Chain saw sharpner

[dodge man]

I'm looking at buying an electric chain saw sharpner. Any recomendations? At most I cut a couple of cords a wood a year. I've looked at prices on line and see price anywhere from $40 to $400. I don't need an expensive one since I won't use it a lot but I don't want a piece of junk either. My chainsaw is an Stihl MS250 if that makes any difference.

 

[Highbeam]

I cut 16 cords of wood this year. The most ever and I'm looking into selling some on the side since I can't possibly burn that much. I use a stihl MS290.

I have been bringing my chains to the saw shop 2 or 3 at a time to be sharpened and he charges 5 bucks or so per chain. Does an excellent job with an electric sharpener, nice guy. It was inconvenient though and I thought I should really learn how to do this. Kinda like changing your oil.

I read a bit and then bought a harbor freight chain grinder for 30$. What the heck. If it only works long enough to sharpen six chains then I am money ahead. I've sharpened four chains with it and I find it very easy to get results that I need while not removing very much tooth material at all. Seems the saw shop was removing lots of tooth in an effort to sell me new chains, another point for sharpening your own. I might not get the chains as sharp as a new stihl chain but it is very close and the important part is that the saw cuts great.

They make electric chain grinders from 20$ to more than 500$ for regular people. Maybe a professional would need the 500$ sharpener. Maybe after 30 chains my HF will break. It will have paid for itself after two more chains and I will have gained experience using a chain grinder.

Great experiment.

 

[forgeblast]

I have the harbor freight one, but honestly i never use it. I use my file. Every time i fill the chainsaw i take a file to it. It keeps it sharp and going strong. Plus i dont have to take the chain off to do it. I used to let the chain get real dull and then take it to a guy to sharpen them. I feel that when they use the chain sharpeners it heats the blades up too much and they dull quicker. just my observation but i stick with the file.

 

[buckle97]

Oregon at Lowe's: Electric Sure Sharp File Guide

I have this Oregon Sharpener from Lowes and I love it! It came with jumper cable type clamps on the ends and can be hooked directly to any battery to use it. I have hooked it to my tractor, ATV, and pickup for quick use. It takes me less than 2 minutes to completely sharpen a chain and it doesn't have to be taken off of the bar. Like Highbeam said, this allows you take take off as little of the tooth as possible for longer chain life.

 

[Richard]

And don't forget to file down your rakers (or what ever they're called)

I was once busy cutting a tree down that had died and could have possibly hit my house had it hit the 1 in 360 degrees to fall.

I was cutting it... the tree sat back & pinched my blade. I was stuck. I was in the woods so I could'nt bring my backhoe up to unseat the tree.... no problem... went to garage, got my second bar and a freshly (from the local hardware store) sharpened blade.

Took 5 minutes...removed saw from pinched bar...installed new bar and was going to continue on.....

This freshly sharpened blade would not cut melted butter

Long story short... I'm sure they sharpened the cutters however, must have forgotten about the rakers and because of that, not a single blade would cut into the tree.

I had to go back to garage.... swap out for an old, beat up DULL chain to finally make my cuts.

To say I was furious is an understatement. I've never said anything to them (buy propane from them every now & then) but I've never trusted them again with sharpening my blades. I bought a 100' spool from Oregon Chain, had them turn them into about a handful of new chains for me and now I sharpen my own and if I get into a pinch, I've got an inventory of new sharp chains.

 

[dodge man]

Buckle97 I saw one of those at the local farm store. I may give it a try, and I like the price.

I have a file set I bought with my chain saw, and yes I do file down the little things in front of the cutting tooth, which I think are in place to help with kickback. My file kit came with a little gauge to help with knowing when to file them down.

 

[buckle97]

I may give it a try, and I like the price.

After using this particular model, I would gladly pay twice the retail price for the value I'm getting.

 

[BigE_]

I went through 4 of the HF sharpeners before I finally gave up and bought a nicer one from Northern Tool. It is an Oregon clone, and it is much nice, much better made vs the cheap HF sharpener.

Issues I had with the HF sharpener:
On one the on/off wouldn't turn the thing on after a few uses.
On another, the on/off wouldn't turn it off.
On a third, there was way too much vibration
On a 4th, the wheel was cracked.

Overall, I thought there was too much flex in the operation of the arm, and the Northern Tool one is much more adjustable, and so you can sharpen a wider variety of chains properly. Some people are happy with the HF version.

The Northern Tool model was around $100, and well worth the price. I'd take that over the HF version any day of the week.

Side note: I can still sharpen the chains faster by hand, because you don't have to bother with taking them off the saw.

 

[SPIKER]

i bought the 26 buck HF one and sharpened about 10 chain last week. I thought it was well worth the 26 bucks I paid. Though you can't man-handle it and ya dont need to. go easy and let the grinding action do the work. took maybe 20~30 min for the bunch of chains I did, have not tried to cut with them yet though...

Mark

 

[woodchuckcanuck]

... and bought a nicer one from Northern Tool. It is an Oregon clone,...The Northern Tool model was around $100, and well worth the price. ...

