WM pro series sharpener and Cooks sharpener with pics.

[customsawyer]

The trouble I have is that I hate to work inside so I tend to put it off till I have to.

[bandmiller2]

Its just plain handy to sharpen your own,no need for a large band inventory.I usally cut a half day, many times I will use one band until its worn out taking it off when I go home to lunch to sharpen.I have a couple of millers I sharpen bands for,my cats claw is pretty much paid for. Frank C.

[Bibbyman]

 

 

When I set out to sharpen, I put my white hasmat jumper on and set in for most of the day. 

I had the sharpener and setter set up for 1-1/2” blades for a month or so using up some 20 old 1-1/2” blades.  I got to where I’d take the couple I used that day and take them to the sharpener and fire it up.  I put one on and then go do something like fuel up the Terex.  Then come back and check on the sharpener.  Maybe set that blade while another was running.  If I had time, run off and charge the deck for the next day and so on until I had the day’s dull blades back in service.  I was down to two blades for about a week.  If I had the sharpener set up within a few steps of the mill,  I could sharpen as I go.  But it’s in a shed about half way from between the sawmill and the house.

Customsawyer,  does the Pro Series keep the spray and drip of the oil pretty much inside the machine?  The CBN sharpen tends to produce a mist of oil and smoke (if grinding too hard) and oil drips off the blade after it exits the sharpener.  In short, it’s a mess.

[customsawyer]

Bibby I don't think it sprays all that much. The only oil that I get off of it is the dripping off of the blade. I keep a large pan under the arm that supports the blade. I think that the hood keeps the mist and spray down. It is a bit messy and I don't like having to clean the grindings out of the oil and have been studying on a few different ways to eliminate that part of the job. I do like the thought of grinding with oil versus dry but don't like the mess.

[Bibbyman]

 

  

This is my oil cleaning system except the heater goes under the metal pan.  When it gets below 45°,  I plug in the oil pan heater and warm the oil.  Once it gets flowing,  I can unplug the heater and the grinding and pumping will keep it warm enough.



 

Here is the first model with plastic pan. Except the pump goes in the lower pan.

As the oil falls off the grinder in the top dry aluminum pan,  the slag tends to fall out and collect. I clean this out every month or so. 

The oil then falls over the yellow plastic parts dish with magnets under the dish and the slag collects on it.  I remove the dish about every 10 blades and scrape off the slag into a bucket.

The pump sets in a little box with a pair of magnets that I put in baggies.  About every 50 blades I pull the bags and pull the magnets out of them and put them in new bags.

I’ve not cleaned out the steel pan yet.

[red pine]

Customsawyer, I may have missed the name of your setter in the messages. I am looking for either a 1 or 2 tooth setter and 2 tooth seems yours. Two seems to be preferred due to time saving although I use my mill only part time. Is it Cooks?
Regarding blade cleaning I use "oven cleaner" on my carpentry woodshop blades if they get gunk/tar on them and it works great. Have not tried on bands. Has anyone?

[customsawyer]

Red Pine I have a Cooks dual tooth setter. I don't think the oven cleaner would work in my application due to the cost and the number of blades that I use.

Bibby I was thinking about putting the pump in the bottom of a 5 gal bucket. Just have the oil drain back into the bucket through a cloth diaper or some cheese cloth. Then when the cloth gets full all you would have to do is through it away. I have tried the magnets and such but it is still messy. 

[WH_Conley]

How about putting the pump about half way in the bucket? There will always be some fines get through, that would give them a place to settle to without getting picked up by the pump.

[JFarmer]

I bought a cooks sharpener about 4 years ago and it has for sure paid for itself. I have saved a bundle of money over the resharp because I dont have to pay the resharp service plus fuel of taking them there and going back after them.

[Lee L]

I just got a Cooks sharpener and duel setter and built a roller.  After years of making do with makeshift setups being able to sharpen to any specs I need is wonderful.  I have to now agree that resharp(done the right way) is better than new.

[Chuck White]

I keep 6 blades in rotation in my blade box.

I put the box in the truck whenever I go to saw lumber and all 6 blades are sharp to begin the day.

I keep track of my resharps by marking each blade, near the weld with a small engraver that I keep on my sharpening bench!  I do the 4 lines vertical, then a diagonal line across them to indicate 5 resharps.

Right now 4 of the 6 blades are marked 7 and 2 are marked 6.

[nas]

Do you guys set before or after you sharpen?  I set before but the WM manual says to do it after and then you have to deburr the blade before you set it.  Any thoughts?

Nick

[bugdust]

How many re-sharps can you get from the .055 blades? I found three or four was about it.

Know a guy that ran an LT300. He'd re-sharp one time then pitch them. He didn't want to risk breaking a blade and having to stop to change it out.  Time was worth more than the blade.

Bibby, I delivered a load to a customer a few weeks back and he pointed out where a sawyer set up to saw for his neighbor last summer. He said the sawyer left a pile of used blades. He said the guy would toss the blade when dull. He told the neighbor it wasn't worth the hassle to resharp, he just bought new ones. This is a guy with more money than good sense.

[Bibbyman]

A neighbor bought a third hand WM LT40 with sharpener and setter. It came with several hundred once used blades. Neither of the first two owners sharpened the blades even though they had the equipment.

Go figure.

[customsawyer]

nas I set after I sharpen and I don't worry about the burr. With the cooks sharpener if you zero out the dial indicators with the burr on and then add your amount of set with the burr on then your set should be the same on both sides. I know there is going to be some that disagree with me but it works on my set up.

[Chuck White]

I SET before sharpening, that way I don't have to mess with the burr on the back side of the blade!

I've never seen any ill effects from doing it this way!

But I guess it's each to their own.

[Bibbyman]

I tried setting before but found setting after worked better for me. Seems the blade ran through the WM dual tooth setter likes the blade with oil on it.

Like WM ReSharp would work best, they do a heavy grind, then deburr and flatten some of the set out, then set, then do a final light grind.