Chain tools from Harbor Freight

[jimdad07]

A new Harbor Freight opened up twenty minutes away from home. I checked it out today on my lunch break and found that they have a bench chain sharpener plus the tool used to put loops of chain together. The bench top sharpener is $40.00 and the tool for making chain loops is $60.00.
I was thinking on getting both because I am really starting to jump into the "saw water" feet first. Any of you guys used these tools from there? Would they be ok as starting tools? I ask because the budget is limited right now. I am looking to get at least a year out of each one. The loop maker will probably last awhile because it might get used a couple of times a month for now, but the sharpener will get regular use. But if neither one is worth a sh!t, I will save up for awhile and get something better.

 

[barneyrb]

I don't know about the chain break and spin tool but you can use the grinder with decent results (if that's all you can afford). BTW...this 20% off coupon may help also.

http://www.harborfreightusa.com/html/SingleMagLanders/americanprofile/images/20_c.jpg

 

[injun joe]

glad to hear your getting your feet wet i hvae the chain sharpener its well not a fancy 1. got mine for $38 wasnt bad since nobody around here knew how to grind so i am self taught BUT if you was serious about sharpening i would save up and go with the better ones like the oregon or even the sharpener they sell through northern. i liked mine because i was new to cutting wood and didnt know what a ''good'' chain was but it sharpened ok. a lot of guys dont like them because they flex when the grinder head it lowered mine doesnt do it luckily. another thing is it is fixed to 60 degrees in one direction and can not tilt in the other like the other grinders. so i found that only one side of the cutters is sharp where as the other side doesnt have that 60 degree tilt. never tried the breaker/spinner combo though i wanted to but never got round to it.

 

[Highbeam]

I just sharpened two chains for my 20" bar last night using the HF chain grinder. It has served me very well and paid for itself in savings vs. paying to have the chain sharpened.

I don't hand file.

 

[ECRUPPRECHT]

ive got the spinner/Breaker it works ok the tip on the breaker is kinda brittle, and the spinner takes a few tries to e the feel but it serves its purpose.

 

[jimdad07]

Thanks guys, might just try them out to learn and buy good ones once I have learned.

 

[Philbert]

I was thinking on getting both because I am really starting to jump into the "saw water" feet first. . . . I ask because the budget is limited right now. I am looking to get at least a year out of each one. . . .. But if neither one is worth a , I will save up for awhile and get something better.

Almost every time I have bought cheap tools, I have come to regret it, eventually. If you are really serious, I recommend that you buy better tools. It's not just the service life of the tools, but the quality of the work you can do with them.

For the $100 you have, you can buy a modest quality spinner/breaker set from Bailey's OR the Northern Tool knock-off grinder and have something you can use for a while. I am not a fan of the NT grinder, but apparently, it is still better than the plastic HF model if you are willing to fuss with it a bit.

Just my opinion.

Philbert

 

[Rudedog]

I used HF to buy my wood/work gloves and my anti vibration gloves. I also bought one of those 5 gallon bucket organizers. I got the idea from another thread and it worked out great.

 

[StihlyinEly]

I also bought one of those 5 gallon bucket organizers. I got the idea from another thread and it worked out great.

I use the same system. Weighs in at about 20 pounds these days, cause you can get so much useful stuff in there.

 

[ckelp]

just to let you know the sharper is on sale for $30 put the 20% and bam now it's $24 i'm picking mine up on friday..

 

[roncoinc]

Oh my,,you guys looking at that HF grinder are in for a surprise when you go to use it.. it may put you off grinders and send you to hand filing..
Sorry to say,BUT,,that thing is NOT a good example of what a chain grinder is capable of..
the GOOD news is,you can set it up to grind rakers and get the one from NT and after the mods ( LARGE thread on that ) have a descent setup to sharpen chains..
in short,that HF grinder is a cheap chinese POS and should not even be on the open market..in fact the $100 NT grinder i use is considered by a lot of people to be not up to snuff..but it works well enuf. .. after the mods it is fine... .. so go figure how good a $35 grinder is going to do compared to a grinder three times the price that is considered not that great,but functional..
get the NT,,do the mods,and be a LOT happier..
....

 

[les-or-more]

Jim did they open in watertown ?

