Sharpening a Band Saw Blade

Series Summary

A sharp tool is a happy tool, eager and able to do the task for which it was designed. Conversely, a tool with a dull or blunted edge is a sad tool indeed, worthless in the overall tool hierarchy, a lonely and disappointed piece of metal that has lost its purpose and direction in life. But you, the tool master, can pull the sad tool out of the doldrums: all you have to do is sharpen it using the techniques described in this series.

In this free video series, our expert Fred Carson tells you how to sharpen a variety of tools, ranging from manual tools such as handsaws and knives (both regular and serrated) to saw blades and drill bits for your power tools. He also demonstrates how to hand sharpen with a hone stone as well as how to sharpen with a grinding wheel.

Video Transcript

"FRED CARSON: Hi. My name is Fred Carson. I'm from Carson's Saw Shop in Eugene, Oregon. I've been sharpening tools for over thirty years and I'm here with Expert Village. Okay. We have a band saw here. These are portable metal bands. They're made for cutting small logs. But I do have friends that are cutting thirty-six inch logs with this band saw, and we need to sharpen it. It needs to have a nice, sharp edge up on the top of the tooth and then this gullet right in here has to have some hook. This saw looks like it's a little bit low on hooks. They do cut a lot better if they've been sharpened correctly. This machine is an Italian machine. We've had it for a good twenty years and it just keeps on ticking. It's got a finger that moves the tooth and then the grinder comes in. It's adjustable for different teeth, different teeth-per-inch. Okay. Just like that and you adjust the wheel down, just spin 'em on, spin 'em on. And that should work like so. Kinda need to keep things blue and stick without some pretty rusty tools here in Oregon. And that's sharpening the face of the tooth and the top. First, it hits the face and then hits the top of the tooth. This is a professional grade type band saw sharpener. Yup. Okay. That's how you sharpen a band saw."