OK....I'll admit, I'm a sucker for chainsaw sharpeners. Over the years, I've bought a Granberg File/guide attachment, went back to a plain file, then a 12v Granberg chain grinder (like a Dremel tool), then went back to a file, then a bench mounted Harbor Freight grinder (really didn't like that one) , and back to a hand file.....the only thing I've improved a hand file with is a file guide like this Oregon one.....like the wood handle, and angle marks....keeps you hand filing pretty good. SO, when I ran across the Timberline sharpener at Bailey's, I had to try one. Wife got it for my Xmas present, and I've tried it out over the last few days....have to say I'm really impressed....fast, easy to mount/use/dismount, does a great job on grinding, gets every tooth to the same angle and length. I think this one is a keeper. Home
Pretty cool, and seems simple enough. Does it come with different sized carbides for different sized chains ?
Like what I am seeing so far, but it looks to be very time consuming and not able to be adjusted for differing chain pitch or for grinding the guides! I use the Stihl Professional chain sharpening system A LOT, but find my self having to do quite a bit by hand, specifically the Ripper Chains I run, these have a unique tooth design, and have to be done by hand, and chain life is very short! For my smaller yard saw, this might be a pretty good tool, I wonder if finer carbides can be had?
Watched the video and was really impressed so looked up on Amazon to purchase. It has very good reviews on Amazon, 4.5 stars. The price is much more than I thought it would be, ~$130, but looks good.
Yeah, Bailey had them on sale for 99 bucks before Christmas, and I got it then. The cutters are about 20 bucks each, but being carbide, my guess they will have a pretty long life.
I like it, been looking at different options for sharpening my saws as my hands aren't what they used to be.
Wish I knew who made the sharpening system I used, when I worked for the Navy, in Guam. We had chainsaws at the fuel depot, so that we could clear the roads (and fire break roads) after the tropical storms & typhoons. This thing clamped to the bar, you set your angle of cut for that chain, and then filed each tooth individually, with a guided file holder. Took a little getting used to, but once I did, I could sharpen a chain in about 5 minutes, doing both angles of the cuts. Which was nice, whenever we had to cut a bunch of ironwood, as I'd end up sharpening the chains twice a day! (guess there's a reason they call it "iron" wood, huh? ).
I use an OREGON Chain Sharpening Machine, on my chains... Built up a couple of dozen New Chains for my Sthil Saws, and when one gets dull, I take it off and put it in the Dull Chain Hook in the Tool Shed, and pick up a New one from the New Chain Hook, for the Saw. When I get about half of them, that need sharpening, I dig out the Machine, and spend a couple of hours, and then put them on the New Chain Hook...
I don't file/sharpen arbitrarily, IMO it both wastes time and teeth. I touch up whats dull, and do it free hand . After a few years you know what a good factory cut looks like, and you mimic it . Much like sharpening any thing, even knives, saws, and drill bits. A good guide to start with is a premier for getting your muscle memory developed , but I feel I need to get a good look at what I'm doing, than rely on machinery to do it all .
Have several different chain saw sharpeners, but end up doing 90 % by eye or using the Oregon hand file type.. New Sthil requires a super sharp chain as the chain moves very fast. Touch it up a few strokes about ever fill up and it works nice, but old Husky runs slow and throws a big chip and it only requires sharpening a couple times a day. Rakers set the depth of cut and seem to be just about as important as the tooth. The Oregon wheel type sharpener is really good, but it takes a lot of skill to set up, run and dress wheel. Never have been able to keep up skills with the few chains I sharpen and it takes quite a bit off the tooth and if done wrong, can ruin the temper.
Looks nice, but at that price point I'll stick with my files for touch-ups and chainsaw sharpener (disc grinding wheel) for really dull chains. For how often I need to sharpen a the chainsaw, I don't think it's worth it. I'm like BT, I have a hook for dull chains, when I get to one sharp chain left, I pull out the grinder and sharpen them all. Does that sharpener allow for different angles on the teeth? I have 2 chains that are rippers for cutting logs into boards with a mill.
