Bandsaw Blade Sharpening?

[Woodster]

Anyone tried it? I noticed one of my blades was struggling with cutting softwood a while back. I tried it yesterday on hardwood and it was clearly not having it. I swapped the blade and made the cuts ok. I then wondered how long it would take to try sharpening the old blade? Twenty to thirty minutes as it turned out using a diamond file. The blade is 1/2” wide and about 6 TPI and I noticed the set on the teeth still looked good. It certainly feels much sharper than it was but I’ll have to wait until it’s back on the saw to see how well it cuts. I’m not in any rush to put it back on the machine but when I do I’ll update this thread with the results. I certainly wouldn’t want to attempt this with a fine tooth blade as it would likely take too long for my liking. :lol:

 

[Trevanion]

I did it once out of desperation (No more blades :eusa-doh with a Dremel and a small grinding wheel that could fit in the gullets to grind the top of the teeth, it was a little better but nowhere near as good and a brand spanker.

 

[Robert]

I had a go at my Tuffsaws M42 blade with a diamond file a couple of months back. Certainly made a difference. Not tried re-sawing with it yet to see if it wants to wander. No problems just cutting boards to shapes.

 

[Woodster]

I thought rather than just chuck it, it might come in handy for rough jobs. I’ll have to see how easily it makes wood dust. :lol:

 

[Duncan A]

As recommended by Ian at Tuffsaws:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UygEQ-079Ws
I used this method on a 137", 3tpi M42 blade and it worked beautifully. That's about 400 teeth but it didn't take too long, even with a couple of short breaks to reset my eyes when I started going all goggle-eyed.
Don't know if it would sharpen successfully again as I'd be losing the set on the blade as the teeth got ever smaller.
Duncan

 

[Mike G]

Yep, I've done it. The sharpening works OK, but getting the set right is a test......and if you don't get it right the cut can be a bit rough, or, more likely, pull to one side.

 

[kirkpoore1]

I've done it too, with a diamond bit in a Dremel tool. Best to do it with blade on the machine. Wrap a piece of tape around the blade at your starting point so that you'll know when you're done. I think you could get 3-4 sharpenings out of a big blade (say, 1" / 1 tpi), but maybe only one out of a smaller blade. Be consistent with your motion when sharpening and I think your blade set would be OK.

For me, it wasn't worth it on my narrow blades (1/4"/4 tpi).

Kirk

 

[Woodster]

I had to change blades the other day so I tried out the sharpened one. It cuts hardwood ok but the cut itself is very rough. It will be useful I suppose for chopping up rough stock but that’s about it. Handy to have instead of risking a good blade but I don’t think I’ll bother sharpening any more dull blades!

 

[novocaine]

I had to change blades the other day so I tried out the sharpened one. It cuts hardwood ok but the cut itself is very rough. It will be useful I suppose for chopping up rough stock but that’s about it. Handy to have instead of risking a good blade but I don’t think I’ll bother sharpening any more dull blades!

if it cuts rough you've probably upset the set.

 

[Pete Maddex]

When someone mentions blade sharpening.

[youtubessl]i7d0Lm_31BE[/youtubessl]

Pete