FYI - Northern Chainsaw Sharpener

[Bass]

great thread - just ordered the unit

looking forward to the mods


Stihl 041S - if you are still making the washers and shims, could you please PM me the info on how to order from you and do you take paypal

Thanks
Bass

 

[ericjeeper]

Mail him cash

great thread - just ordered the unit

looking forward to the mods


Stihl 041S - if you are still making the washers and shims, could you please PM me the info on how to order from you and do you take paypal

Thanks
Bass

Providing he is still making the shims almost 2 years later. LOL Just stick the cash in an envelope and put a stamp on it..

 

[Moss Man]

I ordered the dag burn thing. $104. delivered to my Maine doorstep.

If the washer and shim are still available, I will be needing them.

 

[Bass]

Providing he is still making the shims almost 2 years later. LOL Just stick the cash in an envelope and put a stamp on it..

will do!!

 

[Moss Man]

Got the grinder via UPS today, the box was a little roughed up, but nothing seemed broken inside and the wheels were intact. If anyone has the dimensions of the spacer and washer, I have a machinist friend who could make them for me.

 

[Bass]

of topic - Moss i too use the 272xp great saw!!

 

[Urbicide]

I make the washers, but can no longer get the shims. After I get a filing project done for a very patient AS member, I'll buy the tools and shim stock to finish the kits.
Rob

If anyone has the dimensions of the spacer and washer, I have a machinist friend who could make them for me.

Seems to me, Moss Man, that if you could supply the shims, then Stihl 041S can continue wth production of the washers. Ta da! Everybody's happy and Rob might get some peace.:greenchainsaw:

 

[Bass]

put mine together this weekend and did two chains - once i figured out how to do the 10 degrees it worked great and it was tossing some very nice chips

the question is how am i suppose to use the dressing stone? never really had any type of grinder before

oh and should i grind down the rakers too?

Thxs

 

[John Henry]

I'm in the process of calling Northern to complain and get some relief. I love the sharpener, except they have issues with shipping (as described here) and damage, and my motor quit (actually, started running backwards, so shorting electrical connections somewhere) after two chains.

I also didn't seem to be able to tilt 10 degrees both ways on the bottom curved part. It says you should be able to slide that piece 5-10 degrees, but I can only go 10 degrees one direction, and about 3 in the other. (note, this is not the 0-30 degree adjustment that in the plane of your benchtop, but the swivel toward or away from you; it uses the same adjustment knob though). Anyone else experience that?

 

[Stihl088stock]

Yes JH mine tilts well only in one direction too.

 

[ODS9091]

the question is how am i suppose to use the dressing stone? never really had any type of grinder before

oh and should i grind down the rakers too?
Thxs

http://www.oregonchain.com/pdf/accessories/511AManual_3Lang.pdf

It's a big file, but it's because it is multilanguage??? I had the same problem with my NT grinder, until i downloaded the 511A manual, it is basically the same, but it has a whole lot more better instruction booklet

 

[Kansas]

put mine together this weekend and did two chains - once i figured out how to do the 10 degrees it worked great and it was tossing some very nice chips

the question is how am i suppose to use the dressing stone? never really had any type of grinder before

oh and should i grind down the rakers too?

Thxs

With the grinder running use the stone to shape the disc to what fits the plastic gage they (or should have) gave you. (shut the grinder off btw )hth

I dont grind my rakers fwtiw but other people may so maybe they will say yes but chains dont last long enough to go to the extra work so for me anyway it doesnt pay.

Kansas

 

[Kansas]

I'm in the process of calling Northern to complain and get some relief. I love the sharpener, except they have issues with shipping (as described here) and damage, and my motor quit (actually, started running backwards, so shorting electrical connections somewhere) after two chains.

I also didn't seem to be able to tilt 10 degrees both ways on the bottom curved part. It says you should be able to slide that piece 5-10 degrees, but I can only go 10 degrees one direction, and about 3 in the other. (note, this is not the 0-30 degree adjustment that in the plane of your benchtop, but the swivel toward or away from you; it uses the same adjustment knob though). Anyone else experience that?

