Monday, November 20, 2017

Landis 5 in 1 DIY Blade Sharpening

Several years ago I made a Dremmel grinder attachment for my lathe to sharpen small tools.
This week I brought out my Landis trimmer and one of the reasons I put it away was because it didn't cut cleanly.


I made the Herculean effort to get the blade off of the shaft so I could sharpen it using my DIY Sherline sharpening system.

Removing these blades must be done carefully, the Left Hand thread is always confusing, they are hard to hold, and easily damaged.

I set an angle that would work for both the front and back side of the blade.
This set up required a custom holder for the blade, not too hard to make.
There seem to be two thread sizes for 5 in 1; 7/16-20, and 1/2-20, both Left Hand and both pretty rare.
Not having either of these what I do is make a holder out of a piece of steel Hex.
I turn down one end to a diameter that just interferes with the threads.
The 1/4-20 screw holds the blade hard onto the holder.


Grinding is about taking 0.001" inch at a time VERY slowly,  let the wheel cut for 30 seconds or more as you move towards the finished edge.

The cutting difference is great! If you find that your 5 in 1 is not cutting all the way thru it is getting dull.

2 comments:

  1. Hi Tom, I was about to order a new blade when I read your post here. How was the blade fastened to this sharpening system you mention, i.e. did you need a machine a new fitting? Was it necessary to apply that 3-in-1 oil in the background to combat heat from grinding the blade?

    Wright

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    1. Hi, those $90 blades are hard to swallow aren't they? Ha!
      I added a pic of the holder, if you have a machinist friend this is easy stuff, otherwise improvising might not yield satisfactory results.
      No oil used, slow light grinding will not need coolant.
      You can always send it to me and I'll sweeten it up for you

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