WM silvertip blades

ladylake · July 31, 2014, 07:33:28 AM

Is anyone else having trouble cutting straight with WM silvertip blade, I bought a box of 10 and tried 3 of them and never made more than 3 cuts with any of them as they won't cut straight. My old Simonds sharpened 10 times cut perfect on the same logs. I called the saw shop where I got them and just told me to bring them back and didn't even seem surprised. Steve

Magicman · July 31, 2014, 08:15:05 AM

Steve, Are you sawing or resawing? It is my understanding that the Silvertip blade are designed for resawing industry:

QuoteSilvertip: Ideal blade for primary and secondary breakdown. This blade is made specifically to meet the needs of the resaw industry and is ideal for applications where multiple resharpenings are not desired.

LINK

uler3161 · July 31, 2014, 10:09:58 AM

We only use Silvertips on our LT40. I don't recall ever having any problems. Do you have any way to check the tooth set?

ladylake · July 31, 2014, 10:40:31 AM

I'm sawing logs with them or was trying to , I've used Silvertip blades a couple years ago and they worked good. The set looks good, I'm thinking maybe a bad batch that doesn't have the right built in tension. Steve

giant splinter · July 31, 2014, 10:52:07 AM

There is a lot of information on this subject here on the forum ..... here is just one reference ....... https://forestryforum.com/board/index.php?topic=55705.0

Larry · July 31, 2014, 11:30:11 AM

I like the Silver Tips. Long flex life, low cost, and they have always sawed well for me. Only downside is they dull faster than Double Hards and that is important for us TK guys without a debarker. I just touch them up on the sharpner every couple of hours.

I haven't bought any for about a year, as I've been trying different 1-1/2" bands.

slider · July 31, 2014, 12:01:08 PM

Steve I have been using the double hard band for quiet some time and they seem to do fine.I don't think the 55's will take as many sharpening's as the 43's.I did somehow put the wrong cam on my sharpener once and started breaking bands.It was squaring off the gullet at the base of the tooth .Once I figured out what I was doing wrong things got better.

xlogger · July 31, 2014, 09:08:40 PM

Larry, let me know how the 1 1/2" blades work for you. I've heard they do a better job cutting straight. Did you change anything for them or adjust the rollers? Ricky

drobertson · July 31, 2014, 09:18:19 PM

Not a big fan of silver tips, but not because of bad cuts, just did not like the performance in regards to longevity.

barbender · August 01, 2014, 12:46:55 AM

That's odd, Steve- I've never had a problem with Silvertips. They are my #2 rated blade, behind #1 Doublehards. Magic, WM markets the Silvertips as a resaw blade, but I'very found their performance to be equal to or better than anything else on the market except for Doublehards.

ladylake · August 01, 2014, 06:22:27 AM

It must just be a bad batch as when I called the saw shop it was like he was expecting the call. A couple years ago I got a bad batch of Simonds where every one broke after the first sharpening, I broke 4 blades in 1/2 hour that time. Steve

barbender · August 01, 2014, 09:13:02 AM

They told me at Rice Blacksmith that once in a while they get a coil that has the wrong tension (?) they said that when sighted down a straight edge the blade back should have a bit of curve or they won'the cut straight. I can't confirm that, but that's what they said.

Magicman · August 01, 2014, 09:24:40 AM

I was not arguing or even implying that they could not be used for normal sawing, just that that (Tom) use was not the intended use by the manufacturer.

Some may be very successful using a product beyond a manufacturer's recommendation and some may not. Heck, we may very well find an even better use than the manufacturer intended. Sometimes we in the field are the best R&D force available.