HF Chain Grinder Thread

[67L36Driver]

What caught my eye is the wide spade like end that contacts the cutter. Mine has been nibbled on quite a bit.

 

[Philbert]

(Future Silvey grinder!)

The variations and surprises continue . . . . Tried to mount a 3/16 inch Molemab wheel on the older style Chicago Electric grinder, with the steel flange nut, and there are just not enough threads there! Had to mount the flange nut backward. Arbor also needed to be bushed slightly. Should not be surprised - these types of variations and quality control issues are what define a cheap tool. Because I have several (now) I have learned that I cannot expect things to always work as expected with these, nor are things always the same or interchangeable.

You would not think that a 1/16 of an inch thicker wheel should make that much of a difference. It should not be that hard for a company to spec a slightly longer arbor - plenty of clearance inside the guards.

Philbert

 

[farmerward]

First Use (for me) - Future Silvey Grinder

This is the one that started it all, so to speak! Even though it was 'used', it was never properly 'tweaked'. I cleaned it (our own dirt is different than other peoples' dirt); trimmed off all the sharp flashing with a razor blade; wrapped the center post with aluminum tape (makes cleaning off grinder grit easier); mounted it on a wooden base, so that I can clamp it to work surfaces; and added a Velcro strap to coil up the cord when not in use.

Interesting that the grinding wheel on this, older model, is much better than the ones that come on the newer models - closer to the Molemab and Oregon wheels. Just needed to be dressed.
View attachment 447715

The vise did not hold the chain well. In fact, the chain positioning stop or dog hit the cutter off center, near the top, and lifted the cutter out of the vise. And the entire cutter shifted to the side, when tightened. The chain did not flow smoothly out of the end of the vise.

- I squeezed the rolled end of the positioning stop with a pair of Vise-Grips (no pun intended) slowly and gradually, until it fit on the mounting post without wobbling, but not so tight that it binds;

- I shimmed the mounting post for the stop with a washer so that it no longer wobbled, and so that it hit the cutter closer to its center;

- I bent the flat metal stop slightly, so that it reached over the tie strap bumper, touching the cutter at its base, instead of near its top;

- I cleaned off some burrs on the inside of the vise clamping plates that interfered with chain flow.

View attachment 447717

Still a cheap grinder, but now it is a happy cheap grinder. Works as intended.

Philbert

What is the best way to dress a grinding wheel?


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

[Philbert]

What is the best way to dress a grinding wheel?

I use a coarse, silicon carbide dressing stick or brick to shape the profile, and to periodically expose fresh abrasive.

Most of the Oregon grinders come with a small brick, or you can buy a replacement from Bailey's, et.al for about $6 - $10.


You can also buy a larger one for about the same price at many hardware, home center, farm stores, near the grinding wheels, and break it down into smaller pieces.

Philbert

 

[backhoelover]

I DIDNT LIKE MINE

 

[Philbert]

I DIDNT LIKE MINE

It's an acquired taste . . . .

You can always put it up on a local Craig'sList for $10 to $20, or offer it in one of the 'Christmas Giving' threads, when they start up again.

Philbert

 

[Stihl 041S]

What is the best way to dress a grinding wheel?


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

A Norbide from Norton or a knock off will never wear out

 

[67L36Driver]

I DIDNT LIKE MINE

Part that puppy out!

I can use the chain stop..........[emoji6]

 

[xPosTech]

I DIDNT LIKE MINE

I had some complaints with mine, too. Mainly with the bicycle clamp. They just didn't think it through.

Mine (ITEM 68221) had springs on the top two screws of the plate that locks against the drive links. Not on the bottom screw. The plate would therefore move forward bottom first till it contacted the DL, thereby pushing the cutter up off the rails - not much but enough that I was uncomfortable with the clamp.

I first tried adding a spring (ballpoint pen) to the bottom screw. It moved a little better but sometimes the top of the plate would just touch the bottom of the cutter forcing it up - not much but . . . So I filed a slight 45° bevel on the top edge of the plate. It helped but not much.

I think I would have accepted these flaws knowing I spent only thirty bucks for it if it had been consistent. But it wasn't. Maybe every third or fourth cutter would jump up.

I even tried lubing the cable with . . . cable lube. I used to rebuild bikes for disadvantaged kids and still had some in the shop. Of course the lube didn't help.

BUT I came across an old quick release seat post clamp. I'm sure everyone has seen them. They use an eccentric to quickly clamp and release using a cam action. It looks as if made for the purpose of sending that plate to the driver link.

