HF Chain Grinder Thread

[Philbert]

Still in the analytical stage . . .

Starting to understand some of the concerns with the bicycle brake version. Simple is probably better with cheap devices!

The hole that the cable passes through is quite large, so the cable pulls at an angle, and the clamp does not grip the drive link without a bit of fussing. Will have to bush it with something simple. A 5/16" 'T' nut might fit. Or glue some plastic bushing in there. Or wrap a bunch of tape around the cable . . .

On the upside, this unit appears to already have the tack welds that Wagnerwerks mentioned earlier.

The 'other' style of these grinders are still sold on eBay, Amazon, etc., but not at HF.
(See - you got me from not wanting one of these at all to wanting another one!)

Philbert

 

[67L36Driver]

The more I look at the bicycle brake clamp, the more I prefer my older style lever operated.

Now if we change it to a foot pedal operated clamp with a much more robust cable...........................................................................................

Hey, why don't ALL chain grinders have a foot operated clamp? Or, do some?

 

[Philbert]

I thought of the foot pedal idea. I think that I actually mentioned the handbrake idea here in an AS thread, before HF came out with their's!

The issue with a foot pedal is placement. You have to know the height of the grinder or have a very long cable. But you could very easily convert the bicycle brake style grinder to a foot pedal, with just some additional cable and housing from a bicycle store.

Philbert

 

[Philbert]

The photo above (post #81) shows the oversized cable housing hole, which caused the cable to pull at an angle, and the vise clamp to sometimes hang up. At first I thought I could bush this hole with a piece of plastic cut from the barrel of a pen, but it was hard to find just the right size. So I wrapped the cable housing (and end ferrule) with foil tape and covered it with heat shrink tubing for a finished look. Don't want this to look like a cheap grinder!





I also buffed down the sharp corners on the the small, moving part of the vise clamp so that it is less likely to hang up. If you look close, you can see the difference with the earlier photo.

Ready to sharpen!

Philbert

 

[Philbert]

Ok, also had to de-burr one of the 'star wheels' at the ends of the vice so that it would rotate freely.

Philbert

 

[lambs]

Side-to-side variation can be an issue with both cutters and depth gauges on most grinders. I never assume, even with my Oregon grinders. Due to the smaller diameter of the grinding wheels on these grinders, I assume that even the small, horizontal spacing between R and L cutters and depth gauges could be a significant difference in where they hit the curve of the wheel.

I always grind one side, then a single cutter on the other, and hold the cutters up back-to-back to compare. I suppose you could measure, but this is faster and easier for me.

Philbert

I know this is a thread on the HF grinder, but on the Oregon 511a at least, you can adjust the side to side location of the rails to get the cutters at least the same length. It takes a little trial and error, but I have mine dialed in. With depth gauges, they are too far apart side to side, and the wheel grinds the top of the gauge, so it angles the top differently.

 

[Philbert]

Run the Right side depth gauges. Turn the chain around. Run the Left side depth gauges.

Or use a file! Depth gauges on a grinder need to be rounded off anyway.

Philbert

 

[lambs]

Run the Right side depth gauges. Turn the chain around. Run the Left side depth gauges.

Or use a file! Depth gauges on a grinder need to be rounded off anyway.

Philbert

Next time I need to lower depth gauges a lot, I'll try it. Thanks.

 

[old guy]

Philbert, I was at the Fleet Farm at 35w& Lexington today and thair $124 model is actually a 511 frame comeplete with 10 degree tilt, looks like a cheaper motor & a few other small parts are different but is in my opinion a basic 511.

John

 

[Philbert]

It's a copy/clone John. Lots of those out there. The 'NT Grinder' threads discuss some of the quality issues, for better or worse.

The 'SharpBoy' grinder that oF150 mentions also sells for around $100 - presumably a 'better, plastic grinder'.

I have an Oregon 511A, grinder (for full disclosure) - just trying to see what I can do with one of these inexpensive ones.

Philbert

 

[c5rulz]

Philbert, I was at the Fleet Farm at 35w& Lexington today and thair $124 model is actually a 511 frame comeplete with 10 degree tilt, looks like a cheaper motor & a few other small parts are different but is in my opinion a basic 511.

John

Hi John,

What you are describing sounds like an Oregon 510 not a 511AX. The vise is substantially better on the 511AX.

 

[old guy]

I saw a 510 at NT last week and I thought it was way less machine than the 511a, the one I saw today looked interchangable with my 511a and had the same vice as mine, I am gonna have to go back to these places and study.

John

 

[old guy]

Philbert, I realize what you are trying to do with this thread, but the grinder I saw today looked like a very good grinder for cheap.

John

 

[Philbert]

. . the one I saw today looked interchangable with my 511a . . .

The stuff you can't see is the quality of the metals, the windings of the motors, etc. Go back and check out the NT thread first so that you will have some ideas what to look for. A lot of guys mentioned: slop in several places that needed to be bushed, lower quality wheels, and wheel wobble. But a lot of guys still like those grinders, and they probably are a step up from these plastic HF grinders, even with some of those flaws!

