Best Chainsaw Sharpener under $300

[John_Mc]

I Probably should use a closed container like an ammo box, probably wouldn't lose stuff out of an open canvas bag like I have

The fact that the ammo cans are weather proof is a big plus

If you are thinking of getting an ammo box for chainsaw tool storage/transport, there are lots of sources online.

After trying a few, I really prefer what is known as the "Fat 50 Cal" ammo can (military designation is PA108) for my chainsaw tools.
Outside Dimension: 12-1/2" x 7-1/4" x 8-1/2"
Inside Dimension: 11-3/4" x 6-3/4" x 8-1/4"

I started with the regular 50 Cal ammo can (Military designation M2A1 or the newer M2A2). However it was a bit tight to fit all that I wanted, especially since round files with a handle on them had to be put in diagonally, which wasted a lot of space.
Outside Dimension: 11-3/4" x 6" x 7-1/2"
Inside Dimension: 11" x 5-1/2" x 7"

a bit of sharpening nostalgia humor my grandfather who worked in the woods for a living, once tried to teach me how to sharpen a chain many years ago on his old manual oiler poulan, being young and dumb I believe spent an hour or so watching me attempt you might think I was trying to start a campfire. When I finished I proudly went to cut rounds with him to his humorous disbelief he commented "I can't cut nicer radiuses with a jig saw" lol that was well over 30 yrs ago, discouraged, I haven't made an attempt to file my own chains until recently, and have amassed a collection of dull chains.

That's a great story and a great memory of your time with your grandfather! I hope you are having better luck now. If you are still having some difficulties, I can recommend some good videos on the subject. Learning from YouTube can be hit or miss, since there are a whole lot of people out there who only THINK they know what they are doing. I have a couple of links that are good. The BEST one I've found you have to pay for, but it's reasonably priced.

To the OP: sorry for the topic drift...

 

[jjeff]

The fact that the ammo cans are weather proof is a big plus

If you are thinking of getting an ammo box for chainsaw tool storage/transport, there are lots of sources online.

After trying a few, I really prefer what is known as the "Fat 50 Cal" ammo can (military designation is PA108) for my chainsaw tools.
Outside Dimension: 12-1/2" x 7-1/4" x 8-1/2"
Inside Dimension: 11-3/4" x 6-3/4" x 8-1/4"

I started with the regular 50 Cal ammo can (Military designation M2A1 or the newer M2A2). However it was a bit tight to fit all that I wanted, especially since round files with a handle on them had to be put in diagonally, which wasted a lot of space.
Outside Dimension: 11-3/4" x 6" x 7-1/2"
Inside Dimension: 11" x 5-1/2" x 7"


That's a great story and a great memory of your time with your grandfather! I hope you are having better luck now. If you are still having some difficulties, I can recommend some good videos on the subject. Learning from YouTube can be hit or miss, since there are a whole lot of people out there who only THINK they know what they are doing. I have a couple of links that are good. The BEST one I've found you have to pay for, but it's reasonably priced.

To the OP: sorry for the topic drift...

Thanks for your experience and insight I'm getting pretty proficient at it and understand what I do wrong when it's not cutting good, I also apologize for "topic drift" however I've learned more from drifted topic experiences, knowledge shared by folks than the original topic usually.

 

[sdef]

Looking to sharpen 5-6 chains at a time off the saw.

What would you recommend?

I have used an earlier model of this mounted to a piece of wood I clamp to a bench for use, for years, and it works much better than my less than professional hand filing abilities. It is not a high quality tool, the adjustments can be kind of fiddly- but the finished chains work well.

https://www.northerntool.com/shop/tools/product_200696949_200696949

 

[jmhoying]

Looking to sharpen 5-6 chains at a time off the saw.

What would you recommend?

My local hardware store has a $10,000 automatic sharpener and charges $5.00 to bring my chains back to factory sharpness. I have 5 chains, so along with their 1 day turnaround, I see no need to do it myself.
Jack

 

[jjeff]

My local hardware store has a $10,000 automatic sharpener and charges $5.00 to bring my chains back to factory sharpness. I have 5 chains, so along with their 1 day turnaround, I see no need to do it myself.
Jack

For years I'd bring chains in to sharpen for me anyway if and when I do invest in my own electric sharpener I figured I should get the basics down manually using files first.

 

[John_Mc]

For years I'd bring chains in to sharpen for me anyway if and when I do invest in my own electric sharpener I figured I should get the basics down manually using files first.

It's not hard to get to the point where you can do a better job sharpening by hand than you can with a grinder. There are several jigs and guides that make it simple and shorten the learning curve a lot. It's also possible to do a better-than-factory job free-hand filing with just a bare round file, but that takes more time (and better eyesight than I have these days).

 

[Rickey Lee]

Looking to sharpen 5-6 chains at a time off the saw.

What would you recommend?

I have 35 acres in Colorado and cut 8 cords of wood per year to heat my home, I hot tired of hand filing my chains and took a chance at buying a cheap electric sharpener from Harbor freight. After sharpening many chains it actually works quite nicely. It doesn't have the nicest finish and is a bit flimsy but is you take it easy with her she gets the job done. There are some good reviews you can watch on YouTube. Good luck

 

[tjandrews]

I love my HF sharpener. It does a better job than I've ever been able to do with a file. I don't believe it takes an excessive amount from the tooth, it takes very little with each motion. As far as I'm concerned, the chains I sharpen cut very close to as well as a new chain. I am somewhat surprised as to how many people have called it junk.

Totally agree.

I don't cut wood professionally - I just have a big old farmhouse with a hungry furnace in my cellar and several acres of woods to feed it. I hand-filed for years, hated every minute of it, never really got any more than passable at it, but it was a necessary evil. I saw those ads for the HF sharpener, and always thought something that cheap couldn't possibly work very well.

Then I finally bought one. Yes, it was a bit sloppy at holding the chain in place, but in looking it over I saw where a strategically-placed washer would eliminate a good share of that. Like anything else there was a bit of a learning curve before becoming proficient with it, but once I navigated that I could sharpen a chain in about 25% of the time it took me to hand-file one, and it was doing a FAR better job. I found I was removing less metal, so I didn't need to do the rakers as much. The chains cut better and last longer than they did before.

I'll never go back to hand-filing. (As long as I have power available, of course...)

 

[Bobrown14]

For years I'd bring chains in to sharpen for me anyway if and when I do invest in my own electric sharpener I figured I should get the basics down manually using files first.

This right here - my Stihl dealer is 2 miles from me has a Stihl sharpener charges me $6 per chain 1 day turnaround.

 

[jjeff]

This right here - my Stihl dealer is 2 miles from me has a Stihl sharpener charges me $6 per chain 1 day turnaround.

Yep used to bring chains in when I remembered and could, not a few miles or one day turnaround though, From my several weeks of learning and reading about sharpening chains I've experienced it's much easier with better results if you file often instead of waiting til it's dull. I've also gotten much better results with my new set of properly sized files. Not a chain sharpening thread with old school files though and not trying to start one.