New Depth gauge grinder

[kurtz]

I saw a little bit of talk on the new DGG-6 from thechainshark.com but I hadn’t seen any reviews on one. Eventually my curiosity got the best of me and I ordered one and have used it for about a dozen chains and it seems to work very well and very fast. There’s a few things to point out from setup and my first few chains.
I think I might have been missing some instructions on the tension system but regardless I don’t see how it would work well the way that it was shown in pictures and videos. I will be modifying it in the future.


After the first chain it was obvious that the wheel wasn’t center to the chain so I took the shaft apart that had the crank on it and was able to relocate one washer to center it up. I used a centering square for this and now it’s near perfect.

Otherwise this machine works very well and I’m happy to finally semi-automate setting my depth gauges.

 

[kurtz]

Here’s a few more pictures

 

[Dolkitafreak]

I need to bite the bullet and buy one but I’ll likely make one before I spend 1k on one.

 

[Wolverine]

@Duane(Pa)

 

[blades]

Ya, tensioning a chain is a bit of a pain. going from pico pico to 404 is a treat as well. once you get things set for a particular series of chains it makes short work of the depth gauges. have had one for several months now. ran enough chain through it that the knurling on the chain drive wore off . I can redo the knurling, but was thinking along the lines of a positive drive sprockets 404-375-325. The 404 most people would not likely need, but i get 246dl and 205 dl chains in 404 for sharpening takes awhile with a file.

 

[Duane(Pa)]

I’m glad to see some user feedback. I am envious of anyone that could build something like that!

How do they handle different pitches and gauges on the drive sprocket? Edit I see it is a knurled drive.

 

[SimonHS]

but I’ll likely make one before I spend 1k on one.

Like this one?

 

[Dolkitafreak]

Like this one?

Yes something very similar!

 

[kurtz]

Ya, tensioning a chain is a bit of a pain. going from pico pico to 404 is a treat as well. once you get things set for a particular series of chains it makes short work of the depth gauges. have had one for several months now. ran enough chain through it that the knurling on the chain drive wore off . I can redo the knurling, but was thinking along the lines of a positive drive sprockets 404-375-325. The 404 most people would not likely need, but i get 246dl and 205 dl chains in 404 for sharpening takes awhile with a file.

Have you modified the chain tensioner yet? I was thinking of using something weighted instead of spring loaded. That way the tension will always be enough regardless of chain length without having to make adjustments.


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[kurtz]

One thing I noticed is that the sharp edge of the cutter rubs on the lift lever for a little bit in a way that could dull the cutter. I don’t see a way to adjust this out of it. With the naked eye the cutters seem fine after running through the raker grinder but I’ll have to do some test with a chain and the run it through the raker grinder with the grinder up and see if the chain slows down.


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[blades]

Really haven't noticed any problem on the cutting edge. On the other hand I have worn a grove in the lift finger. There is no way to tension 5-8ft long loop of chain hence the positive drive function of a sprocket. The way mine is right now I have apply a awful lot of tension to get enough friction for the chains to carry through. I will need to make a very wide spreader for those long chains and am thinking a tension unit similar to that on a mutisprocket bike. With a sprocket only need enough to keep chain riding the teeth no longer a friction drive. the DG6 works in reverse of the old Silvey units.
On mine I had to pull the crank shaft out as it locked up ( frozen tight). I had to drift punch it out and then hone the bore and polish the shaft
Question - is your lift finger square to the shaft center line or canted a bit?

 

[WKEND LUMBERJAK]

I need to bite the bullet and buy one but I’ll likely make one before I spend 1k on one.

1000 bucks

 

[WKEND LUMBERJAK]

1000 bucks

I will use a file my time isn't that valuable

 

[Moparmyway]

I will use a file my time isn't that valuable

I use the dremel with the flex shaft and a sanding drum, I get a 84DL chain done in 5 minutes, which includes walking to & from the chain vice

Also, the problem with a raker grinder is that unless the operator centers the wheel centerline with the middle of the chain chassis, one set of rakers will be lower than the other (left or right). Look real carefully at any chain, look down it and you will see that the rakers are offset from the centerline of the chassis. Using the dremel with the flex shaft allows me to take the same amount off of each left AND each right raker.

 

[blades]

unit is set up/constructed on centerline of chain chassis. not for everyone cost wise, but for commercial it is a great time saver.

 

[kurtz]

I use the dremel with the flex shaft and a sanding drum, I get a 84DL chain done in 5 minutes, which includes walking to & from the chain vice

Also, the problem with a raker grinder is that unless the operator centers the wheel centerline with the middle of the chain chassis, one set of rakers will be lower than the other (left or right). Look real carefully at any chain, look down it and you will see that the rakers are offset from the centerline of the chassis. Using the dremel with the flex shaft allows me to take the same amount off of each left AND each right raker.

My grinder was a little bit off of center right out of the box but it was pretty easy to adjust. I wound up moving one thin washer from one end of the shaft to the other.

I double checked that the wheel guard was perfectly centered to the wheel, which it was, and then used a centering square on the guard to measure.


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[blades]

need to keep the tension unit in line also or the chain tips slightly

 

[acestony1]

need to keep the tension unit in line also or the chain tips slightly

 

[acestony1]

I have added some other options for the tensioning system this makes things a bit quicker, the chain that I have on the new system is a 36" 3/8 chain. I also have all the sprockets made for .325,3/8,.404 and 3/4 chains. I also will be coming out with a bench mount for The Raker Grinder and other extensions for longer chains. If someone needs something custom made they can get in touch with me directly 715-889-0553

Thanks Tony
Precision Chain Sharpening