Philbert

 

[67L36Driver]

Hinge slop? Not really. Flex in the plastic? Yes. But unless you are ham fisted, no problem. No wheel wobble noticed.

Just looked. Mine is a "Nick the Grinder" made in Italy, possible 5 or 8 years old.

 

[Philbert]

Hinge slop? Not really. Flex in the plastic? Yes. But unless you are ham fisted, no problem. No wheel wobble noticed.

These were comments that others made about the Asian clones of the Oregon/Tecomec grinders. Not regarding the plastic, HF style grinders.

Philbert

 

[Philbert]

So . . . . I was wondering . . . . if these types of wheels would work:

DUH!

I was so focused on the 'cheap' part of this grinder that I did not realize that 'real' grinding wheels should fit too!


This is the Oregon wheel for their smaller format grinders! It looks like some of the NT and SharpBoy grinders also have 3/16 inch thick wheels for doing some .325 and full sided 3/8 pitch chains with the profiled edge of the wheel, instead of with the side.

Oregon at Bailey's http://www.baileysonline.com/Chains...ameter/Oregon-Grinding-Wheel-4-1-8-x-3-16.axd
Molemab at Bailey's http://www.baileysonline.com/Chains...meter/Molemab-Grinding-Wheel-4-1-8-x-3-16.axd

Philbert

 

[Philbert]

OK, I bought some close out 3/16 inch thick grinding wheels on eBay to keep with the spirit of this thread. I guess that I can also save and use any wheels from my 511A grinder when they get really worn down too? Same diameter arbor (DOH! - again).

Philbert

 

[joer1214]

I will echo what some others have said... decent tool for cleaning up damaged cutters and making them all the same length but not a stout machine. Touch up with a file after and they cut great. I've done 6-8 chains and I got it at a garage sale for $15, it was NIB. Should pay for itself easily.

 

[Philbert]

First Grind

Actually took it for a 'spin' today. I have a loop of STIHL 3/8 low profile chain with several heavily damaged cutters that I am going to spin out, so I thought that these would be good to experiment/play with. This chain would normally be sharpened with a 1/8 inch wheel. See Post #182 in this thread: http://www.arboristsite.com/community/threads/philberts-chain-salvage-challenge.245369/page-10

I clamped the grinder to a bench, and worked like I would with a full sized grinder: multiple light 'taps', grinding with the profiled edge of the wheel; dressing the wheel with a stone, etc. I tried just 'kissing' the edges for a touch up; hogging off damaged cutters; cleaning up gullets; and lowering the depth gauges.



- The grinder needs to be positioned much higher. I could not easily see the wheel touching the cutter. Looks like its back to the step ladder!

- It takes little time to get used to the same hand controlling the vise/brake handle, and the tapping/grinding. So a little coordination is required! The other hand has to hold the chain in position until the vise locks. As with any vise, the user has to be sure that the cutter is properly seated before grinding in order to get even grinds.

- This is a light duty device. It will not hold up, or give acceptable results with excessive pressure, or ham fisted operation (as 67L36Driver notes). Definitely not a commercial or heavy use tool.

- The 'mods' I made, cleaning up the vise, etc., helped with smooth operation. The reinforced brake cable (Post # 84) hit the center post when rotating the vise from R to L, but that is a minor issue.

- It is possible to 'burn' a cutter with this device (I tried, intentionally!). Good grinder technique is still needed.

- There was a lot of variation between R and L cutters in cutter length and depth of grind. Each side needs to be set up independently.

- I was able to clean out gullets OK, by backing off the positioning dog and lowering the grinder head a little.

- Grinding depth gauges was a challenge. *Note that the ramped depth gauges on this chain are not very common. But the grinder head is fixed at 60°. And the brake lever style clamping vise makes it difficult to 'slide' the depth gauges under the wheel, as was demonstrated in one of the videos, using the other style vise. When I tried to turn the chain around to grind the L side depth gauges facing the other direction, the vise clamp would only grab the depth gauge in front of the cutter, so the cutter and depth gauge rocked and moved too much.

- The knobs to advance the chain are of little use. It is easier to grasp the chain and pull it forward or back.

- I was absolutely able to clean up some really rocked cutters and to make acceptable cutting edges on this chain.



First Use Impressions

* I think that someone who knows what a sharp cutter is supposed to look like, has a light hand, and is willing to make a few tweaks to this grinder, should be able to sharpen smaller pitch chains with it. *

Someone expecting miracles, automatic operation, or heavy duty use, will be very disappointed.

It is not a true competitor to the larger, more expensive grinders, but if this is what I had, I could work with it.

I have ordered some 3/16 grinding wheels to try with larger pitch chains.

I am confident that taping 'Silvey' to the top and side of the grinder improved sharpening performance significantly.

I really want to try the other style vise (these 'cheap' grinders are starting to cost me a significant amount of money!)

Philbert