Who Grinds their own chains?

[jefflovstrom]

OK, OK, I at least need to keep them soft enough for my own pleasure...

I'm no rough rider... :hmm3grin2orange:

EWWWW! You didnt!!!!!!!!!!!
Jeff, QRST

 

[jefflovstrom]

I wonder if TV has found the pattern of my sig?
Jeff, UVWX

 

[squad143]

I grind my own. I have 2 Tecomec grinders an they work great. (One for up north and one for the city). I keep about 30 chains in the truck and when one gets dull or hits an object (usually before they get dull) a quick chain change an you're back to being productive. On a slow or rain day, I'll sit down and grind the dull ones. I find I don't have time for touch ups with the file while doing removals. Friends and neighbors know I have a grinder and bring me their chains as well.
I can always use a case of beer.

I buy chain by the box (100') and make my own loops, it's cheaper that way.

 

[huskystihl]

i dont really like the way the chains are when they have been through the grinder i end up touching them up with a file. We just file them manually but i guess if you have alot of chains to do and alot of teeth like a long chain, a grinder might be a good idea then a few swipes with the file. my nieghbor bought one and id give him firewood to sharpen my chains ill bring em over if they are real bad (hit a rock or barbed wire ect.)

I agree but with the longer bars they will eventually cut crooked no matter how good you are at hand filing. I've been hand filing for 25 yrs day in and out and still use the grinder to sqare everything up at weeks end. Normally just the 25" bars and up. I also take a 3/8 picco file every couple days to clean out the gullets. I do agree on the grinder thing, I grind and then within an hour on monday do a swipe or 2 with a file.

 

[beastmaster]

I always do my chains by hand. I'm pretty fast also. It seem like them grinders eat a lot of chain. I try to get as much mileage out of a chain as I can. Plus don't you have to take the chain off the bar to use those grinders?
I do the whole crews saws. The only problem I have with hand sharping is crappy files. I buy my files from home depot and lately I can't seem to get through a 25 in. bar before they stop cutting. Real pain. In my humble opinion chain grinders are a perfect example of technology that complicates a simple action.
that being said, I sure hate it when the groundsman puts the 084 in the dirt several times on one log.
QUOTE:
I agree but with the longer bars they will eventually cut crooked no matter how good you are at hand filing. I've been hand filing for 25 yrs day in and out and still use the grinder to sqare everything up at weeks end. Normally just the 25" bars and up. I also take a 3/8 picco file every couple days to clean out the gullets. I do agree on the grinder thing, I grind and then within an hour on monday do a swipe or 2 with a file.

Yeah I have to use a jig every once in a while on longer bars to true them up.

 

[treevet]

I just do the rakers with my Stihl grinder, hand file the cutters.

 

[pdqdl]

I have THREE grinders, and use them regularly. They are so much faster than hand filing (given that my guys are always ruining chains), and I can train a fellow to do a decent job with a grinder much quicker than I can teach them to hand file.

I think I bought my first grinder in 1987. It still works just as well as the first day I had it. It is equipped with a 5/32 Boron Nitride wheel for 3/8 low profile chain

My second grinder came at a stupidly low price at an auction; I have it equipped with a flat wheel for taking down the depth gauges.

The third grinder I bought in good times, it has a hydraulic clamping mechanism that really speeds up the sharpening time. It is equipped with a 3/16" Boron Nitride wheel for 3/8" & .404" pitch chain.

The Boron Nitride wheels cut fast & cool, and don't overheat the cutters on the chain. Furthermore, unlike the traditional grinding wheels, they always retain the perfect curvature for matching the round shape of a file. About $200 per wheel, they last for many years. One Boron wheel would probably outlast hundreds of files, so compare the expense for yourself.

The money you spend on proper sharpening will pay you back, whether it be time spent hand filing, or good equipment for grinding.

 

[Bigus Termitius]

Since most of my production is on the ROW, there is no question that grinding is the only way to go. I hand file all the time, but with all there is to hit on the row, a grinder is a must, especially since all the saws, chains, and files are now mine.

I picked up a small oregon off ebay last year and I'm a happy camper. I'll upgrade eventually and have at least three set up like pdqdl. For now, I grind my cutters and hand file my depths with a gauge. It works.

A six pack and a rainy day gives me catch up time. I'll throw in an old movie, or crank up some tunes and it is done before you know it.

Thanks for all the info on the boron wheels.

 

[treevet]

how bout some picts on set ups? I'll show mine if you show yours....:biggrinbounce2:

 

[ozzy42]

Years ago when I first started out, I used to take all of my saws[all two of them at the time lol ] into my apartment and hand file them on the living room floor while watching the tube.

About 1987 or 88 I watched a friend sharpen 4 saws in 15 minutes with a dremmel type sharpener and I was impressed with it so much I went out and got one the next day. Been using one type or the other ever since then .I love them .

Yes,you can burn a chain with one ,but you have to really be bearing down hard.

I'll show mine if you show yours....:biggrinbounce2:

Hey .This is a family site.:hmm3grin2orange: