I have a Burr-King X400 belt grinder, great machine, not just for grinding blades. I bought it after I sold my mowing business for use in my shop for R+D work. Wheel grinders are so "yesterday", very slow compared to a belt grinder. I put an ad in the local paper for blade sharpening, have a sign out at the end of my drive, but there is very little interest in people getting blades done properly. Any one can put a sharp edge on a blade with any number of ways. As you mentioned in your post, a lot of people bring a blade in when its junk, then get pe'od at you for not sharpening it.

 

As you mentioned in your post, a lot of people bring a blade in when its junk, then get pe'od at you for not sharpening it.

Thank you for the reply. So how does the business do overall? I have heard of people getting "lucky" and being able to make a living off sharpening lawn mower blades and/or chainsaw chains. Not sure how often it actually happens but know it is possible.

The local newspaper sounds like a good place to start.

 

I am a solo guy been in business for 6 years and I bought the oregon belt grinder last year. Best purchase you will ever make!i know they are pricey at about 2000.00 but well worth it. I sharpen about 20 blades a week,(3 exmarks) it takes me literally 1 minute to sharpen a blade razor sharp if you want it that sharp.i sharpen blades and scrape decks every 2 days. You can sharpen about 100 blades per belt. I also sharpen blades for people in my town of about 4000. Most people don't even knaow how to get them off their mower, I offer to go take them off sharpen them and put them back on for them. I charge 20.00 for a 2 blade mower and 10.00 for a single blade. I make sure to show them how sharp they are end they are impressed. Then I tell them that I will call them in 2 months (about 8 to 10 mowings) and it's time to sharpen them again. I do this in the evening and also have people drop them off and I sharpen them while they watch and are impressed.

 

I am a solo guy been in business for 6 years and I bought the oregon belt grinder last year. Best purchase you will ever make! I do this in the evening and also have people drop them off and I sharpen them while they watch and are impressed.

Well first off any man/woman that owns a Chevrolet is already normally an impressive individual himself or herself.

Anyway this is good news! Did they raise the prices because the Oregon 88-100 (Model 760) is just over $3,000.00 but comes with the pedestal and chainsaw guide bar attachment. I have a chainsaw bar that is getting rough around the edges now. Therefore, with a can of compressed air and the belt grinder attachment I could save myself another $50.00 right there.

Did you by chance purchase the Oregon 88-103 (Model x400)?

Also do you guys use a professional wall balancer sold by companies like Oregon or Magna Matic?

I know you can do mulching blades on the bigger Magna Matic as well, but it looks so much easier to do them on the belt grinders. I also believe they are becoming a thing of the past like you say.

 

I did not get the pedestal I mounted it on a flattop cart with wheels so I could roll it around in my garage,I also made a shaving catcher out of sheet metal and mounted it on back of belt wheel to keep the mess down. I don't used a balancer, I always make the same number of passes on each blade so I know they are fairly close.then once in a while I will check them with a screwdriver in a vice.

 

Hexa Fox:
Blade sharpening "as a business" has not worked for me after six years with ads. There is more call for chain saw sharpening than blade sharpening. I have a Magna Matic balancer, that works real well. I should also note here that mulching blades suck when it comes to sharpening. A lot of home owner push mowers use mulching blades now.

 

Yeah I hate to even admit this, but I bought the top of the line Oregon Chain Grinder last year. I had some extra money and they were a really good price. However, I am still reading up on how to use them and get the correct angles. I only have a few sharp chains left, so I will be learning soon. I am also going to ask my neighbors to give me their chains and do it for free in return for some feedback.

Since I have a collection of dull mower blades and the simplicity of the belt grinder will make this something I use all the time. I honestly am not hoping to make a living off of sharpening lawn mower blades, but I am sure it would be nice. Maybe with the chainsaw chains and blade sharpening I can put some extra money in my pocket.

I also have seen, heard, and read many times that mulching blades are extremely easy to do on a belt grinder like the Oregon 88-100. It looks much easier to do on the belt grinder versus a traditional stone wheel grinder. I know most stone wheel grinders are not even up to the task.

