Dull bandsaw blade: sharpen or discard?
mmdurocher
| Posted in Power Tools and Machinery on
I’m at the point of needing to sharpen or discard my current Timberwolf bandsaw blade. When I look at a bandsaw blade, it doesn’t look obvious to me when it is dull or sharp, unlike sharp chisels and plane irons, which are easy to “read” when dull or sharp. Could one use a mill file on each tooth similar in principle to sharpening a chain saw? Or do people just throw them away when they dull? Thanks for any tips!
Replies
I've done it a couple of times with good results. But, it is a tedious time consuming job. I've used a small cylindrical stone on a Dremel on the underside of each tooth. Similar to a chain saw stone but smaller. You've got to be careful that you don't make the height of the teeth different from each other or they won't cut properly. I don't know if a file will work.
I have a lot of timberwolf blades and when they get dull ,pitch them. it is not worth the time and effort to sharpen them. If you ever have a dull blade break while you are cutting a piece of lumber on the bandsaw-your pants would be more expensive to replace than a new bandsaw blade. rub your finger(gently) along a new blade and then along your used/dull blade. you can tell real quick how dull the blade actually is.
Chuck it. The juice is not worth the squeeze.
Chuck it.
Another vote for chuck. Blades are cheap and 100% recyclable.
I keep them 'cause you never know. I'm doing something and I need a particular blade and I don't have a good one, but I have an old one. I have done, in a pinch , hand sharpened with a file bandsaw blades. 132" and surprisingly it doesnt take me as long as I thought it would. I recently found a place ,a 45 minute drive, which for me is pretty much how far almost anything is, that sells Lenox blades. If you buy from them they will sharpen them for free! I have been fairly well stocked with blades of late so I haven't done it yet but I think I'll be using Lenox blades from now on!
People mention how scary it is when a bandsaw blade breaks. That hasn't been my experience. My broken blades just sort of hang there doing nothing. They don't come snaking out and chase me across the room or anything.
In general, I am not a "chuck it" person, so that affects my attitude toward bandsaw blades. Further, I have two bandsaws, a 14" Rockwell (Delta) and an antique 36" with no name plate. I use the 36" for resawing and for sawing out slightly oversize blanks for furniture parts before jointing, planing, and edging. A few years ago I saw a YouTube video of a guy testing a new name-brand band saw blade with a weight & pulley automatic feed. It took almost 30 seconds to cut the test blank. He then sharpened the blade, and it took less than 10 seconds to cut the same test blank.
For the 14" bandsaw, my partner and I had always bought pre-made blanks, but for the 36" saw, we always had them made up custom (18'7" is not a standard size) by a reputable old saw shop in Nashville. When they were dull, we hung them on the wall and bought a new one. After seeing the video, I looked very carefully at my blades, and discovered that they were created by first punching or grinding out the teeth, and then setting them. To cut properly, they should be sharpened after setting, as these were rip blades, not cross cut blades. At that moment, I realized why my bandsaw had never performed very well. Using an article in an old FWW magazine (now superseded by dozens of YouTube videos), I set up and sharpened one of the old blades. It worked way better than new. So I sharpened up about 5 of them, since I was set up.
Then I was curious, so I grabbed a dull skip tooth blade from the 14" saw, and sharpened it up using a small electric chain saw sharpener I had. Great result! So I grabbed a blade with triangular teeth like a hand saw, and used a triangular file to sharpen it. Also great!
I would use a grinder on whatever blades you can, rather than trying to use a file, in case the teeth have been hardened, as some are. Repeated sharpenings will reduce the set, but that can be corrected with a saw set, especially necessary for narrow blades for cutting curves. I think I can upload some pictures of my set-up. I had to mount a roller for the large bandsaw blades near the ceiling to hold the blades up. For shorter blades this would be easier.
In sum, I would say to try it once to see if it works for you. It sure did for me!
Slick!
Thanks for this great info and pics. Do you sharpen each tooth straight down or at an angle? I’m thinking straight down gets you two sharp edges on each side of the tooth, right?
For resawing blades, straight down. I make the blade support platform level with the center of the grinder motor shaft, then touch the top of the tooth with the grinding wheel. I draw a line on the support platform to keep the blade at the same angle to the grind wheel.
For blades that have triangular teeth (like a hand saw), I resharpen them as they came. I don't remember if they came sharpened straight across (for ripping) or at an angle (for cross-grain cutting.) I suspect the latter.
I keep my dull ones and cut them into 12” lengths, then I go weld the backs together and make a handle. Then I have a nice file for rough work!