Seeking Accurate Grinder

[Deets066]

I find that accuracy is not really needed with a round grinder. Actually a little slop in the arm isn’t all that bad. Gives you some room to take or leave on rocked teeth.

 

[Nutball]

But a huge pain for getting the DG's perfect.

 

[huskihl]

But a huge pain for getting the DG's perfect.

Can’t get them perfect with a brand new Super Jolly either though. There’s easily .010” from just touching the stop bolt to pulling down a little. But for most intents and purposes, being within a few .001” is fine

 

[Nutball]

I didn't have high hopes for the super jolly in the DG department just looking at the design. I guess one could add some bracing or support the stop arm from the bottom surface to minimise flex.

Issues with precision DG grinding and having to re adjust the chain stop when grinding the other side to get the teeth on each side the same length is what turned me off from grinders. I just hand file now, and have found it all doesn't need to be perfect to cut straight. I have a Saturday job evening up saw chains, so I get a lot of practice now.

I recently filed a chain on a friend's stock 028 and it amazed both of us. It about performed like a ported saw zipping through logs.

Anyway, that bit of slop in the grinder is good for touching up the edge of a tooth after grinding it to remove the potentially hardened surface from overheating.

 

[huskihl]

I didn't have high hopes for the super jolly in the DG department just looking at the design. I guess one could add some bracing or support the stop arm from the bottom surface to minimise flex.

Issues with precision DG grinding and having to re adjust the chain stop when grinding the other side to get the teeth on each side the same length is what turned me off from grinders. I just hand file now, and have found it all doesn't need to be perfect to cut straight. I have a Saturday job evening up saw chains, so I get a lot of practice now.

I recently filed a chain on a friend's stock 028 and it amazed both of us. It about performed like a ported saw zipping through logs.

Anyway, that bit of slop in the grinder is good for touching up the edge of a tooth after grinding it to remove the potentially hardened surface from overheating.

It’s more the location of the stop being too close to the hinge, vs out further by the chain. But as long as I use similar downward force they stay pretty close.

The Super Jolly has a gauge dial on the front. Once it’s calibrated the cutters are within .005”ish from side to side. I haven’t touched a round file in years

 

[Deets066]

I never cared for the shape of the Depth Gauges when done on a grinder. Much rather keep up on them with a guide and file.

 

[Ryan Browne]

I never cared for the shape of the Depth Gauges when done on a grinder. Much rather keep up on them with a guide and file.

That's my preference as well. Been using the FOP and a sanding drum on a dremel for a few years. Just the the m12 right angle die grinder and I'm hoping that will be a good option both on the bench and in the field.

 

[huskihl]

Once I ground a few chains the raker profile kinda embedded itself into the wheel. So I rolled with it

 

[SpaceBus]

Maybe for cross cutting you can get away with hand filing, but I find on the mill that perfect cutter length is critical to a good finish on the board. DG specs are also very important and I have a Tecomec file guide that I use just for that. My Granberg grinding jig works very well for chain that is in good condition that just needs a bit of polishing, but it is extremely slow and tedious after I hit a screw or rock in the bark while milling. The Granberg jigs suck for dealing with rakers, so that' what lead me to the Tecomec jig that holds flat files. That's not perfect either but I find it works better than hand filing with a guide. I can set the rakers to whatever height I want, and the mill likes a lower raker than cross cutting.

Once I ground a few chains the raker profile kinda embedded itself into the wheel. So I rolled with it

Is it a hassle to swap over grind wheels to set the rakers? Is the accuracy within "a few thou" like grinding the cutters?

 

[huskihl]

Maybe for cross cutting you can get away with hand filing, but I find on the mill that perfect cutter length is critical to a good finish on the board. DG specs are also very important and I have a Tecomec file guide that I use just for that. My Granberg grinding jig works very well for chain that is in good condition that just needs a bit of polishing, but it is extremely slow and tedious after I hit a screw or rock in the bark while milling. The Granberg jigs suck for dealing with rakers, so that' what lead me to the Tecomec jig that holds flat files. That's not perfect either but I find it works better than hand filing with a guide. I can set the rakers to whatever height I want, and the mill likes a lower raker than cross cutting.



