Chainsaw grinder questions, tips, tricks, and pics!!!!

[Douglas Ostrander]

Have you ever “worn” out a CBN wheel, or donyou just have different brands...

No. Still grinding. Just have several grinders in different shops. Just ordered another CBN wheel from diamond wheel Inc. See if it is different.

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[Philbert]

I think that MCW, over on A.S. might have worn out one. I think that I recall him talking about maybe getting it replated, versus replaced?

Philbert

 

[Code_Red]

Hey guys, I've read most of this thread but its my second night on night shift so i didn't have the attention span/mental capacity to make it through all so i just skipped to the last 10 pages after going through the first 15 so i hope this wasn't covered and isn't derailing the thread. If so ill just remove the comment. I am just a weekend warrior and only cut wood for personal use and some to sell. I have always sharpened by hand but bought a timberline sharpener a few years ago and while it does a great job on the teeth nearest, i found that it does a really poor job on the opposite side teeth causing me to have to go back to hand filing to get them even. I also have gotten to the point where i run the saws and when they get dull i call it a day and sharpen them when i get a chance but I would really like to have multiple chains sharp so i can just switch out based on sharpness or type of wood so it allows me to keep cutting. This has spiked my interest in a bench grinder, I would possibly eventually offer to start sharpening for money to pay for wheels or chains, nothing to crazy, but it would be mainly for personal use. Would you say the USG is worth the extra money over the Oregon 511 or 520 or would the Oregon be more than enough for someone in my shoes?

 

[Moparmyway]

The Oregon will be just fine

 

[Philbert]

The Oregon will be just fine

+1
Take the time to gain the skill and experience to use it effectively and efficiently - they are not 'automatic'.

(Some of that might be in the last 10 pages).

Philbert

 

[Khntr85]

@Code_Red sounds about like the situation I was in....

I filed forever (still do), but with a 2-year old little girl, and a woman both needing “family” time, I have found that every hour is precious....

Anyway I over-researched, and the first grinder I got was the Oregon 520....would i recommend it, absolutely....

Fast forward about 6-months to a year later....I now have the Oregon 520, Stihl USG, and CBN wheels.....

As @Philbert and @Moparmyway said, you can get along just fine with the Oregon....in the end you have to put forth the effort to get “acquainted” with the grinder....it is only as good as the operator....

I did find it saved me a lot of time sharpening Chains, especially when you hit something....I take a 70cc saw and a 40cc saw when I cut usually, I can’t remember the last time I sharpened a chain in the field.....I just grab another saw, LOL....

 

[Code_Red]

@Code_Red sounds about like the situation I was in....

I filed forever (still do), but with a 2-year old little girl, and a woman both needing “family” time, I have found that every hour is precious....

Anyway I over-researched, and the first grinder I got was the Oregon 520....would i recommend it, absolutely....

Fast forward about 6-months to a year later....I now have the Oregon 520, Stihl USG, and CBN wheels.....

As @Philbert and @Moparmyway said, you can get along just fine with the Oregon....in the end you have to put forth the effort to get “acquainted” with the grinder....it is only as good as the operator....

I did find it saved me a lot of time sharpening Chains, especially when you hit something....I take a 70cc saw and a 40cc saw when I cut usually, I can’t remember the last time I sharpened a chain in the field.....I just grab another saw, LOL....

@Khntr85 thank you for the reply. I think I will save the money and go with the Oregon and a CBN wheel and hone my skills. If I then get proficient and decide to start doing it regularly I’ll invest in the USG. Any resources you can think of off the top of your head that you used when you started learning that we’re a big help?


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[Khntr85]

@Khntr85 thank you for the reply. I think I will save the money and go with the Oregon and a CBN wheel and hone my skills. If I then get proficient and decide to start doing it regularly I’ll invest in the USG. Any resources you can think of off the top of your head that you used when you started learning that we’re a big help?