 

I have an old Craftsman ZTL8000 54" zero turn that I have been neglecting. I have been neglecting it because of the fact that it is difficult to get started. However, it is set up for mulching and does a better job than any piece of equipment I have ever seen. It will mulch up heavy leaves in one pass.

Anyway I found out the reason that it is not starting without aid is because it is an "all in one" throttle and choke. This simply means that to choke the unit you just put the throttle all the way forward for choke and pull it back some after it has started.

Below the carburetor there is a little governor arm that when throttled up is suppose to lift the choke arm on the carburetor. However, it is not lifting it far enough to choke the machine. So you have to reach around and manually lift the choke arm up. I loosened up some of the screws on this assembly to see if I could force the arm that pushes the choke up around some more but could not.

Therefore, I do not have the problem solved, but at least the machine is easy to get running now.

The significance of me sharing this is I was hoping someone else may know something. Additionally, I have also collected a bunch of mower blades for this machine as well that can be sharpened now. My father has been using this Craftsman to mow his grass for the last few years, if we could get it started. The only way we knew to get it started was to remove the air filter and spray carburetor and choke cleaner done the neck that leads to the carburetor while trying to start it.

 

Cut Quality Concern

I have one last thing I was hoping that someone could address for me. I have a Ferris with the ICD Cutting System. For a long story short when I put factory high lift blades on it customers properties look amazing. I have customers calling and emailing me about how great their property looks.

I am certain that people get a excellent cut with other systems like the 7-Iron or Velocity Plus decks as well. However, I realize as the blades start to see their fair share of usage this cut quality gets worse and worse. Even if I scrape out the deck. Therefore, I am going to take a wild guess and say this is because they need to be sharpened.

Therefore, finally to my real concern. Will it be easy to learn to use the Oregon Belt Grinder and sharpen my blades and retain this amazing cut quality I am referring to or does it only come from the factory.

I have obviously heard of things like blades coming unbalanced from the factory and the like. However, after I use the Oregon Belt Grinder on these blades and install them back on the unit, can I expect the same absolutely astonishing results I get when I bring them home new from the factory?

 

If you use it correctly, and keep the bevel angle at 30 degrees and the outer corner square like it should be, you should have the same great cut you are used to.

I've tried a lot of things to sharpen blades, but I am having my best luck, even with crappy worn blades, using a flap sanding disk on my angle grinder. I have a very good eye for angle etc., so getting them back to the proper bevel has been fairly easy to do with a little care. The cut is as good as, or better than new, so you should be able to do the same with the Oregon tool.

 

Thank you for the reply. Just wanting to make certain my $3000.00 is well spent. They say that "no adjustment is needed" as the unit is already setup to "give the perfect angle to sharpen mower blades". However, when they sharpen mulching blades or any other kind of uneven blade (like gators) they hold the blade in a free manner while pulling it across the belt. There is no possible way to know what kind of angle you are getting like that lol.

 

You'll get onto it after doing a few, and the angle will also come more easily on odd blades. I can do wavy mulchers quite easily with the flap sander, which is another reason I like it.

 

I just did some research on what you are talking about. I watched a video from Land Designs Unlimited and he said he likes both the flap sander and a die grinder. Maybe I will just save my $3,000 and buy the little air compressor I have always wanted.

The guy from Land Designs Unlimited said he liked the die grinder better than the flap sander too.

Okay so you said you are suppose to attempt to retain the cutting edge of the blade at 30 degrees? How did you figure out how to hold the grinder to achieve this?

Also if you are interested, (or anyone else) here is the video I am referring to.

I am getting ready to erect a new building here to help make room for all my equipment. Therefore, it would be nice to have a way to professionally sharpen blades for cheaper. Also I know that people around here are definitely going to want me to sharpen their blades for them. I have no way of knowing exactly how many.

 

As I mentioned before I definitely need to find something. Because I do more than enough mowing to the point where I do not want to pay someone else to sharpen them. I would like to do them myself, especially to make certain they are done right. Also I am sick of buying a new set of blades every time I do maintenance on my machines.

