Replies

1. 
   ring | Aug 05, 2006 11:27am | #1

   Unless you're really into hand sharpening or you're 500 miles from anywhere, I wouldn't consider doing a bandsaw blade by hand.  Even if you want to get into hand sharpening, start learning with your tenon saw, etc.  Leave the BS blades for professional sharpening services.

   DR

1. 
   Mike32 | Aug 05, 2006 06:20pm | #3

   Well "ring" that is really my problme, I am in Jordan, and several thousand miles from anything. The methods used here are not really effective or all that professionl and so I have come to Do it Myself.
   But thanks anyway.
   Mike

1. 
   ring | Aug 05, 2006 08:03pm | #5

   Mike,  if you'd filled in your profile or looked at mine you'd see we're not far away really.  Maybe under the circumstances you should learn to do it yourself. 

   Since I'm in the north of Israel, things are a bit sticky right now.  But there are many woodworking suppliers and services here which you could take advantage of if you wish, and I'd be glad to help as soon as things here settle down.  I mean this sincerely.

   best,

   David Ring   

2. 
   TomHigby | Aug 11, 2006 03:49am | #12

   Before we became a nation of discarders of useful things band saw blades were resharpened.  I collect saw sets and have in my collection two saw sets for setting teeth on band=saw blades.  I must admit that I don't plan on using them.

   Tom

1. 
   ring | Aug 11, 2006 09:58am | #13

   Tom,  I certainly have my saws resharpened as many times as possible before discarding them.  I was just questioning the effectiveness of doing it yourself.  Speaking in broad generalizations, sharpening services do a better job than most of us can do at home, and it's not very costly.  There are so many things that are worthwhile doing yourself.  I don't think that bandsaw blade sharpening is very high on that list.  Again, maybe Mike's situation warrants his learning to do it.  But IMHO for 99% of the people on this forum, professionals and amateurs alike, it makes more sense to pay a little money for blade sharpening.

   DR 

3. 
   Fishinbo | Jul 02, 2012 10:23am | #14

   Sharpening did not work for me in the past.  It took more of my money and especially my time.  It is not for me. 

2. 
   Jfrostjr | Aug 05, 2006 04:19pm | #2

   Graham Blackburn once gave a demo of touching a BS blade with a Dremel and a small stone.

   Frosty

3. 
   forestgirl | Aug 05, 2006 07:23pm | #4

   Hi Mike.  Hard to say how many folks you'll find who sharpen their band saw blades.  Certainly not me, but I used Google and went out there and looked around. 

   Here is a post at Woodturner.org where a guy explains and shows pics of sharpening his own BS blades.  He has a jig (fixture?) to hold the blade in a vise, and uses a diamond paddle and a Dremel.  Nice presentation.

   Here's a quote from the Sydney Woodturners web site:

   GULLET PROCEDURE SHARPENING

   THERE IS ONLY ONE WAY TO SHARPEN A BAND SAW BLADE. A stone must come down the face of the tooth, around the bottom of the gullet and up the back side of the tooth in ONE SWEEPING ACTION. You MUST maintain gullet integrity.

   The gullet is NOT a trash can or dumpster for the saw dust. In fact, it is the second hardest working part of the band. A well defined gullet is like the inverted wing of an aircraft. It is responsible for the forced air flow, cooling the steel and removal of the saw dust.

   If you are running appropriate set, the air is driven through the log by the gullet at the speed of the band. This causes the saw dust to be sucked out of the cut. The saw dust effectively cools the gullet by spinning around the inside and spilling over the back side of the next tooth. You MUST maintain a 40% gullet fill for proper cooling and extended cutting time.

   If you sharpen just the face and the back side of the tooth, you ruin the gullet integrity and destroy the performance of the band.

   On this page at eBandsawblades you'll find a troubleshooting list for bandmill blades.  It seems to provide useful info about angle and set for larger blades.  Looks like it was reprinted from Suffolk Machinery's troubleshooting page.

   If you want to persue more Google results, here's my search page:  Most of the hits weren't relevant, but there might be some more that are.  Good luck!

    

   forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-) 
   

1. 
   Mike32 | Aug 06, 2006 10:39am | #7

   Thanks so much for all the info you posted. A lot of time and effort there, much appreciated.Bookmarked the links and printed out the info.
   It answers a lot of questions. Mike

1. 
   forestgirl | Aug 06, 2006 06:24pm | #8

   Glad to help.  I was pleasantly surprised by that forum presentation!  Nicely done.forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-) 

4. 
   mike4244 | Aug 06, 2006 01:00am | #6

   I sharpen blades with 4 teeth per inch or less. I leave the blade on the saw, clean all sawdust so I don't start a fire. A dremel tool with a chainsaw cylindrical stone ( 1/8"or 3/16" diameter) is used.

   Hold the dremel paralell to the table and square to the blade, this will give the tooth a rip configuration.All bandsaw blades have a rip style tooth.Turn the dremel on at high speed, push in and pull back,repeat. This gives the tooth 4 strokes with the stone,usually enough to sharpen and deepen the gullet. The stone should hit the gullet and the rest of the tooth  on each pass.

   Because I do not remove the blade the point of the tooth is down,the gullet is up.

   The results are a better than new ( most new blades are stamed out not honed) blade. Any blade with more than 4 teeth per inch is too difficult to hone. Usually takes me about 15 to 20 minutes to sharpen 113" blades.

   mike

5. 
   tinkerer2 | Aug 07, 2006 06:46am | #9

   Sounds like there might be a real market there for a professional saw sharpener. Would you consider adding that curriculum to your profession?  If you could find enough room, you might even teach an employee to do the sharpening and have symbiotic businesses.  Just a thought.

1. 
   Mike32 | Aug 09, 2006 08:53am | #11

   Many thanks to all the input here.
   But I guess I wasn't clear in my first statement, and that is where I need the advice.
   First, we do have "professional" band saw sharpeners here, however my problem is that the saws locally available, and sharpened locally have a configuration different from the ones I purchased online in the US.The gullet of the local band saw is angled, like a zig-zag, not curved as with the ones I have. I have a skip configuration. What I want to sharpen is the tooth, and I presume this would be done using a rat tail file.The local sharpeners use a mechanical device and triangle files.So this is why I need to do it myself. Hopefully this has made my dilemma more clear than my first post.Mike in Amman

6. 
   philip | Aug 07, 2006 11:25am | #10

   Mike , the less painfull part has been covered by Mike 4244. I would just add that if you have a die grinder, preferably an pneumatic one, the process can be speeded up. Also you can reverse the blade on the saw so the teeth are pointing up , in other words do it in two stages.
   The painfull part is when setting is required, and I believe this is only a job for the confirmed masochist, so have no suggestion other than buying lots of blades when you get the chance, or sending them by courier somewhere where there is a practising masochist.

   Philip Marcou