FYI - Northern Chainsaw Sharpener

[tree md]

Here's the deal clincher for me: I had two 25 inch, Stihl RCS chains for my 044. an older one that was rocked and a newer one that I used twice before I hit a piece of metal in a tree. Both rocked out chains. I hand sharpened both of these chains and fixed the rocked teeth with a hand file. Both chains had a lot of meat left to them. Had to take both chains in yesterday because I have some big stuff to buck and a large stump to noodle and hand filing just wasn't cutting it anymore.I hate taking them in because they usually take the teeth down way to far and burn them up. Well the guy sharpened one of the rocked chains that I had reshaped hand filing but said he couldn't do the other one because of the messed up tooth. I had reshaped the teeth on both chains and they were nearly identical. He said I would have to hand file the other chain because of the rocked tooth. Oh well, at least he didn't burn the chain he did grind up this time and I would rather him not sharpen the other one if he is going to take every cutter down to the size of the rocked tooth. Anyway, It was the deal sealer on buying my own grinder. That and the fact that they went from $5 to $8 to grind a chain.

$104.51 with shipping.

 

[masiman]

Here's the deal clincher for me: I had two 25 inch, Stihl RCS chains for my 044. an older one that was rocked and a newer one that I used twice before I hit a piece of metal in a tree. Both rocked out chains. I hand sharpened both of these chains and fixed the rocked teeth with a hand file. Both chains had a lot of meat left to them. Had to take both chains in yesterday because I have some big stuff to buck and a large stump to noodle and hand filing just wasn't cutting it anymore.I hate taking them in because they usually take the teeth down way to far and burn them up. Well the guy sharpened one of the rocked chains that I had reshaped hand filing but said he couldn't do the other one because of the messed up tooth. I had reshaped the teeth on both chains and they were nearly identical. He said I would have to hand file the other chain because of the rocked tooth. Oh well, at least he didn't burn the chain he did grind up this time and I would rather him not sharpen the other one if he is going to take every cutter down to the size of the rocked tooth. Anyway, It was the deal sealer on buying my own grinder. That and the fact that they went from $5 to $8 to grind a chain.

$104.51 with shipping.

Do pick up some better wheels. The ones that come with it were not worth anything. Mine had all sorts of runout on them. Someone else had theirs explode IIRC.

Baileys and probably other sponsors carry the Oregon and Molemab wheels. Get a dressing stone if you go that route. I ended up buying a set of CBN wheels (non-segmented, ~$130/per). What a difference! No runout, seems to not burn the cutters as easily. I am not sure how the Oregon and Molemab wheels do compared to the CBN's. The segmented CBN's are the real quality units but I couldn't justify that cost (~$250/per).

 

[Moss Man]

Do pick up some better wheels. The ones that come with it were not worth anything. Mine had all sorts of runout on them. Someone else had theirs explode IIRC.

Baileys and probably other sponsors carry the Oregon and Molemab wheels. Get a dressing stone if you go that route. I ended up buying a set of CBN wheels (non-segmented, ~$130/per). What a difference! No runout, seems to not burn the cutters as easily. I am not sure how the Oregon and Molemab wheels do compared to the CBN's. The segmented CBN's are the real quality units but I couldn't justify that cost (~$250/per).

$130. per wheel or set of wheels? Without getting to detailed, perhaps you can clue us in on where to buy these. Then again, it would be hard to justify spending that much on a set of wheels for a grinder that only cost $90. to begin with......most of us got them because we can't afford the top of the line.

 

[tree md]

I have a friend who's got a line on some Oregon wheels. I bought a set of Oregon wheels back when I bought the first grinder for the former employee. Never got a chance to use that one though. I'll look into a better dressing block as well. I'm kind of looking forward to setting this one up and tinkering with it. I figured if I grind every chain I currently have it would more than pay for the grinder. I think I've got 14 chains. If I just grind them all one cycle the savings would add up to $112 that I would have to pay to have them ground. Not to mention the money I will save by not grinding the teeth to nubs or bluing them and having to buy new chains much more frequently.

 

[masiman]

$130. per wheel or set of wheels? Without getting to detailed, perhaps you can clue us in on where to buy these. Then again, it would be hard to justify spending that much on a set of wheels for a grinder that only cost $90. to begin with......most of us got them because we can't afford the top of the line.