 

Buy a $10.00 12" bastard file from HD and file every 5-8 hours of run time. Takes about five minutes a blade and your blades will last as you are only removing minimal material.

 

Hexa Fox, your posts always seem well thought out, so I thought I'd pass along my own experience with having perfectly sharpened blades.

A little background: I've always maintained my own blades for home use, and will readily admit that I've been lazy in doing so. I can be hard-headed (and cheap!) about some things too, and I won't let myself take the blades to a hardware store to have them sharpened at $7-8/blade when they're only using a bench grinder. I've never had a razor sharp edge on my blades either. I guess I've always just kind of sharpened them so they 'looked' good.

Fast forward to recently. I've been here on Lawnsite, and am re-considering starting an LCO for next season (an idea I've had for years, but am now more motivated than ever to follow through on). Been researching equipment and business related things, and of course the subject of blade sharpening has come up. The way I look at it, you don't even have to be a very big operation for a dedicated blade sharpener to pay for itself (not to mention whatever business you could drum up sharpening blades for other people). At over $20 to get a set of 3 blades sharpened, sharpening them 'only' once per week x a 30 week mowing season is over $600 spent. Okay, with the $3000 sharpener you're talking about, I guess it would take almost 5 years to recoup your money. I was basing my math around the Magna Matic unit.

Speaking of which, I recently spoke to MM about finding someone in my area who used their blade sharpening equipment. Luckily, the one business they were able to find for me is only about 2 miles outside of my daily commute, so I took my blades there and got them sharpened and balanced. $24.XX. I knew that going in, and happily paid it because I wanted to see what the results of this 'experiment' were going to be.

I've only used them once so far, but I noticed a HUGE difference. Not necessarily in the quality of the cut, (my lawn is nothing special, although I can see that the individual grass blades have been cut more cleanly), but in the massive reduction in blowout. I have a semi-commercial 36" walk-behind with a 3 x 12" gator-style blade mulching setup. The individual chambers aren't baffled; it just has a curved block off plate on the discharge chute, and I always mulch except in the Fall when I use high lifts and collect the leaves.

Normally when I make a 3-point turn there is obvious blowout on the left side of the deck, and I also get some windrowing if the grass is a bit long. When I mowed with the newly sharpened blades I had none of either. Zero. I clean under the deck after every mowing, and after this recent cut I also had the least amount of buildup I can ever remember, hardly anything. I never realized how much of a difference properly sharpened blades can make, but I'm a true believer now. I couldn't be more satisfied.

So in my case the MM-sharpened blades made an obvious difference, but I'm not posting this to say that the MM unit is the only way to go. I think as long as the grinding angle is maintained properly, then the same results could be achieved with a different unit, like the one you mentioned.

 

Hexa Fox, your posts always seem well thought out, so I thought I'd pass along my own experience with having perfectly sharpened blades.

Thank you, I try very hard to make certain that I am clear and as descriptive as possible.

A little background: I've always maintained my own blades for home use, and will readily admit that I've been lazy in doing so. I can be hard-headed (and cheap!) about some things too, and I won't let myself take the blades to a hardware store to have them sharpened at $7-8/blade when they're only using a bench grinder. I've never had a razor sharp edge on my blades either. I guess I've always just kind of sharpened them so they 'looked' good.

That sounds really expensive to have a blade sharpened. Over here the steady rate for blades is pretty much $5.00 and sometimes $6.00 for uneven (mulching) blades. As some of the other users mentioned they can make a little extra money if they go take them off the machine and install them back after sharpening too.

Fast forward to recently. I've been here on Lawnsite, and am re-considering starting an LCO for next season (an idea I've had for years, but am now more motivated than ever to follow through on). Been researching equipment and business related things, and of course the subject of blade sharpening has come up. The way I look at it, you don't even have to be a very big operation for a dedicated blade sharpener to pay for itself (not to mention whatever business you could drum up sharpening blades for other people). At over $20 to get a set of 3 blades sharpened, sharpening them 'only' once per week x a 30 week mowing season is over $600 spent. Okay, with the $3000 sharpener you're talking about, I guess it would take almost 5 years to recoup your money. I was basing my math around the Magna Matic unit.

