Electric Chain Saw Sharpener-inquiry on opinions

[lroberge]

Greetings! I want to know if anyone has used an Electric Chain Saw Sharpener for their chain saw chains.

I am thinking of buying one from Harbor Freight.

I have two chain saws and instead of bothering my dad or using a hand file, I thought this tool (the sharpener) would be a valuable tool.

Has any one used one? Can anyone give me their opinion about them?

I would appreciate any and all advice.

Best wishes.

Lawrence

 

[fyrwoodguy]

you'll be better off sharpening with regular chain saw round file. and learning to keep a new one around at all times.

 

[John_M]

My limited experience has me agreeing with fyrwoodguy.

Two days ago I sharpened my first chain in many years. My right hand held the plastic handled 3/16" file and my left hand supported the side of the cutter. Just two or three very light swipes with the file from inside to outside on each cutter and the job was finished. I use a red magic marker to mark the first link so I know where I started. Keep the file level and follow the guide or "lubber" line on the cutter for the proper angle. The entire process took 3-4 minutes and the saw cut smooth and straight. I did this with the saw on the lowered tail gate of my JD Gator which allows a very comfortable sharpening position.

The only reason I do not use an electric sharpener is ignorance and lack of confidence on my part. It seems to me that some cutters require a straight cut and others require a radius cut. I do not see how electric sharpeners (except the Dremel) can make a radius cut. It is also quite probable that I could easily remove too much metal with an electric bench sharpener and ruin the chain or shorten its life by more than half.

This is only my opinion based on my limited experience. Some others, who have a whole lot more experience and talent than I will quickly and rightly disagree with my thoughts on the subject.

Best Wishes,

John_M

 

[Brian VT]

I do not see how electric sharpeners (except the Dremel) can make a radius cut.

The grinder wheels have a rounded edge.
Cheapo grinders aren't worth the money, imho. They're just not built well enough to do a good job. You can do better by hand with a little practice.
That said, a cheapo grinder can help fix a wrecked chain easier/quicker than by hand, if you set it up right.
If you often have a lot of chains to do then spend the $300+ for a good grinder.

 

[Classic6048]

I have that sharpener from harbor freight........honestly I think a good hand job is best!

Its not a quality issue its more of how the tooth is shaped after with an electric sharpener. Your better off doing it by hand get yourself a husky stump vice and nice round file rake remover combo tool and you will have better results.

Not only that you sharpen and go anywhere you are.

 

[LLigetfa]

I don't own a grinder but I think that to use one properly requires more skill than to file by hand. My father could never sharpen a chain so I bought him one of those file guides that you clamp onto the bar. He never could get the angles and depth settings right to use it. Aside from using it a couple of times trying to teach him how to use it, I always just file by hand.

I agree about the stump vise but not sure about the combo tool. A naked round file with a good pistol grip handle is all you need. Contrary to what a lot of people say about the rakers, they don't need a lot of filing.

 

[Corey]

..........honestly I think a good hand job is best!
...

Woah! TMI....TMI....TMI!!

There is a show on the Food Network with Alton Brown. One of his main gripes is with 'uni taskers' ie things that can only do one function. He prefers instead, 'multi tasking tools' or things that can do a wide range of tasks.

With that said, I use a set of files for light touch up work between tanks of gas, and I have the appropriate sized sharpening stone for my dremmel tool which makes quick work of sharpening the chain if I happen to ding a rock or piece of barbed wire. The dremmel is easy to control and can take as much or as little material out as needed. I'd highly recommend it over a grinder which would hog out a lot of material every time and can only be used to sharpen the chain, nothing else.

 

[fyrwoodguy]

after learning to file a saw chain by hand(with sharp file)and doing my customers "dulled" :gulp: for 30+ years, i finally caved in and bought one of these rig's

before i bought this grinder,i learned thru my customers how hard a chain can get by the use of one of these rig's. when you use one of these in the wrong way it makes your saw chain very hard and makes a brand new file skretch when you TRY to sharpen a cutter that's been OVERHEATED.
another thing wrong with this type of sharpener,is that the grinding wheel spins into the cutter on one side of the sawchain(good)and out of the cutter on the other side of the sawchain(bad)
so if you want the best grinder buy one that has a reversable motor.

the dremel type sharpeners have stones that get SMALLER in diameter as you use them ...bad,bad,bad

electric grinders are good for "ROCKED" chains.

nothing beats a CORRECTLY sharpened hand filed sawchain....so just learn how to hold the file and know WHAT to look for and how to correct it.
use your eye to see what size and shape the cutter is in and make them all the same,when you look at them from different directions.
simple to explain ....hard to do!

practice,practice,practice.........you'll get it after a while.....if you got somebody that knows how to file and can tell you by looking at your chain and tell you what you are doin' wrong!

