Killing a chain

[johnsopi]

I cut though a log and tried to cut the stone under it in half too. This put a lot of wear on my chain. I.ve tried to sharpen it but
it still won't cut. It is in the trash now.
This brings up the point of taking a chain to get it sharpened. The hardware store charges 7 to 8 $ with a 2 week turn around time.
Bailie's cheap chains are 12 to 13 $ plus shipping. It does not seem worth it to pay to have it sharpened. just my 2 cents.

 

[sl7vk]

It all depends on what size bar you're using..... And what kind of chain.

I tend to agree with you. I use a Husqvarna H46 which is a very aggressive chain, and my local Husky dealer only charges 15 dollars for it (16" chain). I hand file it, but once I can't hand file out the problems, off to the garbage, and put a new chain on.

I imagine that 28, or 32 inch chains cost a bit more though!

 

[smokinj]

around here my 28 in (35.00)chains are 6 bucks yo sharpen and the 20in (24.00)and are 5.00 It is easy to see why a good ele. sharpner are so much

 

[DiscoInferno]

I have sawed into camouflaged sandstone on several occasions, which certainly takes a chain out of hand-sharpening territory for me. I got the Harbor Freight cheapo grinder for $30 on sale and rescued several chains with it. Just about everything bad people say about that grinder is true, but it gets the job done and it's at least as precise as my hand filing. (Which I still do most of the time.)

 

[BJ64]

Hmmm..We must be special here. It cost 5 to have a chain sharpened and 8 to have it "tuned". Tuning is getting it sharpened and having the drags filed. I can attest that having a chain tuned is about as good as getting a new one even though it was about half filed away when I took them in. They cut straight and oh so smooth.

I cant drop the entire mess off. Go eat or whatever and pick them all up later in the day. Last week I had 4 chains tuned, carb adjusted on one saw, two saws blown out and cleaned, new air filter on the MS280 ($22), and what other tender loving touches those boys do all for $75.

I was happy.

 

[savageactor7]

I'm thinking you should be able to hand sharpen until the chains stretch out...unless you hit a rock or nails. $7 is way to much to sharpen a chain... unless it's shortened too cause now it like getting a new chain for half price.

 

[aandabooks]

On most chains, once you've taken away about 1/3 of the top plate, it is time to start taking down the rakers. Oregon has a cheap little tool for this. It comes with a flat file. If you're taking away alot of the cutting metal and not lowering the rakers, you're just going to be rubbing the wood.

I have recently gotten lazy and started doing my rakers on the bench grinder. Just a couple second touch and I've removed enough height. I don't recommend it to everyone though. If you get the rakers too low, the chain will become grabby and jump alot in the cut. Can become a very dangerous chain to run.

 

[RAY_PA]

I take one pass over my rakers with a flat file...every other time I sharpen the chain. And I do mean one pass...ONE full length pass with the flat file......works for me

 

[computeruser]

My formula -

Field touch-ups: File (freehand), but I usually just swap chains

Regular sharpening: Oregon grinder (round-filed), file (square-filed)

Rakers: File (freehand), while mounted in grinder.

I've been able to get a lot of use out of chains this way. With the top filed back to 20% of its original length and with the rakers properly lowered, chains sure cut quickly! And you can really get your money worth that way. Those not wanting to do it freehand (which works better for some chains than others, Oregon is particularly amenable to hand filing freehand) can get bar-mount clamp/guides, bench-mount clamp/guides (Stihl makes one that is great), or electric grinders. The NorthernTool (and now Bailey's) Chinese clone of the Oregon 511/Tecomec 136 is a decent value for $100, and with a bit of cleaning up of casting debris, poor finish, and some good wheels, it can produce great results. The actual Oregon (Tecomec, SpeedSharp) or MAXX grinders are great, too, especially if you have lots of chains to sharpen.

I agree that some chain types/lengths are cheap. But others, like the 135 drive link loops on my 42" bar, or 60" of .404, represent a significant investment per loop. Even the short ones cost money, and given that a nicely sharpened chain cuts better (often much better) than a new loop, it seems a waste to toss chains after they get used, or even after getting rocked out. And if you need unusual angles or do something that requires regular sharpening (milling, for example, where you're sharpening ever couple passes), getting skilled with a file or a grinder is a must.

The other thing that always comes up in sharpening threads is the cost of sharpening. A $7 sharpening job can be a steal or a waste, depending on who sharpens and how. In high school, I worked at a hardware store where I did all the sharpening, because I was the only one who knew anything about saws. Looking back, my work wasn't that good, but the stuff that the other employees and owner did was terrible. Some of the local saw shops will sharpen at 10c/drive link, and the results are impressive. As with most everything else in life, $$ is only half of the story...