I figured it would take a little longer than this. A set of blades for my Ferris costs me $70.00 so it is worth it to me. However, a lot o homeowners are not going to see the value in getting their $30.00-$40.00 set of mower blades sharpened. I do not know this for sure, but something the other users and I agreed on earlier.

People like you definitely give me way more hope. Because if you go back and look at the conversation earlier we also agreed that a lot of people (homeowners especially) do not know to seek out someone that is going to do a professional job on their blades. They just take them to the cheapest place they can find or purchase a new set.

Speaking of which, I recently spoke to MM about finding someone in my area who used their blade sharpening equipment. Luckily, the one business they were able to find for me is only about 2 miles outside of my daily commute, so I took my blades there and got them sharpened and balanced. $24.XX. I knew that going in, and happily paid it because I wanted to see what the results of this 'experiment' were going to be.

I am very familiar with Magna Matic and they were my first choice before seeing the Burr King grinders.
I've only used them once so far, but I noticed a HUGE difference. Not necessarily in the quality of the cut, (my lawn is nothing special, although I can see that the individual grass blades have been cut more cleanly), but in the massive reduction in blowout. I have a semi-commercial 36" walk-behind with a 3 x 12" gator-style blade mulching setup. The individual chambers aren't baffled; it just has a curved block off plate on the discharge chute, and I always mulch except in the Fall when I use high lifts and collect the leaves.

I think that I am still leaning towards a professional piece of equipment like the Oregon 88-100. Because everyone that has ever had something to say about sharpening blades has said that balancing them with a wall balancer is a real pain in the @$$. They say this because even the slightest deviation in weight can cause it to read heavy on one side. I have heard of people removing way too much material from blades trying to get them in balance.

Normally when I make a 3-point turn there is obvious blowout on the left side of the deck, and I also get some windrowing if the grass is a bit long. When I mowed with the newly sharpened blades I had none of either. Zero. I clean under the deck after every mowing, and after this recent cut I also had the least amount of buildup I can ever remember, hardly anything. I never realized how much of a difference properly sharpened blades can make, but I'm a true believer now. I couldn't be more satisfied.

My Ferris IS 2100z has the tall (not wide) tires on the back. It is extremely easy to tear up customers turf if I am not paying attention. Therefore, I am very, very familiar with three point turns lol. However, I bought a 810 cc Vanguard with the 52" cut and it has more than enough power on this little machine to disperse grass clippings even when they are wet and it is clogged.

So in my case the MM-sharpened blades made an obvious difference, but I'm not posting this to say that the MM unit is the only way to go. I think as long as the grinding angle is maintained properly, then the same results could be achieved with a different unit, like the one you mentioned.

It is a difficult decision to make. Because if I can go to Home Depot today and buy a nice air compressor or a nice Milwaukee Fuel M18 Rotary Grinder and do it right I will save $2,500 easily. However, like I mentioned before it will be faster and easier to balance the blades with a professional piece of equipment. Because with guys using the rotary grinder, die grinder, and the like, must first vice it into something. Therefore, you are going to take much longer each blade and it is going to be a massive pain in the @$$ if you have to keep taking a little off to get them in balance.

 

Not true regarding using a vice to sharpen. I use both a vice and a B&D workmate bench. It takes about 1 second to loosen either enough to switch ends, maybe two seconds to re-position the blade etc. I like quality tools, but I am actually using a 4,5" angle grinder I got from HF. It has lasted very well after many years of regular use, and only cost me $15 No Milwaukee or Dewalt etc. I've seen will do any better, and will cost a LOT more.

Keeping the angle isn't hard to do. Getting blades that have been improperly sharpened back to normal can be harder to do, but not impossible. You just have to have an eye for setting the new angle back to specs, or a way to measure it, like a mini angle gauge etc. If you sharpen the blades regularly as you should, keeping the factory bevel is actually easy to do with the flap sander. Just don't use too coarse a grit. Stick with 80 max and 100 is better.

