Timber Ax Mulcher Knive "JIG"

[Landwise]

i have two sets of knives that i have been running for about 700 hours now. i have been looking into a milling machine.
right now i use a 4" grinder with 36 grit sand paper wheels, which conform a little better. I take them off the machine, place in a vise and use my eye and an angle finder to try to keep 35 deg.
one out of five times that i take them off, i have been taking them to a machine shop. at $350 per set, i will buy a mill soon. it took them a while to find the right bit and speed, but they do a great job. Rockwell on these things is around 58


just my .02

 

[C.G.S.]

Sorry I been away doing family X-mass thing. I'll see if I can't post a couple pics. I have two surface grinders in the shop and I have used both for knife work the small one is a DoAll with a 6"x18" magnetic chuck. The big one is a Gallmeyer&Livingston #55 with a 12"x36" magnetic chuck . Carbide Inserts on a mill would work as will but your jig and table would need to be real tight any chatter and the inserts would fail with that Rockwell 58 material. I have thought about trying that route as it would be faster then the grinder. But the automatic feed on the grinder means I just baby sit. I do use the CNC mill to make bolt slots and do the knife edge before they are heat treated. After that I always used the grinder, I have also thought about using the EDM machine to sharpen the knifes as well. It works well on the carbide on the stump grinder inserts.

 

[Terra Firma Scott]

Thanx for the info!....Landwise, Is "rockwell" the hardness of the metal?-or the point they start to blue?-or am i way off...also those pics would be great CGS..

 

[C.G.S.]

Knife grinders turn up on Ebay from time to time most need some work but it might be a way to go. Most milling of steel is done in a range 30 to 50 Rockwell. 60+ is file hard.What would be nice is a way to accurately sharpen them on the head. How long dose it take to change out a set?

 

[Terra Firma Scott]

My set consists of twelve blades...On and off in 10 mins with an impact gun..

Would be nice to build a jig that mounted to the head and as you say ACCURATELY true and sharpen the knives...

I have been sharpening only on the head but after hitting various objects and debris the knives loose their straight cutting edge and the 35 degree angle starts looking like 50 degrees..ha!