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The other day I went to use my bandsaw and found the blade rather dull and found a video where a fellow sharpened his blade free hand so I tried that but the blade didn't cut too well ,fast yes but very rough because the teeth were too uneven sharpened so today I built this simple little jig to see if I could get all the teeth evenly ground and I am very happy with the result .
The jig is made from stuff around the shop with a screw that engages in the gullet to locate the back of the tooth in the proper position on the stone and a little MDF block clamped to the table to control the depth of cut, just a little touch of the back of the tooth .
A very light grind did the trick and I was surprised how far I was off with the first free hand attempted.
Works Ok but now I will add some more permanent adjustable guides and a different stone .
Just an idea in progress but let's me sharpen my own blades and extend the life of the blades instead of buying new ones .

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Great idea. Are you using an electrical grinder? What type of wheel? Look forward to future refinements.
 

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U did well buddy, niceee
 

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Just an old bench grinder and a otherwise useless stone I found in a box and forgot to get rid of , you never know it came in handy today ,but I will be looking for a narrower wheel .
 

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Kiefer,
I did the same as you a while ago. I tried to free hand it and got the same results, not good. I like what you have done here with this simple jig. Simple is always better. You have got my wheels turning now I must say. Thanks for posting this! I'm anxious to see what you come up with next with this idea. I was thinking of making something like a small chop saw type with an adjustable stop and a track to hold the blade upright. But your idea is simple and easy to make. I like it!
Nice work!
 

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How much time did it take in each case? Thanks.
 

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Looking at that wheel I cant help to think that is too thick for this.
Don't know anything about blade sharpening, so please forgive my ignorance.
Wouldn't an angle grinder be a better choice?
 

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Tony
I am sure you will come up with improvements soon and simple is good .

Thomas
I did not keep track of time but my guess would be five to ten minutes .
I did a little fumbling around at first but got into a rhythm and it went very smooth.
Got thinking after I was done I should have started at the weld let's you know when all the teeth are ground .
 

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Stelios
This is a od wheel and just happen to fit using the worn right side but you are right a narrow wheel should be better .
 

· In Loving Memory
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Maybe a worn down wheel from a metal cutting chopsaw? They are about 1/8" thick. Not sure I have the patience to sharpen my 131 1/2" BS blades.
 

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I too have tried freehand with little success.
Great idea. This can easily develop to be even better.
As for the new grinding wheel, why not use the old one you have but profile grind it for a perfect shape. It would be a shame to do that with a new one but this was a throw away to start with.
I like the concept and will likely get on it one day.

Now how about working on the biggest band sharpening jig problem: how to set up for variable pitch like the woodslicer. That would really be nice.
 

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Kiefer,

That's pretty fast. I thought it would be longer? But then you are pretty efficient in the wood tools dept! Starting at the weld. Hmmm good idea. LOL!

And I second your figuring out how to do the 3 tpi cutters. LOL!
 

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Going to keep an eye on this post just to see what you come up with. Love all the ideas that come from LJ members.
 

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Andy
Don't think that type of wheel will cut well on the side but give it a go 131 1/2" is only a little longer than my
93 1/2"
Paul
I am not sure what that tooth pattern looks like but a double grind doing certain teeth may do it ,send me a pic of what it looks like if you can .I have looked on the net but found nothing specific .
Will give reshaping a try I will let you know .
Thomas
A little practise and concentration is the key .
 

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Ingenious, as usual !
 

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Blades may be mounted and tensioned upside down on
the band saw. A simple cradle holds a moto-tool with
a grinding tipl and thus the gullets and tips can
be reground.
 

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Hello Kiefer

An idea that will be used for a lot of woodworkers in the future

Thanks for sharing
 

· In Loving Memory
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Great idea Kiefer and nice simple solution. It would also be interesting to see Loren's version.
 

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Really is a great idea and yes it is simple and works
 

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That is nice in a pinch, but I use 105" blades with 10 TPI- that is 1050 teeth. I might attempt a coarse blade where you have room for the wheel but I'd never attempt to sharpen the ones I use.
Glad you found a slick way to orient them. It looks like you can control the depth of cut and the pitch with the pin on the left!! Nice going.
I did a similar thing for sharpening the fine teeth on those saws for the multipurpose tools. I used a Dremel with a v shaped mounted grinding wheel and made a table that cocked the saw at about 10 degrees and free hand cut the teeth and it saved about 4 of those expensive blades.

..................Jim
 

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i've tried free hand as well. It didn't end well either. I've got a cheap chainsaw sharpener. I wonder?
 
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