PowerSharp!!!!

[Fish]

A week or two ago, PowerSharp Engineer sent me a couple of his new
PowerSharp chain/bar systems, on the provision I use them to cut my
winter's firewood with them, and document the results, honestly.

Brutally, as is my way........

He didn't want me to run out and cut a few slabs and then get bored and lay it into some concrete real quick to test out the sharpening feature.

 

[Fish]

He contacted me via the p.m. feature, with his proposal. He was planning to send me one for a Poulan 18" mount,
the other for a smaller 021-025 Stihl mount in an 18 lo pro as well.

I thought "great", I have plenty Stihl carcasses about, I will get one of them up and running.

It turns out, I got 2 18" Poulan mounts, with the 62 d.l. lo pro mounts.

Which is why it took me a week or two to scramble to fin a decent saw for
the test.

 

[ale]

looks pretty nice to me...

 

[Fish]

Luckily I came upon a PP295, so I grabbed it. I am concerned that the saw
may be too big, and skew the results somehow, as it came with a .325
originally, had to get the parts to fix, and a 3/8 lo/pro sprocket.

 

[Fish]

So in the next week or two, I will take it out to cut some wood, and take
some silly pics. May bring it to a local gtg if there are any close, so guys can
take a movie clip or two.

We must commend Oregon, however, for their desire to find out real
input from customers, as I am not known for "sucking up".

Every year I go to the "EXPO", and one thing is common, those people do not want any input from customers, dealers, or distributors, so Oregon's
openness is refreshing, and an oppertunity for all of us to discuss.
So everyone's input is wanted and sought, so speak up guys

 

[JustinM]

Cool.

I saw these at the local canadian tire the other day & while I cant see myself ever using one, i do think there's a real niche if the thing works properly. My dad, bless his heart, cant sharpen a chain to save his life. I secretly sneak down to his garage to sharpen his when Im over for a visit Thankfully he doesnt cut a lot of wood

 

[brokenbudget]

the only person who should be speaking up is you, fish. i think you're the only one with that set-up at the moment i can't give you any real opinion on them but if they are like the last few attempts it won't be long until we hear about the stone flying across the yard or how many teeth it chewed off the chain.
this does look like a better system though. at least it isn't a part of the saw thats going to be replaced by a rubber plug.

 

[Fish]

Here is the saw I plan to use, the bar adjust system was stripped out, and the replacement cost was high, so I just ground out some plastic, got a
bar adjustment screw, and put in another bar nut.

So I think it will be a decent test saw.

My first questions that came up were:

That seems like a lot of stone, how many chains can it sharpen????

The chisel looks small, how will it last, longevitywise????

The instructions say, one chain, one stone...

The other question, we will see........

 

[Fish]

the only person who should be speaking up is you, fish. i think you're the only one with that set-up at the moment i can't give you any real opinion on them but if they are like the last few attempts it won't be long until we hear about the stone flying across the yard or how many teeth it chewed off the chain.
this does look like a better system though. at least it isn't a part of the saw thats going to be replaced by a rubber plug.

The sharpening stone is real solid, and likely the most expensive part of the system, looks designed well in that area.

I am sure that it has been examined hard "liabilitywise".

 

[JustinM]

The sharpening stone is real solid, and likely the most expensive part of the system, looks designed well in that area.

I am sure that it has been examined hard "liabilitywise".

UP here (at canadian tire at least) it looks like they sell the stone with a chain (cant buy them separately?) for $36 canadian. A bar (with the mount sharpener) is $42.

So about $80 to get set up & then $36 each time for chain/stone. Not too bad I guess.

 

[CGC4200]

How much of an expensive PITA will this system be?

It will probably have to be modified, like the AVX system.
Poulan tried it once upon a time, most have been removed for filing.
I like the KISS solution, keep it simple stupid.

 

[Fish]

Looks like they have kept it "very" simple..

 

[Fish]

A chain with a built in sharpening system is an attractive feature to someone
that buys a chain for $20, and pays 6-10$ per sharpening, so I can see the
math making sense for a large cross-section of the customers involved.

You saw-nuts are in a minority/thank GOD!!!!!

Or else the world would end sooner than expected!!!!!

 

[barneyrb]

Fish, do ya a muff mod on that 295 and that'll wake it up quite a bit.

