Chainsaw Sharpener Advice

[murphy1244]

I hand sharpen when out in the woods but I also carry 3 spare chains with me. When I get back to the shop I will collect chains till I amassed a bunch and sit down and sharpen them on my Oregon electric sharpener. The Harbor freight piece of junk will not repeat at all.

 

[rrrkkk]

I bought one of these and have been really happy with it. It's also had great reviews.

Timberline sharpener

I posted a thread about it a while back. here it is

One word of caution when using this sharpener you need to wear gloves, the carbide cutter bit will produce very sharp (shards) or needles from the cutters and they are like splinters. This is the best sharpener I have outside of my electric it can be used anywhere. Drawback you will need different size cutters for different size chain. This used to be called a "GAMM" sharpener.
s

 

[PHPaul]

I bought one of these and I think they are nice. Next for me would have been an Oregon electric sharpener.

I think it's a great compromise between the cheapo Horror Fright unit and the top end Oregon. I just couldn't justify nearly $400 when I cut maybe 4 cords of tree length firewood a year in my back yard. If I was in the woods, or cutting 30 cord a year, it'd be different.

 

[Rustyiron]

I bought one of these and have been really happy with it. It's also had great reviews.

Timberline sharpener

Fast & accurate, and very easy! A quick 5 minute "touch up" - while the chain is still on the saw- keeps the chips flying!

 

[Buggs67]

FWIW

I have a sharpening jig and it works well. It's fast and accurate. In between doing a full re-sharpen I do touch-ups with a file guide. It's good in the field when you just need to get a little sharper or fix a ding.

OREGON brand assembled file guides for sharpening chain saw chain

And every so often (not so much now) I'll use a Pro to get all links back to standard.

 

[Piston]

I bought one of these and have been really happy with it. It's also had great reviews. Timberline sharpener I posted a thread about it a while back. here it is

I can't say enough about my Timberline Sharpener. I've used many different styles and after using the Timberline I won't go back.

I only wish it had a way to file the depth gauges, I use the Carlton file o plate but that doesn't work on my full skip chains.

I actually bought a second one in case they go out of business and I somehow lost one.

 

[SARG]

For the last decade I've used a dremel tool with the stone made for chainsaw blades. Quick & easy on the saw.

 

[byronlj]

I agree with Sarg. I have been using this and a 12v model (in the field) for the last 30 years.
Dave

 

[Carhartt Cowboy]

Well, I got nothing to add but a great big thank you! I have been looking for a nicer sharpener for a while now. Got a new Husky 460 this year, first new chain saw in 30 years. Finally retired the old homelite super XL.

This Timerberline ya'll speak of fits the bill perfectly. Like many I have always sharpened knives and chains by hand. Using a guide is no less manly and results are greatly improved. Plus I have an affinity for machined devices. This appears to be finely made device that still allows for working something by hand. Hope the inventor becomes rich off it.

 

[Turbys_1700]

I hand sharpen my chains. But if I hit something like a nail in a tree then dad has an electric harbor freight sharpener that I'll use. I will touch up the chain every time I stop for gas and oil. Maybe all you need to do is knock down your rakes and your hand filing will be fine.

Back when I cut wood for the stove this is what I did. Actually at the time we did not have access to an electric sharpener. We just kept hand filing the chains. I found out real quick the small amount of time touching up the chain was well worth it. Last year I bought one of those "value priced" Harbor Freight electric sharpeners. The few times I have used it it has done fine. If I was cutting a lot I would have invested in a more heavy duty unit.