sharpening bandsaw blades?

[TP]

Hi, I'm new to bandsaw. I have a 14'' Delta. I find the blade gets dull very fast. I only cut wood, amateur use. Can the blade be sharpened once it gets dull?

TP

[Andy Dingley]

Get Mark Duginske's "Bandsaw Handbook"

Check the guide setup. You might be scrubbing the set off the teeth.

No. Most can't (induction hardened teeth). Some can, especially on the wide blades for big saws, but it's not cheap.

[Ronald Murray]

Hello Your blades should last for ever , if you're just cutting wood. I cut aluminum & sometimes brass , & they last a long time. Make sure the teeth are pointing down. And the guides are not too far forward dulling your blades. Good luck. ron

[Fly-by-Night CC]

I don't know if the Timberwolf blades have induction hardened teeth, but I sharpen mine with a Dremel and chainsaw stone and it seems to do very nicely.

[George]

Nope, you also have to protect them from corrosion, not only for the sake of the cutting edges, but also because minor cracks in the band formed by flexing are accelerated by corrosion.

[Doug Miller]

Depends a *lot* on the wood you're cutting. Blades won't last long, if you cut a lot of hard maple or purpleheart.

-- Regards, Doug Miller (alphageek-at-milmac-dot-com)

For a copy of my TrollFilter for NewsProxy/Nfilter, send email to autoresponder at filterinfo-at-milmac-dot-com You must use your REAL email address to get a response.

[Mark Wells]

When I first got my bandsaw, I was surprised at how short the life of the blade is. I don't have a table saw, so the band saw is the main saw in my shop, so it gets a lot of use.

Keep in mind that any of the following can ruin the blade instantly: * Overheating the blade, especially when resawing. If you see or smell smoke, then there is a good chance you toasted the blade. * Having the blade come off the wheels and run against the guard. * Using standard steel blocks (as opposed to cool blocks) and having the teeth hit the blocks.

I would say heat is the #1 killer.

I switched to using bi-metal blades. They cost about 3x as much as carbon steel blades, but are supposed to last 10x. I don't know exactly how long they last because I haven't worn one out yet, but they last a really, really long time compared to carbon steel blades. You can get Lenox bi-metal blades from carbide.com.

Mark

[mttt]

Zowie - wonder if the manufacturer's remembered to add that little detail in the Business Plan when they went up for financing?

Kind'a wish the 'Dorking Companies had followed Gillette's lead.

[mike]

Yes they can be sharpened, a previous poster does it the same way as I do with a dremel and chain saw grindstone. I only do the blades that have 6 teeth or less, finer blades are harder to grind and too many teeth too sharpen. First I'm wondering why your blades are dulling quickly. Have you tried a different manufactuer of bandsaw blades? Other posts are informative as too why your blades may dull early. If you are assured that your blade is installed correctly and the saw is tuned up you may be using the wrong blade for the job. Sometimes I have to change bandsaw blades several times a day to match the type of sawing I do. If you are resawing or thick material you need to put a blade on with few teeth, more width, skip tooth variety.I generally resaw with a 3/4" 3 tooth blade. Your saw if I am not mistaken takes up to 1/2" wide blades, maybe 3/4" but 1/2" is probably best on a 14" saw. mike