Low budget non pro chain grinders ?

[waterworks]

I only now run my saws a couple of times a year when a tree comes down locally to process for logs, I'm looking for a chain grinder that actually works but I have no need of a pro machine , do the Aldi / Lidl / Ebay cheapo grinders actually work ? 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[peatff]

They work well enough for firewood. I keep half a dozen Rotatec chains and sharpen them with my Lidl machine. Set them up and don't take too much off at once and they do the job nicely enough but there is a bit of flex and you don't have to rag on them or you can soon wreck a chain. I'd like a posh version at a good price but till I spot one this Lidl one will do. Lots of people will tell you to get some files and learn to use them and I have done that but I find it quicker and easier to sharpen them four or five at a time.

[Deafhead]

2 hours ago, peatff said:

They work well enough for firewood. I keep half a dozen Rotatec chains and sharpen them with my Lidl machine. Set them up and don't take too much off at once and they do the job nicely enough but there is a bit of flex and you don't have to rag on them or you can soon wreck a chain. I'd like a posh version at a good price but till I spot one this Lidl one will do. Lots of people will tell you to get some files and learn to use them and I have done that but I find it quicker and easier to sharpen them four or five at a time.

Same here, just needs a light touch on the grinder, still touch up with a file betweentimes.

[Tree monkey 1682]

Aldi was ok stayed away for lidl shite, in the end went back to filing by eye as it the only way I know how to however boss used to only grind by machine , throw him a file and he was ****************ed ,but chains shared by eye always have been better , than the chips that a machine chucks out 

[Amarus]

I grabbed a Lidl one last year on a whim - occasional use (couple of hours at max) is good but beyond that I find the vibration is too much for me. You get what you pay for, however 3 years of no-fuss warranty is something.

[Steven P]

I got a lidl on a whim, does the job OK, think I can hand file as well as it does though, but only used it a few times so far. For firewood and occasional use would be OK. I think with a machine if you get it wrong, get the metal too hot you can take the hardness out the steel, so take it nice and slow.

 

As above though, still learn how to sharpen with a file - even at one or 2 trees a year, easy enough to hit something sharp, nail (in domestic trees) or stone - quicker to fix there and then than go home and back to sharpen.

[kram]

That style of chain grinder are not great, they work but slow and the tooth geometry can be off. Most have sloppy tollerances so it relies on operator feel - you wont automatically get every cutter coming out the same - thats only on the expensive automatic machines.

 

A better option is a decent rotary tool. Milwaukee M12BLROT is the best one. Loads of other brands available but the non brushless type dont last long.

 

Thats showing it on the tiny 1/4" stihl chain with a 3.2mm diamond burr cutter.

I prefer the alumina grit cutters but they start at 4mm.

It can rapidly remove damage, the 5.5mm cutters for a 3/8" chain work very fast.

 

I usually do all my sharpening on site, I dont want to be doing it at home.

 

Its much easier sitting down than trying to make a video!

 

[doobin]

8 hours ago, kram said:

That style of chain grinder are not great, they work but slow and the tooth geometry can be off. Most have sloppy tollerances so it relies on operator feel - you wont automatically get every cutter coming out the same - thats only on the expensive automatic machines.

 

A better option is a decent rotary tool. Milwaukee M12BLROT is the best one. Loads of other brands available but the non brushless type dont last long.

 

 

Thats showing it on the tiny 1/4" stihl chain with a 3.2mm diamond burr cutter.

I prefer the alumina grit cutters but they start at 4mm.

It can rapidly remove damage, the 5.5mm cutters for a 3/8" chain work very fast.

 

I usually do all my sharpening on site, I dont want to be doing it at home.

 

Its much easier sitting down than trying to make a video!

 

I couldn’t get on sharpening with a dremel (the m12 is indeed a wicked bit of kit), but if you have the patience and the hand/eye coordination the best burrs are CBN burrs from Baltic Abrasives. Alumina grit burrs go out of shape far too quickly to be useful in my experience, and also quickly gum up. 
 

Regarding a grinder, if you’re not going to get a decent model with no slop, equip it with a CBN wheel and add water mist cooling, you might as well not bother in my opinion. So many people say you can sharpen better by hand- I’d agree, unless you have the above. I can sharpen with my grinder setup easily as good as by hand, but it did cost probably £600. 

[sandspider]

I'm an occasional saw user, not a pro at all - a few M3 of logs per year. Normally I sharpen by hand and am pretty good at it - my saws cut anyway! Once I hit a rock with my chain, and mullered it a bit. I used a Lidl grinder (or possibly Aldi, one of the cheapos) and it did a decent job of getting it back into shape quickly. But I wouldn't bother normally, hand file with the chain on the saw is quicker and about as good I'd say. 

[kram]

@doobin I cant find the cbn burrs listed on there shop or site, do you know where they are available?

Are they electroplated cbn, or resin/bonded cbn that your talking about?

I'm quite happy with the alumina ones tho, they last ok if you keep it moving

 

Its the same position and angle as holding a file, without the in out movement, I'd think most people would find it much easier, you can concentrate on the angle, without the wobble.

 

I didnt mention above, but I can file very well, however after five minutes or so, I start to get hand pain, both hands. I get the same if I use a hacksaw or metal file for any length of time, and always have since I were in my 20's. The M12 gives me no problems.

 

@sandspider yes the cheapy grinders work but a file will usually be just as good. One problem is if the chrome has rolled, it will rapidly destroy any normal file.

 

You can get diamond abrasive chainsaw files, these are better to remove rolled chrome as they will cut it. Normal files are blunted by chrome.