 

[LLigetfa]

when you use one of these in the wrong way it makes your saw chain very hard and makes a brand new file skretch when you TRY to sharpen a cutter that's been OVERHEATED.

On that point I must respectfully disagree. If/when you overheat a cutter, you actually take most of the temper out of it. It's called annealing ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Annealing_(metallurgy) ). What puts back too much temper is sudden cooling, such as dousing in water or oil. Chains that would put a shine on my file were the result of running a hot chain into wet ground, something my father was expert at doing.

 

[fyrwoodguy]

when you use one of these in the wrong way it makes your saw chain very hard and makes a brand new file skretch when you TRY to sharpen a cutter that's been OVERHEATED.

On that point I must respectfully disagree. If/when you overheat a cutter, you actually take most of the temper out of it. It's called annealing ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Annealing_(metallurgy) ). What puts back too much temper is sudden cooling, such as dousing in water or oil. Chains that would put a shine on my file were the result of running a hot chain into wet ground, something my father was expert at doing.

can't disagree with that.
all part of "DULL CHAINS"

 

[mike1234]

I have cut with a chainsaw since I was 17 cutting pine for my dad. I tried and tried to learn to sharpen by hand (I can usually get the hang of things, I do all my own handy man work, have built on rooms, fix the car, I can even program the dvd player) but I NEVER got to be a good chain sharpener. I bought 6 chains, and took them in to be sharpened when dull.

So this year I bought the same Oregon sharpener as above, and I love it. I have ruined one chain by getting it too hot (practiced on my older ones), but now that I have the hang of it, it only takes a few minutes per chain, and they stay sharp forever (unless of course they get into dirt, or worse). When I think it is getting a little dull, I'll change it out, and sharpen it later that night.

The guys I cut with all sharpen their own with a file, and they are good at it and their chains stay sharp, I just never figured it out.

A good sharpener is not cheap by the way, need to spend at least 150, but you get what you pay for. My cost, 7.00/chain sharpening, X 6 chains per month = 42/ month when I am cutting a lot of wood. If you are sharpening well by hand, then that is by far cheaper.

 

[LLigetfa]

My cost, 7.00/chain sharpening, X 6 chains per month = 42/ month when I am cutting a lot of wood.

Wow, you must cut a LOT of wood! I process around 6 cord with one sharpening and may sharpen the chain 2 or 3 times a year.

 

[jklingel]

LLig: One caveat on your response. Some steels will "air quench" and get harder just from relatively rapid cooling in ambient air temp, depending on how hot they got when ground. Saw chains? I dunno, but it is possible that they will harden w/ ambient air. Funny that one person mentioned never being able to get the hang of hand sharpening. I used to have students fabricate the tip of a drill bit out of 1/2" hot rolled round steel. They'd file two rough flutes in the end of a 6" piece, then try to grind it to look like a drill bit. A few kids worked on their piece till it was a stub, then got another; repeating till I gave them a "pass" for effort. Something will come along to boggle any and all of us sooner or later. For me, it's a long list.

 

[LLigetfa]

Something will come along to boggle any and all of us sooner or later...

What boggles is that someone can setup a grinder at the correct angles with the proper stops to put the proper profile on a cutter but cannot push a file to achieve the same thing.

As for air quench making a cutter harder than the file, I doubt it. Depending on what I need, sometimes I will use oil to quench because it works differently than water. When the water boils, it loses contact with the metal and slows the quench.

 

[jklingel]

As for air quench making a cutter harder than the file, I doubt it. Depending on what I need, sometimes I will use oil to quench because it works differently than water. When the water boils, it loses contact with the metal and slows the quench.

No doubt that oil are water (various temps) are the most common quenchants, but brine and air are also used. It depends on what the metal needs, and I don't know enough metallurgy to know which quenchants affect saw chains in which way. For anyone interested, here is one link that mentions brine and air, etc. http://www.anvilfire.com/FAQs/quenchants.htm

 

[burntime]

Hand grinders are better then the tabletop. I finally figured out how to use mine. You have to take a slow bite and almost polish it not grind it. If you dig in too deep it heats the chain and then it dulls fast. Hand sharpening for me has been the best. Next is the stihl grinder.

