Cheap Grinder dedicated for Depth Gauges?

[JD Guy]

I am fairly new to my Oregon 520-120 and liking very much how I can bring back chains easily and properly from the unexpected “prizes” found in some trees.

There are a lot of $20 Chicago Electric ((Harbor Freight?) used grinders for sale on Fake Book Marketplace that look like brand new. I am curious if one of these would be OK to dedicate to depth gauges so as to not need to change the wheel and my set up on the Oregon 520? As it is now I check the rakers after the chains are back on the saws.

Thanks!

 

[blades]

For years I did depth gauges that way. trick is to have a grinder that can be adjusted so that the axis of the wheel can be centered on the chain. other wise if you do not do each side seperately one will be higher than the other in most cases. Not all grinders have the fore / aft adj of the vise ( your 520 does)
Awhile back I went with a unit specifically designed for depth gauge adj. ( not cheap). It saves me large amount of time, but I sharpen chains commercially. time vs cost paid for itself in a couple months.

 

[Sawdust Man]

I am fairly new to my Oregon 520-120 and liking very much how I can bring back chains easily and properly from the unexpected “prizes” found in some trees.

There are a lot of $20 Chicago Electric ((Harbor Freight?) used grinders for sale on Fake Book Marketplace that look like brand new. I am curious if one of these would be OK to dedicate to depth gauges so as to not need to change the wheel and my set up on the Oregon 520? As it is now I check the rakers after the chains are back on the saws.

Thanks!

That's what I recently did..... went to horror freight and bought a new one for $40 or whatever they are.
Seems to work fine, and definitely saves time.
Of course it ain't no fine piece of machinery on anything, but it works.

 

[JD Guy]

I appreciate the replies y’all . i am only grinding chains for myself and two sons so maybe adding another tool really isn’t necessary but it sure seems like one of those “el cheapo“ grinders would be simple to setup for depth gauges. Good point @blades, I didn’t consider that.

I have been giving the sons chains back to them with the instructions to check the depth gauges before using the chain.

 

[flh69]

That's what I recently did..... went to horror freight and bought a new one for $40 or whatever they are.
Seems to work fine, and definitely saves time.
Of course it ain't no fine piece of machinery on anything, but it works.

Do you use the HF grinder to do rakers? If so is it adjustable that you can have the center of the wheel over the raker?

 

[Sawdust Man]

Do you use the HF grinder to do rakers? If so is it adjustable that you can have the center of the wheel over the raker?

Yes, that's all we use it for.
It's pretty close to centered, but not adjustable.......so it is what it is.

 

[056kid]

You'll have a better chain if you file each raker in accordance with it's bit. A non specialized grinder isn't going to do that unfortunately. The Carlton file O plate however, does. I know it's not a grinder, but with a sharp file, a 105 driver skip chain takes all of a few moments to complete.

 

[JD Guy]

After revisiting my (and sons) chainsaw usage I’ve come to the conclusion that checking depth gauges and hitting them with a file while chain is back on the saw is a better alternative. It’s quick, takes little time and it would be one less “tool” to have on the bench. Thanks for all of the advice