Is it a hassle to swap over grind wheels to set the rakers? Is the accuracy within "a few thou" like grinding the cutters?

I keep the Allen wrench and wheels in the tool box right next to where I grind. I’d say it takes under a minute to switch wheels. And another couple minutes to change/set the tooth stop and depth stop. I use a straight edge and feeler gauges to set the first one and do the rest with the grinder.

The rakers are closer in height than the cutters are in length

 

[SpaceBus]

I keep the Allen wrench and wheels in the tool box right next to where I grind. I’d say it takes under a minute to switch wheels. And another couple minutes to change/set the tooth stop and depth stop. I use a straight edge and feeler gauges to set the first one and do the rest with the grinder.

The rakers are closer in height than the cutters are in length

Would you ever be interested in making a video of how you do the depth gauges? Most of the information I find on Youtube or whatever is made by people that have no idea what accuracy looks like.

 

[farminkarman]

I keep the Allen wrench and wheels in the tool box right next to where I grind. I’d say it takes under a minute to switch wheels. And another couple minutes to change/set the tooth stop and depth stop. I use a straight edge and feeler gauges to set the first one and do the rest with the grinder.

The rakers are closer in height than the cutters are in length

I run the Oregon 620 grinder, and this is the same process I use for doing chains...has worked very well for me.

 

[SpaceBus]

Before I ordered the Super Jolly I watched some videos, well part of the videos. It's really tough to watch grown men ruin saw chain with a grinder. Without having the grinder in my hand, hopefully will be here this week, I am not really sure I understand how you are using the feelers and straight edge.

 

[SpaceBus]

Also a suggestion on good feeler gauges and an accurate rule/straight edge would be nice. I've used feeler gauges, mics, etc. in school, but don't own any myself.

 

[Skeans1]

Would you ever be interested in making a video of how you do the depth gauges? Most of the information I find on Youtube or whatever is made by people that have no idea what accuracy looks like.

Here’s one way I do depth gauges and have for years for falling timber as well as harvesters. Now this grinder is only used on short chains 84 driver and down the main grinder that is used is the Silvey depth gauge clone.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[SpaceBus]

Those look a lot better than mine. I think this grinder might bet the best thing to happen to my mill setup.

 

[huskihl]

Would you ever be interested in making a video of how you do the depth gauges? Most of the information I find on Youtube or whatever is made by people that have no idea what accuracy looks like.

Yeah I can probably come up with something

 

[huskihl]

Before I ordered the Super Jolly I watched some videos, well part of the videos. It's really tough to watch grown men ruin saw chain with a grinder. Without having the grinder in my hand, hopefully will be here this week, I am not really sure I understand how you are using the feelers and straight edge.

I just use a file as a straight edge. I lay it flat across the top of the chain and slide feeler gauges in. Grind a little, repeat. Until I get it to the depth I want. I usually go a little deeper than I want so I can sharpen 3-4 times without doing rakers again. As the chain wears out near the end of its life you’ll want more like .035” than .025”. For milling you’ll probably want more yet

 

[huskihl]

I run the Oregon 620 grinder, and this is the same process I use for doing chains...has worked very well for me.

I believe it’s the same grinder. Tecomec super jolly = 620. As I understand it one or the other might have a slightly different feature. Never seen the Oregon variant

 

[SpaceBus]

I just use a file as a straight edge. I lay it flat across the top of the chain and slide feeler gauges in. Grind a little, repeat. Until I get it to the depth I want. I usually go a little deeper than I want so I can sharpen 3-4 times without doing rakers again. As the chain wears out near the end of its life you’ll want more like .035” than .025”. For milling you’ll probably want more yet

I have been running mill chain at .050-.060 lower than the cutters. For cross cutting it's more like .035 since I'm sawing almost entirely softwoods. Thanks for the tips.