Hi Guys - I've got a woodmax DC1260 wood chipper. Its a freaking beast. It comes with reversible knives. I just put my spare set into the chipper and figured and should find a way to sharpen them, without sending them back to woodmax. They have a sharpening service, but I think they charge 15 bucks a set (or per knife, don't remember) Anyways, after some trial and error, I've got a jig that works surprisingly well. WAY more accurate than just using a file or angle grinder with a flap disk... last picture in the list is from the initial grinding. You can still see the low spots on the edges and where the knife has been sharpened. I have to grind in stages to keep the heat down. The jig itself is a 3d printed part. I'm using C-sink screws, which center the knives on the jig and puts the centerlines of the knives parallel with each other and at the same height. I'll be added dowel pins as well for additional accuracy. But even with just the two screws, its working very well. Videos of the jig in action... https://youtube.com/shorts/K9wI19I7eeM?feature=share The last video ended up being a short, I'm not sure why so I can't embed the link. It shows the result of the initial grinding.
Turn up the speed on the drill press. I swapped my motor for a treadmill motor and have a dial for speed. Anything from about 60 rpm up to router speed.
I had a similar jig to do small chipper blades on a small surface grinder. Overkill for sure, but the bevels would be a near mirror finish and you could easy shave with the blades when done. It was fun though!
I've been talking about a similar fixture for years to do my planer and jointer knives... After seeing your post maybe I'll get off my dead ADZE this winter and get it done...
Same setup! I was doing little Tory-Bilt Tomahawk and Bear-Cat chipper blades. It was hilarious how fast it would eat compared to new blades.
A word of caution, if your drill press has a Morse taper the vibration and weight of the stone can cause it to drop out.
This is extremely cool. I have the MX-8600, so this is good info. I also have a milling machine so I should be able to do the same thing.
yes, 30° bevel. I'm using a stone from McMasterCarr... its got a 5/8" thread on it so I just got a long 5/8" bolt, ran it through the stone and put nuts on both sides to tighten it down. Cut the head off the bolt and chucked it up in the drill. It ran pretty true. At least close enough for government work. Heavy-Removal Angle Grinder Wheel For Steel And Stainless Steel, Full Backing, 4" Diameter 4354A31 The stone is pretty aggressive, so it leave pretty hard cutter marks, so I use some 220 grit on a flat plat to clean them up a little bit. That's good info on the morse taper. I don't know what is in the drill press, so I'll have to look it up. Its an old Ridgid, from early 2000's
Great work! Would you mind sharing the STL for the 3d printed part of the jig? Would love to make one of these for my blades.
I'd probably be willing to pay for one of the jigs, but an STL that can be sent to a commercial printer service would be excellent also. Got a love/hate relationship with WM at the moment. I'm on my third chipper. One was a trade-up, and the other came as a warranty replacement when the 8600 started having feed issues neither I or WM could diagnose. They seem like really nice people but I think they are stretched a little thin when it comes to customer support.
