Well after playing around with the Compact Grinder for a couple months I am still happy with it. I did find it a bit difficult to center the vise but with lots of trial and error I was able to get it close so that when switching from left to right cutters there was minimal adjustment needed to maintain consistent tooth length. After centering the vise it was necessary to shim the ends of the vise plates with thin washers so that the chain would move smoothly in the groove. So far the only complaint/issue I have is that when bringing the grinder head down to meet the tooth edge there is potential for a little side to side play--not much but it's there and requires a steady and consistent hand. Admittedly I haven't tried to tighten things up yet. I'm not sure that I get better results with the grinder than the File-n-Joint but it is faster and more consistent. The ability to set uniform depth gauges is actually kind of fun in terms of being able to experiment with different heights and evaluate the performance rather than setting each raker relative to the tooth length. It is a pain not having a dedicated grinder for rakers but I just don't have the space for a second one. So far just using the included wheels with acceptable results, however, I'm still not getting that perfect blend of self-feed and smooth cutting. .030 seems about as aggressive as I can go cutting a mix of live and dead hardwoods--a bit rough for the first quarter-tank but smooths out afterwards. I found that a small straight-edge and feeler gauge was best for me. Practice, practice, practice.
Edit: And definitely need to add a gooseneck lamp. Currently using a very bright headlamp but that gets old after a while.
