Electric chain sharpeners

[Mountain man]

I've got one, I just can't get on with it. Every time i use it the sharpness is indifferent to say the least.

Probably doing it wrong.

I'll do it by hand, if a chain is really mullered I won't even bother, it's not worth my time, I'll chuck it away.

[gensetsteve]

I don't hand sharpen enough now to keep my hand in. I like my lidless bench grinder but you need to be careful as they will take too much off. If I have a low cutter I don't take the rest down to match it. Why kill half a chain due to one cutter. The other thing you need to do is dress the stone every few chains other wise the stone wears on one side and dulls so you spend too long in the cut. A sign it needs dressing is lots of sparks. I use an old concrete diamond disc from a 4 inch grinder just kiss the stone with the diamond cutter on its side.

[Pete Mctree]

They are not usually faster, however they excel at re-working damaged chains & precise sharpening which is fantastic for long chains. If used with care then blueing of the chain can be avoided & I can hand sharpen mine afterwards if needed.

 

For long chains 30" & above in my case I would never be without one again especially if milling

[18 stoner]

 

 

 

A fresh file and a good eye is faster and gives a better edge IMO.

 

 

Couldn't agree more. I can sure run off a sharp chain myself too but I'm wanting a grinder mainly for damaged stuff, you know, the type that "someone else" threw on a heap!😜

 

These days I have less time to perfect every chain that goes out, so wanting more of a general sharpness that can be done with less effort in the shop. Having many saw users and simply doing more work these days has noticeably increased the number of chains being thrown on the bench.

 

I still doubt I'd bother using a grinder on toppers and anything less than an 18" chain, but then typically it's the larger saws that seem to get mullered due to cutting closer to the ground & hitting hidden gems in stems😳

[gensetsteve]

I also seem to find the stones cheaper than the poor quality files you get from still and Oregon. A stone = £5 ans lasts forever a file £1 lasts one sharpen on a 4 ft chain.

[codlasher]

Perhaps things have changed since I was cutting every day?

My boss bought an automatic chain sharpening machine and took all the used chains at the end of the day to be sharpened. We duly fitted them the following morning and went off to cut. By piece time manual sharpening was required and I remember the frustration as the machine had managed to get the teeth too hot and the files ran off because they were too hard. I'm wondering if this will still happen if you're not careful?

codlasher

[gensetsteve]

Perhaps things have changed since I was cutting every day?

My boss bought an automatic chain sharpening machine and took all the used chains at the end of the day to be sharpened. We duly fitted them the following morning and went off to cut. By piece time manual sharpening was required and I remember the frustration as the machine had managed to get the teeth too hot and the files ran off because they were too hard. I'm wondering if this will still happen if you're not careful?

codlasher

 

Yes there is a knack to using them engineers and people in repair shops seem to master them better than tree surgeons who have perfected the art of hand sharpening. My hand sharpening is not the greatest but I can get 200 litres of oil and antifreeze through a yacht and juggled in without spilling a drop you can fine tune simple skills when used daily.

[18 stoner]

Perhaps things have changed since I was cutting every day?

 

My boss bought an automatic chain sharpening machine and took all the used chains at the end of the day to be sharpened. We duly fitted them the following morning and went off to cut. By piece time manual sharpening was required and I remember the frustration as the machine had managed to get the teeth too hot and the files ran off because they were too hard. I'm wondering if this will still happen if you're not careful?

 

codlasher

 

 

Yeh, you do have a point. I've been in that woodland situation and it's certainly not nice if you can't rub a chain in the woods.

 

My situation here and now is different though. I'm wanting a grinder to help me out, i don't expect to grind every chain I have or replace file sharpening. I want a way of helping turn around chains I no longer have the time or the enthusiasm to do by hand.

 

My experience in arb (very different to forestry) is that it's the bigger saws that hit something nasty in the stem. It be from felling or ringing garden stems that can be full of all manner of things, this is where the most expensive cuts are done.

 

If it means running with a set of three chains for each bigger saw that have been hardened on a grinder then so be it. If a chain gets blunted on site, swap it and take it back to the yard for regrinding later.

Edited November 2, 2014 by 18 stoner

[Neil-R]

The problem with blueing of the chain can pretty much be avoided if using hard green or blue disks on a proper workshop grinder , pink disks are pants , green disks allow a much quicker and cooler job to be done

[18 stoner]

Nice tip Neil, thanks.