Ya, they are currently about $130/per wheel. I happened to buy mine on sale from Foley for ~$75 each. Much more affordable, I don't think I would have bitten at the current price. I figured even if I did not like or wore out the NT grinder, the wheels can move onto whatever grinder I move onto next.

If you were coming to the VA/WV/PA/MD GTG on Saturday, you could try it out .

Glad that you have wheels ready to go tree md. Try out the ones they ship with it, but I don't recall anyone saying theirs were good to work with.

 

[tree md]

$130 per wheel, Yikes!

I don't think I can afford the clams for that right now. $75 sounds steep but if it lasted for the life of the grinder it prolly wouldn't be a bad deal. I have been advised to use other wheels than what comes with it. I will check out the Oregon wheels and see how they do. If I have a problem with them I'll upgrade to whatever I need to. I am a total novice at this and have never even ground one chain before. Only hand filed before. I am looking forward to learning how to do it.

EDIT: Wish I could come to the GTG and learn some pointers on how to use the thing.

 

[masiman]

I don't know if I am using mine correctly either but I am happy with the results . The Bailey's wheel will be fine, Oregon and Molemab are what they sell.

People have been writing in another thread about running at 60/30/10. If you secure a chain in the vise and match the wheel to the current profile, you'll quickly figure out what those angles refer too. I don't necessarily trust the pop riveted angle guides they use, so I pretty much match the wheel to what exists. I haven't checked the results against my file-o-plate but I should. It should be pretty obvious which way you should tilt the chain table, if tilting is required for your chain.

Download the instructions for the Oregon 511. The NT grinder is a complete knockoff of the Oregon and the instructions are near identical. The supplied instructions are good if your kids need drawing paper.

 

[tree md]

I have downloaded the 511A manual and have been reading it. Trying to get a head start before the grinder gets here. Like I said, the closest I have ever gotten to grinding a chain is watching someone do it at the shop. Hopefully it won't be too steep of a learning curve. I am pretty mechanically inclined so hopefully I can figure out how to set it up and sharpen a chain. If I can get some of these old chains throwing big chips I'll be a happy camper.

 

[Moss Man]

The 511A manual really really helps clear any issues you might have for set up and if you post a question here it usually will be answered shortly.

 

[Kansas]

I have downloaded the 511A manual and have been reading it. Trying to get a head start before the grinder gets here. Like I said, the closest I have ever gotten to grinding a chain is watching someone do it at the shop. Hopefully it won't be too steep of a learning curve. I am pretty mechanically inclined so hopefully I can figure out how to set it up and sharpen a chain. If I can get some of these old chains throwing big chips I'll be a happy camper.

Tree MD, here is what I did to correct a defect in my grinder the scales were way off, this may help you get pretty repeatable cuts right off its not scientific or particularly accurate but it worked fine and still is.

I took a brand new properly ground chain (some chains are not so good brand new get a good one for this) and set the scales to it as far as 30 degree table angle 60 degree arm etc and I marked the scales accordingly, pull the arm down with the motor off and move chain into the wheel with the thumb screw and adjust as necessary and mark, then turn the table and check the opposite tooth and see how close your centerline is.

Not much you can do about the centerline its part of the whole housing how it was cast and drilled its just so you know if you have to make a slight adjustment when changing to the other side of the chain with the chain advance thumbwheel.

(I went and ground my chains anyway now I dont have to make any adjustments one side teeth are a tiny bit shorter maybe .005-.010" but no probs)

I suppose a person could pull the rivits and just move the scales but I could live with it like that marking was easy also I use the specs on a new chain box as far as table tilt 10 degrees etc for that particular chain.

hth

Kansas

 

[tree md]

Well it came today.

The box was beat to hell and the smallest wheel was broken but everything else seems to be in good shape. I got half way through the parts list and decided to wait until the sun goes down to finish. It's still a hundred degrees here and I've been out in it all day. No AC in the shop and the high was 102 today. I'll go out when it's a little cooler and assemble it after I sand the contact points and maybe try to make a shim for it. If everything looks OK I'll just keep it and write the smaller wheel off. I plan on buying other wheels for it anyway. I'm sure I'll have plenty of questions to follow. Glad I have this thread to refer to.

