Shopsmith Forums

gr8mesquite wrote:I searched without seeing this here, but I have seen and read stuff on the net, including YouTube: does anyone have experience with bandsaw sharpening? Is it worth the trouble, i.e., does it work and does it stay sharp for a while. Or, once dulled does a bandsaw blade never really recover? I bought a couple of diamond points for my Dremel and thought I would give it a shot, but not if your experience has been negative.

Many thanks

Jerome

I have wondered about sharpening bandsaw blades and finally gave it a try. I did it much like I would a hand saw with a triangular file. It worked GREAT! I really think it cuts better than when it was new. Maybe it is because I put some side angle to the alternate teeth. It was a 1/4 inch x 6 TPI hook tooth, I think...

Here's a short video on using a Dremel to sharpen a bandsaw blade -- http://woodgears.ca/bandsaw/sharpening.html

If you haven't visited this guy's site before, it's well worth the look around.

gr8mesquite wrote: I'm more concerned with the quality of the final result...whether that's worth the time. Does the sharpening last, or will it have to be repeated after a couple of cuts.

Thanks

Jerome

I've done a little bandsaw sharpening. Alternating filing bevels seemed to work best. I didn't have a good way to improve the set of the teeth. Until I get desperate - I'll just get a new blade.

If you like challenges sharpening is fun -- also is soldering up broken blades.

I tie a little piece of thread around the last tooth to be sharpened, that way< I know when I'm done. Lotsa teeth, tedious work, easy to lose track...

If you are using a dremel, it is very easy to make a little jig to hold the tool at the correct angle(s), and move it from side to side for each tooth, or do every second one, then do the other side.

Derek

charlese wrote:I've done a little bandsaw sharpening. Alternating filing bevels seemed to work best. I didn't have a good way to improve the set of the teeth. Until I get desperate - I'll just get a new blade.

If you like challenges sharpening is fun -- also is soldering up broken blades.

SOLDERING bandsaw blades? I would have thought only welding would work. But maybe silver solder would hold... What is your technique?

twoblocked wrote:SOLDERING bandsaw blades? I would have thought only welding would work. But maybe silver solder would hold... What is your technique?

I use one of these "Wood River" jigs along with their solder and flux. They can call it brazing, but when you can use a cigarette lighter for a flame - - it's solder. http://www.woodcraft.com/Family/2004491/WoodRiver-Deluxe-Bandsaw-Blade-Brazing-Kit.aspx

The solder holds very well! I have repaired a Shopsmith blade three times. The blade broke but the soldered joints held just as good as the original. This was one of their hardened 3/16" blades. It was quite brittle!

I just purchased a used reconditioned SS Bandsaw, my first. The blade that was on it was rather dull and burnt some beech on a test cut. I don't have a source for bandsaw blades locally so I figured I'd give the sharpening a shot.

I used both methods http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-AnDvUqe1Ac and
http://woodgears.ca/bandsaw/sharpening.html

The wood gears site gave a great tip about jointing the blade. Make sure you use a stone that you are either ready to re-dress or don't care about, if you're not careful you can damage your stone.

I Jointed the blade and then sharpened the teeth with a dremel while it was still on the bandsaw as in the youtube video. I probably would have gotten better results by using a jig to hold the blade (like in the woodgears video), but I didn't want to mess with clearing a spot for something I probably won't do very often. Overall, I'm quite pleased with how it turned out. No more burning wood and this will do until I get around to ordering some blades. So if you damage an expensive blade or just want to add some life to the blade you have, this does work. Total time invested 10 minutes or so of watching the videos, less than 10 min of work on the jointing and sharpening. Less time than running out to a store to buy one.

Note: I would NOT use this blade for a really nice project where a quality cut really matters, but it will definitely suffice to learn how to use a bandsaw and for other "down and dirty" projects that just need to get done.