Monday, July 6, 2009

Sharpening Chain Saw chains

I received an electric chain saw sharpener for Christmas last year. Didn't think much of it, other than "oh, what a nice toy to add to my tool chest." I now need to go revisit the person who gave me this gift. They unknowingly saved me a LOT of time and money! Talk about making light work of what can be an incredibly difficult job! Before, my only way of sharpening chains for my saws was a manual file and bracket. Tedious, clumsy, and just a pain in the butt. Took way too long, and we usually gave up and just bought a new multi-pack of chains before we had a job.
Is the electric shaprener 100% accurate? No. Does it make the chains usable again, and much better at cutting? YES! Would I rather pay $4 for bits to re-sharpen 7 chains than pay upwards of $10/chain? ANY DAY!
The tool I have operates off of a 12v source via alligator clips. Easily connects to a car battery. (I have spare batteries in the garage) It is essentially a rotary tool with very little frills. Insert and tighten a bit, on/off switch. Very simple.
I am able to get an entire chain, both sides, sharpened in about 2 minutes. The most difficult part of the job is changing the chains out to work on the next one! I found it easiest to work on the chains when they are still on the saw.
I have a very simple Homelite Ranger with a 16" bar. I have 7 chains for it, and was able to sharpen all of them within about a 15 minute period.
The rotary tool does go through sharpening bits though. I am able to sharpen all of my 7 chains with one bit, but by that point the bit is wasted. I found a 2-pack of the Dremel brand chainsaw bits (matching my chains size) at Rural King for $3.99. The same package was $4.99 at Lowes a couple blocks down the road. (I bought mine from Rural King, no brainer).
I hope to have a video up soon of how easy this tool is to use.

No comments:

Post a Comment