Does anyone sharpen their own bandsaw blades?

[Alan R McDaniel Jr]

I’ve got a Timberking 1220. In the past I have sent the blades back to TimberKing. They would send them to another place for sharpening. Now they just tell me to send them there. Shipping is going to cost me $73 for sharpening six blades at $11@. So that’s $139 for 6 re-sharpened blades. I just bought 6 new blades for a total of $235 shipped from TimberKing. The part I dislike the most is boxing everything up and going to town to ship it.

I’ve watched the you tubes and of course it’s easy peasy… So, I’m wondering if anyone has personal experience in this regard.

My milling is purely on the “hobbyist” level.

Alan

 

[2feathers Creative Making]

My blades are the 12 dollar variety so I haven't put a lot of effort into sharpening. But if you are just hobby sharpening, you should be able to set them with a saw set and cut them with basically a chainsaw sharpener as long as you set the throw the correct amount for advancing and holding the tooth still.

 

[Alancw]

There’s a very detailed and long thread on the AAW forum (free to join) on this subject.

 

[Karl_TN]

I tried sharpening my blades, but found the results weren't worth my time. I've switched to buying bandsaw blade reels off eBay and then silver brazing blades for my 18" bandsaw for around $7 or so each.

He's a link had my bandsaw blade brazing instructions on AAW to see that it's not too hard.

Brazing Bandsaw Blades cut from Coils

Here are some pics of my brazing process for anyone interested in the brazing their own bandsaw blades cut from coils stock: **Blades can be cut to link from coils using tape measure and tin snips. First word of warning: Suggest grinding at a pretty high angle on a smooth wheel to avoid a...

www.aawforum.org

 

[Firewood Potter]

We have a place about 40 mi from me that sharpens band sawmill blades for $6. It’s hardly worth it for a hobbyist to invest in his own sharpener at that price.