Chain sharpening

[capetrees]

I'm getting disgusted spending hundreds of dollars each year on someone else sharpening my chains. I had thought about a grinder years ago and was talked out of it, too expensive I was told at $6-700 for a Stihl. By now, it would have paid for itself many times over. What would you guys recommend, continue to have them sharpened or buy a sharpener/grinder? If buy, which one is a good, long lasting piece of equipment? Money is not the issue to a degree since it will pay for itself over time. Also, do the grinders come with instructions on how to? I've heard it can be tricky and that usually a lot of chains are sacrificed while learning how to do it properly.

 

[oldirty]

you need to have someone sit down with you and go over how to hand sharpen your chain. the ability to do it yourself will pay for itself. learn on a vise and then learn how to out in the field.

in the field i sit and put the saw in a figure four leglock and work the side that is against the bent leg. then switch legs and go the other side. i actually sharpen a saw better doing it like this than on the bench vise.

it might take a couple times but you'll get it.

 

[Grace Tree]

I bought a Maxx last fall for the same reasons you mentioned. Since it's not a year old I don't know how it will hold up but I'm satisfied with it so far. A couple of things that I've noticed are that without sending a batch of chains out to be ground I can keep a smaller inventory of chains. Also, I think that I remove less material than the guy that was sharpening my chains who was also my chain supplier and may have had an interest in grinding them down. Overall, I don't like grinding chains. I don't mind filing them but grinding is tedious and boring. It's a good way to cut a bit of your overhead but you have to decide if you have the time and inclination to grind your own or if your time could be better spent.
Phil

 

[capetrees]

Forgot to mention its $8 per chain, up to 20" then its $10 for over 20". Just dropped a batch of 8 off of mixed lengths. Should cost me around $70-$80.

 

[Grace Tree]

Wow. I pay 3 buck for 20s and 24s and 4 bucks for 32"s. Since most of our customers don't have enough to pay for tree work we know they aren't going to be able to have their stumps ground. We try to get a low flush cut and normally end up with a rocked chain. There's no way I'm going to file a rocked chain. Grind em'
Phil

 

[oldirty]

Forgot to mention its $8 per chain, up to 20" then its $10 for over 20". Just dropped a batch of 8 off of mixed lengths. Should cost me around $70-$80.

you give me some files i'll do it for 50$. sharper than your boy does em too. for sure about that.

 

[treeoperations]

forget the grinder, buy some files and do it that way, your chains will last longer giving them a quick touch up every tank of gas (on bigger saws) and every 2nd tank on smaller, takes alot to get into habit of it and you might think its time consuming but the time you save cutting faster and not forcing a blunt chain is less stressful.

if you do go down the grinder path be careful not to heat the teeth up when sharpening them as it makes them brittle and harder to sharpen with a file.

 

[TimberMcPherson]

Hand file all the way, it will give you an excuse for having those callouses:censored:

 

[jemclimber]

When you do buy your grinder, buy a CBN (Cubic Boron Nitride) wheel from Foley. They cut much better, last much longer, don't need to be profiled, and make the job quicker. It is also hard to "burn" your teeth with this wheel, and just makes the job easier.
I use my grinder a lot but still file much more, unless I run into hardware or cement, or other of the many strange things we find in trees. You really should be able to file, often it's just as fast or faster to file than to swap out a chain. Good luck.

 

[senechal]

There's no substitute for skilled hand filing. Maintaining your cutter profile and a proper gullet while maximizing the life of your chain is very difficult with a grinder.
I've found on ground chains that they are ridiculous out of the gate (bouncy, pulling into the wood) but quickly wear out because of the grinder overheating the steel (as treeoperations mentioned). Consistent, smooth cuts with reduced vibrations come with lots of practice with a vice and a clean file.