One problem of the cable clamp was that the end of the cable at the yellow knob acted as a pivot so the plate would decide going in which way it wanted to go. And the pivot changed when swiveling for the other side of the chain.

I couldn't get the cable clamp off fast enough. The base of the eccentric just fits between the top of the plate and the bottom screw. That large base is what keeps the plate parallel to the driver link. It works like a charm. Made all the difference in the world.

I'll try to get some pix up but my HughesNet is not trying to be too friendly this afternoon. Here is one from Amazon - about 4-5 bucks. Just search for "bicycle quick release seat post clamp".

Ted

 

[Philbert]

I posted above that I like the simple, lever-clamp style vises much better than the bicycle brake type. But, since I started with the bike vise, I also tried to optimize it (Posts #81-84).

One thing that helped was beveling the edges of the movable vise, and adjacent sections, so that they nested together in a smoother, less precise way. That reduced some of the hang ups. I find that I still need to 'double clutch' the vise - once to grab the drive link, and a second time to seat it properly.

I like the other vises much better.

Philbert

 

[xPosTech]

Yes I also was double clutching the brake lever after closely watching the cutter. But sometimes the cutter would rise up a bit and the next one wouldn't move at all. If they all moved up a bit I wouldn't complain, but it seemed they all had a mind of their own. I even tried holding the cutter down with my finger while squeezing the lever. I could feel the cutter wanting to rise. This was because the bottom of the vise plate moved ahead of the top (side view like: \ ), which put a lifting movement on the cutter.

The quick clamp I had replaced the cable exactly. Right diameter, right length, etc.

So does anybody want a brake lever?

Ted

 

[Philbert]

I have actually been keeping my eye out for a 'dead', old style HF grinder at garage sales, to swap vises. All I have found are complete, working ones for $10 - $15!

Philbert

 

[xPosTech]

You don't really have to swap vises, just the clamp. Or do you suspect you might be getting GAD?

Ted

 

[Philbert]

Chronic GAD. Easy to do with cheap grinders! Some of my grinders cost less than a loop of chain! Actually 'SAD', since I am fascinated by files, guides, Dremels, etc. too!

You don't really have to swap vises, just the clamp.

I was thinking about swapping vices so that I would have the continuous metal clamping rails on both sides. Your 'hack' is interesting - swapping bike seat post clamps for bike brake parts! I used those on my low tech filing vises.
http://www.arboristsite.com/coommunity/threads/philberts-low-tech-filing-vise.245004/

How do you think it would work on The other style vises, compared to the reposition-able turn levers.

Philbert

 

[xPosTech]

Hmmm. I didn't realize the older ones had full length vises. Guess I need to reread this thread.

I'm off for some homework re: the other style.

Ted

 

[xPosTech]

I went back and skimmed the thread. Now I see the full length vise. Had to download the manual for the older grinder to see what was going on. That clamp (I think) uses a circular ramp around the bolt to apply the "pull" of the clamp. About a half revolution or so?

I don't think it would hold up to as many on/off cycles as the flip over quick release kind. Just MHO.

I have to agree with you though. The full length vise should clamp down on the multiple driver links better than the single driver link of the newer style vise. I think that the long vise with the quick release flip over clamp would be best of all.

I'm gonna look hard at my vise tomorrow. It's getting late and I'm scared of the dark.

Ted

 

[67L36Driver]

Somewhere back is a picture of my 'Nick The Grinder'. It has a 'full length' vice and the clamp lever/screw is adjustable for whatever guage chain you feed it.

The more I see of the newer improved(?) models or copies the more I like my old one (freebie).

 

[xPosTech]

Yup today's "New and Improved" models usually mean that a product was modified to reduce the cost of production. Metal is replaced with plastic, machined parts replaced with stamped, etc. That a product no longer does the job as well as a previous model doesn't seem to matter to the bean counters. Not too many products made like a Henry rifle these days.

Ted

 

[xPosTech]

Trying to upload two pix of installed quick release clamp on my grinder. Couldn't do it with Tapatalk so tried to move them from my phone to my tablet with Airdroid. That also failed. Had to email them to myself. Jumping through hoops here.



The older I get the less time I can spend waiting while HughesNet uploads pix so I had to use thumbnails. Maybe they'll suffice.

Ted

 

[Philbert]

Those photos worked for me.

I think that they were trying to add a "self-clamping" feature. But they are better sticking with something simple.

Philbert