Chainsaw Sharpeners

   / Chainsaw Sharpeners #1  

Red Horse

Veteran Member
Joined
Dec 12, 2010
Messages
1,174
Location
Bolton, MA
Tractor
Deere 655ZTrak, Deere 4720 Cab, 400 X LT 155
Any opinions out there:

Northern Model 193020-2206 current catalog price 129.99

Oregon Model 108181 current Northern catalog price 199.99 (cheaper on Amazon)

read the respective reviews on Northern website and you wonder if these guys have the same machines as one guyb says.."best thing since canned beer" and another guy says..."Junk"
 
   / Chainsaw Sharpeners #2  
I been using the 193020 for 3 years. Does a great job the money. IT's NOT a $600.00 sharpener but well worth it in my book.
By the way, Northern tool website shows it on sale for $119.00 right now
 
   / Chainsaw Sharpeners
  • Thread Starter
#4  
Thx -guys- I should have added-anyone with experience with a Carlton or Tecomec? These are made in Italy and are supposedly same as the Oregon 511-which is over 300 bucks. The Carlton/Tecomecs are on Ebay for around 209. And SDiver-correct-online Northern price is 119.

My issue, 119 for a China knock off vs. 90 bucks more for a Euro product. I use nothing but CMT router bits (Italy) and they are topshelf. I'd buy USA within reason but given the choice I'll take Euro goods anyday over Chinese. Again, any opinions? And by the way, the Northern does get a lot of good marks on their "buyer comments"
 
   / Chainsaw Sharpeners #5  
Any opinions out there:

Northern Model 193020-2206 current catalog price 129.99

Oregon Model 108181 current Northern catalog price 199.99 (cheaper on Amazon)

read the respective reviews on Northern website and you wonder if these guys have the same machines as one guyb says.."best thing since canned beer" and another guy says..."Junk"

I use the Oregon 108181 and it works excellent. It's not difficult to use or set up. I have 17 chains and they are all sharp. Don't buy junk from harbor freight. Chinese crap.
 
   / Chainsaw Sharpeners #6  
I've got the Northern saw chain sharpener, and think it's well worth the money. I've sharpened a ton of chains with it and am happy with the performance. I can sharpen a chain with it in about 5-7 minutes on average. There's one thing that you have to take with a grain of salt though like the fact that whoever placed the scales on it for the various angles you can adjust must have also invented the concept behind throwing horse shoes and hand grenades. Close is good enough. With that said it is very repeatable. For example, when I adjust the angle for the teeth on the left and right, I set it at 36deg on one side and 31deg on the other. No big deal since no chain I have says what angle it should be at so you just line up the wheel with the tooth. You say, how do you know if you picked the right angle to begin with...well if the saw goes straight through the log you are cutting, you're good to go. If it curves to one side, your angle was a little too aggressive on that side and the bar through the log accordingly. So, maybe you have a couple of concerns now about this one because the scales aren't perfect, well honestly when I looked out there, they all looked identical minus the paint job, which means they were all built in the same factory by the same guys who invented horse shoes, so buy the cheaper one and you won't have to worry about spending a lot of money for the same accuracy.
 
   / Chainsaw Sharpeners #8  
I know this has been brought up before but I'm curious as to why folks don't just buy the $10 Dremel attachment from Home Depot to sharpen chains. I've been doing it this way for 25 years, only takes 5 minutes to sharpen a blade (on the saw). My chains go thru logs like butter. Seems like spending $120 or more results in a diminished return. Dremel stones are also what the professional tree trimmers use on their battery powered Dremels when I hire them to remove branches above the house.
 
   / Chainsaw Sharpeners #9  
troutsqueezer said:
I know this has been brought up before but I'm curious as to why folks don't just buy the $10 Dremel attachment from Home Depot to sharpen chains. I've been doing it this way for 25 years, only takes 5 minutes to sharpen a blade (on the saw). My chains go thru logs like butter. Seems like spending $120 or more results in a diminished return. Dremel stones are also what the professional tree trimmers use on their battery powered Dremels when I hire them to remove branches above the house.

I've started using these this last tear after I got tired of hand sharpening my chains, and the work incredible. The stones last a long time, and the sharpen very fast. I use a black and decker rtv because it was on sale, and it works great, and all of the Dremel attachments are interchangeable. I would highly recommend this method to sharpen, and if you don't have a Dremel, you can get the whole set up to sharpen your saws including a new Dremel for around $40.
 
   / Chainsaw Sharpeners #10  
Here's what I use: Timberline Chainsaw Sharpener |Sharpen Your Chainsaw

I bought it last spring and only used it for the first time today. It worked *great*. Quick and easy. Each tooth sharpened exactly the same. I don't like the Dremel or electric drill bits because you never get the angle just right. And it's difficult to use an electric sharpener out in the field.
 
 
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