... RS, I started off with a Harbor Freight chain sharpener, which worked but wasn't very good at keeping the cuts consistent.
First time I used a chain sharpener, I used a friend's HF unit and my experience - and his comments about it - led me to go with something a little better.
Spent the big bucks on an Oregon machine, ...
I went for a Timber Tuff from TSC ... it's more or less an Oregon knock off ... for about 1/2 the price.
... and I have to confess I don't do a whole lot better with it. Both use a steel finger to position the saw teeth, and for some reason it doesn't seem to be all that repeatable.
I always make sure that I lightly pull the tooth to be sharpened back against the finger, and ensure that the chain is fully seated (down) in the guide rails.
The instructions say to find the shortest tooth, set the stop for that, and do the rest all the same. But if it's the first time sharpening a chain, why should any of the teeth be shorter than the rest? Can't be that much wear, and a look at the dulled edges confirms it. So I end up getting two or three sharpenings out of a chain before the teeth are too short to use.
Sounds like you're taking too much off ...
I'm on probably the 4th or 5th sharpening on my newest Stihl chain and it's still at better than 50% remaining ...
Small moves ...
But at least if I stick with Stihl chain it seems to last about twice as long as the Oregon stuff, so I spend less time changing chain and more time cutting.
Makes sense ... Stihl chain is all I use.
It's also starting to sound like you'd be money ahead picking up a used lathe on Craig's List to keep the Simplicity going. Hey, a man can never have too many tools, right? :laughing:
Yup ...
Not a realistic option at this point tho' ...
And you gotta wonder what sort of cheese they made those shafts and keyways out of. Or if the fit wasn't what it should have been right from the factory?
They were somewhat wallowed out the last time I changed the drum sprockets ... should have handled it then.
Ideally, the shafts/drum would have been splined ... but they probably used whatever was cheapest, and readily available.
You may get by for a little while with a spot of weld metal on the end of the key, but that slop is still in there and it will end up breaking the weld loose again.
My idea was to maybe tack it on the end that faces out, and then fill in the wallowed out portion, by welding along the sides of the key. I can probably use a small stone in a Dremel (my Christmas present to my nephew 10 years or so ago) to clean it up and remove any excess weld.
Hate to say it, but is it time to pass the Simplicity along and get something a little less complicated?
Nah ... once I get this fix done she oughta be good for another 10 or 15 years ... :laughing:
And don't get me started on what the likes of HD and Lowes big box stores have done to the little mom'n'pop hardware stores that used to carry everything. The big box stores only carry stuff that moves, and that's not little bits like woodruff keys. The mom'n'pop places didn't do enough volume to match the big places' discounts, so they and their complete inventories have gone the way of the dodo bird.
Trips to the big box stores are increasingly a frustrating experience ...
If you're in farm country you might get lucky and stumble across a bearing specialty house (we have one called Bearing, Belt, and Chain, cash only so forget about using your Visa) or you can wait a week or two for maybe the right part to show up from Amazon.
Lots of industry around here ... and numerous bearing/powertrain component suppliers ... so getting the bearings will likely not be a problem.
Will probably use Akron Bearing - they're close and have a wide range of products in inventory ... if not the cheapest place out there.
I guess we're just supposed to throw stuff away when it breaks and shuffle off to the big box store for a crappy new one. Good for the (Chinese) economy and all that.
That seems to be the paradigm that some (most ?) companies are pushing.