 

[Urbicide]

Bailey's has got their Molemab brand wheels on sale. I recently was at my Stihl / OPE dealer when I had him order me an 1/8" Oregon wheel without me first asking how much. Thought the wheel must have been made in Germany or Sweden, for when I went back to pay for it, $35 appeared on the cash register screen. (It was made in Mexico.) Glad I didn't order the 3/16".

http://www.baileysonline.com/search.asp?SKW=molemab 5-3/4&catID=10000

 

[tree md]

Thanks for the tip!

 

[tree md]

Well, Looks like I'll have to be sending this one back. I finally got the lag bolts I needed to mount it and finally got the time to mount it this evening. Way too much vibration when I mounted the wheel. I shut it down and hand spun the wheel. It's got a side to side wobble. Took the wheel off and mounted the washers and screw and free wheeled it. The mountings are wobbling. Looks like it was dropped and damaged in transit...

 

[jra1100]

I think that somewhere in transit there is someone hired to beat the Schmitt out of these grinders. I got mine on an ebay auction from a place that specializes in damaged freight. I got it for 19 bucks plus shipping. It had a broken wheel and the place where the handle went was broken. A call to Bailyes and a bit of JB weld and she was fine. Check ebay for one. JR

 

[MontanaMan]

Ok ... I went ahead and pulled the trigger on this one. I read the entire thread, every post. Just ordered it tonight. $89.99.

What's funny is this: If this thing had been perfect out of the box, I probably could have resisted it. But the idea of buying it and modifying it to make it better was just way too much fun to pass up. I love to use (and drive) stuff that I've worked on.

Anyway, I called a local hobby shop and they have stainless steel shim stock in various sizes, including .010 and .012 for only $0.55 each, so it should be very easy to make a just-right sized shim. I haven't figured out how to make the special washer yet, but I'll be sure to post when i do. I'm going to do all the mods on this forum, and maybe a few extras I've been kicking around in my head from reading this post. I'll try to be good about pics and a writeup.

Anybody figure out how to run it in reverse?

Thanks for all the good info.

 

[Moss Man]

Ok ... I went ahead and pulled the trigger on this one. I read the entire thread, every post. Just ordered it tonight. $89.99.

What's funny is this: If this thing had been perfect out of the box, I probably could have resisted it. But the idea of buying it and modifying it to make it better was just way too much fun to pass up. I love to use (and drive) stuff that I've worked on.

Anyway, I called a local hobby shop and they have stainless steel shim stock in various sizes, including .010 and .012 for only $0.55 each, so it should be very easy to make a just-right sized shim. I haven't figured out how to make the special washer yet, but I'll be sure to post when i do. I'm going to do all the mods on this forum, and maybe a few extras I've been kicking around in my head from reading this post. I'll try to be good about pics and a writeup.

Anybody figure out how to run it in reverse?

Thanks for all the good info.

If memory serves correctly, the experts here came to the conclusion that it can't be run backwards. I have done quite a few chains without the backwards feature and it hasn't been an issue.

 

[matt9923]

I just finished reading all 48 pages.
Iv had my grinder since 2006 still works great.
Never did any mods to it. Definitely could use them.

I doubt any kits are left but if their are ill buy one.

With the 10 degree thing, witch way do i tilt it? Iv been using it in the middle for a while and that seems to work but if 10 degrees works better i'm all for it.
I read everything and the manual, and i have to move the plate 10 degrees front or back when I'm grinding left or right hand cutters?

When mine is runnign and i let go of the handle it vibrates like a mf when its straight up so i want to add a bolt to stop it from going up.

I know I'm only a few yeas late on this topic but...
Thanks Matt

 

[Moss Man]

I just finished reading all 48 pages.
Iv had my grinder since 2006 still works great.
Never did any mods to it. Definitely could use them.

I doubt any kits are left but if their are ill buy one.

With the 10 degree thing, witch way do i tilt it? Iv been using it in the middle for a while and that seems to work but if 10 degrees works better i'm all for it.
I read everything and the manual, and i have to move the plate 10 degrees front or back when I'm grinding left or right hand cutters?

When mine is runnign and i let go of the handle it vibrates like a mf when its straight up so i want to add a bolt to stop it from going up.

I know I'm only a few yeas late on this topic but...
Thanks Matt

You want the tip of the tooth that you are sharpening pointing downward.

 

[matt9923]

You want tip of the tooth that you are sharpening pointing downward.

Thank you!!