Yet another band sharpener / setter question

[musikwerke]

I want to buy a sharpener and preferably, a dual tooth setter.  I don't need one, I just want one.  I've been cutting white cedar shingles and I've found that for smooth and consistent shingles the blade needs to be kept really sharp.  So, I think I've finally read every post on here that anyone has ever written about sharpening.  I own a Wood-Miizer mill, use their blades almost exclusively and love their customer service. However, I know that I want a dry grinder with more than enough power so I'm seriously considering the Cook's Cat Claw Sharpener.  Pricey, but a better deal when you get the sharpener and setter as a package.  My question: is there another comparable machine that I should be looking at also?

[DeepWoods]

I was in the same position as you, I didn't need one, but I wanted one.  So I recently purchased the Cooks Cat Claw with the single tooth setter.  I just finished sharpening and setting all the bands I had that were dull.  I must say there is a small learning curve, and still have tons of things to learn about sharpening and setting but I am totally satisfied with my decision to purchase from Cooks.  I am sure I could have looked further, but from all the comments on this forum, I was very confidant to look no further and place my order sight unseen.  I will say I can see where the dual tooth setter would be faster, but I had plenty of time setting one band while another was on the sharpener.  I know that in the past I pushed my bands past the point of sharpness, and now I will never run a dull band again.  I wanted to own a sharpener for that reason alone.  I did get Cooks sale price on the sharpener and setter combo package, and that what is what pushed me over to the sharp side :D

[paul case]

Have you looked pineywoods thread up about his $1.98 dual tooth setter. I modified my setter like his and it works most excellent.
I get along real good with the sharpener that EZ boardwalk offers for sale. It only sharpens the face but is fast and I get good blade life. Up to 7 sharpenings.
Even the most expensive sharpener will pay out in short order if you saw much wood. PC

[cypresskayaksllc]

Unless youre setting a lot Id go with the single tooth setter. It takes me very little time to set a band with my cooks single tooth. Im not real picky about precision though. As long as Im 25-30 Im good. I set before sharpen. Are you thinking about a band roller too?
Side notes: When I first started sharpening I ground too heavy, now I try to grind as light as possible. I dress my grinding stone often.
After having the cooks sharpener for about a year with occasional use (20 blades a month) I feel confident Im getting a sharp blade but I still have a lot to learn.
Im confident that any sharpener/setter you get from our sponsors will be good. I think youll get what you pay for with our sponsors

[bandmiller2]

John,I have the cooks cats claw sharpener,and I'am well pleased.They are a durable machine and almost everything on the grinder is available locally.Wile costly up front a two side setter makes easy work of setting,I always dreded setting with the single tooth setter. Frank C.

[NMFP]

I recently purchased another sharpener so now I have 4 cooks cat claw sharpeners and sharpen about 100 bands part time through out a month for my customers.  I basically now have each machine set up for different tooth spacing and gulet depths.  1/2", 3/4", 7/8" and 1"
I started out doing about 60-80 bands a month for customers on one machine and took forever.  Now, with 4 machines the same, I can get a lot done quickly.  Because of time setting up and watching each band, I get 2 bands per machine an hour so I am sharpening 8 bands an hour with the Cooks Cat Claw Sharpeners.  They are excellent machines and work the way they say they do.  Each machine has their own little hicups so they each have their own personality!

You cannot go wrong with a Cat Claw Sharpener for sure.  Take light grinds and you will be fine and always remember to tweak the stone to fit the profile unless you want to run it many times around the band to shange the back angle geometry.

[slider]

That single tooth setter is going to be slow,started out with one .Now i have a suffolk dual tooth setter that does a great job but I do like the cooks . The cooks comes with dial indicators , The suffolk model that I have does not. I have to use a hand held indicator which is slow but it works.You cant go wrong with the cat claw ,it,s a great tool .

[musikwerke]

Thank you all for your input.  I had read enough to decide to stick with one blade make and profile.  However, Cook's was sure that once I tried one of their Super Sharp blades, that they offered to send with my sharpener package, I'd be swayed.

[customsawyer]

I have to agree with the others in that most of the sharpeners will get the job done but like any good tool you get what you pay for. If you are looking for a more consistent grind I would lean towards the WM CBN sharpener as the the cooks is dependent on your ability to dress the stone. You need to be able to dress the stone exactly the same each time. On the up side of the Cooks is that you can change your profile a little bit by changing your stone. I know that you said you were looking for a dry grind but I just wanted to put that out there.

[pineywoods]

I use an OLD woodmizer drag type shapener. It does a good job, BUT there is a learning curve. You have to keep the grinding wheel dressed properly to get consistent results. When set up properly, the blades cut just as good as new ones. A single tooth setter came with the sharpener. I came up with a simple modification to add dual tooth setting. It works extremely well. If you don't have a setter, I put a post on here somewhere showing how to build a simple dual tooth setter that uses a shop vise and some angle iron. Looks rediculosly simple, but it works...

[musikwerke]

Pineywoods, thanks for your input.  I value your engineering marvels like the up / down assist springs.  As I write this I'm digging through my junk boxes (in my head) trying to think of what I might have to build a setter.  I'm leaning towards a design just a notch or two above squeezing angle iron in a vise though.