Sharpening Chainsaw Chains

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Hexa Fox

The Fox Rocks!
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Hey guys I have seen similar topics posted elsewhere, but for the sake of being spot on and getting tips I am creating my own post. I recently bought a really nice Oregon 620-120 Grinder with the tripod stand. Thus far all it has accomplished is looking pretty in my basement. I regret this greatly and aim to change it with great haste.

Anyway I know very little about grinding chains and have just started to read the manual, what little I have read so far is difficult to understand. I find this is a common problem for other posters and I would like to get a good head start on grinding chains. For example I know that you can change angels slightly one way or the other to get a chain that cuts faster, but dulls faster as well, and of course the other way around. I guess I will start asking questions and as always I really appreciate any feedback.

1.) I made the mistake of purchasing square ground chisel chains, can I grind them with my new grinder in the same fashion I would round ground chisel chains? I am guessing this will eventually convert them into round ground chisel chains, and they will work decently maybe?

2.) My chains are .325 (3/8") and are all bought from a STIHL dealer. Does anyone know the exact angels I am suppose to grind these chains at? I am also going to read the piece of paper that comes with each chain to see if I can locate this information as well.

3.) Can I grind slightly lower or higher to achieve a chain that will cut slightly slower, but last longer, or of course the opposite way around? I will probably just take the medium between the two and stay happy.

4.) Is there a general guide somewhere that could enlighten me on the different angels to use on different pitches of chains?

I ask this because I am considering taking the time to learn to sharpen chains properly to make some extra money. I have a couple neighbors that I think would be more than happy to let me practice on theirs. Just I think I would like to practice on my own a little while first before I screw up my neighbors chains lol.

At first I will do them for free for the practice. However, I know people that will bring me their chains in a heartbeat to have them sharpened if I charge the right price. I know a gentleman that sells firewood year round that would bring me his chains. I know around here it averages about $6.00-$8.00 per chain. Therefore, I am pretty confident I could ask $5.00 per chain if they agree to keep bringing them to me on a regular basis.

Again though I would like to get the practice in first, and believe that I am in the right location to get a good idea of how to start. As always if I feel someone has put a lot of time and effort into helping me here the least I could do is offer a small amount of compensation. After all, I am looking to start a small business here with some help!

Again any help and feedback is greatly appreciated!
 
Hmm... I had a smiley face and a few lines after what is showing with info about sharpening, not sure what happened.
 
Giving advice on sharpening? What about your thread about your chains not cutting? Your posts aways seem to magically change depending on the response you recieve from the person calling you out on it. Comical[emoji23]
 
Giving advice on sharpening? What about your thread about your chains not cutting? Your posts aways seem to magically change depending on the response you recieve from the person calling you out on it. Comical[emoji23]

I am going to take a wild guess and say that this is directed at ValleyFirewood and not me?
 
I recently bought a really nice Oregon 620-120 Grinder with the tripod stand. . . . Anyway I know very little about grinding chains and have just started to read the manual, what little I have read so far is difficult to understand.
The basics for using your grinder are the same as for using any (full-sized) grinder - yours just has the 'automatic'/hydraulic clamping feature to grip the chain. All of those other grinder threads are full of tips that apply to you as well.
- decide what you want your finished cutters to look like;
- take lots of little 'taps' with the wheel to avoid overheating the cutters;
- dress the wheel frequently (at least once per chain) to expose fresh abrasive.

1.) I made the mistake of purchasing square ground chisel chains, can I grind them with my new grinder in the same fashion I would round ground chisel chains?

You cannot sharpen square ground chains with your grinder. You can convert them into round ground chains, which will be a bit of work, and a waste of some cutter life. Or you can try to swap them for the chains you really want at the dealer, or here on the Trading Post.

2.) My chains are .325 (3/8") and are all bought from a STIHL dealer. Does anyone know the exact angels I am suppose to grind these chains at? I am also going to read the piece of paper that comes with each chain to see if I can locate this information as well.

You can sharpen them at whatever angles you want - that is one of the benefits of sharpening your own chain. Or you can start with the 'default' angles of 30°/60°/0°. Be careful of the STIHL grinder chart as STIHL grinders measure the angles differently than your Oregon grinder, and those numbers will not make sense.

