Looking for a good Chain Saw sharpener

stevenf · Oct 27, 2005

I've read many of the chain saw threads and lots of the folks sharpen their own saw blades. I've always bought 3 or 4 blades for my stihls and when they get dull drop them off to have them sharpened. They usually charge me $4 or $5 per chain to sharpen them but I just recently bought a new Stihl MS 260 pro and am cutting a lot more wood now days since we heat with only wood stoves and some of the threads indicated that the shops grind an excess off so they can sell more blades more often. I'd like one of the sharpeners that does the blade and the standoff point in one stroke (manual is OK maybe even prefered so I could use it in the field) Can anyone reccomend from experience what and where to find one and some basic idea of what I should expect to spend.
Steve

Dozernut · Oct 27, 2005

I have a Harbor Freight sharpener that works real well. Here is a link sharpner showing the unit. Watch for an in store sale, I have seen them as low as $69.00. I just file the rakers down by hand, 3-4 strokes per raker will do it. You do not need to file the rakers every time you sharpen, just when a sharpened chain no longer makes a good chip.

mikim · Oct 27, 2005

That's a lot like the bench grinder I have - I think I got mine from Baileys ... I like the bench grinder much better than any hand operated one I've ever had. It's faster and more accurate for me. I always had trouble free handing cause I can't see worth a crap and evidently do not have enough hand/eye coordination so it makes it a bit more idiot proof. /forums/images/graemlins/tongue.gif - I always sharpen 2 or 3 for a days cutting and am good to go.

stevenf · Oct 27, 2005

Thanks for adding the part about the rakers I'd have gone on my merry way and been filing them every time.
Steve

milkman · Oct 27, 2005

I've found good deals at this place, also look for the part called the scrench holder, it's a rubber piece that slips on the wrap around handle that holds the wrench/screwdriver for your saw, neat little apparatus. They have pro chain at a really good price also, cuts good, we'll see how it lasts, I'm really pleased so far. Attached is a file holder that is to file both the teeth and the drags at the same time.

PineRidge · Oct 27, 2005

If you purchase a depth gauge to fit your specific chain like our picture you will know when you need to file the raker's and by how much. I picked one up for my Stihl saw and it was only a couple of bucks.

We use a Oregon electric sharpener and it makes easy work out of sharpening chains.

erich · Oct 27, 2005

Stevenf

I sharpen my own chains with just the round file no guide, no jig. Once you get the hang of it it really is easy and they are pretty forgiving. If you sharpen the chain about every other time you gas up you will be amazed at how much easier the cutting goes. If you always take the same number of strokes on each tooth you will keep the teeth fairly even. I only take 4-6 strokes on each tooth unless i hit something. If you hit something you might as well stop and sharpen it then or you'll work yourself to death. When you are done for the day you can check your rakers. I check the chips to see if its getting dull as well. If you can see measurable chips you are doing ok. If they look like saw dust its time to sharpen things up. You can get an idea if the rakers need filing by checking the chips after you sharpen the teeth. The chips will be bigger right after you file the rakers and smaller as time goes by.

The gages and jigs will get you started in the right direction when you start off I suppose.

I am not a professional woodcutter by any means. I cut about 4-8 cord a year for our own use. I have had the benefit of working with some old timers that were pro's in their youth. I learned a lot by just watching and asking questions.

Eric

stevenf · Oct 27, 2005

erich, Thanks My dad didn't use a chain saw much and since I'm in South Texas there isn't a lot of logging that goes on around here so my experience is limited to what I picked up from my cedar cutters and my alcoholic neighbor who thinks he knows how to sharpen a chain saw but only owns the smallest electric chain saw that Remington ever made. Its probably a good thing for my neighbor the last time he came down to the ranch he drove thru a 5 wire barbed wire fence and didn't know it, better yet he was on a battery powered ezgo at the time with no cab. He knocked on our door about 2am after having left about midnight and said he had come back for his bottle and was planning on walking home because he'd lost his ezgo somewhere. It took an hour to help him find it and get the wire unwrapped from his axles and to stop most of the bleeding. On second thought maybe he shouldn't own any kind of chain saw.
Steve

jeffinsgf · Oct 27, 2005

I have had very good luck with the Pferd filing guide. Helps control the angle and cuts the raker at the same time, equal to the amount the tooth is being cut.

Pferd USA Home Page

Go to the products link, then to the Chainsaw files and accessories catalog.

Charolais · Oct 27, 2005

http://www.madsens1.com/fileshrp.htm#proguide And go down the page to ProFile Guide.

