big bad lindz Posted July 13, 2016 Report Share Posted July 13, 2016 Hi guys any suggestions on chain saw electric bench sharpeners. I am looking at buying one as the cost of having someone sharpen mine has just increased up from £6.50the last time, to £8.50. I have a 25 ton load of logs to work my way through and I have not been very good at using the file on the links and have 2 chains on the go, one in the saw and the other away for sharpening so I am looking at doing it myself. They all appear to be in the same price range £30 to £40 but I cannot make my mind up. Any suggestions or recommendations Cheers, BBL Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Saltings Posted July 13, 2016 Report Share Posted July 13, 2016 bought an aldi or lidl ones a few years back aluminium base pull down type swear by it machine mart and fleabay have a few to choose from Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rovercoupe Posted July 14, 2016 Report Share Posted July 14, 2016 Absolute saviour these things, i have a few 36" chains for milling and it took forever to hand sharpen but with the leccy one under a hour! I bought a cheepy silverline one, not the greatest quality but does the job, mounting them right is the hardest part. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SpringDon Posted July 14, 2016 Report Share Posted July 14, 2016 I'd get a file guide and learn to do it. I work at a garden machinery shop and we sharpen chains by hand except those that have been previously sharpened by machine because they go hard, I assume due to the heat generated by grinding Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scotslad Posted July 14, 2016 Report Share Posted July 14, 2016 I'd 2nd wot Spring dom has said, i wouldn't reccommend using a machine sharpener unless ur doing very long chains or u work a harvester. If ur machine ever breaks ur left with chains u can't sharpen by hand Do u not know any decent woodcutters locally? (i take it ur dornoch up north? there is a another dornoch near me if it's that 1 i could try and show u a few tricks) Bloody good money that for sharpeniing a chain. usually on takes minutes, althou i'm sure they get some fauirly rough chains in that have never seen a file or had rakers taken down in there lifes Wot are u strugling with the file? Usually most folk struggle to keep chaim sharpened evenly so will not cut straight, but to be fair not really a problem unless ur working on big timber over bar length when u need cuts to meet. Usually the problem is ur 'bad' hand and not applying the same pressure as ur 'good' /writing hand, an easy way to overcome this is to give ur bad hand an extra few rubs, if u do 3 rubs with good do 6 with bad but as u get more used to sharpening u should decrease until doing 3 and 3. Sure u can turn ur saw upside down and do i with ur good hand too, was shown that years ago but never liked it Try to keep ur chain sharp u really should only ever need to give them 2-3 rubs normally, and 5 if u hit a stone/metal. I tend to wear my chains well pas wot ur meant to but sharpen with a file a size smaller when well worn U do get new stihl things that have a raker flat file included with the round file so ur rakers are always taken down gradually, look quite ackward to me but may be ideal for hobby users. U also get guages to keep the rakers the right hieght althou never knew anyone that uses them most kjust do it by feel/eye.. If u take them down to much saw will really start to jump about a bit and be hard to control, so just rub ur cutter down to get some control back. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul223 Posted July 15, 2016 Report Share Posted July 15, 2016 Do a chainsaw course, it'll teach you safe handling of the saw, maintenance and included in that how to properly sharpen the chain, keeping on top of the chains condition is far more easier than totally dulling and thinking you need a machine to do a job that in reality should only take mins to sort. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
manthing Posted July 15, 2016 Report Share Posted July 15, 2016 Screwfix have a dohicky shoe thing that fits over the end of the blade and you press it against such at solid whilst the chain is running. I know nowt other than that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TaxiDriver Posted July 15, 2016 Report Share Posted July 15, 2016 (edited) Can you get electric chainsaw chains sharpened ? I've got a Bosch one that I inherited unused, Ive only tried it once and gave up as it cut like butter knife through concrete, I do wonder if I've blunted it (?) but a new Bosch chain is £30+ Can you buy chains from different manufacturers ? Or, aftermarket/pattern ones ? My Bosch electric saw says 35cm on the side, I'm assuming this is either the bar length or chain ? Looking at the current chain, I'm struggling to see any sign of a cutting edge(s) I can't imagine anyone would sharpen one of these by hand Must cost more in time/labour than new chain. Edited July 16, 2016 by TaxiDriver Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scotslad Posted July 15, 2016 Report Share Posted July 15, 2016 Must admit i don't know anything about electric chain saw chains but i'd be pretty sure are just standard chains powered bty an electric motor rather than a petrol 1, probably 1 of the finer pitch chains 3/16 or most likely smaller. The most common mistake is people don't know to take the rakers down, the wee blunt things infront of the cutters, essentially there depth guages sort off so if u don;t file them down ur xchain could be sharp (usually isn't thou) but still cut slowly I'm sure they're will be clips on the net about how to sharpen chains, they might not all be good advice thou, thoose stihl file holders are meantto be failry good as hold a flat and round file so will alaways have ur rakers at riht hieght Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ben0850 Posted July 15, 2016 Report Share Posted July 15, 2016 A few years ago now I had sharpening issues, honestly take Scotslads advice. I took his advice many moons ago and it stood me in good stead. I run a 28 inch bar and a 14 inch bar and have them sharp as crystal just by hand with not a great deal of graft. The stihl kits for angle and rakers are worth buying. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ditchman Posted July 15, 2016 Report Share Posted July 15, 2016 i think the thing that puts people off sharpening chains by hand...is they overuse the file...until it is smooth...they think a file will last forever....i use mine for maybe 5 sharpens then bin......it is shear pleasure running a good file thro' the links and to hear it cut and see the filings and touch the razor finish........... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnphilip Posted July 15, 2016 Report Share Posted July 15, 2016 Screwfix have a dohicky shoe thing that fits over the end of the blade and you press it against such at solid whilst the chain is running. I know nowt other than that. I think you have to buy a special chain to go with it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rovercoupe Posted July 16, 2016 Report Share Posted July 16, 2016 I think you have to buy a special chain to go with it. Powersharp chains, great for dirty root cutting thats about it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
harpoonlouis Posted July 16, 2016 Report Share Posted July 16, 2016 Just had two chains sharpened by Marsdens in Nottingham, watched them go through and you can we where my sharpening had slowly produced un-eveness along the chain. Bought new files and a couple of little file guides for cutters and rakers, about a tenner for the pair. Hope to keep them sharp using the file and guides and just get them ground once in a while if they start to get uneven again. Their new sharpening machine was a cool 12 1/2 grand! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mel b3 Posted July 16, 2016 Report Share Posted July 16, 2016 Ive tried the gadgets lindz and I just couldnt get on with them to be honest , all I use these days is a file and I can put a ctacking edge on my stihl chain in about ten minutes , its certainly worth learning to do it yourself mate. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
big bad lindz Posted July 16, 2016 Author Report Share Posted July 16, 2016 Thanks for all the replies guys, I suppose like most things there will be for`s and against and listening to you all I still cant make my mind up Just for some information, I have been using a chain saw for over 15 years mostly for just cutting fire wood although I did fell a couple of trees myself on my land, it is not something I do for a living. I don't feel there is a need for me to have any formal training on chain saw use, I do wear the full PPE even just for log cutting and apart from chain sharpening there is not to much maintenance involved that I cant do myself. As I mentioned I have used a file but I don't feel that I am doing a good enough job mostly on the reverse hand filing. Having the chain sharpened locally with a grinder is what I have been doing for the past few years and as I said why not try a grinder myself. I might have a look at the Sthil file kits and see how I get on. Stupid of me to not to replace the file on a regular basis as maybe the cutting edge has long gone and I have mistakenly tried to hard with a blunt file in turn causing me to make a hash of sharpening the chain. Cheers, BBL Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kalahari Posted July 16, 2016 Report Share Posted July 16, 2016 I use an electric sharpener at home. I do have the full set of files and can use them. The reason I like the machine is you can set it to trim all the teeth to the same length. The hardening problem can happen but you have to be careful just to use it with a very soft touch so the chain doesn't overheat. The file problem is as ditchman says use a good file and don't expect it to last for ever. I find the Huskie guides easier to use for a good result. David. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
harrycatcat1 Posted July 17, 2016 Report Share Posted July 17, 2016 I know folks dont like them but I bought a Chinese chainsaw off fleebay for 50 quid last year. 20" bar came with 3 chains easiest two stroke I have to start. Its had a fair amount of domestic work this last year and I have just taken down 10 7 metre high conifers in my lads back garden and chopped them up. Still on the same chain. Just saying Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scotslad Posted July 17, 2016 Report Share Posted July 17, 2016 However u sharpen ur chain the most important thing u can do is look after it, watch out for stones, metal, nails and esp glass (really knackers a chain) When i used to brash/fell for a harvester most days would burn 1 gallon of fuel a day and on decent timber could just about go all day without sharpening chain or only a couple of rubs at lunch. Thats all ur talking about rubbing each cuter 2-3 times not filling in away to nothing, even working a 5 day/gallon week a chain will still last for weeks or even months and thats working it hard. Never met a cutter yet that woud use an electric as if chain needs a rub u just do it then and there, and it can harden them so macking them harder to sharpen, no point carrying extra chains around with u and by time u've swapped chains over u could have sharpened the 1st one Must admit i found the cheap strap on type guide to give u quite a hooky cutter point which cuts great but if u hit owt just snaps off. Only use dit for my 1st chainsaw course until someone showed me how to sharpen the proper way. Best way esp with a new chain is just to really look at the angle of the cutter and just try to follw that angle, some oregon chain has a line on further back on the cutter, and remember it is the ubderside ur trying to sharpen not the round bit at bottom so no point in putting a lot of downward pressure on file, if anything u want light upward pressure And as some 1 said earlier treat urself to decent files, i use mine a bit longer than someone mentioned but esp for a newbie makes a world of difference Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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