 

[mike1234]

Mostly I get into a lot of dirt, only 10 cords of wood.

My cost, 7.00/chain sharpening, X 6 chains per month = 42/ month when I am cutting a lot of wood.

Wow, you must cut a LOT of wood! I process around 6 cord with one sharpening and may sharpen the chain 2 or 3 times a year.

I can explain it easily: technology is easier to master than geometry!

Something will come along to boggle any and all of us sooner or later...

What boggles is that someone can setup a grinder at the correct angles with the proper stops to put the proper profile on a cutter but cannot push a file to achieve the same thing.

As for air quench making a cutter harder than the file, I doubt it. Depending on what I need, sometimes I will use oil to quench because it works differently than water. When the water boils, it loses contact with the metal and slows the quench.

 

[LLigetfa]

technology is easier to master than geometry!

and here I thought maybe it was a manual dexterity (or lack thereof) issue.

 

[crazy_dan]

technology is easier to master than geometry!

and here I thought maybe it was a manual dexterity (or lack thereof) issue.

I blame it on total lack of video games so the resulting loss of hand eye coordination. look out thumb when driving nails too right???

 

[Bigg_Redd]

Greetings! I want to know if anyone has used an Electric Chain Saw Sharpener for their chain saw chains.

I am thinking of buying one from Harbor Freight.

I have two chain saws and instead of bothering my dad or using a hand file, I thought this tool (the sharpener) would be a valuable tool.

Has any one used one? Can anyone give me their opinion about them?

I would appreciate any and all advice.

Best wishes.

Lawrence

I wouldn't bother with any machine tools from harbor freight.

Learn to hand file. It's not that difficult.

 

[EatenByLimestone]

I run a file over my teeth between every tank of gas. It's easier to hone every once in a while than to take it back to being sharp from being dull. I also like the rest every so often. It lets the muscles relax a bit and probably keeps me from doing something stupid with a spinning chain.

Matt

 

[Backwoods Savage]

Hand filing for sure is the best way....if you can do it. I've seen more than one guy ruin a chain pretty darned fast.

As for me, I hand filed for many, many moons. Unfortunately, my hands just hurt too darned much to do that any longer so I use the dremel tool. Wish I'd have started sooner. It does a fine job as long as you don't overheat the tooth and keep good grinders in the tool. Yes, they wear down; instead of trying to get all you can out of them, put in a new one. That is what I do and my hands appreciate it.

 

[Bigg_Redd]

Hand filing for sure is the best way...if you can do it. I've seen more than one guy ruin a chain pretty darned fast.

As for me, I hand filed for many, many moons. Unfortunately, my hands just hurt too darned much to do that any longer so I use the dremel tool. Wish I'd have started sooner. It does a fine job as long as you don't overheat the tooth and keep good grinders in the tool. Yes, they wear down; instead of trying to get all you can out of them, put in a new one. That is what I do and my hands appreciate it.

Anyone can learn to do it.

 

[Backwoods Savage]

Bigg_Redd, perhaps you read that post wrong!

Yes, I can do it and did it for many, many moons paleface. Hell, for many years I also sharpened the big circular saw on our sawmill. I had to or I couldn't cut straight lumber! But when your hands hurt like hell doing something, you quickly learn to do it a different way. That is exactly what I am now doing. Still sharpening the chain, but doing it a different way. As usualy, there are more than one way to skin a cat. Same with sharpening chains.

 

[Jay H]

I'm definitely doing something wrong. I ended last season with a bunch of dull sawchains (I have 3 safety chains) and I gave them to the local Stihl shop and had them sharpened. What a difference. I handsharpened them and again, they didn't cut half as good as the ones from the shop, though they were better than before. I bought those dremel bits and I'm going to try that as the Stihl shop charges like $8 per chain and sometimes has a week turnaround. I checked the Husqvarna website as I have a Husky 359 and Husky chain sharpening tool and I am doing it right, as far as procedure goes.... I'd rather not have to invest in a sharpening machine though but will because nothing is worse than a dull chain...

The 359 uses a .375 pitch and a 7/8th file...

Jay