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A Canadian question about Cats Paw Sharpeners

Started by Quebecnewf, August 11, 2014, 07:15:24 AM

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Quebecnewf

Looking into buying a new sharpener for my mill. My Semi Auto Dino is getting near the end of it's life. I have rebuilt it once and it is now giving problems again.

I have been looking into the Cats Paw sharpener made by Cook,s . I contacted them to see about shipping and duty charges to ship into Canada. Got some info back but not enough.

I was wondering if any of you Canadian Forumites had ordered this unit and if so what were the duty and custom charges to get it into Canada?

Quebecnewf

losttheplot

I had mine shipped to B.C a little over a year ago.

The sharpener and setter combo shipping was around $250.
The agents fee was $10
Brokerage fees were $80.85
PST was $245.

In total I think it was around $2500

Here is a link to a shipping calculator I have found to be pretty helpful.

www.thefinalcost.com

I had to send the gear motor back, which was exchanged under warranty, however the shipping each way was a little pricy.

I haven't tried to find replacement grinding rocks locally, yet.
DON'T BELIEVE EVERYTHING YOU THINK !

Quebecnewf

The charges quickly add up. I am surprised you had to pay PST. On another note what are your impressions on the sharpener. How many blades do you sharpen a week say?

What type of blade are you using ?

I no longer set my bands. I can,t explain this as first when I started sawing I had to set blades all the time. I now sharpen blades up to 10 sharpens and I never set. I cut mostly small logs and only softwood .. Spruce and fir

Quebecnewf

redbeard

Iam close to lost the plot and just recently got mine shipped. And it was real close  to 250. Box weighed 295 lbs.  I was impressed with the quality and heavy duty build of it. It definetly will out last me.  Note: don't lift it by your self. My back is still tweaked.
Whidbey Woodworks and Custom Milling  2019 Cooks AC 3662T High production band mill and a Hud-son 60 Diesel wide cut bandmill  JD 2240 50hp Tractor with 145 loader IR 1044 all terrain fork lift  Cooks sharp

kelLOGg

I've had my Cats Claw 12 years and it is still going strong. The only maintenance is lube and change the grinding wheel.
Bob
Cook's MP-32, 20HP, 20' (modified w/ power feed, up/down, loader/turner)
DH kiln, CatClaw setter and sharpener, tandem trailer, log arch, tractor, thumb tacks

bandmiller2

Quebec, mayby you could take mommy for a little vacation trip, throw the cats claw in the trunk and tell the mounties its a bench grinder. Frank  C.
A man armed with common sense is packing a big piece

losttheplot

Quote from: Quebecnewf on August 11, 2014, 05:40:20 PM
The charges quickly add up. I am surprised you had to pay PST. On another note what are your impressions on the sharpener. How many blades do you sharpen a week say?

What type of blade are you using ?

I no longer set my bands. I can,t explain this as first when I started sawing I had to set blades all the time. I now sharpen blades up to 10 sharpens and I never set. I cut mostly small logs and only softwood .. Spruce and fir

Quebecnewf

I have sharpened around 150 times in a couple of years.
I just saw as a hobby and the extreme fire risk conditions usually shut us down 3 months a year or so.

I use 10° wood-mizer 1¼" with 7/8ths tooth spacing and .42" thick.

I got the wood-mizer cam with the sharpener.

When I compare a blade that has been sharpened half a dozen times or so, it does not have the same profile as a new blade.

I find that if I start with a very light grind as the band goes around the grind gets progressively  heavier
Then it will work its way to a lighter grind again, on the same sharpening.
When I sharpen the same blade several times the grind will be light for a dozen teeth then heavy then light again, sometimes not hitting at all sometimes hitting very heavy.

The bands seem to come out sharp and the blue teeth dont seem to have any negative effect.

Hopefully it is just operator error and I will get better with practice.

I cut 95% Douglas-Fir and I never seem to get more than 2 or 3 hundred bdft per band.
I'm sure a mud saw would help a lot with the thick bark.

I find I have to set every time, I seem to be loosing set on the inside teeth.

I had a grinding noise coming from the gear motor and the head was bouncing as it dropped down the face of the tooth. It only bounced at low speed settings.

Cooks were good about trouble shooting over emails and they exchanged the gear motor under warranty.
The head still bounces at the slow speeds, as it drops down the face, but the medium speed it is not noticeable.

It cost me $13 to get a band sharpened (10 at a time), and half a day each way to drop off and pick up.
So the sharpener will have paid for itself in another 50 sharpens.

Its the only sharpener I have owned so I cant compare it to any other.

LTP.





DON'T BELIEVE EVERYTHING YOU THINK !

Theo

 I am also from Quebec , but closer to border that you are,,,

I buy all my horses equipment in the US, ask to be ship to the Derby Line VT border where a small company offer this service (use an us address and the charge $ 3 to $ 15 depending the seize of the box)

And I pick-up my stuff direct at the border (pay taxe at the border) so I save money and trouble


Theo
HUD-SON and Range-Road & KASCO Canada Dealer

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