Best Chainsaw Sharpener

[Tomatin Firewood]

Hi I was wondering what is best chainsaw sharpener out there?

 

I have my 14"-18" bars for my stihl saw and firewood processor with Oregon bar. Need to sharpen on a daily basis.

 

To date have been filing manually, which is quite time consuming. I recently bought a PROFESSIONAL ELECTRIC CHAINSAW SHARPENER AUTO ADVANCE from ebay which is a load of rubbish, really cheap and nasty and does not do a good job.

 

I was wondering if anyone with more experience has any good suggestions?

 

Also what is best file gauge? I have a Stihl gauge but was wondering if there are any better ones?

 

Finally seen these Powersharp accessories. Does anyone rate these and does they also file down leaders as well as cutters, or does leader have to be filed manually?

[predator]

i just use a file

[Tinker]

To be blunt, a bit like your chains! If you are using saws on a daily basis, you need to go on an approved training course to learn proper techniques and about PPE.

 

Forgive me if I assume wrongly but it seems as if you don't have C30?

 

After training, 15 mins sees a saw cleaned, sharpened and adjusted. That's not long.

 

Running a firewood business with only one leg or a permanent parting isn't good for business.

 

This may sound harsh, especially from a junior member but it is the best advice I've ever had.

 

Good luck

Chris

[hazzygawa]

I brought an electric chain sharpener and I too think they are shite. It tends to burr the edge over.

Il stick to a file me thinks.

[predator]

my electric sharpener is sat on shelf now unused file give me better results and the chains last longer too as i tended to get greedy with the electric sharpener and the cutters where getting blued and burred

[Theocus]

I have an oregon bench grinder, it cost a fair bit but the finish is great. If you set it up correctly and take the time then every tooth is the same, all to the correct depth and the rakers are just right. I can do the 4 foot 404 chain in 5-10 mins. the others are cheap for a reason.

[gensetsteve]

I have a cheapo from Lidls which cost £20 is very close to the jolly which sells to arb boys for £150 . It takes longer to remove chain and sharpen so I hand file for 5 times then give a buzz on the sharpener. I would not be without now especially with the wood processor. The taking too much off or blueing chain is down to the operator. The result from the machine is better than my hand sharpening but that taht could just be me.

[Will Ayers]

get good at hand sharpening! i have never used a machine to sharpen a chain, so i dont know what they are like but just get good with a file and there is no need!

[corylus]

Do it by hand, but get someone to show you the correct way to sharpen (not your mate the farmer from the village unless he has his 'tickets'). You will actually enjoy sharpening once used to it. Enjoy maybe is a too strong word but it is very satisfying.

 

Make sure you get decent file holders, NOT the ones that hold the files with spring clips.

 

Also be aware that the type of chain you use (chisel, micro-chisel etc) vary in degrees of difficulty in sharpening to get 100% performance.

 

You will soon get up to speed on it

[Theocus]

I can sharpen a chain by hand as it is a skill you have to learn and when done properly is very good, but when you are sharpening a 4 foot bar on the 880 or have 6 chains to do then the grinder is the way forward. Also i have have seen some shockers of hand sharpening that ruin chains and at the same time witnessed a badly set up grinder demolish a chain!!!

If you have the room in your garage try a decent grinder, out in the field sharpen by hand.