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

[Icepick69]

Wish mine had that. Play with it. Move it. Go from right tooth to left till you get it rite. Then thank philbert

 

[Farmchuck]

Okay so i center the chain stop behind the left hand cutter. Now I don't understand what that bolt & nut adjustment are supposed to do. When I loosen the 10 mm bolt& turn the Allen screw in it just clamps the vise tight so I can't get the chain out.

 

[Farmchuck]

 

[Farmchuck]

I can't see where that screw moves the vise one way or the other. It just seems to clamp it shut.

 

[Icepick69]

Philbert

 

[Canadian farm boy]

I can't see where that screw moves the vise one way or the other. It just seems to clamp it shut.

That screw on the back side of your vise moves your chain so it can be centered to the grinding wheel.
It only takes a small turn of that screw to really change where the center point of your chain is.

In my experience the further in you adjust that screw the smaller your LH cutters will be compared to your RH cutters.

It will take some playing with that screw to get your vise centered.

My suggestion would be to get a brand new out of the box chain and put it in your grinder. Without turning the grinder on clamp the chain as if you were going to sharpen it. Start with maybe a RH cutter and pull the wheel down into the cutter and adjust your stopper till the cutter just contacts the wheel. Once you have this done switch to a LH cutter and see how far out your vise is compared to the RH cutter. Now adjust the screw on the back of your vise till the wheel just contacts both the LH and RH cutters the same.

Hope this helps. It's kinda hard to describe the process. You may also need to repeat this process as your sharpening wheel gets smaller with use.

 

[Farmchuck]

Thank you so much Canadian Farm boy. That makes perfect sense to me. I put a new wheel & new out of box chain on vise like you said, did just what you said, got the right hand cutter just touching the cutter swung around to the left hand cutter & it wasn't touching so I started to slowly turn the Allan screw in with the 10mm nut loosened but the screw turns a little then starts to get harder to turn but the vise doesn't move it just squeezes the clamp tighter that the chain rests in. Should I be leaving the knob loose on the bottom after I switch from right to left hand cutter?

 

[Philbert]

The hinged stop adjusts to hold the cutter in the forward-and-back position.

The Allen head bolt on the side is a fine adjustment for side-to-side position.

If the chain is perfectly centered side-to-side, then you should not have to adjust it forward-and-back when changing sides of the chain.

Philbert

 

[Khntr85]

I use an old Foley Belsaw grinder which doesn't have a lot of choice on adjustment. I use Foley's grinding wheels, 3/16th for 3/8 chain and 1/8 for .325, they last for years and years grinding my own chains. I rarely sharpen for anyone else, too much of a pain in the arse,,mf's wanna' bring me a chain that looks like they've used for a rotor tiller.
I grind everything at 30 or 35 degrees.

Tips/tricks I've picked up:

Dress the wheel often. Keep the profile round.

Just barely tap-tap-tap lightly, Don't overheat the cutter!! I usually go around the chain just touching each tooth a couple taps then move to next tooth, going around the chain a few times until I bottom out on the "down stop/depth" adjustment of the grinder. (I grind the gullet deep)

I don't clean my chains

That's my take on it, hope it helps..

Very good advice!!!

 

[Farmchuck]

Thank you all for your input.

 

[Canadian farm boy]

Thank you so much Canadian Farm boy. That makes perfect sense to me. I put a new wheel & new out of box chain on vise like you said, did just what you said, got the right hand cutter just touching the cutter swung around to the left hand cutter & it wasn't touching so I started to slowly turn the Allan screw in with the 10mm nut loosened but the screw turns a little then starts to get harder to turn but the vise doesn't move it just squeezes the clamp tighter that the chain rests in. Should I be leaving the knob loose on the bottom after I switch from right to left hand cutter?

Tighten the knob as you would normally like when your going to actually sharpen a chain.
When your adjusting the Allen head screw are you unclamping your chain?

 

[Farmchuck]

Yes it's up clamped . As far as I can see that Allen screw only squeezes the two rails together. I can't see where it does anything else.

 

[huskihl]

That Allen head screw moves the chain in or out. Loosen your clamp as you turn the screw in. Like cfb said, turning the screw in (while unclamped) will move the chain closer to you, effectively making Left cutters shorter, and right cutters longer

 

[Canadian farm boy]

Yes, it does squeeze the rails together. What it changes is the location of the inside rail and essentially moving the whole chain clamping location in and out

 

[Farmchuck]

I can't really see it move. It just seems to close the middle of the rail. I must be missing something. I do however appriciate everyone's input! I'll have to have a look at it tomorrow with fresh eyes. Thanks again everyone!!

 

[greendohn]

Don't forget to clean your bar groove and dress your bar if it needs dressed.

 

[Philbert]

As far as I can see that Allen screw only squeezes the two rails together. I can't see where it does anything else.

It just seems to close the middle of the rail.

Open the cam / vise chain clamp. Turning the Allen head screw shifts the position of one vise rail. When you close the cam, the position of the clamped chain has shifted.

Philbert

 

[Khntr85]

Let us know how it cuts.

Hey just to let ya know, that chain cut fine!!!

It's a .325 RM on a ms250, and I am about to use the 250 for target practice LOL.... the damn thing has an oiler issue and it's driving me nuts.... when I rebuilt the saw I put an aftermarket oiler in it and it worked fine....however, I made some test cuts last night and could tell it wasn't working....

I am thinking it is an issue with how far the oiler is seated into position.... I don't have the correct "stihl" tool that automatically seats the oiler.... basically, on goes this ms250 saga(can't wait to fix and sell this damn thing!!!)

 

[Khntr85]

got me a CBN wheel for 3/8, 404. Since the majority of my chain is 3/8 I figured it would pay for itself. Don't have to worry about it for the next 20 years.

Hey trooney, please let me know what you think of that wheel.... I want to get one badly....I am at the point we're if I hear one more good thing, I am ordering one LOL....

 

[trooney]

Will do. Its on its way right now. I'll let you know next week.