# What sharpening setup to get?



## Quickhorse (May 7, 2009)

Anyone have any links to a sharpening setup that is reputable? Hand jockeying it works for some but there's nothing like throwing an extra chain on there that's been sharpened or is new! :computer:


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## smokinj (May 7, 2009)

I run a organ 511a with cyclone wheel makes a razer sharp chain
http://www.baileysonline.com/search.asp?skw=kw145


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## ozzy42 (May 7, 2009)

I used to sit in my living room at night on a pc of cardboard,and hand sharpen my saws everynight.

Now I use a battery powered dremel .You can sharpen with the chain on the saw in a fraction of the time.

Have to be carefull with the stones,they can be a bit brittle at times.


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## Quickhorse (May 7, 2009)

smokinj said:


> I run a organ 511a with cyclone wheel makes a razer sharp chain
> http://www.baileysonline.com/search.asp?skw=kw145



Nice! . . . 



ozzy42 said:


> I used to sit in my living room at night on a pc of cardboard,and hand sharpen my saws everynight.
> 
> Now I use a battery powered dremel .You can sharpen with the chain on the saw in a fraction of the time.
> 
> Have to be carefull with the stones,they can be a bit brittle at times.



Interesting . . . how does that compare to a new chain when cutting? I can tell a big difference between hand sharpened w/file and professionally sharpened (or new).


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## smokinj (May 7, 2009)

Quickhorse said:


> Nice! . . .
> 
> 
> 
> Interesting . . . how does that compare to a new chain when cutting? I can tell a big difference between hand sharpened w/file and professionally sharpened (or new).



the 511 cuts it perfect everytime and the cyclone wheel is a much cooler grind so there is little chanch of losing temper cuts as good as a brand new chain. There are many people that can do it with a hand file but I am not one of them.


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## ozzy42 (May 7, 2009)

Quickhorse said:


> Nice! . . .
> 
> 
> 
> Interesting . . . how does that compare to a new chain when cutting? I can tell a big difference between hand sharpened w/file and professionally sharpened (or new).


Like any sharpening,depends on your skill level,they cut like new untill about a dozen times,then it's time to knock the guides down a bit.


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## ATH (May 7, 2009)

Granberg File-N-Joint from Bailey's:
http://www.baileysonline.com/itemdetail.asp?item=15200&catID=131

Only $27 and it does a _great_ job. Certainly not as fast as motorized set-ups, but for a few chains a week it is a very good fit for me.


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## tomtrees58 (May 7, 2009)

smokinj said:


> I run a organ 511a with cyclone wheel makes a razer sharp chain
> http://www.baileysonline.com/search.asp?skw=kw145



save your cash and get one tom trees


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## Slvrmple72 (May 7, 2009)

If you sharpen properly you will see no less performance from old chain compared to new out of the box/ off the reel stuff! I have hand sharpened for yrs but now use a dremel with a flexshaft hanging above the workbench. I put an Oregon Suresharp in the chuck and grind away! Best piece of advice I can give apart from keeping all of your angles deadon is this: Use a micrometer/calipers from time to time to determine your master cutter and then grind the rest of the gang to match!


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## treemandan (May 7, 2009)

Quickhorse said:


> Nice! . . .
> 
> 
> 
> Interesting . . . how does that compare to a new chain when cutting? I can tell a big difference between hand sharpened w/file and professionally sharpened (or new).



which would you say is better? For just touch up I use Pferd hand guides but for the long chains that have seen it hard I send them out cause I am to lazy.


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## slinger (May 7, 2009)

Hand file, guide, get your chi on.


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## 046 (May 8, 2009)

get a filing jig that attaches to your bar. those are repeatable and does an excellent job. 

more importantly.. teaches you the correct angles to hand file. 
once you learn correct angles.. it becomes a 3-4 minute job to sharpen your chain. 

above comment are for round chain... square grind spoils you quickly. once someone cuts with square.. it's hard to go back

here's a pic of a stihl bar mounted jig. there's many brands of basically the same thing. 
stihl also makes a bench mount filing jig. 

with a bit of setup (very minor) and using correct sharp file (stihl files) 
one can easily sharpen repeatable angles resulting in a SHARP chain.


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## Stihl Does It (May 8, 2009)

tomtrees58 said:


> save your cash and get one tom trees



I heartily agree and get a dozen or more files from them. Bailey's made my day with my first order a couple of weeks back. I'm a happy camper. 

Heck, I'll bet you need a Torx 27, a couple of wedges, and a raker file to boot.


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## Quickhorse (May 8, 2009)

Slvrmple72 said:


> If you sharpen properly you will see no less performance from old chain compared to new out of the box/ off the reel stuff! I have hand sharpened for yrs but now use a dremel with a flexshaft hanging above the workbench. I put an Oregon Suresharp in the chuck and grind away! Best piece of advice I can give apart from keeping all of your angles deadon is this: Use a micrometer/calipers from time to time to determine your master cutter and then grind the rest of the gang to match!



Hey, I'm in Copley/Fairlawn . . . where you at? I am going to try the dremel idea. I need to find the right bit though. I'll check out Home Depot tonight and see what they have . . . I have hand sharpened always also so this will be nice to try. Thanks . . .


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## 046 (May 8, 2009)

once you learn which angles ... matters little how it's done. hand file, grinder, etc. 

but until you learn how to consistently produce correct angles. 
forget about free handing with a dremel ... 

vs someone that knows how to consistently produce correct angles... can free hand with a round file in 3-4 minutes ... a darn sharp chain!

when hand filing... it helps greatly to clamp entire chainsaw by the bar in a large vise. then tighten up chain to take out all the slop. naturally use the correct size file, Stihl makes the best. with plenty of light and jewler's magnifier. you've got to be able to SEE your work. 



