I've been using this chain sharpener for 15 maybe 20 years now and I can say it's great. Either mounted on the corner of your workbench or mounted to a board that's got a v so that the chain clears. Pull the chain Forward then tug it back sharpen and go forward. When you get used to it it's really fast. Where Chainz linked together there's usually teeth facing the same right after each other that's usually my starting point and finishing point. Gorgeous throw a dab of pain
I bought one of these a couple of days ago. It's great for what it costs and will work as is. I made bushings out of brass shim stock for the chain stop. Next I will do something to the main pivot for the grinder motor. It is easy to put slight pressure to one side or the other and cut too little or too much the way it is now. I used it to sharpen a brand new chain I hit a screw in the first 1/4" of cutting with. It did a good job, but it can be made more precise, but for what it cost it's great. Also on the newer ones they made the base where it mounts to the bench so that it has a step and can not be mounted too far back. Thanks for posting the video!
Having declared my dissatisfaction with this sharpener last night ru-vid.comUgkxDcr-y2Pf6xdnrFHrSP7dl9kpKaCozcSQ I thought about the problem some more. It occurred to me that I might be undoing each attempt at achieving a sharp edge by the repeated attempts. So, I tried to clean up the unsatisfactory result by honing with only positions 3 and 4.Miracle!! A really nicely sharpened chef's knife, more than enough to handle my needs. Admittedly, it did not reach professionally sharpened razor-fineness, but it is now significantly sharper than it was. A bout of breaking down carrots convinced me. So, major apologies to the manufacturer, Amazon, and all happy and potential owners! Follow the directions: don't buy it if you have ceramic blades; and don't overwork your knife blade.
Derek, excellent video! I have been paying $8.00 a chain to have my chains sharpened after filing them by hand a few times in between, but the place I brought them to went out of business. I bought the Chicago Electric Chainsaw Sharpener about 5 years ago and never even set it up. Now that I have nowhere close to take them, I dug it out and am setting it up to sharpen my own chains, plus save the $8.00 a chain for sharpening. Thank you for this video and explaining how to set this thing up. Much appreciated!!!
LOL! I've had mine longer than ten years, did the same thing, put it away first time I went to use it, seemed too complicated to setup! Not now though. 😁 Good video, now I'll use mine!
Wot up Derek, yup I got me one of these suckers, it works great! I found keeping tension on the chain (against the stop) helps. I don't even use the turn nobs, just pull the chain along to the next tooth, pull it back on the other side against the stop, clamp it down with that bicycle thingie on the handle, zippy zip, on to the next one. Yeh I love this thing, it was cheap, easy to use, and does the job! Also filing down the rakers is a must, glad you mentioned that.
I sharpen chains for rental saws and occasionally customer chains st work. As far as I can tell you are taking off about the right amount, I wouldn't call myself an expert though. We use a Stihl sharpener at work, which is more stable and has more adjustment. I really like that locking mechanism with the lever, that would be nice to have.
Does Stihl have a version much like this one? I wonder how much better of a job the Oregon version could do. Seems too expensive to not be a lot better but it looks almost identical. I’d be interested to compare it to some higher quality sharpeners but Obviously those cost some dough.
@@DereksWorkshopAndProjects the Stihl one I use at work has had some issues. A few parts have been replaced, we have an Oregon one we use to grind the rakers. They both seem more sturdy than the harbor freight one, but they definitely cost far more money. If the harbor freight one works decently, then it seems like a smoking deal to me.
So after watching your review and seeing several other videos recommending this sharpener, I bought it 2 days ago. Very simple, easy set up. The first chain I sharpened was nearly as good a brand new one. The old chain had some nicks in it, so I believe that was the difference. Very happy, as the shop that did mine charged $10. Paid for itself the fourth time.
It's a pretty easy thing to setup really. I just used mine for the first time today. It beats the hell out of sharpening them with a file. The one thing you didn't talk about is the depth adjustment on the right hand side. That's to set how deep you go so that you don't start grinding into the chain links...That too, is an easy setup. My chain had previously been sharpened by hand and I noticed that one side of the cutting edges had been sharpened deeper than the other side and that's because we all favor one direction over the other. This little machine makes it simple to keep both sides consistent and even.
Great review, I'm new to owing a chainsaw and was terrified at sharping when the time comes. I work at Harbor freight and saw this sharpener. I do own a ton of expensive knives I sharpen with a angle sharpener. This is definitely different. I'm going to buy this for my saw. Thank you for this great review. Just subbed your channel
@@DereksWorkshopAndProjects I get it set up to start on the smallest tooth and make rest same size. File the rakers with proper depth gage after . Fixes 99% of cutting sideways or pinching the bar.
