Sharpening bandsaw blades in the shop

[Aaron Craven]

Complete amateur thought here, but... if the saw can be spun backward (by hand of course -- not sure this is even possible), couldn't you put a sharpening stone against the blade and simply rotate it backwards to re-create the edge on each tooth?

[John K Jordan]

Complete amateur thought here, but... if the saw can be spun backward (by hand of course -- not sure this is even possible), couldn't you put a sharpening stone against the blade and simply rotate it backwards to re-create the edge on each tooth?

That's similar to the first step in sharpening a handsaw, usually using a flat file. Called "jointing", this makes all the teeth the same height. THEN you start sharpening the teeth one at a time, usually with a triangle file.

Sharpening each individual tooth on a bandsaw blade leaves the point tilted into the incoming wood at a fairly sharp angle. Stoning the teeth with the blade moving would make a flat on the front of each, parallel to the tooth motion. This would make a handsaw incapable of cutting, but of course the handsaw teeth are shaped more like a row of triangular peaks in a mountain range than a series of slanted points. I have not tried this, but I have a hard time imagining it cutting. If that tooth geometry worked well I suspect blades would come that way. Hey, you try it and let us know! :-)

BTW, you can easily run a bandsaw blade backwards, even accidentally. Just twist the blade like you are about to coil it back up for storage but turn it inside out instead. When mounted, all the teeth will face upwards and will move in the wrong direction. (There is no guarantee a used blade will not be over-stressed by bending the opposite way.) Now don't get any ideas about that bandsaw at your brother-in-law's shop...

JKJ

[Aaron Craven]

That's similar to the first step in sharpening a handsaw, usually using a flat file. Called "jointing", this makes all the teeth the same height. THEN you start sharpening the teeth one at a time, usually with a triangle file.

Sharpening each individual tooth on a bandsaw blade leaves the point tilted into the incoming wood at a fairly sharp angle. Stoning the teeth with the blade moving would make a flat on the front of each, parallel to the tooth motion. This would make a handsaw incapable of cutting, but of course the handsaw teeth are shaped more like a row of triangular peaks in a mountain range than a series of slanted points. I have not tried this, but I have a hard time imagining it cutting. If that tooth geometry worked well I suspect blades would come that way. Hey, you try it and let us know! :-)

BTW, you can easily run a bandsaw blade backwards, even accidentally. Just twist the blade like you are about to coil it back up for storage but turn it inside out instead. When mounted, all the teeth will face upwards and will move in the wrong direction. (There is no guarantee a used blade will not be over-stressed by bending the opposite way.) Now don't get any ideas about that bandsaw at your brother-in-law's shop...

JKJ

Haha... it's just a thought... I use my bandsaw infrequently enough that I generally replace a dull blade. Mostly I was just curious if it would work instead of painstakingly resharpening every tooth.

[harold schmonz]

I, too, sharpen most of my bandsaw blades. I created a special angled 'stand' to which I attached the Dremel. I advance the blade, move the Dremel forward to hit the blade for less than a second, back off the dremel, re-index the blade, and repeat this process. I currently only sharpen my 7/8 inch pitch rough sawing blades.

After sharpening in this manner just a couple of times, I found my results were excellent.
The blade on my 36" Yates has been re-sharpened 5 or 6 time. It is cutting fast and accurate.

The 250" blade with 285 teeth takes only about 11 or 12 minutes to resharpen, but $75 to replace!

Do you have a picture of the "stand"?

Thanks

[Kevin Jenness]

I too have been using John's method with good results.

Someone here, perhaps Derek Cohen, recounted sharpening his carbide resaw blade with a diamond Dremel wheel.

[Ed Aumiller]

I have a small bandsaw mill. I modified the HF chainsaw sharpener to use on the blades. Made a guide to feed blade set amount. It works great.
Have never tried to sharpen blades for the shop bandsaw as I do not use it enough to be worth the trouble.

Here is a combined photo of the one I use for the sawmill....

Pictures attached:
1. Overall view
2. Grinding a tooth
3. Ready to advance to next tooth
4. Tooth advanced
5. Blade lock
6. Back view showing how to adjust angle
7. Side view
8. Side view

[Paul Saffold]

I thought this looked interesting but I have not tried it yet. A jig to hold a dremel for consistent grinding while the blade is on the bandsaw.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GRFASuwGodE&t=156s

[Roger Chandler]

Thanks for the suggestion, John.

I need to buy some better blades first. I recently retired a fairly new 3 TPI blade. It still cut green wood very quickly. But the blade had lost virtually all of its set, making it impossible to cut any rounds with less than about a 30 inch radius. I think that it lost its set after about 10 feet of cutting.

What blade manufacturers do you recommend?

Brice, it's hard to beat the "Woodturners Blade" from Highland Woodworking. They are made especially with a wider set in the teeth, are .032 thick, not the standard .025 which gives them more spine, and are 3/8" wide. You just give them the length you need, and a few days later they are at your door. The best value out there.....but the Carter Green Wood blades are good too, but pricey.