 

If you happen to have a 6"X48" stationary belt sander, or something similar, a very simple jig can be made up in a minute using two pieces of scrap plywood. One gets clamped to the table, extending the table's surface to the left by about 10"-12" ... the other gets screwed on top of #1, and sets the approximate distance the blade should be placed in order to get the proper angle. I grind with the sharp edge UP so any heat generated will be drawn from the tip to the more massive body of the blade. The entire jig can be adjusted forward & aft to establish the exact angle ... once that is done, anything you put on the rest will come out at that angle ... assuming the same width. I will put my blades up against ANY done on a multi thousand dollar machine and my method is faster + more quiet. Even if you had to go out and buy the sander, it would still be economically feasable + you would have the sander for other work.

 

Balance is important, and I'm not trying to diminish that in any way, but let's not forget MM is trying to sell you their product. Why I am bringing this up is- if you cut very much grass, you will soon see that blades don't stay balanced for very long due to the build up on the blade varying constantly, and in many conditions, it can and will vary greatly throughout the day unless you are constantly scraping your blades clean after each lawn. Especially during times when the grass is full of moisture.

 

if you cut very much grass, you will soon see that blades don't stay balanced for very long due to the build up on the blade varying constantly.

That's a very good point. That being said, I'm still inclined to be against using a nail to balance them. Seems like the little cone style balancers would be a much better choice.

 

I have had better accuracy when checking them on a nail than on those little cone dealies. The trick to the nail is that you must get the blade centered on it to be anywhere near accurate. Lot a guys can't, or don't ttry to do that. A small bearing that fits the center hole of your blades exactly is a good way to get the nail to work better, but none are as accurate as the Oregon or MM balancer. Then too, they cost a LOT more, and since build up on the blades throws them out of perfect balance rather quickly, it is a never ending circle on what and how to do it.:wall

 

Really for balancing those cones and a nail really won't do it well enough. The forces imparted to your bearings for an unbalanced blade is horrendous. I spent the better part of $100 and got one that allows me to get a great balance and also detect for a bend. I will try to slightly straighten a blade but only if its tweaked a tiny bit, otherwise it's scrap. With properly balanced blades my 72" with 3 - 24.5" blades runs silky smooth, no vibration whatsoever. Here is what I bought, I have no affiliation with Amazon or the MFg.: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B005ESSOCY/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

I have heard this from professionals that I personally trust. They say get one with the little rod that you can use to check to see how out of line a mower blade is. They said if you bring the other side around and it is not pretty dang close to where the other side was scrap it and do not think once more about it.

 

I have had better accuracy when checking them on a nail than on those little cone dealies. The trick to the nail is that you must get the blade centered on it to be anywhere near accurate. Lot a guys can't, or don't ttry to do that. A small bearing that fits the center hole of your blades exactly is a good way to get the nail to work better, but none are as accurate as the Oregon or MM balancer. Then too, they cost a LOT more, and since build up on the blades throws them out of perfect balance rather quickly, it is a never ending circle on what and how to do it.:wall

I mean before I sharpen them I am going to take a wire brush to them pretty vigorously. Therefore, that should solve this issue right?

Also thanks for the input I am learning more and more. Even though it stressing me out. I knew that you had to get the perfect angle when grinding chainsaw chains, but I never knew it mattered so much for lawn mower blades until now.

 

I mean before I sharpen them I am going to take a wire brush to them pretty vigorously. Therefore, that should solve this issue right?

I think what he's saying is that even after a set of blades is perfectly balanced, as soon as they're back on the mower they can get out of balance because of grass build up.

 

Okay I understand now. I really like the idea of using a Pneumatic Die Grinder to sharpen the blades. I noticed that when I watch a lot of other guys sharpen and balance blades they can take a lot off of the heavier side before it finally evens out. The problem with the Die Grinder is that if one side of the blade is much heavier than the other I may be there all day trying to remove material from one side.

However, a positive to this is that it may also allow me to take off a little at a time so that the blade does not keep becoming unbalanced on each side because of removing too much material. Plus as I mentioned this would give me an excuse to get a air compressor too lol.