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I will be honest with you, as silly as it sounds, a lot of guys on this site and others helped me a lot....I listened to a lot of these guys that have been on here for years, put me miles ahead of most beginners....

Other that some help from these guys, honestly man you just got to jump into it....when I first got the grinder and put a chain on it, I was like holy sh$t, this is going to take some practice lol....

Since you have been hand filing so long, and know what a sharp chain looks like, you are in good shape.....as these guys told me, the VERY first thing I would do is get a brand new chain, put it in the grinder, and try to match the wheel to the BRAND NEW Chains angle....

Once to get the hang of it you can fine tune your set-up....that’s when you will really geek out and get some damn good cutting Chains....

I never thought I would say this, because at first I just got a grinder for rocked Chains and to even up the teeth....BUT, I am telling ya I can grind a chain to cut with a beand new out of the box chain, no question about it....I am not in any way trying to sound “cocky”, it’s just a fact...and let me say if I didn’t do/see it for myself, I wouldn’t believe it either...

 

[Code_Red]

I will be honest with you, as silly as it sounds, a lot of guys on this site and others helped me a lot....I listened to a lot of these guys that have been on here for years, put me miles ahead of most beginners....

Other that some help from these guys, honestly man you just got to jump into it....when I first got the grinder and put a chain on it, I was like holy sh$t, this is going to take some practice lol....

Since you have been hand filing so long, and know what a sharp chain looks like, you are in good shape.....as these guys told me, the VERY first thing I would do is get a brand new chain, put it in the grinder, and try to match the wheel to the BRAND NEW Chains angle....

Once to get the hang of it you can fine tune your set-up....that’s when you will really geek out and get some damn good cutting Chains....

I never thought I would say this, because at first I just got a grinder for rocked Chains and to even up the teeth....BUT, I am telling ya I can grind a chain to cut with a beand new out of the box chain, no question about it....I am not in any way trying to sound “cocky”, it’s just a fact...and let me say if I didn’t do/see it for myself, I wouldn’t believe it either...

I am an engineer by day and I no doubt have a tendency to overthink and over-research things so jumping in will be against my norm but im sure youre right so i will get my hands on one as soon as i can and just start practicing. Im a perfectionist and love experimenting with things so i have no doubt that once i get the hang of it i will start trying new angles and techniques in different woods and be obsessed with it.

Thank you guys so much for the replies and help. i appreciate all of the knowledge and willingness to help on this site!

 

[Code_Red]

now that you are as experienced as you are do you just buy chain by the roll now and not individual chains? If i get a sharpener, I could see where it would be convenient to have different types of chain to throw on for different situations rather than one chain and one grind fits all.

 

[Khntr85]

@Code_Red alot if these guys have been doing this years, (grinding), but as you say I am the “obsessive” type so when I set out to do something, I plan on doing it to the best of my ability, no matter how small or trivial....

I will say, (being the devils advocate, lol), given your daily trade, the usg is a damn good grinder....now don’t get me wrong you can turn out a factory grade chain with the Oregon, but the build quality of the usg is flat out built like a tank....I only bring this up because given your trade I figured you may appreciate it....

I rebuild dead saws, and buy them sometimes by the truck load, the Chains just seem follow, lol....so luckily I will never have to buy a chain even agian as many as I acquire them all the time it seems, lol....

 

[Khntr85]

Also I cut mainly hard wood, usually dirty....I use semi-chisel and full-chisel.....just depends on my mood and the conditions, lol....

 

[Code_Red]

@Code_Red alot if these guys have been doing this years, (grinding), but as you say I am the “obsessive” type so when I set out to do something, I plan on doing it to the best of my ability, no matter how small or trivial....

I will say, (being the devils advocate, lol), given your daily trade, the usg is a damn good grinder....now don’t get me wrong you can turn out a factory grade chain with the Oregon, but the build quality of the usg is flat out built like a tank....I only bring this up because given your trade I figured you may appreciate it....

