# Sharpening Bandsaw Blades



## H. A. S. (Sep 23, 2010)

I used to use a mounted stone, but for the last 35+ years or so; I've been using carbide burrs to touch up/reform my blades. These pics are pretty blurry, but you get the drift, right?

The carbide burrs actually CUT the steel, so there's no chance of burning/losing the temper of your blade.

One of the major causes of blade failure is heat, making the steel weaker. Doing the reforming my way, you can get many more miles out of each blade.

I normally use 1.250" wide blades for re-sawing, so I usually get 20-30 sharpenings from each blade.....sometimes more. Depends on how many objects I hit.:laughing:

A lot of times, you'll wind up burning the blade making it weaker, more prone to snapping; if you try grinding clearances in the gullets. Grinding creates too much friction in the gullets. 
That's where Carbide burrs shine, deepening the gullets.

Another thing......your wood does not care if you have each tooth exactly identical, or the same exact height, or the same exact depth gullet. That's the reason manufacturers came up with Vari-Tooth designs. The big boys know it doesn't matter; but it sure is a good selling feature!

Treat your fibers with respect, and those fibers will respect you more, if those teeth are razor sharp.

I might add...be sure to wear safety goggles if you try out the carbide burrs. Those are curly, very sharp chips flying off of there.

There are tons of ways to hold your blades in position. They must be solidly held before you make contact with the burr. Years ago, I made a fixture out of scraps. Nowadays, I don't worry about such things.  I just hold 'em and go for it.

Most of my blades are 1.3 TPI, the lower the pitch; the easier it is to sharpen.


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## Chaincarver Steve (Jul 30, 2011)

Some friends of mine own a sharpening company. They always tell me it's cheaper and easier for them to make a new band for a customer than to sharpen their old one. They get the different width bands in big rolls and cut to length, weld and grind the seam flat.

This is not to say that you shouldn't sharpen yours. Bless you if you have the patience. If you were to take it to a professional sharpening service, however, it would likely be best to replace because of the labor cost involved in dealing with all those teeth.


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## woodnthings (Jan 24, 2009)

*you may have missed this?*

http://www.woodworkingtalk.com/f27/bandsaw-blade-sharpening-diy-10872/

I use a Dremel and a chainsaw stone, but I don't grind the gullet enough to heat the metal. Just about 4 strokes, that's it.
My blades are 3/4" x 3TPI, not a large as those above. 
143" x 3 teeth = 429 x 4 strokes = 1716 strokes div by 15 minutes = 114.4 stokes per minute div by 60 = 1.90 strokes per sec.  bill




:laughing:


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