RE-SHARPENING VS BUYING NEW TOOLS

Re-sharpening vs buying new tools that is one of the common dilemmas. So is it economical and worthwhile to get your tools sharpened, or are you better off just buying new ones? Should you sharpen or toss, repair or replace? There are two distinct types of cutting tools manufactured, each having their distinct place in industry, namely Disposable and Serviceable/Sharpenable. 

Disposable tools, as their name suggests, are ‘use and discard’ tools. They are not manufactured to be serviced and their specifications and tolerances do not allow for it. They have their distinct place in the certain industries where often there is a risk of tools being prematurely destroyed by impacting steel fastenings and fixings or cutting highly abrasive materials such as gib board or concrete encrusted timber. They also are widely used by home handymen for ‘one off’ jobs. With these tools, when they’re blunt, bent or damaged, they are not worth servicing as the cost of servicing will be similar to the cost of a new tool.

Serviceable tools, on the other hand, are designed and manufactured with long service life in mind. Their raw material is of superior specification and their manufacturing tolerances are deliberately designed to help the tool ‘last the distance’ and be sharpened without losing cut quality.

Let’s discuss circular sawblades. Yes, it usually is worthwhile sharpening your blades. Even if the blade is slightly dished, if it has heat marks, if it has no more than 10-15% of its tips missing or broken, then sharpening is a good, economical option. Because our sharpening is done on CNC grinders rather than NC or hand fed grinders, the original cutting angles are exactly replicated so your resharpened blades consistently work like new ones. After your sawblades go through our ultrasonic cleaning process, our saw doctors will evaluate each saw before they start and if the blade has too many tips to be replaced for it to be economical, it’s marked as NWR (Not Worth Repair) and you are notified with an option for a replacement blade.

Solid tungsten CNC cutters can be sharpened easily. Although a lot are sharpened, most users don’t bother sharpening them. Sharpened tungsten tools don’t last as well as new tools and the diameter does change slightly meaning that the offsets and parameters on your CNC need to be changed for each tool. This extra hassle and also the fact that most get such a good lot of cutting from their new tool, means that only a small percentage of tungsten CNC tools are sharpened and most go straight into our recycling service once used. Undamaged Diamond cutters that have a resharpenable diamond tip are usually worth sharpening to get extra life from.

What about bandsaw blades? Having your industrial bandsaw blades sharpened is definitely worthwhile! In fact, sharpened blades often perform better than new ones. It is, however, usually uneconomic to reweld and sharpen a bandsaw blade unless it is over 25mm wide. Setting and sharpening is only economical on blades 19mm and wider. If your blade needs welding, setting, and sharpening, a new blade is the better economic option.
As there are a lot of cheap 3-wheel bandsaws sold, the replacement blades for these machines are very cheap and it is uneconomic to repair them at all.

Are router bits serviceable? Yes! After going through our ultrasonic cleaning process, blunt but undamaged/Unchipped industrial quality router bits are evaluated to ensure they are worth servicing. We often need to replace bearings that aren’t running free as well.

Buzzer and Thicknesser knives, Planer knives can be sharpened, saving you considerable expense. With our knife grinders, knives are ground in their sets, submerged in a chamber of emulsified grinding coolant. This way, your valued High Speed Steel knives cannot be overheated, they maintain their balance and are polish finished. We also sharpen Tungsten Carbide Knives.

At Tungsten & Tool we offer a premium, speedy, accurate and freight free* sharpening service that keeps your operation working smoother and smarter wherever you are based in New Zealand.

We sharpen a huge range of tools including:
•Circular Sawblade
•Router Bits
•Planer & Thicknesser Blades
•Milling Blades
•CNC Spiral & Compression Cutters
•Bandsaw Blades
•Drilling & Boring Tools
•Holesaws
•PCD Diamond Tooling
•Chipper Knives
•Granulator Knives
•Moulder Heads
•Stump Grinding Tips
•Annular Rotabroach Cutters and more

READY TO GIVE OUR SHARPENING EXPRESS SERVICE A TRY? 
An easy, hassle-free way of having your tooling expertly serviced. Your tools will be sharpened back to the latest specifications on the up-to-date equipment by industry experts. Request your sharpening pick up HERE.

Watch our video and get your tools sharpened today!

*Min. servicing value $100 + GST.