There really is a lot to take in here. I really do appreciate all the feedback from you guys. I just really want to make certain that whatever I choose will get me that amazingly perfect cut that I get with a factory set of blades. That is what is really important to me here.

This cut I speak of is what really sets me apartment from the weekend warriors, homeowners, most competition, and especially young kids trying to make an extra buck.

 

I have been contemplating buying one of these for a long time. Every single day I get closer to buying one. I was hoping that people on here might be able to help me make that decision. I know that these are basically Burr King Belt Grinders, but would like to make certain that I get it from Oregon now for obvious reasons.

I just re-read the thread and missed this the first time. What are the obvious reasons you'd rather get a grinder from Oregon?

And why the 88-103 instead of the 88-100 that's $1000 cheaper?

 

1.) Because Burr King now manufactures them for Oregon. I read several times now that it is a pain if you own a Burr King over a Oregon. I am certain someone will disagree with me, but I remember finding a forum where people were complaining about the transition. I believe it was because of things like parts and the like.

2.) I figured for the price I should just go ahead and get the larger unit. I have people that told me that they would bring me their mower blades if I started sharpening. I am certain that I would have business, just no way to tell exactly how much.

 

I get the build up all the way to the sails. I am also cutting northern grasses, but still seems like it would happen down south as well. Build up definitely isn't as bad when things are dry as now, but things aren't always dry in this business.

 

I was just watching some of the videos from Magna Matic again (watched them a good while ago). I noticed that they released a updated unit where you can get the exact angles you need for mower blades. Therefore, I may consider purchasing a Magna Matic again and just go with it. I kept thinking the Oregon Belt Grinders (previously Burr King) were superior, but the Magna Matic looks like it is definitely in the same ballpark.

I really like how you can get a pedestal and have the blade sharpening unit right next to the blade balancer. This looks like it will be extremely convenient when trying to properly balance blades.

Additionally, I would pay about half for the full Magna Matic setup over the Oregon 88-100 and have a blade balancer as well.

The thing I am really obsessed with right now is that I am noticing how beautiful my yards look. This is especially true when compared to my competition. Because my cut is so perfect it is even putting people that stripe around here to shame (no offense to anyone). Like I mentioned this is something that is really setting me apart from others and I want it to continue to do so.

 

Where I live at there are numerous hazards in peoples properties. To name a couple major surface roots and large protruding rocks from the ground. I do my best to trim around these and miss them while mowing. Unfortunately if you mow where I do you are going to hit some of them from time to time.

This does sometimes curve the cutting edge of the blade slightly upward. It does not completely compromise the blade. However, it will effect your quality of cut. I am confident that the Oregon Belt Grinder or Magna Matic would remove these imperfections with ease. Where I am not so confident that a die grinder or regular grinder could. I guess in reality they have a chance, but the larger machinery is going to accomplish it faster, and achieve better results.

 

Where I live at there are numerous hazards in peoples properties. To name a couple major surface roots and large protruding rocks from the ground. I do my best to trim around these and miss them while mowing. Unfortunately if you mow where I do you are going to hit some of them from time to time.

This does sometimes curve the cutting edge of the blade slightly upward. It does not completely compromise the blade. However, it will effect your quality of cut. I am confident that the Oregon Belt Grinder or Magna Matic would remove these imperfections with ease. Where I am not so confident that a die grinder or regular grinder could. I guess in reality they have a chance, but the larger machinery is going to accomplish it faster, and achieve better results.

Trust me, the angle grinder will smooth out the rolled up edge just as easily. Any disk from 60 to 100 grit will work well, and doesn't require much pressure at all, nor will it burn the steel by overheating like a bench grinder can.

 

Just remember- you want your blades to feel very sharp to the touch, but not too sharp as that razor edge will quickly roll under in only a few feet of mowing.

I have found that a good ruIe of thumb to follow is to grind the bevel so that they feel very sharp to the touch on the cutting edge in any direction you want to feel/check them, yet you should be able to run a finger or thumb pad down them lengthwise with a decent amount of pressure and not get cut. Any sharper than that and you will roll the cutting edge under quickly, and it will chip and nick way to easily. 1/64" is what is normally recommended, and that will not be very much of a square edge that you can see.

