saw sharpening machine?

[Stamford sugarmaker]

I just had a bad run of hitting rocks- 3 times in about 2 months. Since I also heat with wood, I cut a fair amount of hardwood. I can usually go quite a while before it needs to be sharpened, so it's easier to just bring the chain to the local saw guy and have him do it for five bucks. In the past I've done it myself by hand but the saw guy does a much better job.

I've tried a jig type bar mounted unit, I wasn't crazy about it. Although I don't want to spend big bucks on a commercial rig, I would consider buying a homeowner's-type unit if someone knows about a user friendly reasonably priced machine- maybe a hunnert bucks or so.

Any ideas?

thanks, Peter

[upsmapleman]

I use a small hand held tool that looks like a Dremel tool. It has a grinding stone and runs off a 12 volt battery. Touches up a saw pretty quick. Once or twice a year I take it to a saw shop to get it done on a machine. Tractor Supply plus your saw shop usually carry one they run $30 to $40.

Dale

[maple flats]

I use a $400 grinder, works very well. The problem with low priced grinders is that they flex too much and that flex screws up the chain as angles wander. My suggestion is to try a Husky jig. They do a good job, accurate and quick. I used one a few years before arthritus made it too painful to sharpen 6 or 8 chains in a session. I now sharpen 10-12 at a time on my grinder. Northern Equipment and Harbor freight carry cheap ones but they will flex.
If you don't want to buy the jig I suggest you get a bunch more chains and then save up dull ones until you have about half or more of your stock dulled and take them to the saw shop. The biggest problem with most saw shop guys is that they grind too much at a time. It is not necessary to remove a lot and all teeth do not need to be the same length. The proper way to sharpen a chain is to take each tooth individually and grind just until the tooth is sharp.
I used to file the same number of strokes until I took 2 full days of training called "The Game of Logging". That is a course many workman's comp insurers require for all professional loggers. I do not have workman's comp but I took the classes even though I had run a chainsaw and felled trees for about 40 years at the time. I learned a lot in the hands on class. One thing was hand sharpening the saw. They instructed that you only need to file a chain until it is sharp, don't count strokes. To hand file we were taught to free hand it. On the tooth of Oregon chains is a line. Just stay parallel to that line and hold the tilt angle approximately to spec, fairly close is good enough on tilt angle but that line must be parallel. Many use a file long after it is dull. My smaller saw is a 20" bar length, a file could do 3 or 4 sharpenings before it was dull. To see that, put a piece of white paper or cardboard under the bar when you sharpen. As you stroke you should see a good amount of filings off at each stroke, if not get a new file. A dull file will change the temper of the cutting edge too easily. I used to buy files in dozen packs. Try Bailysonline.com or Madsen's saw shop to buy them. A dozen at your local TSC or similar would cost about 2x or more what you can get them for online even with freight. Even cheaper is to go to a logging show like the NYS Woodsmans Field Days or other similar show, where venders sell at their cheapest prices of the year. Always buy files of a name brand such as Pferd or Oregon. Cheapo knock offs are a waste of your hard earned $, they will not sharpen well even when new. Use this link to see a demo of the guide http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ipoud-zzXT8

[Tweegs]

Got this one for Christmas:

http://www.tractorsupply.com/timber-tuff-trade-bench-or-wall-mount-electric-chainsaw-chain-sharpener-3990212

Sharpened one chain with it yesterday, seems to work OK.
The instructions aren't the greatest, but with the saw blade table in the back of the book and your old chain, it wasn't that hard to figure it out.

[buckeye gold]

I too file mine by feel and sight, i follow the line on the teeth. I only buy good chains and good files. I'm not the best at it, but I'm lucky my wife's family are loggers and a couple of them can hone a saw to cut like a surgical tool. when I get them screwed up I hit up the in-laws for a sharpening. I typically cut my drags just a bit lower than the books say....I like seeing those big chips come out of that log, LOL. You should be able to feel a file cutting if it's good. I would guess most non-professionals use a file wayyyy too long. I want my saw to cut from the weight of the saw and a little pressure, I'm too old and broken up to endure pushing a saw through wood. If you pushing it's not sharp!

I see some say they only sharpen occasionally through a season, that puzzles me as I will touch mine up after two or three days of cutting. Mostly when it starts slowing up on the plunge of the cut. I bet there are some working way too hard at cutting their wood. If you stop and touch a saw up it only takes two or three passes of a file and you aren't heating up your teeth and bar when they're cutting good. The teeth on that saw shouldn't be blue.

[Stamford sugarmaker]

This website is great. I learned a lot from all of your knowledge and extensive replies. Thanks. The first thing I learned is that I cut a LOT less wood than you guys.

It makes sense for me to have a sharp saw, but it doesn't make sense to spend several hundred bucks on a sharpener. At 5 or 7 bucks a whack, I can have the saw guy do it a lotta times for that money. In a good year, I bring it to him maybe 3 or 4 times, with me touching it up a few times in between. I just gotta stay away from the rocks!


I'm thinking now I might go for either that dremel-type tool (Oregon Sure Sharp electric) or the guide in the video that maple flats posted.

Your thoughts?

Peter

[Typical8]

Don't forget to nock your rakers down. This is what sets your cutting depth. That is the overlooked part of keeping a saw sharp is proper raker deep. I use a raker gauge, they sell them at the saw shops, My is just a flat piece of SS that you set on top of the chain. So after 3 - 4 filings I will nock my rakers down with a flat file. Follow the directions, the gauge sits a a slight angle on chain tooth so you get proper cutting depth at every tooth and the raker is filed at a slight angle.

I'm with Maple Flats, take the chain saw training class. They cover everything from filing to felling.