 

[FatttFire]

I remeber when my father now 62, paid $1 to have the chains sharpened, and $2 for lawn mower blades!

I heard they charge $8 now!

I file by hand on site, if I hit a rock I don't even attempt to hand sharpen. I bought the Oregon Sharpenr out of N.T. and I love it worth every bit. You have to tune in the sharpener when you get it, but I can sharpen and "TUNE" a chain in 5 minutes. Its nice when you have about 25 chains, and think of all the money those things cost.

J

 

[BJ64]

I remeber when my father now 62, paid $1 to have the chains sharpened, and $2 for lawn mower blades!

I heard they charge $8 now!

I file by hand on site, if I hit a rock I don't even attempt to hand sharpen. I bought the Oregon Sharpenr out of N.T. and I love it worth every bit. You have to tune in the sharpener when you get it, but I can sharpen and "TUNE" a chain in 5 minutes. Its nice when you have about 25 chains, and think of all the money those things cost.

J

I keep looking at those sharpeners like you have. I bet they are the best solution to the rock hitting issue mentioned in the original post. I know if you sit with them long enough you can straiten them out with a file but your device makes it so much quicker.

 

[timm525]

I bought a cheap electric chain sharpener from Harbor Freight. I use it to sharpen my chains after a day of use. I also use a hand file to "touch up" my chain in the field.

Check into it. Not too expensive. Click --------------> Link

 

[acesover]

how hard is that grinder to use? is it worth it

 

[BJ64]

I bought a cheap electric chain sharpener from Harbor Freight. I use it to sharpen my chains after a day of use. I also use a hand file to "touch up" my chain in the field.

Check into it. Not too expensive. Click --------------> Link

I'm going to order one of these.

 

[DiscoInferno]

The major issues I've found with the cheap HF grinder:

1. The arm/hinge is plastic and flexes a lot. So where the wheel hits the tooth can vary by a couple mm or more just based on how careful you are to push straight down on the arm. It makes it harder to grind all the teeth to the same exact length, although I don't know how critical that really is.

2. The chain clamp doesn't always grab the drive links on either side of the tooth being sharpened very tightly, and the pressure from the wheel can pivot the cutter link up in the air. This screws up the grind angle . I took the clamp apart and put some tape on either side to make it grab the drive links tighter.

3. The chain stop is flimsy and badly positioned; on one side of the chain it misses the teeth completely unless you sort of brace it with a finger. Also, the same stop setting will result in quite different left and right cutter lengths, so you need to manually adjust it when switching sides.

4. You can only set one of the three angles (the main one, that's usually between 25 and 35 degrees). I have oregon chain that also calls for the file to be held 10 or 15 degrees below horizontal, but on the grinder I can only do what I presume is the equivalent of horizontal.

For me it's worth it, as I have saved my $30 back by fixing rocked chains or chains that I've hand-sharpened unevenly, but I don't use it enough to justify a better one.

 

[kevin j]

search here and on the aboristsite.com.
Many discussions of the cheap ones.
General consensus was that the plastic HF one was not consistent and too flexible, too much slack in the mechanism, and general POS. The Northern Tool was also a china copy, but of metal, and seemed to have good reviews for about $100.

I just hand file every tank or two, and take to the store for grinding when rocked or find steel. If I cut every week, I'd have a grinder though, just for controlling who does the grind and not having the store take off so much or blue the chain. I have a good store here, very lightly grind, but apparently that is rare.


k

 

[BJ64]

The major issues I've found with the cheap HF grinder:

1. The arm/hinge is plastic and flexes a lot. So where the wheel hits the tooth can vary by a couple mm or more just based on how careful you are to push straight down on the arm. It makes it harder to grind all the teeth to the same exact length, although I don't know how critical that really is.

2. The chain clamp doesn't always grab the drive links on either side of the tooth being sharpened very tightly, and the pressure from the wheel can pivot the cutter link up in the air. This screws up the grind angle . I took the clamp apart and put some tape on either side to make it grab the drive links tighter.

3. The chain stop is flimsy and badly positioned; on one side of the chain it misses the teeth completely unless you sort of brace it with a finger. Also, the same stop setting will result in quite different left and right cutter lengths, so you need to manually adjust it when switching sides.

4. You can only set one of the three angles (the main one, that's usually between 25 and 35 degrees). I have oregon chain that also calls for the file to be held 10 or 15 degrees below horizontal, but on the grinder I can only do what I presume is the equivalent of horizontal.

For me it's worth it, as I have saved my $30 back by fixing rocked chains or chains that I've hand-sharpened unevenly, but I don't use it enough to justify a better one.

Thanks for the honest review.

And I agree w/ Kevin J, folks that do a light grind are rare. I suspect some shops grind away because they are going to sell us another chain any way.