 

Just remember- you want your blades to feel very sharp to the touch, but not too sharp as that razor edge will quickly roll under in only a few feet of mowing.

I have found that a good ruIe of thumb to follow is to grind the bevel so that they feel very sharp to the touch on the cutting edge in any direction you want to feel/check them, yet you should be able to run a finger or thumb pad down them lengthwise with a decent amount of pressure and not get cut. Any sharper than that and you will roll the cutting edge under quickly, and it will chip and nick way to easily. 1/64" is what is normally recommended, and that will not be very much of a square edge that you can see.

By the way I literally just had my manual out for my Ferris and the 1/64" is what it recommended for the cutting edge. Therefore, how do you make certain that you retain that 1/64" of the cutting edge when removing material with whatever it is you are removing material with?

 

My experience is just this year with sharpening blades so I'm new and still learning.

I have a Magna Matic 1000 balancer and picked up a LNIB 88-021 with grit collector on a small generator trade where I figure I have $600 into it.

Very happy with what I have but something in me still would rather have the Magna Matic blade sharpner and someday I probably will.

This spring I noticed that the grass with high moisture content would leave my deck very easy to clean up. So based on that I use a little soapy water to soak the blades in and wash up.

Then the blades get checked for straightness, and then sharpened and balanced followed with some spray paint and eventually boxed up (I rotate three sets of blades and have three brand new spare sets on hand).

Sometimes I use a file to ensure I get a 1/64 flat cutting edge, I just believe it's important to obtain a better and longer lasting cut but have not experienced enough to say for sure.

The one thing I didn't do was check balance before cleaning the blade which I will next time. You guys have me very curious now.

I grew up on a farm and I was told once that after your automobile tires are balanced they self ballancer collecting the mud, dirt or snow unless it settles and dried or freezes on the bottom side. I'll be interested in seeing how far out they can get.

I feel that I'm getting a better product then the local guys do (one of which has that nice Oregon sander)

 

I didn't see the vid you posted. Was it in this thread?

Never used the die grinder with a roll lock head. I only have experience with a regular angle grinder and have used both grinding disks (which can burn/over heat the steel if you're not careful) and with the flap sander disks. I doubt I will ever use anything else again. I am not sharpening for anyone but myself and a friend here and there. The disks are so easy to use and control. They do not remove a lot of metal at a time, and nowhere near what a bench grinder or even a good machine like a MM will in a pass. I have had no problems at all getting messed up blades back to sharp and in balance with my angle grinder and the flap sander disks yet either.

 

I didn't see the vid you posted. Was it in this thread?

Never used the die grinder with a roll lock head. I only have experience with a regular angle grinder and have used both grinding disks (which can burn/over heat the steel if you're not careful) and with the flap sander disks. I doubt I will ever use anything else again. I am not sharpening for anyone but myself and a friend here and there. The disks are so easy to use and control. They do not remove a lot of metal at a time, and nowhere near what a bench grinder or even a good machine like a MM will in a pass. I have had no problems at all getting messed up blades back to sharp and in balance with my angle grinder and the flap sander disks yet either.

Here it is.

 

I guess I shouldn't admit this in this day and age of modern technology, but the only camera I have that can take video it a tiny little Kodak that was designed for snapping pics. The fact that it can take short videos is nice, but the quality isn't there for posting on YT. If I ever did though, I would disable the comments because I don't care what you post, or how intelligent you are, some drunk arse loser loudmouth will tell you how you are so wrong LOL

 

I guess I shouldn't admit this, but the only camera I have that can take video it a tiny little Kodak that was designed for snapping pics. The fact that it can take short videos is nice, but the quality isn't there for posting on YT. If I ever did though, I would disable the comments because I don't care what you post, or how intelligent you are, some drunk arse loser loudmouth will tell you how you are so wrong LOL

Well there are always going to be people like that. Especially on YouTube. You just have to let the community be the judge. Most of the time they actually do a pretty good job, but for as long as a video has views there is always that guy who is going to bash you.