Chipper blade sharpener

[RandyS]

We have a pto chipper and it's time to sharen the blades. What's the best way to do it? I have a Neary grinder for doing my mower blades, would that work? Or is there a grinder made just for chipper blades?
Thank you.

 

[MasterBlaster]

Most people take em to a machine shop.

 

[RandyS]

Figured that. Just like the thought of being self sufficient.

 

[Stumper]

Your grinder for the mower blades will probably work I use a low/moderate speed bench grinder. So long as you can rig things to maintain the angle and avoid overheating the edge (And sharpen the knives to same final dimensions) it doesn't matter much.

 

[MasterBlaster]

Figured that. Just like the thought of being self sufficient.

That's cool, I like that, too. But I've never know anyone to sharpen their own blades. You can never get the proper, longer lasting edge that you will get with a professional job.

You can keep them touched up, Brush Bandit sells a nice hand sharpener. But that's only for daily touch ups, if the blades are dull you will just wear out the 'lil gismo. It's mainly designed for extending the sharpness life.

 

[Davidsinatree]

I take mine to work and sharpen them on the brown & sharp surface grinder using LOTS of coolant. Its very important as Stumper said not to let them get hot, they will loose hardness and not hold there edge for long. Also keeping knives all the same wieght is important for keeping your drum or disc balanced.
I would recomend taking them to a shop.

 

[Redbull]

Hey David, what would you charge to sharpen blades? I'm not sure if you'd be interested in doing this, but if so, let me know. Thanks, Brandon.

 

[Davidsinatree]

Redbull,
The fixture that I have is for Olathe drum knives with a 40 deg angle.
Thanks for asking but I would not be interested, it takes me about 45 min to grind 4 knives and I dont like staying after work even to do mine. I would check with Vegatation managment just on the Kansas side they are real good people.

 

[Koa Man]

I used to take my chipper blades to a machine shop, until they decided to try a different angle on the blades and ruined 4 sets. I do mean 4 sets, not 4 blades. The blades were sharp, but would not cut. To say I was p-ss'd is the understatement of the year. I sharpen them myself now on a bench sander using 50 grit belts. You need to use a good quality bench sander with enough power so the belt won't slow down when you put a little pressure on the belt. The blades look like they were machined when finished and cut just fine to me.

 

[Acer]

I used to take my chipper blades to a machine shop, until they decided to try a different angle on the blades and ruined 4 sets. I do mean 4 sets, not 4 blades. The blades were sharp, but would not cut. .

We had similar happen. The grinder operator was a little too clever, and decided to put an extra bevel on each blade, so the end result looked like a log splitting maul. It might be worth putting together an engineering drawing showing exactly what's required. Verbal instructions, however simple, can often get confused.

 

[Redbull]

Dave, thanks for the info. It was worth a shot