Oregon Powersharp

[Flatbedford]

Anybody else see this?
http://www.powersharp.com/default.asp
Looks interesting. Seems like they are marketing it to the occasional use / homeowner type. What do you all think?

 

[smokinj]

Thats what it looks like I put in for the email updates.

 

[blades]

From the look of it it grinds down the thickness of the top of the tooth, Not my idea of the best way. get file and a guide you will be better off. Likely cheaper also as I am sure that is for a specific chain only which is going to have a premium price.

 

[Gooserider]

Interesting "blast from the past" - I seem to recall that there was a "self sharpening" saw from Sears back in the late 60's / early 70's that worked the same way, or perhaps should be said "not worked" except that it was sharpened with a lever on the saw itself...

I notice that at this point it appears to be somewhat "vaporware" as the site link just has a sign-up for e-mail in the places where you should be seeing application lists and dealer locators.

Looks like a dedicated chain, plus dedicated guidebar. The chain looks like a bumper-link style safety chain. The site suggested chain life of 5-15 sharpenings - which seems awfully short if one sharpens after every tank like I currently do, but possibly if they intend for you to run it until the chain is REALLY dull, and then sharpen?

Chains come with the stone, which must be replaced with every chain, so that might get expensive... It also looks like the bars are packaged with the sharpener so that might also get expensive...

Oregon also needs to read their own safety manuals - if you watch their video, the guy demonstrating the evils of having to hand file or machine sharpen a chain is doing so with no gloves...

Could be interesting, but I would definitely put it in the "wait and see" category, to see if it stays in existence as a product, and how the serious cutting people respond to it... (I don't want to be a beta-tester for it...)

At any rate, thanks for the link Flatbed...

Gooserider

 

[PJF1313]

Interesting "blast from the past" - I seem to recall that there was a "self sharpening" saw from Sears back in the late 60's / early 70's that worked the same way, or perhaps should be said "not worked" except that it was sharpened with a lever on the saw itself...


Gooserider

Yes, I do remember a "home owner" saw that had the feature (failure?!) Either was, like you said, a Sears, or maybe a Mac. I do believe the housing was black in color and and yellow writing along the line of "Insta-Sharp" or something. I think is was a stone on the chain cover that was used by a button. All it did was make a shower of sparks...

 

[savageactor7]

I'm immediately put off and made suspicious by the propaganda like lies and deception of the video.

Totally FUBAR imo

pos

Not that my harsh criticism is intended in any way to put any poster that may like this in an unfavorable light.

 

[Flatbedford]

I missed the video link before. I think it will appeal to a lot of people. There are some people that don't want to buy the tools, as cheap as they are, and do things like sharpen the saw themselves. Lots of people never even open the hoods of their cars! To most of us here, myself included, this seems like a silly gimmick, but if my wife had to start cutting all our wood, she would buy the Powersharp setup. So would my brother in law, and that would be good for me.

 

[WoodMann]

Hmm, guess that Sears self- sharpening saw was a bit B4 my time. Interesting gadget, but I'm good, thanks..........

 

[webie]

Interesting "blast from the past" - I seem to recall that there was a "self sharpening" saw from Sears back in the late 60's / early 70's that worked the same way, or perhaps should be said "not worked" except that it was sharpened with a lever on the saw itself...


Gooserider

Yes, I do remember a "home owner" saw that had the feature (failure?!) Either was, like you said, a Sears, or maybe a Mac. I do believe the housing was black in color and and yellow writing along the line of "Insta-Sharp" or something. I think is was a stone on the chain cover that was used by a button. All it did was make a shower of sparks...

yes I remember it too , Think it was like late 70's and the stone was back under the chain guard , what brand I don't remember . I know it didnt work very well back then but I wouldnt rule things out now , we are some 40 years later ( god I am old )

 

[Gooserider]

Interesting "blast from the past" - I seem to recall that there was a "self sharpening" saw from Sears back in the late 60's / early 70's that worked the same way, or perhaps should be said "not worked" except that it was sharpened with a lever on the saw itself...


