Small question

[NCDiesel]

Hardly worth the electrons used to produce this small, newbie question but I'd really like to know:

It seems as if many of you know how many times your blades have been sharpened.  How do you keep track of it?   Is there a way to stain/mark the blade?   I doubt engraving it would be good for the blade.  Or is it just a guess when I run across a post that says, for example: "I sharpened that blade 5 times before I had to discard it"

Inquiring minds would like to know...

Thanks!

[beenthere]

One member replied a short while back, that he marks his with an engraver. I believe a slash four times with a line through for 5.  ////

[thecfarm]

Seem like Jim Rogers had something that he made up to keep track of the blades. If he don't see this,send him a PM.He did not engrave them,just used a number system it seemed. Just like when I have blades sharpen,I use a paint maker to put my name on each blade. It's still on there when I get them back.

[drobertson]

before I started doing my own, mine were done with a paint code, she painted in the weld area, this would hold up well between sharpening's,   david

[ladylake]

I take off 10 to 12 thousands per sharpening, when they get down to 1" at least 20 sharpening's.  If they break at 1-1/8" only 10 sharpening's . No time to keep better track.  Steve

[hackberry jake]

If I am monitoring how many sharpenings blades take I just use a bread tie and a tag made out of cardboard. I hang the tag on the sharpener while the band is sharpening. I put how many times it has been sharpened and how well the band cut as well as manufacturer and any other info I may think is noteworthy.

[NCDiesel]

before I started doing my own, mine were done with a paint code, she painted in the weld area, this would hold up well between sharpening's,   david

I guessed a stain of some type because I assumed paint would not hold up.  I also have an engraver.  Like I mentioned, I figured it would be not-so-great for the blade, plus blade metal looks hard and would to be tough to engrave.

I'll try both and see how my selection of paint holds up and how my engraver works. 

Thanks for all the ideas!

[kelLOGg]

I engrave an ID, e.g., 0013, set, e.g., 0.020 and no. of times I sharpened it e.g., ||||
The engraving is on the outside of the band and is very light and does not harm the blade.
The ID refers me to a notebook containing misc notes about the blade.
Bob

[drobertson]

Just for what its worth, I have cut well over 1000bdft with obvious wear on the paint, but still identifiable, in fact, many still have all the colors showing,  can't see any harm in etching or engraving either, this is how she did it, and it worked,   david

[Chuck White]

BeenThere is correct.

A few days back I made the following post (in part)!


"I keep track of the sharpenings of my .045's, and average 7-8 sharpenings each.

It's easy to keep track of my sharpenings because I use a vibrating etcher and mark each blade, each time it goes on the sharpener.

I use 4 diagonal lines and 1 horizontal //// to indicate 5 sharpenings, etc."

I have been using this method for years and have never had a blade crack or break where I was engraving.  I make my marks abut an inch from the weld!

[Peter Drouin]

For me how many times I sharpen a blade makes no different, I set and sharpen till they break. I mean what are you going to do, in the winter with frozen logs the blades don't last that long. With frozen rocks and sand on the log you will lose teeth on the blade. Now it; s junk
In the warmer times they last a litter longer
It;s good to try to take care of them but blades are like fuel you go through them
I cut so much that when I get down on blades don; t think about it just buy more :D :D :D
My good friends at wood mizer in Maine will be happy to send me more :D :D

[Magicman]

I have no curiosity concerning how many times a blade has been sharpened.  I never saw where knowing "how many times" would have any bearing on "how many times".

[Peter Drouin]

I have no curiosity concerning how many times a blade has been sharpened.  I never saw where knowing "how many times" would have any bearing on "how many times".

:D :D :D :D :D :D I like it :D :D :D :D :D :D

[POSTON WIDEHEAD]

I have no curiosity concerning how many times a blade has been sharpened.  I never saw where knowing "how many times" would have any bearing on "how many times".

say_what    Who made Magic mad?  :D

[Magicman]

Mad??  Not me, and I apologize if it sounded that way.  I just have no interest in (knowing) how many times any or all of my blades have been resharpened.  When they break or get too thin, WM replaces them with a new blade and my box comes back full.   

[Brucer]

Wood-Mizer blades have a serial number on them.

When I first started milling I would record how many times each blade had been sharpened and when it broke or ceased to be usable. Since I was keeping track of how many BF I sawed each day, I would also make a note in my logbook showing how many blade changes I made that day.

This gave me a good feel for how long a blade would last (min: 1 sharpening, max: 13 sharpenings, average: 9 sharpenings). It also gave me an average number of BF between sharpenings.

After I'd done that for a full production year, I stopped worrying about the details and just worked out an approximate number of blades consumed each year. It was also easy to count the number of sharpenings; because I send them out I just had to add up the invoices at the end of the year.

[xlogger]

I do the same as Chuck does and it works well. Ricky

[kelLOGg]

My approach came from Chuck, too. I never acknowledged you for the idea, so thanks.
bob

[Chuck White]

I started marking my blade sharpenings because I wanted to know the quality of the sharpening.

What I mean is if I sharpen a blade and get all of stress cracks (if there are any) out of the gullet and also get a full sweep of the complete tooth surface the blade will last longer!

[hackberry jake]

I was measuring data on blades because I was trying half a dozen different types. I wanted to know which blades stayed sharp the longest, lasted the longest (number of sharpenings), etc.

[Peter Drouin]

I was measuring data on blades because I was trying half a dozen different types. I wanted to know which blades stayed sharp the longest, lasted the longest (number of sharpenings), etc.

Well which one is the best

[drobertson]

I've tried, and stuck with two blades to this point, well over 3/4 million ft of lumber and ties, wmz and cooks are it for me, this said, every wood has its tendencies, and the condition of the logs plays into the equation, as far as sharpening goes, the best figure I can give is 700+ ft per band, avg. and go from there, some run way over some run less, just the nature of the beast,   david,

[Chuck White]

I agree with you David, I usually use 2 blades a day (once in a while 3) and I average 1,800 - 2,000 board feet per day, so about half of that per blade!