 

[arbor pro]

When you do buy your grinder, buy a CBN (Cubic Boron Nitride) wheel from Foley. They cut much better, last much longer, don't need to be profiled, and make the job quicker. It is also hard to "burn" your teeth with this wheel, and just makes the job easier.
I use my grinder a lot but still file much more, unless I run into hardware or cement, or other of the many strange things we find in trees. You really should be able to file, often it's just as fast or faster to file than to swap out a chain. Good luck.

can you give Foley's contact information? Thanks.

 

[ClimbinArbor]

man you guys are paying out the wazoo for sharpening. i pay $2 a chain, any length, at my stihl place.

 

[arbor pro]

can you give Foley's contact information? Thanks.

forget it. I don't need it.

 

[serial killer]

Forgot to mention its $8 per chain, up to 20" then its $10 for over 20". Just dropped a batch of 8 off of mixed lengths. Should cost me around $70-$80.

That's about half of the cost of a new chain. If you just learned to touch them up a little in the field and threw them away and started fresh when they got really really junked, you'd come out way ahead.

 

[Thillmaine]

filing

Hand file...I may be wrong about this, but it would seem to me that you cant adjust how much metal the grinder takes, hence the fact that you will need to replace more frequently...? What about the rakes do they take down the rakers as well? I mean if you dull up one or two teeth there is no reason to resharpen the whole chain... just touch em up..

 

[Marquis]

If You Can Learn To Sharpen Them Yourself, You'll Be Glad You Did. Thats What I Do On All Of My Saws. Sometimes It Takes A Lot, Other Times, Just A Couple Of Passes And You're Back To Good!!

 

[ccrider2240]

ill do them for $45

 

[treeoperations]

another upside to sharpening your own chains is you can adjust the chain to what you are cutting, here in new zealand i do alot of pine trees that are very soft so i can file down the rakers more and adjust the cutter to cut alot faster then a stock chain, and i generally know if i have got a nasty bit of hard wood coming up in the next job so the next time i file my chain i dont touch the rakers to make it more like a stock chain.

 

[Garfield]

ditto what others have said

This sharpening business is really simple. you could literally sharpen several chains in the time it takes to take them to the sharpening shop. You could almost sharpen one chain in the time it takes you to remove the chain and reinstall a sharp one. This is why I have a file. If you want to step up from a file then get a 12 volt tool similar to a dremel to sharpen with...but again no need for it. Get a file and learn to use it...you'll be glad you did.

 

[jemclimber]

Those 12 volt and dremel tools are junk, to easy to "burn" a chain and its more difficult to take off an even amount off of each cutter. Filing is generally fastest and easiest for just a dull chain, but for a rocked out chain the grinder is much faster and easier to keep all cutters equal. Filing is definately not any better than a grinder but very close. If you think a file will do a better job than a grinder with a CBN wheel you don't know how to use a grinder. A grinder can take off very, very little or just plain way to much. And the angle can be controlled much better with a grinder. It's not the top plate angle, but the attack angle. Rakers should stay the same height. By taking down the rakers the chain feels sharper and grabs more but will not cut faster. If you want a sharper chain to cut faster you change the angle from 60 degrees toward 50 or somewhere in between. If you want it to last longer for harder wood you can change it the other way toward 70 degrees. The only way to do that with a round file is by the depth into the cutter which can put too much hook on the cutter. Square filing is different but most don't have a clue about square filing. The grit size of the wheel can make steel sharper than a file. (This is exxagerated for example but, do you sharpen your hunting knife with a file or a stone? All angles being equal it will be sharper if with a progression from a course stone to a fine stone.) With all that being said filing is still usually the best option or as I do on the job just grab a different saw and sharpen at the end or beginning of the day. I always have at least 3 of the same saw sizes on all jobs. This includes 3 climbing saws(ms200 and a couple 335's for back up), 3 small saws (357's) 3 medium saws (ms460 and 575xp's) but only 2 larger saws (066 and 395). A saw operator, any tree guy, should definately know how to file well, because most sharpening shops don't know how to grind a chain, and will burn it when they grind. Ok enough of a run on I'm sure this has all been said before. Take Care.