chainsaw motorized sharpener...

All,

I do not use a chainsaw as a regular item. My home is heated with propane. I do however own three saws, and their primary duty is to rid my property of buckthorn.

That said, the chains see a lot of stump duty, and dirt. I currently cut off the stump (3-4 inches diameter) and slap poison on the low-cut nub.

I am looking at the Oregon motorized sharpener for the small-bar chainsaws that I have.

Any advice, good or otherwise?

Thanks in advance.

D.
 
Oregon makes a good sharpener But it is a learning curve to to sharpen a chain rite.
Make sure you get the rite size grinding wheels for your chain. Also study and understand the instructions.
 
i bought a stihl sharpener a couple years ago. its basically a 12v dremel tool with a guide on it. works really well and i can run the sharpener in the woods off an atv, golf car, tractor or truck. only takes a few minutes to touch up a chain. about 50 dollars.
 
I bought a Chinese knockoff of an inexpensive Oregon design from Northern Tool two or three years ago.

It paid for itself within 3 or 4 months and has saved me lots of sharpening expenses since.

I too do not burn any wood but do spend considerable time clearing trees that I have been mowing around.

Dean
 
I really thought I wanted one but started digging up information and the more I read the less desirable (for me) they became. So I bought a bunch of files off the www and that works fine for me and a quick solution to a dull blade.
 

My only remark would be that you can really turn a chain into junk fast with a motorized grinder. It's not a cure all. Yes, they handy on rocked chains, but the lower end grinders will not give you a sharp chain. Sharper than it was maybe, but not sharp.
 
Neighbor bought the HF special like seven years ago. Me and he use it not a whole lot, but I will do maybe ten or twelve 20in. 3/8 chains a season. If you are gentle with it works fine. Take your time and learn how to use it correctly and I get VERY nice sharp chains.
 

I use a Dremel type tool and a grinding rock of the appropriate size. I like the chains with the proper angle marked on top of the teeth. I can keep it right by eye but the marked teeth are better. I hit the drag teeth briefly when sharpening. Don't have to take the chain off the bar.

When using files the best job is done when the chain is removed and clamped in a vice so pressure can be applied to the chain.

KEH
 
I have the Oregon sharpner and it works very well. As was already said make sure you understand the directions and practice on an old chain. You will need the right size wheel also. The trick is to just touch the cutter because if you take to much off you will grind your chain up. I bought mine in the mid 90's and it got used almost every day as I had a sawmill at the time. Now it gets used in the spring and fall when I cut my firewood
 
I have always sharpened mine with a file. A couple of times early on I took them to a shop and had them ground but they took off so much metal that I didn't feel it was very efficient. I make sure the chain is good and tight and then clamp the bar in a vise. It is not a hard thing to do once you get used to it.
Zach
 
Well that and all the setting up for each blade is what convinced me.
Besides, after I sharpened mine 3 or 4 times by putting it in a bench
vise still attached to the saw, I didn't need the guides and there was
no setup time and no devouring the chain. But that's my choice
and my saws are 10, 14, and 16". I found some very good, long
lasting files, that work in about 4 strokes per tooth. "Different
Strokes for Different Folks" to paraphrase a TV show of the past.
 
I bought one of the Northern Tool sharpeners that looks identical to the Oregon one, probably 5 or 6 years ago. If you look at the two of them side by side, they are identical except for the colors of the parts, at least for the one I got.

I've sharpened alot of chains for myself, as well as my neighbors, and have never had a problem. Once you get the hang of it you can put a good edge back on even the dullest chain pretty quick.

The cost difference is well over $100 right off, and if you get the Northern discount coupons in the mail, you should be able to get one for just over %100. Like I said, the only difference I've seen between the NT and the Oregon is the colors, and if the cheaper one blows up, the cost difference is almost enough to buy another brand new one.
Northern Tool sharpener
 
I've been using an Oz unit probably equivalent to your Northern Tool type for a couple of years.

Mostly cutting mulga (Acacia aneura for the googlers) for drought supplement for cattle. It is a hard and dirty timber. We don't have much that passes as soft wood here.

I'm pretty impressed with the results and haven't used a file in that time. I do use multiple chains due to discovering the discounts for bulk chain. The grinder doesn't have the 75 etc degree adjustment but seems to manage to get Oregon Microchisel and the Carlton equivalent to cut (.325).

But earlier found that genuine Swiss files seemed to last longer than the same ones made by the same crew that were sold as Oregon.

A son works at a mill cutting what passes as soft here (Calytris columeralaris) and they use a wheel grinder on the mill chainsaws.

If you've got it set up right you shouldn't have to bog the wheel as it comes down. And if you have it set like this what might look like blueing of the teeth is the sap being cooked.

And reverse the wheel every so often to keep the profile.