 

[WetGunPowder]

Sent one out the other day on a DOLMAR 420. Looks to be a decent set-up for the average homeowner who is not handy with a file. Sold it to an above average guy who should have a good report on it (good or bad) Will keep you posted.

 

[discounthunter]

UP here (at canadian tire at least) it looks like they sell the stone with a chain (cant buy them separately?) for $36 canadian. A bar (with the mount sharpener) is $42.

So about $80 to get set up & then $36 each time for chain/stone. Not too bad I guess.

for under $36 dolars you can buy 2 regular chains. just switch them out when they get dull.

my concern is it doesnt look like a lot of meat on those teeth.

 

[BobL]

The sharpening action on this setup doesn't look right to me. It will work for a while but eventually no amount of sharpening is gonna prevent that design making more and more dust.

On this system the raker depth is created by the neat trick of using a curved sharpening stone but as the cutter wears what this effectively generates a relatively higher raker depth whereas what is needed is a relatively lower raker depth.
WHY?
As the cutter wears, the distance between the cutter tip and the raker gets longer which means the cutting angle ( angle described by raker top, cutter tip and wood) will decrease so as the cutter wears it will reduce the bite it can make and generate increasingly finer shavings so the cutting speed will drop and chain will go blunter faster. This will lead to the user sharpening more often, (and sure it will cut again for ever decreasing amounts of time) until they give up and go buy another chain.

Eventually the stone will also wear generating a larger radius sharpening surface which compounds the problem and also means it will be less effective on a new chain, the consumer then has to then buy a new stone.

In addition it sharpens by reducing cutter height (versus cutter length) which means it reduces gullet depth so the gullet cannot carry as much wood chip. This means the gullet will fill up quickly further reducing cutting speeds.

I could be completely wrong but it sounds like yet again an all round perfect product for the manufacturer.

Fish, when you test this out it would be interesting to know how far down the cutters can be sharpened before you give up on it. Also don't just sharpen and cut for a few minutes. Sharpen and then cut for at least a tankful or, to simulate the average woodcutter, 5 tankfuls. Once the cutter has worn some I reckon you will be seriously frustrated before you get to the second tank.

Also, if the engineer wants it tested in some real wood tell him to send some to an Aussie woodcutter.

 

[CGC4200]

Fish, how did the chicken thing work out?

I saw a sign for free roosters last week; I made one of my old buds aware,
looked like they would make chicken & dumplings in a pot or fit in a grill.

 

[Fish]

Fish, do ya a muff mod on that 295 and that'll wake it up quite a bit.

Wake it up????

It already thinks it is a Pee-yellow Husqvarna!!!!!!

 

[Fish]

The sharpening action on this setup doesn't look right to me. It will work for a while but eventually no amount of sharpening is gonna prevent that design cutting more and more dust.

On this system the raker depth is created by the neat trick of using a curved sharpening stone but as the cutter wears what this effectively generate a relatively lower raker depth whereas what is needed is a relatively higher raker depth.
WHY?
As the cutter wears, the distance between the cutter tip and the raker gets longer which means the cutting angle ( angle described by raker top, cutter tip and wood) will decrease so as the cutter wears it will reduce the bite it can make and generate increasingly finer shavings so the cutting speed will drop and chain will go blunter faster. This will lead to the user sharpening more often, (and sure it will cut again for ever decreasing amounts of time) until they give up and go buy another chain.

Eventually the stone will also wear generating a larger radius sharpening surface which compounds the problem and also means it will be less effective on a new chain, the consumer then has to then buy a new stone.

In addition it sharpens by reducing cutter height (versus cutter length) which means it reduces gullet depth so the gullet cannot carry as much wood chip. This means the gullet will fill up quickly further reducing cutting speeds.

I could be completely wrong but it sounds like yet again an all round perfect product for the manufacturer.

Fish, when you test this out it would be interesting to know how far down the cutters can be sharpened before you give up on it. Also don't just sharpen and cut for a few minutes. Sharpen and then cut for at least a tankful or, to simulate the average woodcutter, 5 tankfuls. Once the cutter has worn some I reckon you will be seriously frustrated before you get to the second tank.

Also, if the engineer wants it tested in some real wood tell him to send some to an Aussie woodcutter.

On another thread I remember he discussed the physics of the raker dressing.

It says explicitly that one chain, one stone, which explains the expense....

I will cut with it and bump this thread a lot!!!!!