Sharpen chain electrically???

[EMB5530]

With so many electric chain sharpeners out there, and one heck of a difference in pricing what do most of the knowledgeable say about some of the cheaper vs higher end units. As I have never used one I really don't know what to look for. I know I can do a decent job with a file and buy a lot of chain for the price of a nicer oregon, so if there are some pointers that the rest of ya have to educate me please by all means.

Thanks

 

[Cobra427]

More power to you. I am to scared to use an electrical one. I stay with a hand held file. It is just my opinion but the electrical ones remove to much metal to fast. I usually make 3 to 4 passes with a hand held file on each tooth. It doesn't take long and I don't have to take the chain off.

If I was sharping chains for a living then I might consider an electrical one.

 

[chrispr1]

I use either a Pferd hand file in the woods or the dremel attachment at home. The electric ones are too expensive for how often I sharpen the chain.

 

[Jon1270]

Unless you run a tree service or sharpening business, I doubt it would be worth it. From what I've read they're nice when you need to take off a lot of material quickly, i.e. if you've run your chain into a nail or rock, but it takes both skill and practice to set them up and run them well. Like many power tools, while they can potentially do good work quickly they can also mess things up quickly.

 

[blades]

If you only have a need once in a while, one of the clamp on the bar file guide systems will work fine such as the Granberg. Takes the guess work out of hand filing. Bringing back a damaged chain by hand is time consuming but can be done. The electric grinders get a bad rap for various reasons of which 99.9% is the nut operating the unit. I do hundreds of chains a year - commercially, so of course I use electrics. Not fond of the simple ( I have a Dremel type unit 12V DC version) stones wear down quick and too easy to burn cutters and it is only about a 1/4 step above free hand filing. Personally hand filing any thing over a full compliment 20" bar is a pain and burns too much time in the field let alone my 32,36,42" bars. If Murphy jumps in the fray well then ya just gotta geter done by what ever means available. I carry several chains for each bar with me and swap out as needed. As far as bench mounted 110v units are concerned Oregon 511ax is about the best bet tool wise. Pricy yes but with judicious internet search they are available for about 1/2 of mfg suggested retail or in other words about $300. ( mfg sug list is around $600+)highly recommend this unit. Jolly unit isn't too bad either but there are cheap chi-com import units which are less than adequate. There is a 12v DC and 110v AC clamp on bar version also but I have never used one of those but do have a customer with one of the Oregon AC versions and it has been fine for him( commercial tree out fit). My personal cutting can be just a couple of cord to 30 cords or more in a years time.

 

[mike van]

I use a bench mounted Efco, it is very, very accurate. Taking too much tooth off is the fault of the operator, not the machine.

 

[Jags]

Taking too much tooth off is the fault of the operator, not the machine.

For sure. With proper setup, a bench mount electric can be as minimalist as a hand file. My chains last for many many sharpening sessions and I haven't picked up a hand file in quite awhile.

I use a cheapo sharpener called "nick the grinder" (pre HF brand). The most important thing with these grinders is the tool that is running them.

 

[clemsonfor]

I use the cheap $30 unit from harbor freight. If you take your time and know what your doing you can sharpen better than say the too 10% of hand filers. Its probably just as fast??? Since you have to remove the chain and make sure its set up for each tooth right.

They dont take that much material. I can sharpen one chain a dozen times easy and this is good sharpenings if u just kiss the tooth it won't take too mich material. Yea it takes more than hand folding, but its what you want to do. I keep 2-3 chains and just rotate them when cutting. And I get some chains from logger buddies that take them off their saws when they jack them up cause they can't hand file. There usually 50-75% of the tooth left. A few mins on the grinder and sharp as new.

 

[Ashful]

I use a bench mounted Efco, it is very, very accurate. Taking too much tooth off is the fault of the operator, not the machine.

For sure. With proper setup, a bench mount electric can be as minimalist as a hand file. My chains last for many many sharpening sessions and I haven't picked up a hand file in quite awhile.

I use a cheapo sharpener called "nick the grinder" (pre HF brand). The most important thing with these grinders is the tool that is running them.

I'm with these guys. I don't have time to waste with a hand file, on the few days per season I get out into the woods for serious felling and cutting. I take a full toolbox of chains with me for the weekend (a half dozen for each saw), and plan on using two chains per saw per day... if I don't hit anything. Three saws, wearing bars from 12" to 36". I throw the used chains in a separate box, and sharpen them in my warm garage on work nights while listening to the radio, after the kids are in bed. I'm not wasting time with a hand file while daylight is burning.

As to what to use, I was shopping some pretty spendy grinders, when a friend at work (who has a small firewood business on the side) convinced me to try one of the cheapo (Harbor Freight level) grinders he found on the internet. It took some convincing (I don't normally like buying cheap Chinese tools), but I gave it a try, and was sold. It does the job pretty well, and I can take as light or heavy a cut as I like, depending mostly on the stability of the catch pawl used for indexing the chain in the vise.

I could not imagine sharpening 28" or 36" full comp chains by hand. I don't use the 36" bar that often, but the 28" is in my hands most of the day when felling and bucking big trees.

 

[clemsonfor]

I'm right there with you joful . Not enough time in the day. I have the 32" full comp chain waiting on me to sharpen it I been putting that one off cause even with the grinder that is a lot of teeth!!