My 2 penny worth
 
As a retired professional faller of thirty some years, It would be quite mandatory that a person needs to be proficient with a hand file before attempting to use any type of power sharpener. I've seen many try and ended up with a chain unfixable.
 
I have a bench type chainsaw chain sharpener where I take the chain off the saw and it has a wheel to use as a grinder.Bought it new back in 1977 from the old Zip-Penn outfit. one of the best buys ever.It'll cut drags all exactly the same height and does a great job sharpening the cutters.I usually keep about 20 chains on hand for different saws and just put on another chain when one gets dull,then sharpen all the dull chains on a rainy or snowy day.
 
I do not see any bad advise so far. There are a lot of choices and every one of them requires a skill level above breaking rocks with a sledge. Personally I know several who couldn't file a chain to save their life and they though that a grinder would fix that situation. All were deeply disappointed in their "junk" chain grinder. You need to understand what makes a chain cut and feed correctly and then apply knowledge to your chosen sharpening method. In skilled hands even the $29 HF cheapie will place a serviceable edge on a chain. The $100 Oregon copies as sold by many under differing names will preform decent work but the vise and swivel require some tweaking to get them right. If out of the box performance is a requirement then bite the bullet and pay the price for a good one. Also all of the low end grinders I have been around need to have the OEM wheels replaced with a good one from Oregon or other name brand.
 
I've worn out several of the Oregon sharpeners over the years. They are my favorite. Like other's have said, you need to know what you're doing before you jump in. I prefer this sharpener over others as well as a file because I can do it fast, more often to keep it sharp and I found I can articulate the stone in such a way as I don't take as much metal off the chain as I would with a file, therefore, I get more life out of a chain. Everyone has a favorite tool that works well for them. This one is my favorite.
 
(quoted from post at 16:50:24 03/23/15) All,

I do not use a chainsaw as a regular item. My home is heated with propane. I do however own three saws, and their primary duty is to rid my property of buckthorn.

That said, the chains see a lot of stump duty, and dirt. I currently cut off the stump (3-4 inches diameter) and slap poison on the low-cut nub.

I am looking at the Oregon motorized sharpener for the small-bar chainsaws that I have.

Any advice, good or otherwise?

Thanks in advance.

D.

Like anything else else. If the tool is a junk design it won't work . If the operator makes errors in operation then the results will be substandard.
A power sharpener will quickly return a chain to factory fresh without shortening chain life.
 
Let me add another vote in favor of the Northern Tool unit. I have had one bolted to my workbench for a number of years and it has probably paid for itself ten times over by now. The only finicky bit is that the chain doesn't always advance to exactly the right place, and the user has to learn to "eyeball" the position and tweak if necessary before grinding.
 
Well mr. I don't sharpen chains enough to remember what I did the
last time I used it to make it work right if I had one. However, you
still have to clamp the chain and unclamp and clamp and unclamp
and clamp and unclamp................. The file is a no brainer and one
clamp in the shop vise on the bar and that's it....the chain stays on
the bar and the bar stays in the machine.
 
Randy shoe and others,

I do use a file-o-plate for file sharpening, but the damage of digging a chain into dirt consistently causes me to look elsewhere for sharpening.

I have spare chains, thinking that I could change the chain, while help is nearby resting, and grind that change into a proper form later.

D.
 
I put my saws in a vise and sharpen them by hand. I have had chains sharpened by three differant dealers and when they came home they wouldn't cut with a damn and took them back and they came back no better. I sharpen mine to a differant pitch from what manufacture recommends and take rakers way down. None of my new chains have those anti kick links in them. When I cut stumps I will take a saw with an old chain and bar because of dirt and you don't know what you might hit
 
(quoted from post at 21:24:11 03/24/15) Randy shoe and others,

I do use a file-o-plate for file sharpening, but the damage of digging a chain into dirt consistently causes me to look elsewhere for sharpening.

I have spare chains, thinking that I could change the chain, while help is nearby resting, and grind that change into a proper form later.

D.

Not fer nuthin' guy, but I cut my stumps real low too and don't hit rock or dirt very often. Are you cutting them below ground level?
 
Bret4207,

Sure seems it!

Naw, I truly try to keep things above terra firma. It does not preclude me from needing some chains at the ready. Hence the quest of the collected wisdom of others.

D.
 
Hello,

Here is my story in three pictures,

Guido.
a187434.jpg

a187436.jpg

a187437.jpg
 
ears

Guido, the difference between you, based in the pics you've posted over the years here, and Joe Sixpack with a Dremel chain sharpener is that you might actually look at what you're doing and think about it rather than grind the tooth blue and at 27 different lengths and angles.
 

We sell tractor parts! We have the parts you need to repair your tractor - the right parts. Our low prices and years of research make us your best choice when you need parts. Shop Online Today.

Back
Top