Nice demonstration of how to use the electric chainsaw sharpener. I guess I'm old school. I've always used a hand file to sharpen the teeth and a flat file for the rakers. I don't do a lot of chainsaw cutting, so an electric sharpener would do a lot of sitting on the shelf.
EYE protection? Getting metal shards dug out of your eyes at the local ER is just slightly less than fun. (yes, I was wearing safety glasses and a shard somehow ricocheted and embedded in my eye)
i just got one of these and its awesome. filing takes for ever and the files get dull. After my first sharpening with this my saw went through a good size log in 4 or 5 seconds. Its works great and pretty good price as well. Money well spent!! no shit!!!
I bought one of these a few years back but never even opened the box till today to use it.... got it all set up and then went to turn on the power and it does not even work out of the box, and power is getting all the way to the motor when turning on switch but nothing wheel does not turn at all
How much different is this from face sharpening the teeth with a round file? This system only sharpens the top edge not the sides. I do have a similar machine and it seems to work but I'm not convinced it is better than face sharpening which sharpens both top and side at the same time.
Good video thanks for sharing. I have two chainsaws one uses 3/8'' p and the other 3.25''. Can the same grinding disc be used for both chains or do I have to buy different discs for each one?
Does your handle or top part move side to side left to right? It’s like mine has slack in the pin. It’s almost like it needs a thicker pin. I don’t know if it warped I don’t remember it being like this a year ago. It’s been sitting in my garage hot Florida.
I haven’t seen a review yet that answers the question of what size tooth does that wheel cut? I have a couple big saws with 5/32,3/16 and 7/32. Maybe I missed something obvious but which size does this sharpener sharpen? Thank you
@@DereksWorkshopAndProjects yeah, you're right I used the wrong word there. Kind of a bummer you still gotta file down the rakers manually, but I guess that's the easier part than manually maintaining a 30 degree angle while sharpening the cutters
The defect of this chain sharpener is that the Moter does not reverse. the stone is turning INTO the cutter instead of OUT on one row of cutters. I lived with chain saws, and this is engineering wrong. After two or three times of sharping you will see the cutters on the wrong side of the rotating stone NOT wear as much as the other side cutters is because the cutters are not "digging in" If you use one of these Moter driven sharpener finish the opposite cutters off by dragging a file to the FRONT of the cutter not BACKWARDS of the cutter.
Sthil... now thats a laugh, no need to sharpen a chain for those things they dont work... if it will start (which is rare) it wont run with enough guts to move a chain through a twig and if you dont then the chainsaw will just die randomly anyway. Much the same with the Mcculloch. Both heaps of rubbish have had a heap of money and time wasted on them, my advice, dont bother with them at all. But good video on the sharpening tool, I have one, tried it the way you show I honestly dont know whether its the cheap chinese chains these days but the sharp (sort of sharp is what I mean) lasts about an hour on a good day. To be honest.... the texas chainsaw massacre was a great piece of fiction, nothing in my shed would manage to chop more than a finger...
If you think Stihl is bad, what on earth could you possibly be running that is better!? Thanks for the compliments on the video though. My chains last typically a solid couple of hours before going dull but that’s on softwood. Shaggy Bark Juniper will dull them all within an hour.
@@DereksWorkshopAndProjects Well if stihl is good then I will go and get myself a handsaw. Mine IF it starts - and thats rare - doesnt run. The mcculloch is if anything worse. BOTH have been serviced, fresh fuel, fresh plugs, contacts replaced and adjusted, spark is present, fuel is flowing... they will both sometimes run for a while, neither of them cuts. So I have to use an electric which is a paiin in the arse with the cable but at least it functions. If your chains last so well I would love to know the manufacturer because one new out of the box yesterday was burning its way through wood after about 45 minutes where it had been nicely cutting at the start.
I don’t know any shop doing this for $4 a chain. Minimum I have heard is $8. Also, as fast as I go through chains, even at $4 a chain, I’d be paying $50 in chain sharpening every time I went out cutting wood.
@@williamwallace9620 The charges they want to charge here just made me buy my own sharpener. Buy it once and never again. Will have my money back in 6 months.
Welcome to Northwestern Ontario.... $18/chain to get it sharpened. For over 35yrs I always use a file to touch-up the chain when fueling to keep it cutting well. If you keep touching it up, you shouldn't have any major sharpening issues unless you end up hitting the dirt while cutting. When/if you dig around a stump 6-8" and cut it below grade, your chain is toast. One of these sharpeners, for the price, is a game changer to get it cutting again. I usually keep a few old chains for stumps as I don't want to destroy the newer ones. There is a learning curve, but well worth it. But, I only use it after mangling them in the dirt. No need for this on a regularly maintained chain.