Quickhorse said:


> Hey, I'm in Copley/Fairlawn . . . where you at? I am going to try the dremel idea. I need to find the right bit though. I'll check out Home Depot tonight and see what they have . . . I have hand sharpened always also so this will be nice to try. Thanks . . .


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## MonkeyMan_812 (May 8, 2009)

Just get a bench grinder and sharpen all your chains at once and keep a couple in the truck. That way all you have to do is swap chains and your good to go. No sharpening in the feild.


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## Quickhorse (May 8, 2009)

046 said:


> once you learn which angles ... matters little how it's done. hand file, grinder, etc.
> 
> but until you learn how to consistently produce correct angles.
> forget about free handing with a dremel ...
> ...



I can hand file correctly w/no problems . . . have been doing that since a young age when out in the field w/my dad. I keep a bucket with extra chains with me also. I am just looking at other options thats all. Loving this site! Good info and input . . . The muffler mod works great on my MS310. 



MonkeyMan_812 said:


> Just get a bench grinder and sharpen all your chains at once and keep a couple in the truck. That way all you have to do is swap chains and your good to go. No sharpening in the feild.



I am leaning towards the bench grinder but am worried everyone in there brother will be dropping off their chains to be sharpened by me! :censored:


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## 046 (May 8, 2009)

if you can already hand file.. and have got a bucket of chains..

no brainer...get a grinder! 



Quickhorse said:


> I can hand file correctly w/no problems . . . have been doing that since a young age when out in the field w/my dad. I keep a bucket with extra chains with me also. I am just looking at other options thats all. Loving this site! Good info and input . . . The muffler mod works great on my MS310.
> 
> 
> 
> I am leaning towards the bench grinder but am worried everyone in there brother will be dropping off their chains to be sharpened by me! :censored:


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## MonkeyMan_812 (May 8, 2009)

Keep your new grinder a secret!


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## canopyboy (May 8, 2009)

MonkeyMan_812 said:


> Keep your new grinder a secret!



:agree2: +1

Although these things have a way of slipping out and then you're screwed. 

Let us know which one you get, I've been considering a bench grinder myself. We'll see...


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## Henry G. (May 8, 2009)

I'm getting good at this hand filing-the bench vise is solid advice, put chainbrake on, and use a guide. I just ordered a dozen 7/32 files from Save Edge $14 bucks what a friggin bargain!


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## Quickhorse (May 8, 2009)

Henry G. said:


> I'm getting good at this hand filing-the bench vise is solid advice, put chainbrake on, and use a guide. I just ordered a dozen 7/32 files from Save Edge $14 bucks what a friggin bargain!



Yeah . . . I most likely will stick with the hand-filing method. I'm usually just havin' a beer and answering a question or two from my 5yr old son anyhow so it all works out! As long as you have extra chains when in the field and they are sharp it doesn't matter how they got sharp.


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## timothykamp (May 9, 2009)

I just bought northern tool's grinder for about $100 including shipping- I'm going to try it out a night this week - I got sick of doing 7-8 chains every month or so by hand - so i sucked it up and bought a grinder. 


Someone mentioned something about filing down the guides some after a certain number of sharpenings - how does one know when to do this?


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## smokinj (May 9, 2009)

timothykamp said:


> I just bought northern tool's grinder for about $100 including shipping- I'm going to try it out a night this week - I got sick of doing 7-8 chains every month or so by hand - so i sucked it up and bought a grinder.
> 
> 
> Someone mentioned something about filing down the guides some after a certain number of sharpenings - how does one know when to do this?


raker gauage some just guess and are really good at it but a gauge is cheap
http://www.baileysonline.com/itemdetail.asp?item=15225


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## Fireaxman (May 9, 2009)

I've got the "Battery Powered Hand Grinder" and the dremel. But occasionally they get away from me and jump over the top of the cutter. So, I usually finish up with a stroke or few of the hand file.

Raker gauge was a good investment for me. But be careful. Temptation is to cut the rakers a little short to get a more aggressive chain. This can hurt you if you like bore cuts, or if you are working on your climbing saw and get tempted into one-handing it. Short rakers increase the chance of kickback.


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## Ghillie (May 9, 2009)

Carlton file-o-plate, Baileys has them. Nice compact and cheap, I think they are less than 5 bucks


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## Ghillie (May 9, 2009)

Here is a link to them


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## ATH (May 10, 2009)

Ghillie said:


> Carlton file-o-plate, Baileys has them. Nice compact and cheap, I think they are less than 5 bucks


They have come free when I ordered chain from Bailey's...


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## Ghillie (May 10, 2009)

ATH said:


> They have come free when I ordered chain from Bailey's...



With a spool or loops?


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## mnsnow (May 13, 2009)

I have a Jolly grinder and an Efco grinder. They both work great - the Efco has a reversible motor but they both do the job. 

I wouldn't worry about your friends - I let them "use" the grinder for beer or donations. If they want me to do their chains I charge them $5.


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## ATH (May 13, 2009)

Ghillie said:


> With a spool or loops?


Free with loops. I have never seen them advertise that, so maybe it is not "official policy". I don't think I have ordered more than 3 at one time, so it is not like I am a big bulk buyer they are trying to keep happy.


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