3.) Can I grind slightly lower or higher to achieve a chain that will cut slightly slower, but last longer, or of course the opposite way around? I will probably just take the medium between the two and stay happy.

Again, you can do whatever you want! Most people start with the recommended angles, and experiment later on to see if it makes a difference for them in the specific cutting that they do.

4.) Is there a general guide somewhere that could enlighten me on the different angels to use on different pitches of chains?

See Oregon charts (below). These may be in your grinder manual. They can be used as a general guide for any brand of chain.

http://www.oregonproducts.com/pdfs/GrindingAngles.pdf
http://www.oregonproducts.com/pdfs/FilingAngles.pdf

I ask this because I am considering taking the time to learn to sharpen chains properly to make some extra money. I have a couple neighbors that I think would be more than happy to let me practice on theirs. Just I think I would like to practice on my own a little while first before I screw up my neighbors chains

Practice is important. Take some 'scrap/junk chains' and play around with them. See what it takes to intentionally overheat a cutter. See what it takes to grind back a severely rocked chain, along with the gullets and depth gauges. Are your Right and Left cutters the same? Compare your results under a magnifying glass to new (unground) cutters. Try some chain that you have ground in cutting situations, and see if you would pay someone else for that kind of quality.

Philbert
 
Giving advice on sharpening? What about your thread about your chains not cutting? Your posts always seem to magically change depending on the response you receive from the person calling you out on it. Comical[emoji23]

The only thing "comical" is your trolling.
 
Practice is important. Take some 'scrap/junk chains' and play around with them. See what it takes to intentionally overheat a cutter. See what it takes to grind back a severely rocked chain, along with the gullets and depth gauges. Are your Right and Left cutters the same? Compare your results under a magnifying glass to new (unground) cutters. Try some chain that you have ground in cutting situations, and see if you would pay someone else for that kind of quality.

Philbert

Thank you very much Philbert! Is it just me or do I run into you in other places or is it just you coming to the rescue here? You have really given me great advice here. However, as of right now I do not have any garbage chains yet. I did sharpen a few of them with a hand file, I guess I could attempt to locate the one in the worst shape for your recommended experiment. I was just looking for a place to start and think you have definitely given that to me.

Also after I screw up the included grinding wheel I am going to go purchase a diamond wheel for my grinder. I heard that they achieve slightly better results, do not need to be dressed ever, and last much longer than a regular wheel.

I am going to purchase one of those magnifying glasses that is on a sort of swivel arm and clamp it to my grinder tripod. If I cannot locate/afford to get several different levels of magnification do you know what a good one would be to start with? For example, maybe a 10x or something?
 
Well unless you eyes are really bad close up ya don't need a magnifier, safety glasses yes. Still have to clean /dress the Cbn wheels ( they are not diamond- diamond is for carbide or similar material, CBN is for steel ( Cubic Boron Nitrate)
 
Thank you very much Philbert! Is it just me or do I run into you in other places or is it just you coming to the rescue here? You have really given me great advice here. However, as of right now I do not have any garbage chains yet. I did sharpen a few of them with a hand file, I guess I could attempt to locate the one in the worst shape for your recommended experiment. I was just looking for a place to start and think you have definitely given that to me.

Also after I screw up the included grinding wheel I am going to go purchase a diamond wheel for my grinder. I heard that they achieve slightly better results, do not need to be dressed ever, and last much longer than a regular wheel.

I am going to purchase one of those magnifying glasses that is on a sort of swivel arm and clamp it to my grinder tripod. If I cannot locate/afford to get several different levels of magnification do you know what a good one would be to start with? For example, maybe a 10x or something?
I like those visor type magnifiers that sell at Harbor Freight for close up views of the saw teeth while sharpening.
 
Since these specifications are particular to Oregon chains I looked up which one is most comparable to mine. I am going to start there and see if I can start to get the feel for my new grinder... that is still Brand New and lonely...
 
I use diamond wheels on my grinder. 30-55 works great on all the .375 and .325 pitch chains I sharpen. When a customer brings in chains that are 25 degrees I sharpen them at 30. They cut a little faster for them at 30.
 
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