blades. General rule of thumb is 2-3 sharpenings before getting a new blade. Takes about 5 min or so.

[Rob Price]

Carter makes a 'green wood' blade as well that I've had good results with.