chipper blade sharpen or replace

[dennis103]

How often do you guys sharpen, flip or change your chipper blades. I have about 7 hours on my chipper and I can see a difference between new and now. It still chips , but I had to slow down the feed from new. I have a woodmax 8" hydraulic feed.

 

[zzvyb6]

How often do you guys sharpen, flip or change your chipper blades. I have about 7 hours on my chipper and I can see a difference between new and now. It still chips , but I had to slow down the feed from new. I have a woodmax 8" hydraulic feed.

Buy a new set and have the old ones sharpened and on-hand as a spare set. That way if you happen to run metal thru it, you can change them out and continue.

 

[747driver]

I flipped my blades at 25 hours from when I bought it new. I have 30 hours on it currently. I have the WM8 Hyd feed. I need to order a new set so when the current blades dull I will be set . I chip mostly pine.

 

[Rebeldad1]

My Woodmax needed the blades sharpened after the first year of use. Been two years and cut fine but I know its time to resharpen for next year.

 

[ericm979]

I get 20 hours per side on my Woodmaxx 8H. I tried 25 hours and that's too long for the stuff I have been chipping, which includes some dead material. When the chips get stringy it's past time to change. I bought two sets of blades so I'd have one to use while sending the other set off to be sharpened, or sharpened myself. I'm going to see how well that works before sending them out.

If you have them sharpened and they were dull, don't forget to adjust the bed knife clearance. It's a pain to do that on the 8H as it's a long reach into the chute.

 

[oosik]

Lord 'O The Almighty Woodworker - what in the world do you folks do to dull chipper blades so fast? My Wallenstein BX62S was purchased new in the spring of 2013. I have used it every spring since 2013 to chip 900 - 1200 young pines - every spring. It averages 32 hours every spring or a total of around 225 hours - to date. These pines are fresh cut and run from 1" to 6" on the butt cut. I chip them in the round - no limbs trimmed.

I'm still running on the original side of the blades. I know they aren't as sharp as the opposing side but they chip these trees just fine. The chips come out sharp & rectangular.

I pile the trees and pull/chip from these piles. I cut & chip in the spring because there is next to no volcanic ash on the young trees then. The winter snows & spring rains will wash them clean. I do not drag the trees in the dirt.

It must be that the trees are clean and pine is a very soft wood. Especially when they are still green.

 

[NWOH_Grizz]

Also have a WoodMaxx WM8H chipper. Have at least 50 hours on it, and still on the original side of the blades. Chips fine. Mostly a mix of pine and soft maple and small junk stuff like sassafras and mulberry. Don't run much dead stuff through there, that will cause dulling quickly.

 

[mikester]

The screws holding my blades in are so packed full of resin I havent tried flipping them yet. Any tricks to removing the goo other than a small flat screw driver, needle and patience? Would carb or brake cleaner be a good spray solvent?

 

[oosik]

When I had my first Wallenstein - BX42S - the discharge chute would get coated with pine resin. I tried most everything to keep it clean. The easiest, cheapest and most available "cleaner" - diesel fuel. Soak the screws in either diesel fuel or something like WD40.

 

[RickB]

Lord 'O The Almighty Woodworker - what in the world do you folks do to dull chipper blades so fast? My Wallenstein BX62S was purchased new in the spring of 2013. I have used it every spring since 2013 to chip 900 - 1200 young pines - every spring. It averages 32 hours every spring or a total of around 225 hours - to date. These pines are fresh cut and run from 1" to 6" on the butt cut. I chip them in the round - no limbs trimmed.

I'm still running on the original side of the blades. I know they aren't as sharp as the opposing side but they chip these trees just fine. The chips come out sharp & rectangular.

I pile the trees and pull/chip from these piles. I cut & chip in the spring because there is next to no volcanic ash on the young trees then. The winter snows & spring rains will wash them clean. I do not drag the trees in the dirt.

It must be that the trees are clean and pine is a very soft wood. Especially when they are still green.

Like most things, blade quality varies. A high quality blade set to the proper clearance will chip a lot of wood.
A low end chipper may not have high quality blades and also may not be factory adjusted for optimal performance and blade life.
Replacement blades of high quality may have a surprising cost. A high quality sharpening will be well worth the effort and or cost.