 

[EMB5530]

Wow
Thanks to all for the info. I didn't expect to see so many replies.
How did you guys that use the electric(especially the el cheapo units) set them up/learn to use them. Do you take the instructions to a T, or is it a eyeball it and take your time sort of deal?

 

[Ashful]

1. Read the instructions, which are typically written by some english-speaking editor in China, who has never held a chainsaw.
2. Start to set up your first chain (choose one you don't mind ruining).
3. Start to sharpen, and then STOP when you realize you're doing several things wrong.
4. Re-read the horrible instructions, and scratch your head a while.
5. Try sharpening some more, and get frustrated that you're ruining your chain.
6. Come here, ask questions.
7. Go try sharpening some more.

Somewhere during sharpening #2, you'll start to get to something that works. Somewhere around sharpening #4, you'll start to get good enough at it to see what the kid at the local lawnmower shop did wrong, when you took your chains there for sharpening. Sometime around sharpening #6, you'll sit back and smile at how nice a job you're doing.

It's a life skill, like learning to shave, or paint with a rattle can.

 

[EMB5530]

Hey thanks Joful. That post can't help but make me sit back, smile and think of the many things I have "hard taught" myself.

 

[clemsonfor]

Go to u tube. There are lots of videos if you search harbor freight chain grinder. You can watch for an hour or so at videos. And every other brand unless really obscure will be the same. But all the cheapo units are clones usually and will be very similar.

 

[BobUrban]

I have a Mini Jolly that I bought for 25 clams off Craigslist. It is an older model and probably not a great one but it works great for me. I think as important as anything with a grinder is having a GOOD light source. You can set it up to barely touch the tooth so no worries on taking too much off - very easy to use.

 

[D8Chumley]

1. Read the instructions, which are typically written by some english-speaking editor in China, who has never held a chainsaw.
2. Start to set up your first chain (choose one you don't mind ruining).
3. Start to sharpen, and then STOP when you realize you're doing several things wrong.
4. Re-read the horrible instructions, and scratch your head a while.
5. Try sharpening some more, and get frustrated that you're ruining your chain.
6. Come here, ask questions.
7. Go try sharpening some more.

Somewhere during sharpening #2, you'll start to get to something that works. Somewhere around sharpening #4, you'll start to get good enough at it to see what the kid at the local lawnmower shop did wrong, when you took your chains there for sharpening. Sometime around sharpening #6, you'll sit back and smile at how nice a job you're doing.

It's a life skill, like learning to shave, or paint with a rattle can.

Very well stated Joful! And very true, as I recalled my first few sharpenings and chuckled.

Hey thanks Joful. That post can't help but make me sit back, smile and think of the many things I have "hard taught" myself.

Right there with you on this also EMB! That said, I have the HF electric bench sharpener and have become "adequate" at sharpening my chains, so it has paid for itself twice over already

 

[EMB5530]

While watching some of the videos of the diff. sharpeners I have come to the conclusion that there is a good amount of flex in the guides that the chain rides in on some of the cheaper/ less expessive models. Have any of you w/ the cheaper ones done any mods to make the unit more ridgid, or as long as you feed the grinder wheel in slow does it not make this any kind of issue?

 

[D8Chumley]

That is an issue with mine, I just go slow. Maybe some day I'll see about modding it to take the play out of it...

 

[clemsonfor]

Yrs they are not as rock solid or solid at all compared to a $100-200 models. You do need to go slow with out and it will limit the slop. You can't use it like a framing chop saw and just pull it down hard. Go gentle. You will sharpen faster than hand probably better and come out way cheaper than a pro grinder or shop

 

[Jags]

The very first thing I did with mine was lay a brandy new chain on it and then set the machine to the proper angles. Then mark them. This gives a very good "ground zero" when you flop some nasty, rocked out chain on it.

 

[Butcher]

I have a timber tuff.
I guess I would call it a mid range machine at best but with some time and practice it wasn't hard at all to master. I do my own chains and I do the chains I use at work. My work chains number about 20 since all I use a saw for at work as a landscaper is cutting roots, rocks and cable wires. No file would touch my work chains when I throw them in the to be sharpened box and I don't have time to wait on the saw shop to dick around with them. For my chains at home that actually cut only farwood it does a very satisfactory job. It has some quirks but those were soon figured out to be operator error. All in all I am very happy with this grinder and would recommend it to any one.
This is 1 of my work chains and if you look you can see that even the rakers are chewed to chit. I decided it was time to pitch this 1 but I am pretty sure if I wanted to clean it and work on it I could get another stump out with it.

 

[clemsonfor]

Yea I know two ex members from here with that model and are VERY pleased with it.

 

[Ashful]

Mine is basically the same as butcher's, but with different paint colors. The depth stop isn't 100% solid, and neither is the indexing pawl, but they can be made to work well if you have a consistent touch.

 

[lazeedan]

I have been using the harbor freight model for about a year. I wish I would have bought it sooner. As mentioned above by clemsonfor, I just watched a few youtube videos and away I went. Nice and sharp. And straight cuts! I struggled keeping everything straight when sharpening by hand.

 

[jlightning]

Harbor Freight electric sharpener when I rock the chain and hand sharpening the rest of the time...works great!