Does anybody sharpen grinder teeth?

[corndogg]

Wondering if anybody sharpens regular stump grinder teeth. i've never done it but we've talked about it before. I heard you need a green wheel which is hard enough to grind carbide. I also heard it causes cancer but what doesn't. Sharpen to put edge back on teeth instead of plowing through with dull teeth. We all know how much better they cut when brand new. Would be nice to keep them that way, ther's a lot of carbide there.

 

[bombdude]

corndogg,
There's a lot of discussion on the large equipment forum on this subject.

I haven't done it, but I found a local guy that sharpens my teeth for $1.50 each. Good job, & seems to be sharper than when I bought them new.

 

[corndogg]

Thanks Dude, You're the Bomb!

 

[Mikecutstrees]

I sharpen my own teeth. It's pretty easy to do. Wear a dusk mask to keep the cancer away hopefully. You need a green wheel for the carbide and a regular grey wheel to take down the steel behind the carbide. I used to sharpen the regular teeth on my 16 hp grinder and now I sharpen the ones on my SC252. Keep them sharp, much easier on the machine and the job goes 20X faster. .... If you have any Q's about the process just ask.... Mike

 

[snowyman]

Thats how you do it, but the dust will kill you. Wearing a mask stops some but the dust is still there, on things around you.

Silicosis is the result, not good.

I sharpen teeth, but I'm a bit far away for you. I know of a few guys that do it over there so if you can't find one near you let me know.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Silicosis

http://unionsafe.labor.net.au/hazards/10478785443578.html

 

[mckeetree]

To me it's not worth it. I get a pretty good deal on new teeth.

 

[pdqdl]

I sharpen my own teeth. It's pretty easy to do. Wear a dusk mask to keep the cancer away hopefully. You need a green wheel for the carbide and a regular grey wheel to take down the steel behind the carbide. I used to sharpen the regular teeth on my 16 hp grinder and now I sharpen the ones on my SC252. Keep them sharp, much easier on the machine and the job goes 20X faster. .... If you have any Q's about the process just ask.... Mike

Yes! Whatever method of sharpening the carbide you use, you must remove the milder steel behind the carbide. Believe it or not, the mild steel destroys wheels meant to grind carbide.

I tried the green wheels, but they were a pain to use, and didn't work that well. Too much dust, too slow to remove the carbide. Too much heat generated in the process.

I bought a cheap diamond wheel (made for carbide, not concrete) and mounted it on my bench grinder. Much better results, but it didn't last long enough to be worth what I spent on it.

I got a much better diamond wheel that had about 3/16th thick layer of grinding material. It worked pretty well, but it still takes a lot of time, and makes a lot of very fine dust. Then one of my non-helpers knocked the grinder off the bench and broke the wheel...I haven't tried sharpening since.

I found a better supplier of new teeth at a cheaper price, and I gave up on sharpening for a while.

My next approach: get a diamond wheel and mount it on a sidewinder grinder, then sharpen the teeth while they are on the machine. Then I will save time on dismounting the teeth, which should make up for the cost of labor to grind them.

If that works out, I'll let everybody know.

 

[pdqdl]

“hard metal lung disease.”

Here is a good link that describes the problems and concerns very well. I may not look into sharpening those teeth after all!

http://www.state.nj.us/health/eoh/survweb/wra/documents/tc_bro.pdf

 

[tree*monkey]

when sharpening stick type teeth does everyone sharpen with the carbide facing upwards? is there another way. I do it that way so i can get a resonable angle on the tooth - having the flat of the stick on the rest on the grinder.

I be interested to see what other ways everyone else does it

 

[pdqdl]

when sharpening stick type teeth does everyone sharpen with the carbide facing upwards? is there another way. I do it that way so i can get a resonable angle on the tooth - having the flat of the stick on the rest on the grinder.

I be interested to see what other ways everyone else does it

When I was doing it, it really didn't seem to matter what side was facing up. The carbide is so hard, it behaves the same in any direction. We held the "stick type" teeth at whatever direction was easiest to control. Sometimes, that meant holding the plane of the carbide parallel to the grindwheel. The only thing that seemed to matter was the final grind angle on the tooth. Up, down, or sideways, it all produced the same result.

 

[BTSTUMP]

to get away from the dust, you need to grind it wet. like with flood or spray mist coolant. had a bit of spare time awhile ago, so I built an automated machine to sharpen greenteeth. install tooth, push start button, then go in and sit on recliner and sip a soda. Cost analysis of the machine is: too time consuming to do it as a business. but my teeth sure are sharp!