FYI - Northern Chainsaw Sharpener

[beanz4brainz]

Shim and Washer Kit.

Hi all,

Just wondering if anybody is supplying the shim and washer kits. I'll ask on here to avoid bothering anyone by PM'ing

Just got my grinder via UPS football flatening service and only suffered a few scuffs and a broken 1/8" wheel. Not to foul for 8500 miles of football mayhem.

So far, the head is good and the wheels run fairly true, but the vyce is unusable without the mould flash and other extraenous appendages, ground, sanded and generally re-manufactured.

For $219.50 Australian, delivered, this is a steal!!


b4b.

 

[bozzchem]

I just purchased mine for $90 and mounted it. I'm very new to this so just figured I'd wallow my way through...after reading the first 20 pages of this thread.

The posts on this thread are EXCELLENT and will help me get this to the point it should be. I know the local guy charges $7 per chain and is using the Oregon. I'm guessing the NT will pay for itself quickly once I get it set up properly.

My question is regarding the slag I had to get rid of to allow for tilting inwards to the 10 degree mark. I had it mounted, none of the wheels were damaged and the wheels ran true. No matter what I tried, it wouldn't move to the 10 degree inside mark.

I pulled off the spacer and felt under there only to find a large piece of slag that had nothing to do with the construction of the unit. I pulled out the dremel and ground it down to the point where the unit slides easily between both outer and inner marks for the 10 degree.

Has anyone else run into this?

See pics.

Also, is anyone still selling the kits to tighten this unit up? Looks like this thread was started a few years back so am just curious. I looked for a vid on youtube to see how to get it all set up but didn't see one that fit the bill. Pictures are worth 1000 words. Videos are worth books!

Thanks for putting up with me!

Respond directly or via PM. I'd like to get this set up and good to go. I noticed it was grinding the teeth to different lengths as is so would like to get her set up for the long haul.

You guys rock!

 

[matt9923]

I just purchased mine for $90 and mounted it. I'm very new to this so just figured I'd wallow my way through...after reading the first 20 pages of this thread.

The posts on this thread are EXCELLENT and will help me get this to the point it should be. I know the local guy charges $7 per chain and is using the Oregon. I'm guessing the NT will pay for itself quickly once I get it set up properly.

My question is regarding the slag I had to get rid of to allow for tilting inwards to the 10 degree mark. I had it mounted, none of the wheels were damaged and the wheels ran true. No matter what I tried, it wouldn't move to the 10 degree inside mark.

I pulled off the spacer and felt under there only to find a large piece of slag that had nothing to do with the construction of the unit. I pulled out the dremel and ground it down to the point where the unit slides easily between both outer and inner marks for the 10 degree.

Has anyone else run into this?

See pics.

Also, is anyone still selling the kits to tighten this unit up? Looks like this thread was started a few years back so am just curious. I looked for a vid on youtube to see how to get it all set up but didn't see one that fit the bill. Pictures are worth 1000 words. Videos are worth books!

Thanks for putting up with me!

Respond directly or via PM. I'd like to get this set up and good to go. I noticed it was grinding the teeth to different lengths as is so would like to get her set up for the long haul.

You guys rock!

Looks good to me! I did the same thing. Lats I knew the kits were long gone.

 

[bigredd]

Looks like you got the major burr ground sufficient. Look on the inside of the bowl and sand down any molding irregularities. Also sand off any paint at friction points on rotating surfaces.

I bought some $10 molemab grinding wheels (Italian made) at Baileysonline which are much better quality.

 

[bozzchem]

Just figuring out and learning. The chains get damn sharp but they end up different sizes on the teeth.

I'd love to plink down the coin to make this thing work like those who talked about it long ago.

I'm not unhappy since it's sharpening quickly. I'd just like to get the spacers/etc to bring it up to full snuff.

Thanks all!

 

[madhatte]

Just got one of these grinders after reading this thread, did all mods accordingly. Best $100 I ever made work spend! Nice machine for the money. Gonna get a lot of mileage out of this thing.

 

[bozzchem]

Man, I'm making mincemeat out of the chain I'm using as a test. Granted it's been to the shop twice for sharpening but it seems like the teeth are all ending up different sizes.

I've noticed when I tighten the chain using the tension bar, it seems to make the chain move to a slightly different angle than it was before adding tension. Is that normal?

I don't plan on putting the current chain back on a saw. I'm going to use it to get past my learning curve. How do you know when a tooth is too short and it's over with?

Thanks!

 

[deezlfan]

Figure I'll add my contribution to this thread. My sharpener is a Timber Tuff from Tractor Supply. It appears to be identical to the Northern Tool grinder except the Poulan green color. Mine was a Christmas gift and was $129 at the time of purchase. Yes, more than the mail order grinder but no shipping and Tractor Supply doesn't question things too much when you claim a farm tax exemption. [Local laws may vary.]

First thing was the clean up of the base casting both top and bottom. I also lightly cleaned up the bottom of the swivel casting and the cupped area that allows the 10 degree tilt. [No pictures there because it was just a fine touch and almost invisible.]

The top of this casting was leveled by draw filing it with a fine *******/mill file. Draw filing is using the file in a left to right rather than a front to back motion. It is perfect for leveling the top and leaves a perfectly smooth surface.

That accomplished, I started to search for a suitable shim to center the swivel casting. After searching the shop and finding nothing that would fill the bill, I stopped at the Home Depot and found these:

With a final bit of smoothing with the Dremel tool these fit perfectly. I cut mine to 9 5/8" long and using the locating method I saw earlier in this thread [Sorry the flash washed this photo out.] fitted the ends like this:

Next, I tackled the washer. Simply using a compass I scribed one out of the side of a milk jug. This worked well, but I feel it lifts the swivel casting up too high and makes the casting looser than I liked. At this point I decided to simply toss the washer and grease the contact surfaces with di-electric grease. It has been mentioned that there could be some contamination of the grease over time but the balls and springs in the 10 degree angle tilt assembly are treated with this grease from the factory. If occasional cleaning is required, so be it. I like the tight fit without the washer and will deal with the maintenance as needed.

