"The wheels on the sharpener go round and round..."

Delawhere Jack · August 09, 2014, 07:04:37 PM

Sharpened 16 bands today, 180 teeth per band, 2,880 cranks of the feed arm.... by hand..... :(
And I've got another 10-12 bands from another batch to do soon..

I REALLY need to find a reduction motor for that thing.... :

Den-Den · August 09, 2014, 08:16:31 PM

mine uses a DC gearmotor that once raised/lowered the tilt on a treadmill. Surplus Center also has some:
http://www.surpluscenter.com/Electric-Motors/DC-Gearmotors/DC-Gearmotors/

You have put quite a bit of work into that, might as well make it work for you.

tule peak timber · August 09, 2014, 08:30:23 PM

Great post ! Curious , how did you figure the cam stud mounting point ? Please put some beeswax on your rotating investment parts !Are you able to grind all the way around the profile ? Again kudos

.....

Delawhere Jack · August 09, 2014, 09:48:18 PM

Quote from: Den-Den on August 09, 2014, 08:16:31 PM
mine uses a DC gearmotor that once raised/lowered the tilt on a treadmill. Surplus Center also has some:
http://www.surpluscenter.com/Electric-Motors/DC-Gearmotors/DC-Gearmotors/

You have put quite a bit of work into that, might as well make it work for you.

Thanks. Looks like they might have something that will work.

Delawhere Jack · August 09, 2014, 10:06:33 PM

Quote from: tule peak timber on August 09, 2014, 08:30:23 PM
Great post ! Curious , how did you figure the cam stud mounting point ? Please put some beeswax on your rotating investment parts !Are you able to grind all the way around the profile ? Again kudos .....

Thanks TPT. Having seen some of your handiwork I take the as a great compliment.

Basically I copied the Cooks Cat's Claw sharpener. Watched their youtube videos repeatedly, taking notes. FF member Roghair built one also, and I got some ideas from his sharpener.

I put a new band in, and a "blank" cam wheel. Advanced the band about 10 degrees at a time and marked the blank cam from the resulting position of the grind wheel -- as translated by the pivot arm. Then band sawed the cam to profile. Took a bit of trial and error. Had to roughly profile the grind wheel before hand. Yes, it grinds the entire profile.

Any way, it works pretty well, just a little tedious to use.

tule peak timber · August 09, 2014, 10:53:11 PM

The ability to build your own machinery/tooling is an accomplishment that bears fruit on lots of different levels.You "get it' .You are an engineer at heart and the ability to figure things out is a talent to pursue for sure.Funny.... I gave away a WM drag sharpener and setter to someone yesterday -and the sharpener you built is more valuable by far. Keep working Cheers Rob

tule peak timber · August 10, 2014, 09:36:27 AM

Do you find the stone loading ?

Delawhere Jack · August 11, 2014, 09:35:21 PM

Quote from: tule peak timber on August 10, 2014, 09:36:27 AM
Do you find the stone loading ?

It used to. I wasn't doing a good job cleaning the bands before sharpening. Then I found a thread on here were TerrificTimbers mentioned that he cleans his by pulling them under a wire cup brush in a drill press. Since I started cleaning my blades that way, no more stone loading. The brush cleans the gullet pretty well.

Finished a big portable job today. I've now got a full box of bands to sharpen. Oh well, supposed to rain tomorrow anyway..

Delawhere Jack · August 11, 2014, 09:39:19 PM

Quote from: tule peak timber on August 09, 2014, 10:53:11 PM
The ability to build your own machinery/tooling is an accomplishment that bears fruit on lots of different levels.You "get it' .You are an engineer at heart and the ability to figure things out is a talent to pursue for sure.Funny.... I gave away a WM drag sharpener and setter to someone yesterday -and the sharpener you built is more valuable by far. Keep working Cheers Rob

Well......... Thank You! But mostly I just didn't have $1,800 to shell out for a Cooks sharpener. :

tule peak timber · August 11, 2014, 09:44:28 PM

Well you keep on keeping on and I predict that opportunity and affordability will definitely come your way.

Delawhere Jack · August 11, 2014, 09:46:00 PM

Actually, I had the cash, I just REALLY HATE parting with it.. >:(

tule peak timber · August 11, 2014, 10:17:29 PM

That's a good thing , but look at what you learned from building your sharpener. It's good points -and short points, that knowledge is darn near priceless.I have built some shop equipment and from what I've learned it is possible to look "right through ' a salesman as I upgrade to new equipment. Your sharpener is a darn cool machine and you should be proud !

dboyt · August 12, 2014, 08:56:21 AM

Nice looking sharpener! I've got a Norwood sharpener (hand crank) and am setting it up for power feed. American Science & Surplus has a great little 12V gear drive motor (http://www.sciplus.com/s/c_15/sf_138), and I've ordered #35 chain & sprockets. I also got a 12V motor controller to fine-tune the feed rate. I figure if I can be doing other things (like setting the teeth) while a blade is sharpening, it will be a major time saver.