Blade life after sharpening blades

[Backwood]

When I had a cabinet shop I could never get as much time from a resharpened table saw blade as a new one. Not sure if it was my guys doing the sharpening or if that was normal but I quit trying to sharpen them and just changed with a new one .

Now the sawmill goes through blades alot quicker than the tablesaw.
Was wondering what the experiences are with bandsaw blades. Do your resharpened blades last as long as a new one?

Trying to figure out the price difference between buying new and sending them off to get sharpened. seems like around 1/2 price to resharpen, but that assuming they last just as long as a new blade??

 

[Mike Van]

Backwood, all things being the same [type of wood, how clean your logs are, etc] A properly resharpened & reset blade will cut as good & as long as a new one. I used to send mine to Cooks, untill I bought my own Cooks sharpener & setter. Some blades now I probably do 10 to 12 times before they're shot. When I sent them out, I would [wrongly] push them way past dull, now, the first sign of losing that perfect cut, off it comes. Everyone knows how hard it is to cut with a dull or dinged up saw chain, it's just as hard on the bandmill & blade when it's dull - You just don't feel it -

 

[tomtrees58]

we have a foley belsaw one you get 50 to 80 sharpens out of blades tom trees

 

[woodshop]

My experience in the woodshop has been that IF you start with a good quality blade to begin with, like the Woodworker II that I use for most of my general table saw work, and IF you send it to a good sharpening shop, the resharpened blade will be just as good and last just as long as the new one. Essentially, it is a new blade once factory sharpened. Total turnaround sharpening is around $20, and a good blade is $100... do the math.

 

[John Bartley]

Table saw blades ... the life on a resharpened blade is going to depend quite a bit on what kind of a blade it is. A carbide tooth blade with some tooth profiles will lose some of its width every time it's sharpened and will eventually start to pinch on some types of material. A high speed steel blade can be reset just like a mill band and so should perform just like new.

Sawmill bands ... I also sharpen my own, and I also change them as soon as they start to feel dull or leave an inferior surface. I get on average about 200-400 board feet per sharpening and I get 15-20 sharpenings per band if I don't abuse them while on the mill.

cheers eh?

 

[Sawyer Rob]

When i ran my cabinet shop, i used 10" Freud blades and found them to be very good value. I bought the blades for $37.50 each, and ran them about one year, then putting on a new one. I sold the old ones to who ever wanted them for 10 bucks each...

On my bandsaw mill, i sharpen my own bands using Norwoods setter and sharpener. I don't run them untill there dead, and in the long run that saves me money. Yes, a sharpened band last as long as a new one, but sometimes i do get one that i sharpened that doesn't cut perfectly. I then pull it right back off, and run the sharpener around it once more... That corrects the problem, and perhaps if i looked closer at it, i'd catch the one that needs the second trip on the sharpener before using it?

Rob

 

[Mike Van]

Rob, I've had that happen too, I've found my mistake was not dressing the stone often enough to get a nice clean face on it. There's quite a difference between 'sharp' and ' razor sharp' as far a performance goes.

 

[woodshop]

... There's quite a difference between 'sharp' and ' razor sharp' as far a performance goes.

I agree absolutely with this statement. In my woodshop, even something that "looks" and "feels" sharp, if not razor sharp, won't do. Performance for everything from chisels to bandsaw blades to planer knives drops off exponentially when they start to get dull. Blades and bits burn wood instead of cutting it... take way more force and power to get through the wood, and thus start to become dangerous.

 

[Backwood]

Thanks for the help. I will give cooks a try.

 

[deeker]

Backwoods, what kind of mill????? Most all bandmills will operate the same with the band/blades.

I use Cooks super sharp blades on my Lumbermate LM2000. Resharpen them a few times (and set the teeth), then send them to Cooks to have them rolled and set then sharpened.

The razor sharp blades (resharpened ones) last as long as new ones. About a dozen sharpening on the blades before their worn out.

Good Luck

Kevin

 

[Backwoods]

I have talked with a couple of local sawyer who send there bands out to be sharpened and they are only getting 1 maybe 2 sharpening. I believe it is because of the cost of sending the saw out to be sharpened they push there saws to get as much out of them as they can.
Like the rest of you who sharpen there own saws I get a lot of sharpenings out of one saw, because I pull the saw off as soon as it starts to act odd. I like to sharpen my own saws because I can see how much damage that nail did to the saw and take special care to sharpen the damage out of the saw, even if I have to set the center tooth out and an out side tooth in for a few sharpening. There is a lot to learn about sharpening your own saws, but I look at it as part of the business.

 

[Sawyer Rob]

Rob, I've had that happen too, I've found my mistake was not dressing the stone often enough to get a nice clean face on it. There's quite a difference between 'sharp' and ' razor sharp' as far a performance goes.

Thanks Mike, that's a good thing to watch for...

Rob

 

[Backwood]

Backwoods, what kind of mill?????
Its a backwood mill ok its homemade. Cuts good though. If I was to do it again I would probably use a bigger motor next time, I only have single phase current so I went with a 10hp, cuts ok but you cant push it to fast, A 25hp electric would probably cut it as fast as you could push it.

Backwoods you might have just changed my mind. Seeing how I am not going to sharpen myself I was going to make sure they were dead before changing, now I will not kill it Thanks