HF Chain Grinder Thread

[Mastermind]

I did manage to fix rocked chains with one of these......that's a plus.

 

[Philbert]

I did manage to fix rocked chains with one of these......that's a plus.

A number of people (and maybe a few primates?) have suggested that they used these to bring heavily damaged, or grossly inconsistent, cutters roughly back to shape, and followed up with filing to obtain sharpened cutting edges. That alone could be an application for some guys.

Philbert

 

[shootingarts]

My brother had the old orange one from harbor fright. I set it up and sharpened a chain a few times. Used it gently and just held enough tension to one side to take the slack out of things. I went slow and easy and had no complaints at all about how it sharpened. The saw cut wood awhile and when it found dirt or wire clearing fencerows it was easy to return to the same grind. I never tried to measure what the grind really was.

The grinder was lost in a move, might turn up some day, might not. I used the grinder as mostly a guide for the wheel, I knew I couldn't put a lot of pressure on it. Used like that it seemed to work OK and seemed like it would last a good while. At the cost they pay for themselves in a hurry and most people should have no complaints just cutting around a home or farm or cutting a little fire wood.

If a person is heavy handed or has to sharpen saws daily they are going to either want real equipment or to find a good chain shop. My friend that had a business had a rule that any chain that touched wood that day went to the chain shop that evening. For him time saved during and after work hours was worth a lot more than the dollars spent at a chain shop and he wouldn't have sharpened his own chains on anything. Once the day's cutting was done it was beer-thirty!

Hu

 

[Wagnerwerks]

Here is a pic of a worn franzen wheel on my grinder. I'm not taking it off, because the spacer I made was just a piece of 12g copper wire so it's not super precise and I don't want to true the wheel again. The "vice is just stamped together and holds poorly so that was pulled off and tack welded, then ground to actually fit the other rails profile.

With a 1/8" wheel, it does a very good job for 3/8 chains. I can't tell a difference when cutting between one I sharpen and one done on the actual franzen grinder. I can tell a dif from when I file.
The first pic is the HF grinder, second is the Nielsen 100B, third is original. The pics are terrible.

Last pic is the clamp... You can just see the tack welds.

 

[Philbert]

I can't tell a difference when cutting between one I sharpen and one done on the actual franzen grinder. .

Nice looking cutters in those photos. If you just posted those in a chain sharpening thread, and did not mention how you got them, I'll bet that you would get a lot of compliments!

Last pic is the clamp... You can just see the tack welds.

Looks like you tack welded the 'U' shaped part of the vise to the outside plate, next to the knob?

Thanks!

Philbert

 

[Philbert]

OK, maybe this will bring in a little more respect, interest, and consideration?

Philbert

 

[shootingarts]

OK, maybe this will bring in a little more respect, interest, and consideration?

Philbert

View attachment 386694

Now that is a grinder!!

I keeps me a can of John Deere green spray bomb around for the same reason!

Hu

 

[Wagnerwerks]

In all seriousness, if the rear hinge was drilled and bushed with real tolerances, this thing would work great... You would still have to measure cutters and reset to do the other side, but whoopty do. I bought this for 23 bucks if I remember correctly and I might have an hour in it. It would probably take me another hour to make bushings and make it even better. And,,, I had fun and save $$$. If I paid someone $5 @ to sharpen my chains, I paid for it in 5 chains. Not a bad turnaround. At the same time, if you don't fart with it a little bit, you can chew up a good chain quick. This same thinking can also justify a decent grinder.

 

[Philbert]

At the same time, if you don't fart with it a little bit, you can chew up a good chain quick.

I have seen chains chewed up pretty well on much more expensive grinders too!

Philbert

 

[Wagnerwerks]

Nice looking cutters in those photos. If you just posted those in a chain sharpening thread, and did not mention how you got them, I'll bet that you would get a lot of compliments!


Looks like you tack welded the 'U' shaped part of the vise to the outside plate, next to the knob?

Thanks!

Philbert

The inside of the rectangle on the outer side it's just pressed together. It was crappy.

One thing I need to learn is how to set rakers. I use a gauge and flat file, but would love to do them on a grinder.

 

[Philbert]

One thing I need to learn is how to set rakers. I use a gauge and flat file, but would love to do them on a grinder.

Took me a while to get it on my Oregon grinder. Mostly a mental block for me:
http://www.arboristsite.com/community/threads/depth-gauges-on-a-grinder.200410/

As noted, one of the videos shows a guy doing depth gauges on his HF grinders - different technique than with the larger grinders and wider wheels.

