Sharpening stump grinder teeth

Hello John ,

I've been removing Trees and stumps for over 20 years. I have yet to find a better way to sharpen carbide teeth than how I've been doing it. The simple way is to use a grinder with two different wheels on it, at two slightly different angles on the front resting plate. Use the first wheel made of carborundum to grind the shank of the tooth away from the bit at a 120 degree angle until the area being ground comes in contact with the carbide, then stop. Don't overheat it, keep dipping it into water. Then use an Industrial Green (diamond impregnated) wheel at a 95 degree angle to the bit so the shank stays clear of the stump and all that will touch the wood will be the bit. You may have to repeat this several times to accomplish a good sharp tool. Try not to let the green wheel come in contact with the shank of the tooth. The soft metal eats it up. And as they can cost a considerable amount of money, it pays to be as careful as you can. However, I find that by doing it the way I have just explained, if I replace the teeth before they get too worn, I can sharpen them as many as 3 times before they're no good any more. This method has saved me a small fortune over the years and still is.

Although this can take some time to sharpen a full set of teeth, I try to keep enough ready to change at least the pairs that protrude from the cutting wheel the furthest at least twice a day. Then I use bad weather days as a time to sharpen more. Remember to wear safety glasses and even more important a GOOD filter for breathing as the dust from this operation is lethal........

Good luck, hope I was of help,

I have been grinding stumps since 1976 have looked around for YEARS for a handheld tooth dressing device - I use a bench grinder with a greenwheel and a normal metal wheel -- rest it on my knees and sit on a stool behind the machine and dress the teeth in place- obviously not the safest way to do it but I have never been injured and it saves about an hour vs removing all the teeth. The grinding wheel for the carbide is often called a greenwheel. If someone knows of a handheld sharpening device that will dress the carbide ends of the teeth please let me know.

Thorvie International [thorvie.com] makes a machine just for sharpening stump Grinder teeth. It has a special form diamond wheel for grinding the bit and the carbide to the original shape. It is a little expensive but it will sharpen thousands of teeth with only occasional washing to clean the sap etc that builds up in the wheel. You do have to take the teeth out of the stump grinder to sharpen them.