# Should I go for the Oregon 511AX Or is ther another great sharpener



## Danny Boy (Sep 1, 2012)

I want to get a saw sharpener and I only want to cry once.

The 511AX looks good from here, But I have never used any type of electric shapeners.

Is there another brand that may be ok?.

I just have 4 saws, but later down the road I may sharpen for others
there fore I want a good machine.

What would you sugest

Thanks

Danny


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## stihl023/5 (Sep 1, 2012)

I had a electric for a while but like the chips from a good filing.


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## Danny Boy (Sep 1, 2012)

I could never file as good as a good man on a electric sharpener........They always seem to cut nice when you get the chain back,

So what is out ther thats good for this year


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## computeruser (Sep 1, 2012)

The Oregon will do you fine. A good file guide (like the one Stihl sells) would probably put out a better final product, but the grinder is might convenient. Got a 511A mounted on my bench and glad for it.


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## jefflovstrom (Sep 1, 2012)

Only sharpen by hand here, but we are pro's.
Jeff


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## tramp bushler (Sep 2, 2012)

jefflovstrom said:


> Only sharpen by hand here, but we are pro's.
> Jeff



. Really? ?? How's your chisel filing of a good and rocked chain. ??? 

If the o p wants sharp chains, and only wants to cry once, get a Silvey Swingarm. Chisel chain grinder. With 2 brown, 1grey and one salmon colored stones.
Use the 2 brown stones up first. That should take a year or 2 . Unless he's burning 5-10 gallons of fuel in clean wood per week. Those will be forgiving and he can learn how to put up a SHARP chain. Then the grey stone and finally the salmon. Unless he really wants the best and goes to the blue ceramic stone. 
I've filed and ground around 6,000 feet of chainsaw chain and chisel grinding consistantly puts up the fastest cutting most efficient chains.
Mdavlee has some vids on saws with different chains on them. You can do a search.


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## tramp bushler (Sep 2, 2012)

Hope I didn't come across as rude Jeff. 
A lot of guys make lots of comments on their chains. But when watching their vids I'm seriously underwhelmed.


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## flushcut (Sep 2, 2012)

I have a 511 and it is a good grinder for round ground chain though I mostly use it for damaged chain only and hand file for a touch up. 
I would love to have a Silvey but can't justify the cost. Then again I would love their 45ton jack as well.


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## 2treeornot2tree (Sep 2, 2012)

If your gonna get the 511ax, spend the little bit extra money and get the one with hydraulic assit. I got that one, and it saves alot of repetitive movements of opening and closing the clamp and all that time.

I have had my grinder for 2 years and love it. I offen just use it to barely touch up the chain, like you would with a file. The local saw shop grinds the piss out of them and you can only get 3 maybe 4 sharpenings outta of a chain when i was having them do it.


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## sgreanbeans (Sep 2, 2012)

I have the green Timber Tuff, or sumtin like that, bought it at a Farm and Fleet for about 160, it is the exact same thing as the Oregon, actually would bet that they are built buy the same manufacturer, just different colors. At first, I sucked. Now I get ribbons while cross cutting like u would when ripping. I can get them so sharp that it makes me laugh when I lay into sumtin. It is pretty ridiculous how sharp they are, but so much fun!


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## ddhlakebound (Sep 2, 2012)

2treeornot2tree said:


> If your gonna get the 511ax, spend the little bit extra money and get the one with hydraulic assit. I got that one, and it saves alot of repetitive movements of opening and closing the clamp and all that time.
> 
> I have had my grinder for 2 years and love it. I offen just use it to barely touch up the chain, like you would with a file. The local saw shop grinds the piss out of them and you can only get 3 maybe 4 sharpenings outta of a chain when i was having them do it.



I've got the 511ax, and love it. If I had to do it again, I'd go ahead and get the hydraulic assist. Without the assist, you move the chain, lock it in, sharpen it, and unlock, then do it again. With the assist you move the chain, sharpen, move the chain, sharpen.


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## BlackOakTreeServ (Sep 2, 2012)

jefflovstrom said:


> Only sharpen by hand here, but we are pro's.
> Jeff



same here


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## Danny Boy (Sep 2, 2012)

Thanks for the repls guys, I want to keep the price down below 400, so I just need to decide if I can live without the hyd. assist or not.
I,m sawing into some big elm crotchs with my 361 and I need to resharpen almost after each cut.
I could never get a edge by hand sharpening the way they come back from a electric sharpener.
But then again i'm not a pro cutter.
So it will be a toss up between the hyd assist and the 511AX


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## tramp bushler (Sep 2, 2012)

Are you keeping your riders down? Is there a lot of wind blown river silt in the bark? 
Should get much more than 1 cut from a sharp chain. 
Regardless of the sharpening system they all have a learning curve.
With files it's physical , with grinders its about taking it easy and not overheating the tooth.
I use a Silvey 510 with a resinoid stone for the crew chains. It does a good job and I get 15 grindings per chain or so. As long as they haven't been rocked bad. 
A big thing is keeping all the teeth even. It really pays off by the time the chain is half wore out. 
.025" is a good joint depth for general cutting.


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## madhatte (Sep 11, 2012)

I just got a Silvey 510 at work. That thing is a dream. I've never used a better grinder. It's got so many awesome features. Everything is easy to set up and get excellent results from. I think I might still be able to hand-file a better chain, but certainly not anywhere near as quickly or as evenly. For all the chains I grind, this thing is gonna save time and money.


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## Tree Pig (Sep 11, 2012)

tramp bushler said:


> Are you keeping your riders down? Is there a lot of wind blown river silt in the bark?
> Should get much more than 1 cut from a sharp chain.
> Regardless of the sharpening system they all have a learning curve.
> With files it's physical , with grinders its about taking it easy and not overheating the tooth.
> ...



Im gonna guess you hit the nail on the head and the rakers are too high.


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## Guran (Sep 11, 2012)

I sharpen the chain by hand after every time I refuel. 1 or 2 strokes per teeth will do. Use a file giude to maintain the correct angle plus the correct height of the "rider". 
First thing I do after buying a new chain is go over it by hand to make it super sharp! :smile2:


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## qwik48r (Sep 12, 2012)

old school... screw the fancy gimmicks... they are rifled now ol boy so dont twist em. remember to clean (whack) your file...

25-30* down. set rakes how YOU want... its your saw.


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## Guran (Sep 13, 2012)

qwik48r said:


> old school... screw the fancy gimmicks... they are rifled now ol boy so dont twist em. remember to clean (whack) your file...
> 
> 25-30* down. set rakes how YOU want... its your saw.



When depth gauges (rakers) are uneven, each cutter tooth on the chain takes a different sized bite. This causes the chain to cut rough and vibrate. If the depth gauges are higher on one side than the other, this causes the chain to cut crooked. The cut will pull in the direction of the side that has the lower depth gauges.

The best way to cut depth gauges accurately is to measure each depth gauge with a measuring tool (guide). These tools are easy to use and ensure depth gauges *are all *the proper height.


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## rtsims (Sep 13, 2012)

Bottom line is everything needs to be even. Angles, raker depths, tooth size etc. I hand file 95% of the time but nothing beets a chisel ground chain, at least in our wood here. Down side is that when they need to be touched up in the field with a round file you have to file enough tooth off to get rid of the square edge. So I stick to hand filing. If I was living high on the hog I would buy a silvy and have 3 or 4 backup chains for each bar.


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