I bought one made by Oregon back in 1984. Picked up the second one about 10 years ago at a flea market. Use one for right side and the other for left side. They cost more today. Think I paid $16 for the first guide and $5 for the second.

I heat with wood here too. Lots of wood. /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif My son and I run 2 saws. Wouldn't think of sharpening without this type of guide. Two to three strokes per tooth and the chain is ready.

And I agree. Those wheel grinders take off way to much of the tooth.

Dozernut · Oct 27, 2005

( Those wheel grinders take off way to much of the tooth )
You can adjust a wheel grinder to take off as much or as little as you want. An unscrupulous dealer will grind away half of a new chain so he can sell you another, been there done that! I can hand sharpen chain, knife, chisel and other wood working tools, but you cannot beat a wheel grinder for making your chain even and cut straight. I touch up in the field by hand, I sharpen in the shop with a wheel grinder.

kenmac · Oct 27, 2005

I have this sharpener. It works great ! I Will never hand sharpen a chain saw chain with a file again.

PhilNH5 · Oct 28, 2005

( An unscrupulous dealer will grind away half of a new chain so he can sell you another )

I don't doubt that thist is possible. But the people running the grinder are trained to file all teeth down to the same size as the smallest tooth. The belief is that all the teeth have to be the same lenght to get straight cuts. Since you can't add metal they grind all of the rest of the teeth down.

I have decided in my use that it is not an issue. I hand sharpen with a round file and each tooth gets 3 or 4 strokes. Teeth that have been knicked are shorter than those that have not. As long as the short teeth are randomly spaced on either side the saw still cuts straight and true.

As a novice hand sharpener I use to inadvertantly sharpen all of the teeth on one side shorter than the other. I think this came naturally as we have a dominant hand. Anyway the saw would really pull to one side in those days. Now I take great care not to let that happen.

Phil

kensfarm · Oct 28, 2005

I bought the attachment for the dremel tool to sharpen chainsaw chains. I took the attachment part off(seem to be more in the way) and I just do it free hand w/ the correct size stone while the chain is still on the saw. I still would like one of the bench grinders types.

Jagmandave · Oct 28, 2005

I've used both the hand file with the gauge and the little electric one you clip on your truck's battery, they both do fine, but I don't cut firewood for heat, I just use mine to fell trees and cut brush, so it's not critical. But, a sharp chain does make a huge difference!

erich · Oct 28, 2005

jeffinsgf

Thanks for that site.

I used a portable vise like they show a few times and it seemed to help when filing in the woods.

My recomendation is to get the plastic handle for your files. they work much better that the wooden ones.

I am going to check out their bar conditioner. That really looks like a useful tool. You need to keep the bar square to avoid the chain pulling to one side which will mke you and the saw work harder. Along the same lines, you should turn your bar over at regular intervals to keep the wear even.

To all,

Their filing instructions give a good picture of the angles you need to keep. It really is a lot easier than most folks think to do it freehand. Having the guides and jigs would be a help to keep things in line. My recomendation would be to use them at the end of the day when you clean the saw up for storage. Dressing the teeth in the woods by eye only takes a few minutes and really does make work easier.

Please don't think that I am bragging because I sharpen by eye. After paying for the shop to sharpen my chains a few times I just decided to just give it a try. I tried a Stihl filing guide and I couldn't quite get the hang of the darned thing. I was very pleased with the results I got by eye and it turned out that I kept the saw cutting better because i could just whip out the file when the chain needed it.

I used to have the shop sharpen the blades on my Husky brush cutter too. When I first bought it the blades were so inexpensive i just bought a new one when the old one got dull. when the price trippled I figured that since the cutter blade on the brush cutter had similar teeth I could sharpen that blade also. Man, keeping that sharp really makes a big difference. When that thing gets dull you might as well quit cause it really works you hard.

Oh yeah, stevenf, keep your neigbor away from your chainsaw and stay away from him when he uses his! When I was a kid I was helping the fellow who rented our fields clear some fence rows with my dad's little homelite. He was kind of like your neighbor. Seeing as I was the kid he used the saw I stacked the brush. He used the saw in a big sweeping motion to cut some brush with out cheking on me. When he whipped around he ran that saw right aross my day old Wolverine boots. The day before I had been wearing PF Flyers. It makes me shudder everytime I think of it. He got his when he dropped a locust tree on himself. It didn't kill him but those big thorns ripped him up pretty good. He set the saw down and never picked it up again, which suited me just fine.

Sorry for the long post.

Eric