 

[roncoinc]

Almost every time I have bought cheap tools, I have come to regret it, eventually. If you are really serious, I recommend that you buy better tools. It's not just the service life of the tools, but the quality of the work you can do with them.

For the $100 you have, you can buy a modest quality spinner/breaker set from Bailey's OR the Northern Tool knock-off grinder and have something you can use for a while. I am not a fan of the NT grinder, but apparently, it is still better than the plastic HF model if you are willing to fuss with it a bit.

Just my opinion.

Philbert

OOPPSS,, . i think you said it better than me ..

 

[jimdad07]

I used HF to buy my wood/work gloves and my anti vibration gloves. I also bought one of those 5 gallon bucket organizers. I got the idea from another thread and it worked out great.

I have been using a bucket organizer I call the saw bucket, I have everything I need in there to tear the saw down in the woods if needs be. Works great.

 

[jimdad07]

Jim did they open in watertown ?

Yes, they opened on Saturday

 

[jimdad07]

For the $100 you have, you can buy a modest quality spinner/breaker set from Bailey's OR the Northern Tool knock-off grinder and have something you can use for a while. I am not a fan of the NT grinder, but apparently, it is still better than the plastic HF model if you are willing to fuss with it a bit.

Just my opinion.

Philbert[/QUOTE]

It is a good opinion, normally that is my take on most tools. My job revolves around tools, as do my hobbies. I have sunk most of what I can into saws the last few months and before that woodworking tools over the past five or six years. I saw these and figured they might be good to get through for a little while until I can afford to get the good stuff, I don't usually expect stellar performance out of cheap stuff, just try to get through with it from time to time, of course that is what ultimately led me to this site and to the world of professional grade chainsaws. Before here I have been cutting close to forty cord (face cord) a year for the last six years with cheap Poulan Pros, they got me through, both are still running but I just wanted something that could handle the load with ease and didn't run like sh!t after the heavy cutting. This site also got me into milling with a saw. Love this place.

 

[roncoinc]

For the $100 you have, you can buy a modest quality spinner/breaker set from Bailey's OR the Northern Tool knock-off grinder and have something you can use for a while. I am not a fan of the NT grinder, but apparently, it is still better than the plastic HF model if you are willing to fuss with it a bit.

Just my opinion.

Philbert

It is a good opinion, normally that is my take on most tools. My job revolves around tools, as do my hobbies. I have sunk most of what I can into saws the last few months and before that woodworking tools over the past five or six years. I saw these and figured they might be good to get through for a little while until I can afford to get the good stuff, I don't usually expect stellar performance out of cheap stuff, just try to get through with it from time to time, of course that is what ultimately led me to this site and to the world of professional grade chainsaws. Before here I have been cutting close to forty cord (face cord) a year for the last six years with cheap Poulan Pros, they got me through, both are still running but I just wanted something that could handle the load with ease and didn't run like sh!t after the heavy cutting. This site also got me into milling with a saw. Love this place.[/QUOTE]

If you are into tools at all and buy that HF pos,,,you will upon seeing it know that you should have bought a case of beer instead..that is NOT a tool,it is a TOY.. sorry if i offended anyone but thats the way it is..

 

[jimdad07]

If you are into tools at all and buy that HF pos,,,you will upon seeing it know that you should have bought a case of beer instead..that is NOT a tool,it is a TOY.. sorry if i offended anyone but thats the way it is..[/QUOTE]

I take no offense. That is what I wanted, was to hear the opinions of people who have used them. Have you used them at all? Not trying to be smart, just would like to know.

 

[J.W Younger]

my opinion is buy loops from baileys and make yourself learn to file. Even a good grinder requires some skill, a pos has you wupped from the git go.
all this is honest from my own experience but I have been wrong before.

 

[jimdad07]

my opinion is buy loops from baileys and make yourself learn to file. Even a good grinder requires some skill, a pos has you wupped from the git go.
all this is honest from my own experience but I have been wrong before.

I do all right filing by hand, I like to touch up at every fill-up, sometimes after a chain has been free handed so many times it starts to cut off to one side or the other, I was just thinking of getting a bench sharpener for bringing chains like that back. AS for the buying loops, I thought it would be fun and economical to put my own loops together, can you recommend a good spinner/breaker?

Thanks, Jim