[lmathews]

I sharpen by hand as well, but if you hit rocks or any metal you can't really ever get them back to a good edge by hand.I went and bought an electric sharpener from harbor freight,$49.00,works great.If I hit any objects that roll the point on the chisel this machine brings it back a lot faster than what a person can do by hand,and it doesn't take away as much of the tooth.It came with good instructions and how to info.Also pending if you get chain bulk,a lot of times the chain will come with instructions.
Good luck

[Stamford sugarmaker]

lmathews,

Did you get this one: http://www.harborfreight.com/electric-chain-saw-sharpener-68221.html


or this one: http://www.harborfreight.com/electric-chain-saw-sharpener-93213.html ?

They both look pretty good but I'd like to get the one that a real person has used and likes. You are real, right? (:

I have also heard good things about those training classes. I wished I had taken one thirty years ago, but I suppose it's never too late.

Peter

[buckeye gold]

You are absolutely correct Imathews a rolled point is hard to recover from. If you've went ahead and ran it enough to heat it up and temper the teeth then the chain is about shot. A rolled chisel edge is best ground down by machine. If my chain is 2/3rds gone or more I'll often just replace the chain, if the bur is too big. I try not to do such things, but I often cut cull wood along old field edges where there used to be old fences and old farmers had a habit of hanging or nailing things in trees. So your whizzing right along and all of a sudden sparks fly...I been known to let a non Christian comment slip at those times too. I imagine we all been there and done that. The most ironic thing to cut into is an old spile that was left.

[Dennis H.]

Man it sounds like I sharpen my chain way to often. I will hit it with a file about every second tank of gas.

I haven't taken a chain to get machine sharpened it quite some time.
My father does small engine repair and he has an oregon bench sharpener, does a real fine job once setup to you chain but a real pain to take the chains over when I need to run them thru the sharpener.

About the harbor freight shapeners, a friend picked one up with one of those coupons, paid next to nothing for it. He told me that it will do the job but since it is made of plastic you have to be very careful how to use it. He also noted that there was a little flexing in the sharpener, again he said if you go slow the sharpener isn't that bad.

[jluckay]

check out the oregon website. (powersharp). i have used it & it works great! the blade is designed different, no rake or hook. total cost was around $70.00. but well worth it. you can sharpen the blade razor sharp in 2-3 seconds. i belive thier is a demo video on thier website! good luck!

[lmathews]

This is the sharpener that I have.However they both look very similar.As I stated before I believe it is a good machine for the price.I do not see the flex that people are talking about.It is a straight down cut and the chain just sits there while it is sharpened.I like mine and would definitely buy it again.
Yes I am real :)
Good Luck
http://www.harborfreight.com/electric-chain-saw-sharpener-93213.html

[Stamford sugarmaker]

Thanks, I'll give that one a try!

Peter

[jluckay]

web site your looking for. www.oregonchain.com then go to us homeowner!

[Stamford sugarmaker]

That power sharp device looks pretty cool- almost too good to be true. They don't seem to have a unit for my 16" Husky, though.

Peter

[wiam]

I have looked at the power sharp and I do not believe it is available for 3/8 chain. It is a homeowner system. You would be better off to just learn to file a saw if you are cutting much wood. I have never ground a chain so maybe I do not know what I am missing. In high school my shop teacher taught us how to sharpen and told us if you did not have to hold the saw up it was not sharp enough.

[sugaringman85]

only problem with a grinder for chains is the issue with the grinder hardning the tooth to much and is nearly impossible to sharpen by hand afterwards!

[CharlieVT]

I changed from hand filing to a cheap sharpener a few years ago. Bought the cheapest one around from Harbor Freight, not because I believe in buying cheap tools, but I picked up the sharpener on sale for less than $30 so I thought I give it a try. Having a little arthritis and a touch of carpal-tunnel it sure makes chain maintenance easier.

This sharpener does have some flex to it but I have found that I can get consistent results with it, just have to pay attention; hold the chop arm firmly and don't try to grind too fast. I'm sure it isn't as precise as a professional machine, but it works okay for me. For someone sensitive to the cost of a professional sharpener, this might be a good option.

I also use it for taking down the rakers by setting the depth limiter using a raker gauge as a reference and then pulling the rakers under the grinding wheel while holding the grinding wheel down.

5098

I too occasionally hit a rock, I try pretty hard not to do that but it happens. Those burs grind out pretty quickly with the sharper. It is at the expense of the tooth and shortens the life of the chain but it gets the chain cutting again pretty quickly.

[lastwoodsman]

I agree with CharlieVT. I use the harbor freight one and like it. I see Menards and harbor freight now carry a little heavier one which I would buy if my little orange one gives up.
But ditto Charlie

Woodsman

[Stamford sugarmaker]

Apparently HF has changed the little orange one to a heavier dark red one. I bought it but haven't used it yet because I am awaiting a jug and piston kit to rebuild my Husqvarna.

I will follow the advice given above by paying attention and going easy on it.

Peter

[Stamford sugarmaker]

35 years! 35 stinkin years !!!

I started this thread last Christmas and today I finally set up and used the Harbor Freight unit mentioned above. For 35 years I have been screwing around taking the saw to be sharpened or doing a shi##y job all by myself. Today I learned I shoulda got one of these things years ago. It was easy to set up, easy to use, and sharpened as well as if not better than the saw shop guy. The saw cuts great and if anyone is agonizing over spending a lousy $40 bucks on something like this you are crazy. Take it from one who knows...

Peter

[sutphenj]

This looks to be a good portable unit to take in the bush if your not great at hand filing. www.timberlinesharpener.com.

[Homestead Maple]

I am going to buy one of these. Good quality, easy to set up, and accurate sharpening.
This looks to be a good portable unit to take in the bush if your not great at hand filing. www.timberlinesharpener.com.