Same here. YouTube - review oregon chainsaw sharpener

 

[ToadHill]

The small hand motor will be all you'll need to keep an edge on the saw. I cut about 20 cords per year and for years I used one to keep an edge on the blade. As said before if you touch it up every time you fill it with gas, it won't get so dull you have to pull it off to sharpen it.

What I do is, I have 2 blades for my saw. I have both sharpened by the saw store before I start cutting each year, then each time I add fuel I touch up the blade ( I now use a file since my neighbor who's a retired tree feller showed me how). Around 10 cords into the job I change the blade, clean the blade groove and flip the bar, and when I'm done they go back to the saw store for sharpening.

 

[moeh1]

I've used an old Belsaw sharpener for the last 25 years. I'd probably be bankrupt if I paid for all the chains I've sharpened. I bought it well used for $80. I haven;t tried one of the HF units, but there really isn;t much to it so I think they would probably do the job, obviously moving up the food chain buy you something. The machines have the advantage over files of consistency of angles and cut amount on each tooth. Either works but my beer drinking time after cutting wood is worth something to me

 

[beenthere]

I do much the same as ToadHill. But seldom take the chain to have it ground. Only if the chain is rocked.

By hand works the best for me, and this guide pictured has made the task very pleasant and the chain very sharp, and the rakers filed at the right height. The rakers are what sets the depth of cut for each tooth. They are important.

 

[BigE_]

Same here. YouTube - review oregon chainsaw sharpener

Close. Here's the one I bought:
Northern Industrial Bench or Wall-Mount Saw Chain Sharpener | Chain Saw Sharpeners, Maintenance + Repair | Northern Tool + Equipment

It's a clone of this:
Oregon Bench-Mount Chain Sharpener Up To 1/2in. Pitch Chain Size, 110 Volt, Model# 511A | Chain Saw Sharpeners, Maintenance + Repair | Northern Tool + Equipment

 

[BigE_]

By hand works the best for me, and this guide pictured has made the task very pleasant and the chain very sharp, and the rakers filed at the right height. The rakers are what sets the depth of cut for each tooth. They are important.

That's an interesting take on a hand guide. Where'd you pick that up?

 

[Raw Dodge]

That's an interesting take on a hand guide. Where'd you pick that up?

I too have the Northern tool 89.95 sharpener,it works excellent! Just need some better wheels,from bailey,and its a great tool. I have the husqvarna sharpener (like beenthere) has in the picture,it is my favorite file guide.When i get a new chain,i keep it sharp with the file,and guide,if it gets real bad it goes on the northern tool sharpener. You can get the husky sharpening kit at tractor supply locally.

Husqvarna 372XP Chain File Kit 3/8" .050" Gauge Std - eBay (item 140299776415 end time Dec-03-09 11:24:06 PST)

I find i need to sharpen a lot in the winter cutting frozen locust especially.The

 

[smfcpacfp]

I got tired of inadequate chain sharpening devices a few years ago and bought an Oregon Bench-Mount Chain Sharpener the Model 511A. It cost over $300 and it is great. It will probably never pay for itself, but I wanted something that would consistently sharpen each cutter on a chain - sharp. When I switched from my old grinder to this rig, it was like going from a manual typewriter to a computer word processor. Once you use a rig like this you would never consider going back to any other method. It makes sharpening pretty much automatic and very fast, once it is setup. The chains stay sharper longer between sharpenings, and the chains last longer because each cutter is sharpened exactly the same each time. A sharp chain cuts faster, is easier on the operator and the saw itself. I pity those people that have to use the old hand files and lesser grinders.

I have two different Stihl chainsaws (1 a 16" and the other a 20" guidebar) that have the same size and type of chain, so they are sharpened with the same parameters.

I probably use 3 gallons of gas mix a year which is probably more than most people. I have about 7,000 trees on my property to maintain (mostly pine) and I also buy hardwood to burn.

 

[beenthere]

That's an interesting take on a hand guide. Where'd you pick that up?

I buy them at the local Husqvarna dealer (but use it on my Stihl 3/8 chain) and they are called Combi Gauge. $13
Has a number 505 24 35-01.

Haven't looked for them on the net.
Have several friends who have started using this, and they say they like it very well.

 

[BigE_]

Thanks for the info, beenthere and Raw Dodge!

 

[woodchuckcanuck]

...I probably use 3 gallons of gas mix a year which is probably more than most people.

I have to say I prefer the machine too after hand filing for a couple of years. I always managed to hand file the right side of the chain harder than the left side causing issues when cutting. I keep 5 chains in rotation when its cutting season. Besides I find it quicker to swap out chains than to touch up with a hand file in the field. That's just me. When two chains have been used, at the end of the day it takes maybe 5 - 10 minutes to bring them back and that includes touching up the rakers.

Of course then there's my 82 yr old father in law, who for the last +40 years has gone (and still goes) into the woods 6 days a week during all four seasons and cuts pulp wood. He probably goes through 4 gallons of chain saw oil a month. He's like a fish out of water when he can't get into the woods.