I rebuild dead saws, and buy them sometimes by the truck load, the Chains just seem follow, lol....so luckily I will never have to buy a chain even agian as many as I acquire them all the time it seems, lol....

Thank you again for the reply. I think i may invest in the oregon with a couple of the CBN wheels and go to town learning.

 

[Moparmyway]

I can grind a chain with my Oregon 511 thats just as good or better than any other round ground chain off any USG or any other grinder.

It’s not the arrow, it’s the indian.

 

[CR888]

It’s not the arrow, it’s the indian.

Troof! I'd rather an experiences operator use a cheap Chinese made grinder to do a chain for me than a newb using the best money can buy. Grinders are very much hand tools that work only as well as the guy behind the wheel. Yes you can sharpen chains fast if you know what your doing, but if you don't you can damage them even faster. Practice, knowledge and practice gets you there. Typing words into search engines won't. To properly set up your 'grinding station' a breaker & spinner setup is good. Dressing stones, spare wheels in all sizes will allow for flexibity amounts pitches. Good lighting is helpful too, your eye will tell you a sharp chain & what needs doing/correcting. Next we will tell you how to complete the B&C station with a homemade bar shop to dress and true bars.

 

[Khntr85]

@Code_Red no problem man, be cool to see someone jump into like I did here fairly recently....if you take the time to learn it, it will be money well spent, period....

I am sure since you read some of this thread, you know how OCD I can get, (I do recommend reading while thread when you get time a lot of good tips).....

I know it’s totally putting yourself out there when you do this, but I even put close up postures of cutters for these guys to critique....I will say this right now, I thought I would get a lot of crap and harassment, but I don’t remember one negative comment....a picture does speak 1,000 words, so when you get one, get some pics up here......

And as @Moparmyway said, the Oregon can produce a chain just as good as the USG....like I said I have them mounted on my bench right now, side-by-side....I still use them both....I have made my money back on all of my grinders, and CBN wheels by sharpening people Chains.....I don’t do nearly the amount of these other guys, just get some here and there with a few regulars.....

 

[Code_Red]

@Code_Red no problem man, be cool to see someone jump into like I did here fairly recently....if you take the time to learn it, it will be money well spent, period....

I am sure since you read some of this thread, you know how OCD I can get, (I do recommend reading while thread when you get time a lot of good tips).....

I know it’s totally putting yourself out there when you do this, but I even put close up postures of cutters for these guys to critique....I will say this right now, I thought I would get a lot of crap and harassment, but I don’t remember one negative comment....a picture does speak 1,000 words, so when you get one, get some pics up here......

And as @Moparmyway said, the Oregon can produce a chain just as good as the USG....like I said I have them mounted on my bench right now, side-by-side....I still use them both....I have made my money back on all of my grinders, and CBN wheels by sharpening people Chains.....I don’t do nearly the amount of these other guys, just get some here and there with a few regulars.....

I will for sure take the time to read the thread once I get a free minute. The guys on here have been super helpful for any questions I have posted and all of the guys I met at the one GTG I went to we’re all just awesome and more than willing to talk about whatever. I’ll keep you guys updated.


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[DustGrind]

I wanna derail y'all just a smidgin, can I sharpen my hedge trimmers using a Oregon grinder.
I've done a couple sets now, but don't know if I've done a good job or not.
You guys have any experience with this?
Figured I would ask the pros.

 

[Philbert]

. . can I sharpen my hedge trimmers using a Oregon grinder.
I've done a couple sets now, but don't know if I've done a good job or not.

If you have done it, it can be done!

A long time ago I heard that there was an attachment to do this. But I never saw one. And I don't see one in the Oregon Or Tecomec (Italian manufacturer) catalogs.

Philbert

 

[DustGrind]

If you have done it, it can be done!

A long time ago I heard that there was an attachment to do this. But I never saw one. And I don't see one in the Oregon Or Tecomec (Italian manufacturer) catalogs.

Philbert

Have a pictures of the attachment?