You know if someone was interested in this sharpener I don't think they would get much information from this thread. I would not want to read 109+ replies only to find a hand full giving useful information.
It does not matter how great you/we are at hand sharpening a chain. It only matters that the chain cuts to my/your satisfaction.
I don't care if you use a machine or hand file, and I don't care if it takes you 30 seconds or 30 minutes to sharpen. What I do care about is useful information, what works for you. Maybe there is something you do that I could incorporate into my hand filing or machine filing that would be useful. I think this thread is beyond that now.
It is easy to misconstrue someone's reply, read something into it that is not there, and totally take it out of context. That has been achieved in this thread.
Basically a thread that could have some very useful information and actually help someone has turned out to be useless.
I hope to have the electric sharpener up and running this weekend but the holiday crunch could put a damper on this. I will however post my thoughts on the TSC brand once I give it a try. In a new thread of course. I think it would be a nice little machine to have on a rainy day. Sit down in the shop and sharpen some chains.
I am going to ask a moderator to lock this thread. I will start a new one after I try this thing out.
To everyone that contributed useful information, I thank you.
I just zoomed through the pages of this thread.
I agree with your above analysis of the postings.
Before you close I will offer a couple points.
I have had and used a machine just like you purchased for 30+ years. It is identical except for being painted red.
Got it from Foley-Belsaw so that should give you an idea of the age.
The first thing I would suggest is to mount it at a comfortable height so you don't have to bend over to use it or see the teeth well.
Second. Clean the used chains before sharpening. I have used various grease removers but found liquid oven cleaner in an old porcelain
pan works great. Soak the chains in it a few minutes and rinse off in the shop sink. Keep it to use over.
Dirty/greasy chains will clog your wheels just like they do a file.
Third, look the chain over for loose rivets or cracked teeth. Look for the shortest tooth and use it to set your stop unless it is just way short and you want to skip it so you don't grind away too much on the other teeth. It is important to have all the teeth the same length as they get shorter in height
as you grind back the face. You want all the teeth to be in the game or you will cause the others to get dull faster.
You should have wheels of a couple different thicknesses as there are basically the little homeowner chains and the bigger farmer chains, if you use both. Get a stone to shape the bottom of the wheels.
Have a flat wheel to grind the depth gauges down evenly once in a while. Doesn't need to be done every time.
Stick with the angles and depths as they were new. You can play games and change angles, depths, etc. to make a speed chain but it won't last
near as long, and for normal cutting isn't worth it.
Take a spare or two sharpened chains to the field with you if you will be far from the shop. There is always a chance of hitting as stone, getting into dirt, or hitting some old barb wire buried in a tree trunk.
The main advantages of having your own grinder is you will save time, money, and fuel from having to take a bunch in to a shop and pick them up on a return trip. You can also take off just what is needed to get a good sharp chain. Some shops take off way too much, particularly if they sell replacement chains.
You can usually buy chain by the rolls with rivets and a little riveter to make your own and save some money if you do a lot of sawing.
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