Saw blade sharpening and grinding machines are used to re-sharpen or grind the edge of a saw blade to restore it to like new, sharp condition.
Types of saw blade sharpeners/grinder
There are various types of saw blade sharpeners/grinders available depending on the application. The basic parts of any saw blade sharpener include a grinding wheel and a motor that spins the grinding wheel. There are manual and automatic grinders. Many machines are equipped with polycarbonate shields to block metal shards from hitting the face of the operator and some are even equipped with an exhaust which suctions away the fumes and emery dust which can be produced as a result of the sharpening process.
Manual saw blade sharpeners require the saw blade to be moved manually to allow the grinding wheel to enter each saw blade cavity. This method required the operator to spin the blade to an open cavity, move the blade forward to the grinding wheel, and then move the blade away from the grinding wheel. This process needs to be repeated for each cavity in the saw blade and normally takes between 4-8 minutes for an operator to sharpen one circular blade. The blade holding mechanism on saw sharpeners ensures that the proper angle is achieved for sharpening.
Automatic saw blade sharpeners work in much the same way as the manual saw blade sharpeners except that they automatically turn the blade. These units can either be table-top models or models that are standalone floor models which house some of the components on the base. These machines normally have precision controls allowing for more accurate blade sharpening compared to manual sharpeners.
Types of blades that can be sharpened with specialized sharpeners
Circular saw blades
Circular or table saw blade grinders move the blade towards the grinding wheel instead of the grinding wheel towards the blade. These machines can either slowly rotate the blade for you – in the case of the automatic machines – or allow the operator to slowly rotate and move the blade manually.
Band saw blades
Band saw blade grinders are similar to chain blade grinders in that the grinding wheel moves towards the blade. Band saw blade sharpeners are available in a wide variety of shapes and sizes ranging from table top models able to sharpen home or shop band saw blades all the way up to large floor models able to sharpen the large band saw blades used to process lumber.
Chainsaw chain grinders are different from other machines as the grinding wheel moves towards the blades instead of the blades moving towards the grinding wheel. These machines also present the grinding wheel at an angel instead of completely perpendicular with the blade. Most machines able to sharpen chain blades do not easily convert to sharpen other blades as the grinding wheel is angled vertically above the chain whereas the circular saw blades require a perpendicular cut with the blade moving towards the grinding wheel.