Next up will be the modifications to the chain stop and guide rails. I will post them as they come together.

 

[7oaks]

opcorn:

 

[bozzchem]

Next up will be the modifications to the chain stop and guide rails. I will post them as they come together.

Looking forward to them! Your grinder looks identical so I'm sure any mods you make will be equivalent.

I definitely see issues with the guide rails surrounding the chain so am anxiously awaiting your discoveries. Your pointer to the Home Depot fix was awesome. I'll be picking those up tomorrow night if my local HD carries them and will get them installed.

I posted earlier that it seems tightening the chain on the guide rails puts the chain off center. The chain seems centered, then you tighten it and the chain looks skewed. Keep in mind that I know little to nothing so am just along for the ride and trying to learn. I grew tired of dropping $7 per chain for sharpening so bought this grinder. I figure I'll kill a chain or two but will eventually have it doing what it's meant to do.

I'd still love someone to post a pic of a tooth that says "I'm done" and it's time to put the chain to rest. I don't want to crank my saws up with unsafe chains.

 

[parrisw]

Looking forward to them! Your grinder looks identical so I'm sure any mods you make will be equivalent.

I definitely see issues with the guide rails surrounding the chain so am anxiously awaiting your discoveries. Your pointer to the Home Depot fix was awesome. I'll be picking those up tomorrow night if my local HD carries them and will get them installed.

I posted earlier that it seems tightening the chain on the guide rails puts the chain off center. The chain seems centered, then you tighten it and the chain looks skewed. Keep in mind that I know little to nothing so am just along for the ride and trying to learn. I grew tired of dropping $7 per chain for sharpening so bought this grinder. I figure I'll kill a chain or two but will eventually have it doing what it's meant to do.

I'd still love someone to post a pic of a tooth that says "I'm done" and it's time to put the chain to rest. I don't want to crank my saws up with unsafe chains.

When you get it you'll know what a good chain looks like. Do you have any new ones you can look at?

One mod I did was to take the chain vise apart and make it narrower, there was a couple of humps on the inside and a couple of spacers I filed everything down a bit, if you narrower it some it will center the chain better.

 

[bozzchem]

When you get it you'll know what a good chain looks like. Do you have any new ones you can look at?

One mod I did was to take the chain vise apart and make it narrower, there was a couple of humps on the inside and a couple of spacers I filed everything down a bit, if you narrower it some it will center the chain better.

Yes, I have a new chain to use as a guide. Since the teeth are new, I don't really see how they will guide me other than with angles.

I want to know what an overground, unsafe chain looks like so I don't end up using one.

I'll definitely look at the chain vise and see if there are problems I can fix with a little grinding work. Lord knows it wouldn't even work for left handed teeth until it met my dremel. I guess that's what happens when you pick up the knockoff rather than the real deal?

 

[parrisw]

Yes, I have a new chain to use as a guide. Since the teeth are new, I don't really see how they will guide me other than with angles.

I want to know what an overground, unsafe chain looks like so I don't end up using one.

I'll definitely look at the chain vise and see if there are problems I can fix with a little grinding work. Lord knows it wouldn't even work for left handed teeth until it met my dremel. I guess that's what happens when you pick up the knockoff rather than the real deal?

You can get good chains without touching a thing on the grinder, you just have to pay attention to it and adjust as you go from right to left. I don't think you can make a chain unsafe, unless you take down the rakers too much.

 

[bozzchem]

You can get good chains without touching a thing on the grinder, you just have to pay attention to it and adjust as you go from right to left. I don't think you can make a chain unsafe, unless you take down the rakers too much.

With over 5000 posts, you da man!

I haven't even measured the rakers yet so maybe my chain isn't completely dead? I figure better safe than sorry. I'll let the current chain be my huckleberry and will make the next one be one I have confidence in.

A $25 chain wasted for the learning curve beats a visit to Urgent Care.

I sure do appreciate all of the information you guys are willing to share!

 

[parrisw]

With over 5000 posts, you da man!

I haven't even measured the rakers yet so maybe my chain isn't completely dead? I figure better safe than sorry. I'll let the current chain be my huckleberry and will make the next one be one I have confidence in.

A $25 chain wasted for the learning curve beats a visit to Urgent Care.

I sure do appreciate all of the information you guys are willing to share!

See if you can find someone with some old wore out chains you can try on.

 

[matt9923]

I might have some chains to test if you want.

 

[OhioGregg]

deezlfan, I love the color on that TSC grinder !! LOL, I'm an old Poulan nut. That would match most of my saws pretty well. I just got one of the Northern Tool purple ones at Christmas time. I been playing with it some, seems to do a good job. Havn't done any cutting with chains I have ground yet. I don't forsee a problem though, they look good to me. Time will tell.


Gregg,

 

[Moss Man]

I just tried to go to the old link we were using to view the Oregon 511A user manual and it doesn't work anymore. I anyone has a working link I would appreciate it..............the Northern paper version isn't helpful at all.

 

[parrisw]

I just tried to go to the old link we were using to view the Oregon 511A user manual and it doesn't work anymore. I anyone has a working link I would appreciate it..............the Northern paper version isn't helpful at all.

I think I may have it in PDF, I can email it to you if ya want. Let me c if I can find it.

 

[Stihl088stock]

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

works from my end