Thread: chainsaw chain and sharpener

chainsaw shops usually have Granberg or similar grinders and appropriate dia stones

personally, I use those stones (white colour and also marketed under Stihl brand) in a Dremel (Bunnings have a cheaper dremel alternative called Ozito)

do all your elec tool tooth sharpening from the left hand side of the blade (both angles)

don't forget to lower the depth gauges slightly every so often

I use Stihl branded chain

My Stihl uses the same size chain Dave.

I also have the Granberg .................



Don't use it very often, unless I'm feeling a bit lazy, as I find that I tend to over-sharpen the chain using this, and the chains do not last as long. Generally just stick with the hand file and jig.

About the only chains that we can get from the local hardware are "Oregon" brand. I have found them OK, but haven't really had much opportunity to compare them with anything else.

I got a sharpener similar to this one on ebay and for the Dollars i can't fault it.
I'm even doing chains for mates who reckoned it was a waste of money
I was worried that it would take too much off the chain, but once you set it up I reckon I taking less off than I was with a file, when I sharpen chains I can tell which ones have been hand sharpened previously as the angles are off.
Chain itself, any chain is good, Stihl, Carlton....

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The cheapy (Ozito, et al) grinders aren't worth a pinch of poop IMO.
I wouldn't trust the angles, they aren't very adjustable, etc.

The little Dremel types i have no idea on, sorry Dave.

Good chain grinders are unfortunately exxy, so only worthwhile if doing a lot of cutting.

Good grinders are usually made by Tecomec/Precision Tooling in Italy and sold under various brand names including the big guys like Oregon, Speed Sharp and funnily enough, Tecomec.

A mate actually had a supposedly good one (Maxx) and found the clamp moved all over the place, it wouldn't hold angles, etc. He then found it wasn't a one off, so he flogged it and bought a Speed Sharp.


The best wheels are made in Australia and are also expensive but you don't get grinding dust with them and they last a looong time.
The wheels are ABN/CBN and are made by Dinasaw in Qld.
Unfortunately for home/firewood use you couldn't justify the cost, but two different mates run them as
they have saw/chain shops.

One of my mates with the saw shop reckons Carlton N1 Lo Pro is excellent, and while Oregon 91VX cuts well, have a look at the length of the cutters. The Carlton is the longer (and Blount own Oregon, Carlton and Windsor)



Generally we pay through the nose here for Stihl chain.

In 3/8" Carlton, Windsor, Oregon or Stihl are fine in semi-chisel, and Stihl or Oregon in full chisel if you are lucky enough to be able to cut clean timber.
Just don't use the Chinese stuff, (Bylink, etc) including the new GB Evo chain, it's crap.

In .325 Oregon is really good, all the Aussie Post rip racers run it.

G'day Dave, I have a small Stihl saw these days (previously owned Homelite and Danarm) and use a proper hand jig and file and oregan chain. I think the electric sharpeners are probably easier but I reckon you need the proper jig to get the right angles. I hate it when the blade tries to turn corners.

Talking of angles and jigs, Carlton make a great little tool called a File-O-Plate that helps you get the right top plate angle with the right amount of hook and also progressively lowers the rakers/depth gauges as the cutter is filed back.

All other depth gauge tools except the Husky roller combo jig set the depth gauges at a static height, eg .022" regardless of cutter length.
The FOP progressively lowers the depth gauges as the cutter is filed back so that the chain continues to cut at it's best efficiency.

Hi Dave.
Those electric ones in BMkals post,bin material.
The stone wares very quickly altering the correct sharpen size,plus if you dont know the correct angles you ruin a good chain quickly.ASK ME HOW I KNOW!!!!,there is a Nicholson version somewhere in my shed.
Electric bench type ones are OK,if you know how to set them up and keep the stone dressed correctly,the cheap Ebay ones dont seem to have one of the important adjustments on the base.We have an Oregon one at work,nobody can get it set correctly,so a waste of time.
Over many chains I finaly learnt to sharpen a chain freehand with the flat guide the file fits in.A good mate at work who does all our saw sharpening said my freehand sharpening couldnt be good enough.I actually out cut him in the bush,but I think it was horsepower that won the day.He did dip his hat to me.
Now on his reccomendation,Spot is the fellas name,I use a manual jig that clamps on the bar,once you learn how the settings work they are excellent.And as Spot said if I use one I will cut faster/cleaner again.He was right.
Mine is an Oregon brand,will see if I can find one on Ebay so you know the type I mention.
GOODLUCK
Andrew

Originally Posted by LandyAndy

Hi Dave.
Those electric ones in BMkals post,bin material.
The stone wares very quickly altering the correct sharpen size,plus if you dont know the correct angles you ruin a good chain quickly.ASK ME HOW I KNOW!!!!,there is a Nicholson version somewhere in my shed.
Electric bench type ones are OK,if you know how to set them up and keep the stone dressed correctly,the cheap Ebay ones dont seem to have one of the important adjustments on the base.We have an Oregon one at work,nobody can get it set correctly,so a waste of time.
Over many chains I finaly learnt to sharpen a chain freehand with the flat guide the file fits in.A good mate at work who does all our saw sharpening said my freehand sharpening couldnt be good enough.I actually out cut him in the bush,but I think it was horsepower that won the day.He did dip his hat to me.
Now on his reccomendation,Spot is the fellas name,I use a manual jig that clamps on the bar,once you learn how the settings work they are excellent.And as Spot said if I use one I will cut faster/cleaner again.He was right.
Mine is an Oregon brand,will see if I can find one on Ebay so you know the type I mention.
GOODLUCK
Andrew

Hi Andy,
I have the Oregon bolt on file guide, and I haven't used it for years.

I found that it wouldn't replicate the correct file height/hook when swinging form LH to RH cutters, I had to re-adjust when swapping sides.
Why, I don't know, but it was consistent in its inconsistency.

A few others on a chainsaw forum found the same thing.

The Granberg guide on which it is based doesn't use the plastic bushes and guides of the Oregon one and those that use it reckon it doesn't have the same problems either.

Of the hand file guides, most of them I've found hold the file too high.
I was only talking about this to my mate Matt in Sth Oz the other night, the fella that's just dropped 8000 trees over the last few months and he agreed, but reckoned he'd found the Vallorbe guide held the file Ok compared to an Oregon or Stihl ones (which I have and don't use anymore either)

The FOP I mentioned above is a bucket load faster than the bolt on jig, and IMO is as consistent if you can hold the file straight but really only works properly on Carlton Chain.
I do use it on Stihl and Windsor, but I have to use some work arounds to get what I want in terms of hook and raker heights.