Thread: Chainsaw sharpening

I have tried all the Different Sharpeners over the Years.I own a Proper Bench Mount Sharpener, It burns the blade and takes to much off. I have a Dremel type unit but was not impressed with it. For the Past 2 Years I have been using File and a Little Jig that Sits over the Bar. It has a roller on each side to stop the file going to low. It costs about $20.00 and is made by Husqvarna. If you are interested I can work out how to put a photo up.

Be careful with those jigs. Each brand of chain is a little different in dimesions. They will not work on Stihl chain unless you modify the depth of the gauge slots.

what ive done is purchased two 240v grinders and mounted one at each end of a piece of 90 x45 pine,i then mount this piece of timber in a vice,one grinder is set for left teeth and all left teeth are done then swap chain to right tooth set grinder and do right teeth.benefits are 1.the angle is not changed from side to side so tooth metal loss is very minimal.2the machine duty cycles are low so having two machines keeps them cooler.3the backstop on each machine once set does not have to be adjusted as often and the spring in the frame of the grinder allows the sharpen to happen with the slightest of pressure.it all works very well and i reckon the teeth are often sharper and last longer then when the chain is brand new,i think the grit size on the wheel is smaller and there fore a finer sharpen with a more polished cutting face eventuates.cheers danny.

Just a quick comment on grinders. I have an Oregon unit and I use it extensively. The problem with "burning" or bluing and hence softening of the teeth is a real one, but it can be addressed in 2 ways. The first is to take a small bite, minimise the time the grinder is in contact with each tooth and do as many passes as necessary, adjusting each time, which is the method I use. As I don't keep running a blunt chain if I can help it, this usually means 2 passes at most.

the other alternative, which some of the loppers I know are using is to purchase a diamond grinding disk, which doesn't tend to create the same friction heating as the aluminium oxide ones. They're not cheap though, which is why I haven't taken the plunge.

I have an Oregon lookalike and Exador is right, very small passes avoids the blue, but you should always only take the absolute minimum to sharpen your chain.

Have watched this for a while again and I'd offer the following in comment:

I always believed that having served an electro-mechanical apprenticeship, I had the skills to hand sharpen saw chain and all my circular saw blades. One gains a feel for filing after sizing and squaring steel blocks to +/- 10 thou. Always done my chains by hand in the field or the workshop with results I was not unhappy with although every so often I would get a result that wanted to cut like a french curve.

Now having used a 4 axis 240V electric saw chain sharpener I can report that I'm an idiot for not having used one earlier .

You can wind up with excess material removal with a dremel because you are still relying on your individual ability to hand control all the angles required and no control over tooth length. Hand sharpening has the same weakness. The grinder removes that.

Electric grinders remove too much material and can burn the teeth! NO! The operator of the tool can cause that NOT the grinder. If that is the problem you probably have similar problems sharpening a chisel or plane blade on a grinder. Softly, softly monkey - when you set up with a grinding machine you can find the shortest tooth and set the grind position - any longer teeth will be obvious as you start to grind - touch it and continue on - keep going gently til every tooth remaining cool gets to a point where there is no significant grind on the measured grind. If you don't try and grind every tooth to size on every pass then you won't have a problem.

Love the grinder and I still will file in the field but pass a poorly performing chain across the grinder at the end of the day and know that I've got reliable sharp chain to fit at any time.

My 2c worth.

Jamie

Absolutely spot on, Jamie.

where do I get one of them sharpeners Jamie ?.

Got mine from Big Boyz Toyz.

I have no affilliations or interests just responding to a direct question. There may well be other suppliers and/or prices - I bought on my own preferences which may not be the same as yours.

Jamie

Originally Posted by barnsey

.... 4 axis ...

Yeah thought that too!
Means you can adjust settings in 4 aspects.

1. Cutter angle
2. Rake
3. Chain cutter length
4. Depth of cut including raker height

Not 4 planes really but all are relevant in the scheme of things.

Jamie

Originally Posted by barnsey

Yeah thought that too!
Means you can adjust settings in 4 aspects.

1. Cutter angle
2. Rake
3. Chain cutter length
4. Depth of cut including raker height

Not 4 planes really but all are relevant in the scheme of things.

Jamie

Two are rotations and two are displacements.

I'm a die hard hand filing fan (I do use a file guide) mainly because I can touch up on the mill faster than I can swap out chains and if I had to swap chains I'd need about a dozen chains for each bar. I do use a grinder to get damaged chains back into shape and I used to grind them into shape at the end of the day but the more I file the better I get and find myself rarely use a grinder.

Yeah, it's a perennial so time for another run.

I got a jig, knock off of the Oregon, to mount on the bar but there's lots of slop and the results are variable.

At least one of you appears to have bought a powered grinder, a copy of an Oregon it seems, from Biggerboyztoyz. eBay Australia: Buy new & used fashion, electronics & home d

Any comments on this or similar from those who've used one would be welcome.

I understand the risk of taking too much off and of bluing the teeth due to being hamfisted and there appears to be ways of avoiding this.

The CS only gets occasional but intensive use to cut up and block down logs for bowl blanks; there's a spare chain so downtime is not an issue. That ebay unit would pay for itself in 10 sharpenings that I would otherwise get the local mower place to do. The tech has to be similar but he has a diamond wheel.

If you are going to use a grinder get the proper oregon grinder or the stihl grinder but brace yourself cos their not cheap if you arnt going to use them heaps then again if you are going to get a cheap one and wreak good chains then that aint cheap either.

I do have one of the tachomech chain grinders and they leave alot to be desired but as bobl said I only use mine to "fix" chains not to make them sharp

I love hand filing chains and never get tired or bored of it especially when im getting paid to do it and do it properly.

Cheers Bob