These things are Chinese junk (pardon my French) we have all had issues of one kind or other. They need a lot of attention down to the smallest detail, just study the form and function of it there is casting flash everywhere and incomplete castings etc you will basically need to re manufacture the unit to get it to work decent but it will with minimum fuss don't worry.

As for the table angle problem -look at the detents in the table one may be full of casting you may have to drill it out or something just an idea since I cant see it from here?

Once you tweak it out they are well worth the spare change they cost!

Don't get me wrong I fix cars for a living this grinder was a piece of cake to get it darn near as good as the Oregon I used to have it just takes imagination!

Steve

 

[PA Plumber]

put mine together this weekend and did two chains - once i figured out how to do the 10 degrees it worked great and it was tossing some very nice chips

the question is how am i suppose to use the dressing stone? never really had any type of grinder before

oh and should i grind down the rakers too?

Thxs

The grinder I have came with a burgundy colored plastic reference gage. Just touch the wheel with the stone just enough to reshape it to the reference guide. You are probably aware, make sure the grinding wheel is completely stopped before using the reference guide.

Concerning rakers/depth gages; yes, I grind them. I have a metal Stihl raker depth guide. I don't even change the angle of the grinding wheel. I just use a light hand and it only takes a minute or two to touch up the rakers. If you get the rakers too low, the saw will get real jumpy. Great for Eastern Hemlock, a real pain in some of the hard woods.

 

[masiman]

...I also didn't seem to be able to tilt 10 degrees both ways on the bottom curved part. It says you should be able to slide that piece 5-10 degrees, but I can only go 10 degrees one direction, and about 3 in the other. (note, this is not the 0-30 degree adjustment that in the plane of your benchtop, but the swivel toward or away from you; it uses the same adjustment knob though). Anyone else experience that?

Kansas may have fixed your problem, but in case that did not do it try this.

On my grinder there were some castings on the underside of the table that prevented the table from being able to tilt in one direction. I took a grinder to and fixed it in less than 30secs.

A nice grinder after you finish tweaking it!

 

[Bass]

Thanks for the tips guys!! plan to r-sharpen my chains this weekend so i'll dress the wheels

 

[Dok]

The detents that set the + or - 10deg hook on mine weren't cast very well. I cleaned them out with a drill bit ever so carefully. Installing the shim, washer and cleaning up all the mating surfaces has the grinder working great, even a year later.
Dok

 

[chugbug]

Hey guys I just jumped in on this thread !! Wow 44 pages !! Anyway I went to northern and I want to make sure I'm looking at the right one , pretty sure its the only one thats not oregon , there number is 193020 and its on sale for 89.99 , everybody still happy with them ??

 

[PA Plumber]

Hey guys I just jumped in on this thread !! Wow 44 pages !! Anyway I went to northern and I want to make sure I'm looking at the right one , pretty sure its the only one thats not oregon , there number is 193020 and its on sale for 89.99 , everybody still happy with them ??

That sure looks like the one I have.

From the way this thread has gone, it sounds like the quality has been suffering as of late.

The one I received had rattled around a good bit during shipping, but has worked very well with the shim/washer mods. Likely, I was lucky and got a good one.

Still happy? Yes, worth every penny. I have probably used the sharpener at least 100 times, so far. I have also done chains for a few of my neighbors at anywhere from the price of "neighborly" to $5.00/chain.

From the get go, I did put alignment marks on the arbor and the wheels so they are put on the same every time. I also check the wheels fairly often and dress as needed.

 

[John Henry]

The detents that set the + or - 10deg hook on mine weren't cast very well. I cleaned them out with a drill bit ever so carefully. Installing the shim, washer and cleaning up all the mating surfaces has the grinder working great, even a year later.
Dok

Good advice. I will pull mine apart when I get the new one and clean it up.

When my motor quit working, I called. The Northern Tool lady was extremely nice, and shipped a new one the same day! I am returning the other via UPS. The quality on this tool may be a little suspect, but +1 for NT's customer service.