Bar Reconditioning

[mpyoung33]

Is it Spreng Machine Co Inc in Saxonburg?

 

[Vibes]

I'll get you a number. I usually just drop things off. Its not Spreng, but now that you mention it he could take care of that to.

 

[mpyoung33]

I googled Saxonburg machine shop and got 3 results. They are Cygnus, Davis, and Spreng. What kind of work have you had done there?

 

[mpyoung33]

Anything? I need to have this done soon. Thanks!

 

[mpyoung33]

It prob would be easier to put some tools in my car and drive over to your shop. I have an extra sanding disc for a table saw like heimannm shows if you need it. I don't use it anymore because i bought a 12" disc sander. I have a machine/fab/weld shop and all the right tools. What gauge is your bar? prob .063 Bob

You are right off I 80 which is easy enough for me to get to.

I think I'm going to try to do this myself. I bought the rail closer from Baileys and I have a table saw. I just need to know what kind of sanding disc do I need?

Thanks!

 

[heimannm]

I just use an 80 grit stick on disc, I find the red (emery) ones tend to hold up better than the yellow/gold (garnet?) ones do.

Use a light touch and keep the bar moving, I think you'll be pleased with the results.

Go carefully with the bar rail closer, and note that some areas may close up before others so be prepared to try and start and stop at points along the bar as needed. If you over do it, it can get quite tedious tapping a screw driver back into the groove to spread the rails again.

Mark

 

[Vibes]

What guage of chain does that bar use. If you wanted to come down this way I could shear you some 1/4'' strips of metal of the right thickness so you could lay it in the bar groove so not to close the bar to much.

 

[heimannm]

Bear in mind that you have to close the rails far enough that when the spring back they end up in the right position. I think you will find from bar to bar that the "spring back" varies depending on the metallurgy of the bar, amount of heat it's experienced, etc. It can even vary along the length of the bar depending on how badly the bar has been abused in the past.

I find the best course is just keep checking it as I go along with the chain I expect to run in the bar and make sure it moves freely, but with a minimal amount of slop.

Mark

 

[watsonr]

You can get the sanding disk from Sears, its a Craftsman product and is made to fit the 5/8 arbor on the table saw. Almost looks like a blade with no teeth, sanding pad sticks to the disk.

 

[mpyoung33]

What guage of chain does that bar use. If you wanted to come down this way I could shear you some 1/4'' strips of metal of the right thickness so you could lay it in the bar groove so not to close the bar to much.

Thanks for the offer it's .063 but I think I have some left over drive links from the 100' chain roll that I bought. I think 6-10 drive links should work good as a guide don't you think?

 

[mpyoung33]

I just use an 80 grit stick on disc, I find the red (emery) ones tend to hold up better than the yellow/gold (garnet?) ones do.

Use a light touch and keep the bar moving, I think you'll be pleased with the results.

Go carefully with the bar rail closer, and note that some areas may close up before others so be prepared to try and start and stop at points along the bar as needed. If you over do it, it can get quite tedious tapping a screw driver back into the groove to spread the rails again.

Mark

Do you think my cheap Craftsman table saw will get the job done or should I buy a disc sander? I sent my last bar to Chain Bar Repair in Oregon. It cost $150 for shipping and $75 to have the reconditioning done. I'm thinking the investment in a disc sander would be worth it.

 

[watsonr]

Do you think my cheap Craftsman table saw will get the job done or should I buy a disc sander? I sent my last bar to Chain Bar Repair in Oregon. It cost $150 for shipping and $75 to have the reconditioning done. I'm thinking the investment in a disc sander would be worth it.

Actually more surface area to hold the bar means straighter rails I would think. A good 1.5' x 2.5' area to hold the bar on and slide it slowly along the disk would be better that a small 6"x12" table surface and your bar is 68" long. The more that table holds the bar the better its going to be for the bar, smoother, larger surface to hold the bar, less jiggling, smooth slide....wouldn't you think?

I use the same table saw and disk as Mark and get great results!

 

[betterbuilt]

I use a belt sander.

 

[mpyoung33]

Actually more surface area to hold the bar means straighter rails I would think. A good 1.5' x 2.5' area to hold the bar on and slide it slowly along the disk would be better that a small 6"x12" table surface and your bar is 68" long. The more that table holds the bar the better its going to be for the bar, smoother, larger surface to hold the bar, less jiggling, smooth slide....wouldn't you think?

I use the same table saw and disk as Mark and get great results!

What kind of table saw do you guys have? I need to get a new one.

 

[watsonr]

A cheap delta 10" that takes the craftsman disk, think most take the 5/8 arbor blade/disk.

 

[mpyoung33]

I guess I'll give my cheap saw a shot. I'm assuming that I close up the rails before sanding.

 

[watsonr]

yes sir,

easy on the sanding, just enough to give it a straight and square edge.

 

[mpyoung33]

I looked for videos of somebody using a table saw w/ a disc sander to straighten the rails but I couldn't find anything. I'm planning on building an extension on my table saw to make life easier.

 

[angelo c]

I looked for videos of somebody using a table saw w/ a disc sander to straighten the rails but I couldn't find anything. I'm planning on building an extension on my table saw to make life easier.

I have the set up at home but am away from the basement for a few days /// family wedding in SC...

works fine. I have the freud set up. here is a linkee..
TABLE SAW SANDING DISC - Table Saw Blades

I use it very low in the table and it allows me to keep the rounded overall profile of the bar while leveling the rails to each other and flattening them too.

 

[madhatte]

If you wanted to go cheap, these are the only tools you really need:

Bar Rail Closer

Bar dresser

I'd rough-dress the bar first, then close the rails, then finish-dress it. Should take a couple of hours on a bar that length, assuming normal wear and no previous maintenance. Of course, you'll need a vise to hold everything still. Go slow; you can always take more metal off, but you can't put it back.