Gooserider

Yes, I do remember a "home owner" saw that had the feature (failure?!) Either was, like you said, a Sears, or maybe a Mac. I do believe the housing was black in color and and yellow writing along the line of "Insta-Sharp" or something. I think is was a stone on the chain cover that was used by a button. All it did was make a shower of sparks...

yes I remember it too , Think it was like late 70's and the stone was back under the chain guard , what brand I don't remember . I know it didnt work very well back then but I wouldnt rule things out now , we are some 40 years later ( god I am old )

Well, I remember helping a neighbor take down some trees at our summer place back when I was HS or Jr. HS age - and the neighbor having a newly purchased saw with that feature, which is why I remember the time frame... I graduated from HS and left home in '75, and I'm pretty sure it was at least a couple years earlier than that - so had to be at least early 70's. (note, I was helping horse the rounds, not swinging the saw...)

As I recall the results weren't terribly impressive, as we got lots of sparks but the chain didn't get much sharper....

Gooserider

 

[DanCorcoran]

I don't know if Sears made a gasoline model, but this is the electric version that belonged to my dad. It is a Sears 14", 1 7/8 HP, model 315-34030. My guess is that he probably bought and used it in the 1960s. It says "Power Sharp" on the side. You pull out the large black knob to sharpen it, but the stone is missing from this one (the knob pulls in and out, but doesn't do anything). It is a very powerful little saw and runs like a champ.

 

[fyrwoodguy]

WOW....sure is a blast from the past.
it don't matter which end of the guide bar you put that sharpener on...IT STILL DON'T WORK !
i have been told by some of the "elders" that it only worked if there were no grooves in the sharpening stone :-/
it did'nt work then, i'll bet it don't now.
it will have a limited market though.

 

[Nonprophet]

Well, Oregon seems to put out quality product in my book, so if they're putting their name behind it and selling it I'd imagine it's the real deal. However only 5-15 sharpenings per chain can really add up, especially when you figure that the "special" chain is probably priced at a premium to begin with. Still, I'd be curious to try it, maybe it's the next great thing! lol


NP

 

[Gooserider]

Nonprophet: Well, Oregon seems to put out quality product in my book, so if they’re putting their name behind it and selling it I’d imagine it’s the real deal. However only 5-15 sharpenings per chain can really add up, especially when you figure that the “special” chain is probably priced at a premium to begin with. Still, I’d be curious to try it, maybe it’s the next great thing! lol

I could be wrong, but I think Oregon was the maker of the chains on that first line of Sears saws that I mentioned. In fact, I think they even still list that chain in their catalog... I don't have my Oregon book handy to verify, but I remember seeing it there, with mention that it was only suitable for those few saws with the "self sharpen" feature.

fyrwoodguy: WOW….sure is a blast from the past.
it don’t matter which end of the guide bar you put that sharpener on…IT STILL DON’T WORK !
i have been told by some of the “elders” that it only worked if there were no grooves in the sharpening stone hmmm
it did’nt work then, i’ll bet it don’t now.
it will have a limited market though.

You might be right about the grooved stone, although it looks like Oregon is trying to address this with the new chain - they mention that there is a special "diamond dresser" tooth that takes the place of one of the regular cutters, and is supposed to keep the stone trued up... It also sounds like by replacing the stone with every chain they are attempting to limit the stone wear. I suspect from looking at the pictures, that it will be a combination of the stone life and the dresser tooth life that are the limiting factor on how many sharpenings one gets out of the chain. My experience with (cheap) diamond Dremel type bits on steel, is that the diamonds wear / come off fairly fast, and render the bit useless. The pink stone in the sharpener looks like a fairly soft one, and isn't a very thick layer, so I'd expect that either the "dresser" tooth would wear out and the stone would get a groove, or the stone would wear down to the metal shoe before the cutters on the chain actually wore out... But it appears that there is no alternative way to sharpen the chain...

What I wonder is how the chain would handle a hunk of metal in the log, or a hard rock contact - and if it would then sharpen back up or not...

However I can see it having a place in the market - mostly the "Harry Homeowner" types, that have a saw they only use occasionally for yard cleanup, storm damage, and that type of thing. Even though Oregon seemed to be marketing towards the pro user in their video, I don't see them adopting it very readily.

Gooserider

 

[DanCorcoran]

The Sears electric chainsaw in the photos has an Oregon bar and chain. As far as I know, they are the originals.

 

[mellow]

If I can find a spare $100.00 I would buy this in a heartbeat. There is a really good thread about it at: http://www.arboristsite.com/showthread.php?t=125402

Looks like this time it is the real deal.

Kits are showing up on ebay: http://cgi.ebay.com/OREGON-18-Power...193?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item4aa235fd79