Philbert

 

[alderman]

I can probably cut a year supply of firewood on 3 to 4 sharpened chains. I got good uses out of my Harbor Freight grinder before purchasing an Oregon grinder.
Every chain I sharpened with it would cut wood fine.
If I keep an eye on things and don't get too wild with the saw, the chains don't need much but a light touch to get them ready to go again.

 

[Chris-PA]

In all seriousness, if the rear hinge was drilled and bushed with real tolerances, this thing would work great... You would still have to measure cutters and reset to do the other side, but whoopty do. I bought this for 23 bucks if I remember correctly and I might have an hour in it. It would probably take me another hour to make bushings and make it even better. And,,, I had fun and save $$$. If I paid someone $5 @ to sharpen my chains, I paid for it in 5 chains. Not a bad turnaround. At the same time, if you don't fart with it a little bit, you can chew up a good chain quick. This same thinking can also justify a decent grinder.

That is exactly what I was thinking of doing. You could make bushings, but there are many things like that at McCMster-Carr so I would probably try to get some nice bushings for all the pivoting parts and then maybe turn bolts to tight tolerance.

I have an even cheaper grinder that has the same kinds of issues with sloppy pivots, but the varying angles from side to side are from the chain being lose in the clamp, and then the wheel pushed the cutter in opposite directions on each side.

 

[woodeneye]

I've had success and failures using this product. I usually do as many have mentioned, save it for rocked chains. But, if there is a way to improve its usage, I'm game. My unit does work well for those chains that have been trashed by hard objects and I'll continue to use it for that purpose. Thanks for starting this thread, Philbert!

 

[Wagnerwerks]

That is exactly what I was thinking of doing. You could make bushings, but there are many things like that at McCMster-Carr so I would probably try to get some nice bushings for all the pivoting parts and then maybe turn bolts to tight tolerance.

I have an even cheaper grinder that has the same kinds of issues with sloppy pivots, but the varying angles from side to side are from the chain being lose in the clamp, and then the wheel pushed the cutter in opposite directions on each side.

I was thinking about trying an s10 door pin kit. I know I have a few of them around somewhere from back in the day, but I can't find them. They look just about right.

 

[c5rulz]

OK, maybe this will bring in a little more respect, interest, and consideration?

Philbert

View attachment 386694

May a bolt of lightning from above smite thee in a vindictive fashion for that sacrilege.

 

[Philbert]

May a bolt of lightning from above smite thee in a vindictive fashion for that sacrilege.

Livin' on the edge with the grinder gods . . .

Philbert

 

[Philbert]

How about these wheels for the SharpBoy grinder: 4-1/4" diameter, 7/8" arbor. 1/8 and 3/16" wheels, 50 grit. Molemab brand. $9.99. Anybody tried these on the HF grinders?

http://www.baileysonline.com/Chains...meter/Molemab-Grinding-Wheel-4-1-8-x-3-16.axd

 

[Philbert]

o8F150 uses a similar grinder in the first 4 minutes or so of this video, in this thread:

http://www.arboristsite.com/community/threads/how-i-sharpen-chains.250585/


This is a SharpBoy grinder from Bailey's, which is also mostly plastic, but sells for $100. This is 2 to 3 times the cost of the HF grinders, and more in line with the Oregon/Tecomec clones. Same size wheels and similar rated motor as the newer HF units. Not sure if they belong in this thread as an 'upgraded' HF grinder (including some of the improvements suggested above?), or if they have stepped into more of a 'mid-range' grinder?
http://www.baileysonline.com/Chains...Bench-Mounted-Mini-Chain-Grinder-120-Volt.axd

Philbert

 

[lambs]

Great post Philbert.
I had an older HF grinder, and attempted to shape the wheel so I could use it for depth gauges. It really didn't work very well for me, and I gave the grinder away in favor of an NT clone of the Oregon 511a. It's much better but I do not use it all that often either. Reasons:

1. The vitreous wheel (I use Oregon 1/4" for depth gauges) can easily overcook the depth gauges, making them impossible to file by hand.
2. The depth gauges are far enough apart from side to side that it's difficult to get the wheel to set them the same.

So unless I need to adjust a depth gauge significantly, I now file those by hand with the chain mounted in a bar clamped in a bench vise. I level the bar with my DAF and adjust the drop to about 6 degrees on most chain, filing by hand.