HF - Electric Chain Saw Sharpener

[LYHTSPD]

I picked one up for $25 bucks a few weeks ago. I've got 5 chains & after a few years use on scrounged wood some had damage & others just seemed to not hold a sharpening so I figured the angles were off from hand sharpenings. The HF unit was way cheaper than taking my chains to a pro to get ground to a stub for $8-10 a pop.
I spent about a half hour tinkering with initial set-up, putting a few washers on the main hinge and the chain brake, looking for problems... First chain wasn't the best, but I quickly learned it's quirks & now I'm getting good results. I tried doing the rakers with it based on a method I saw on Youtube, but it seemed sloppy & slow, so I just did them by hand. It's taking me about 10 minutes per chain.
I thought I'd just use it every so many sharpenings or if I hit something, but now I think I'll just stick with grinding them all & switching chains in the field. As MasterMech pointed out, switching between grinder & file actually makes hand filing slower and takes more metal off because the file & stone have different profiles. Picture switching a knife blade back & forth between straight ground and hollow ground. Not a big deal if you just want to stick with one chain, just be aware it may not last as long.

What kid of tinkering did you do with the washers? I am going to hopefully set mine up over the weekend and would like some heads up.

 

[MasterMech]

A buddy of mine bought one. Mind you, he's a small engine mechanic is a master "tinkerer"....he added a few washers here and there, and put an absolutely stupid sharp edge of my Stihl chisel chains. I couldn't even come close with the Granberg. I recently picked up some diamond dremel bits from feebay and have been very happy with the job they did.

It's all in the operator.... No matter if you're hand-filing or grinding.

 

[Pallet Pete]

What kid of tinkering did you do with the washers? I am going to hopefully set mine up over the weekend and would like some heads up.

Look at post #24

Pete

 

[midwestcoast]

What kid of tinkering did you do with the washers? I am going to hopefully set mine up over the weekend and would like some heads up.

Yep, I pretty much looked through Pete's thread that he linked to above. Basically look for sloppy joints & try to take out the slop. I stuck 2 or 3 in the main hinge and one on the chain clamp. I also filed the top of the moving part of the chain clamp down because it was pushing the chain up when it clamped.
I didn't do anything to any of the stops as they seemed alright. I'd imagine there's some variability from one unit to another given the source and price point, so just look it over for obvious problems.

 

[LYHTSPD]

Yep, I pretty much looked through Pete's thread that he linked to above. Basically look for sloppy joints & try to take out the slop. I stuck 2 or 3 in the main hinge and one on the chain clamp. I also filed the top of the moving part of the chain clamp down because it was pushing the chain up when it clamped.
I didn't do anything to any of the stops as they seemed alright. I'd imagine there's some variability from one unit to another given the source and price point, so just look it over for obvious problems.

I filed down the chain clamp as well. That made a huge difference in how the chain clamped. I tried the washers on the chain stop, but it did not seem to work. I need to spend some more time with it. I was able to sharpen 3 chains with it. I will be testing those chains this weekend on a scrounge, so I will report back on how they did.

 

[HDRock]

I am confused how do you sharpen different chains that require different sized files , 5/32", 7/32" Etc.With one size grinding wheel?????
I looked and I only see one size wheel for the HF sharpener.




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[MasterMech]

I am confused how do you sharpen different chains that require different sized files , 5/32", 7/32" Etc.With one size grinding wheel?????
I looked and I only see one size wheel for the HF sharpener.




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3/16" wheel for 3/8" and .325" chains. 1/8" for 3/8 picco/low-pro and 1/4". Should be wheels available that will fit the HF sharpener from other sources.

Wheel size on a grinder isn't as exact as using the correct size file. The file size determines several angles when hand sharpening and those angles are fixed when using a grinder.

 

[LYHTSPD]

The chains I sharpened on the HF sharpener did great. I touched them up with a file every gas tank, and the chains cut straight and produced decent sized chips. I am pleasantly surprised.