Sharpening

WARNING!! SHARPENING CARBIDE CAN BE HAZARDOUS TO YOUR HEALTH. PLEASE CLICK HERE FOR A MATERIAL SAFETY DATA SHEET BEFORE SHARPENING. YOU MUST USE APPROVED BREATHING APPARATUS AND EYE PROTECTION WHEN SHARPENING ANY BRAND OF TUNGSTEN CARBIDE STUMP CUTTER TEETH. (Greenteeth datasheet.pdf)

Your Greenteeth® can be sharpened very easily. It is important that you only sharpen the dished carbide face of the tooth – not the side edge of the tooth. If you sharpen the side edge of the tooth it will decrease the diameter of the tooth and this will lead to poor stump cutting and premature wear of the nuts and pockets. It is also very important that you keep your teeth sharp. If you allow the teeth to wear away too much then the edge of the carbide cutting dish will round off. This will expose the tooth's locking nut to the stump, and the nuts may start to wear away. This may make it difficult to remove the tooth, and will send excessive vibration through the drive system of your machine. Remember, it is far better to give the teeth a quick sharpen more often, than it is to let them wear right away.

There are two methods you can use to sharpen your Greenteeth®...

Method One - the quick and easy way.  Make sure you always wear correct PPE - refer above. You will need an electric hand drill (a cordless drill is ideal), a standard 1/2hp bench grinder and a 4" (100mm) diameter x 1/4" (6mm) thick diamond grinding wheel. We sell the diamond wheels if you need one. Insert the tooth into the drill and with the drill spinning fast, gently push the dished carbide face of the spinning tooth up against the rotating 1/4" thick edge of the diamond wheel. Apply gentle pressure for approx 20 second then inspect the tooth. Repeat if need be. If you force the tooth into the wheel too hard it will build up heat and prematurely wear out the diamond wheel. Now your tooth is ready to go back into service and earn you money!

Method Two - a bit more involved, but overall a bit nicer to use if you sharpen a lot of teeth - Make sure you always wear correct PPE - refer above. Building a sharpening machine for Greenteeth® is quite simple; it takes just a few components and a little time. The components you will need are detailed below. Print Friendly Version Click here

1. ½” (13mm) Drill Press.
2. 1/2 h.p. (0.37kw) bench grinder.
3. ¾” (19mm) piece of plywood.
4. Drill chuck in the drill press
5. Dead Weight. (Approximately 1 kg or so.)
6. 4" (100mm) Diamond wheel with 1/4" (6mm) thickness – we sell these wheels if need be.

1. Cut a piece of ¾” plywood so that it is larger than the base of the bench grinder.
2. Mount the bench grinder to the plywood.
3. Mount the plywood to the drill press table.
4. Mount a diamond wheel or wheels on the bench grinder and tighten it or them down.
5. Swivel the table so the drill press chuck is centred over the diamond wheel. Remember to leave enough room between the wheel and the chuck for tooth removal and installation. Tighten the drill press table down.
6. Find a dead weight weighing about one kilogram and tie a rope to it. Tie the other end of the rope to one of the drill press handles. To increase or decrease down pressure on the tooth simply move the rope in or out on the handle.
7. With the machines shut off and not running lower the chucked tooth onto the diamond wheel. Check that you are happy the tooth is tight in the chuck and centred with the wheel and performs as it should.
8. If you are happy that everything is tight and performing as it should start the drill press and bench grinder and let the machines run for approx one minute before you lower the tooth onto the bench grinder.
9. If everything is running well go ahead and sharpen your first tooth. Let the 1kg dead weight act as the gentle down pressure needed to sharpen the tooth against the diamond wheel. Do not pull down too hard on the drill handle be gentle. At this point you will want to keep a pretty close eye on things to get a fundamental understanding of how the machines work and how long it takes to sharpen the teeth. Usually light pressure for approx one minute will be enough to sharpen a tooth.
10. Remember - it is better to give your Greenteeth® a light sharpen more often than it is to let them get badly rounded and blunt before sharpening - you will get more tooth life this way, and faster and smoother stump cutting.
11. Now, if you have an understanding of how the machines are running go ahead and sharpen your teeth. If you have any questions at all contact us via email or by phone and we will do our best to help you out.
12. Greenteeth® and Bandit Tree Equipment are not responsible for injuries regarding use or misuse of above tools and machines. If you are unsure of the operation or function of these sharpening suggestions do not build
    or use this sharpening device. THINK SAFETY AT ALL TIMES!