Kneejerk Bombas
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The shop near me charges $3 to grind a bar on the bar rail grinder. That bar has plenty of life in it.
Bar rails - grind or finished?
- Thread starter KMB
- Start date
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howellhandmade
Addicted to ArboristSite
Careful with the bench grinder. Not all are or can be set up with the tool rest perfectly radial. Frankly, if I didn't have a disc or belt sander set up with a perfect 90 degree table I'd stick with a file. It will take far less time to file from the start, keeping the angle true and the sweep smooth, than it will to fix after the grinder has buggered it.
Jack
Jack
I think Baileys sells a pretty simple tool made by pferd to file the bar back square. I have one in the shop along with a rail grinder. The pferd tool works surprisingly well as an inexpensive option.
howellhandmade
Addicted to ArboristSite
Exactly. Item 13025, 15 bucks. I've got the same tool, left over from my skiing days, for sharpening ski edges. Works well, only removes what needs to be removed. You could also take a block of wood and use a table saw to rip a groove just wide enough to accept a file. Make sure blade is measured right at 90 degrees, of course.
Jack
KMB
Addicted to ArboristSite
Good advice. From what I remember it is an old grinder and I don't think the tool rest is adjustable. I got a feelin' that hand filin' is what I'll have to try.
Anybody try a Dermel type rotary tool with a grinding bit?
Kevin
KMB
Addicted to ArboristSite
I've got my Bailey's catalog open to where that tool is right now. I try to order a few items together to get the most of the shipping cost, and I don't have to much that I 'need' from Bailey's at the moment. I'll try with the files first and see how it goes.
Kevin
tomtrees58
Addicted to ArboristSite
your rails are blue oil problem or you do not used bar oil we have a bar rail grinder its excellent but we have 35 sthil saws for you by a new bar tom trees
KMB
Addicted to ArboristSite
Like I said earlier, this bar is from my friends saw that I have been going through to get back running for him and his brother. I will be checking the oiler before I return the saw to him.
Kevin
howellhandmade
Addicted to ArboristSite
When filing, it's really important to keep the file at 90 deg. to the bar, and really easy to tip it at some point in the stroke. You can use almost anything hard that has a good square edge on it as a guide -- a block of wood or metal, a small level. Hold the block with fingers and palm, use your thumb to hold the file tight to the top with enough hanging over to dress the bar. Easier to do with a big file. Filing is your best bet since it's not your saw and you don't want to dump a lot of cash on it. I'd stay away from the Dremel, too. You don't just want the bar edge square, you want it level and smooth. No need to look for short cuts, files cut fast.
Jack
Justsaws
Addicted to ArboristSite
Wear gloves when working the bar, especially if you are going to file. The bur can be very sharp.
tdi-rick
Addicted to ArboristSite
The Oregon branded version is pt. # 111439 and after filing free hand, works much faster and I know it's true.
+1 ! I've done this several times with old bars and works fine. I've seen bars looking a lot worse, and cleaned up pretty well. I only throw them when the side rails are worn unevenly/ or can't be closed properly, or if the nose sprocket is gone.
I have an old wood working table saw that I use to cut metal using thin kerf metal cutting blades. To dress bars I mount an 8" cutting wheel that is nice and perpendicular to the table. It's dead easy to dress the bar even on a 60" bar with this sucker.
That was how I dressed these bar nose adapter plates to fit.
I also have used 12" disc sander at work since the sanding angle can set quite exactly.
That was how I dressed these bar nose adapter plates to fit.
I also have used 12" disc sander at work since the sanding angle can set quite exactly.
For one or two bars only I just use my 6" disc sander (Craftsman stationary bench top disc/belt sander), the table on the Craftsman is a bit small, and the guard is plastic so if you do more than a couple you can smell the guard starting to melt. If I have a few more to do at one time I put a sanding disc in my 10" table saw, really easy to keep it perfectly square.
Bar rail closer from Bailey's is around $25 I think. I don't believe I would be very comfortable hammering on a bar to try and close it up.
Just spend a little time and you can rescue some bars that look pretty bad. I get a number of used saws and bars and you might be surprised how bad some people let their stuff get.
Mark
Bar rail closer from Bailey's is around $25 I think. I don't believe I would be very comfortable hammering on a bar to try and close it up.
Just spend a little time and you can rescue some bars that look pretty bad. I get a number of used saws and bars and you might be surprised how bad some people let their stuff get.
Mark
I was working a few bars over this past weekend and decided to take a couple of photo's of the set up.
I mount a 10" sanding disc in the table saw and square the disc to the table, really easy to keep the rails square this way.
Do make sure to vacuum all the saw dust out of the saw before you begin, and don't run the dust collector unless you are overinsured.
The disc is fitted with an aluminum oxide sanding disc intended for wood, lasted through 6 or 8 bars before I tore it up. Since both sided are fitted with the sanding discs it was a simple matter to flip the whole thing around and finish the rest of the bars on the other side.
I like to use the flashlight behind the square to make sure I have it properly positioned.
Some bars will have a bad burr on the edge and won't want to slide across the table so well, in that case I use the Pherd rail file accessory to clean them up before grinding, all of the edges are deburred again after grinding. I try to keep a few links of various pitch/gauge chain around to check the depth of the groove after grinding. Some of the old bars come to me pretty well worn...
I also have the Woodland bar rail closer so I can tighten a bar back up if it had begun to spread.
Mark
I mount a 10" sanding disc in the table saw and square the disc to the table, really easy to keep the rails square this way.
Do make sure to vacuum all the saw dust out of the saw before you begin, and don't run the dust collector unless you are overinsured.
The disc is fitted with an aluminum oxide sanding disc intended for wood, lasted through 6 or 8 bars before I tore it up. Since both sided are fitted with the sanding discs it was a simple matter to flip the whole thing around and finish the rest of the bars on the other side.
I like to use the flashlight behind the square to make sure I have it properly positioned.
Some bars will have a bad burr on the edge and won't want to slide across the table so well, in that case I use the Pherd rail file accessory to clean them up before grinding, all of the edges are deburred again after grinding. I try to keep a few links of various pitch/gauge chain around to check the depth of the groove after grinding. Some of the old bars come to me pretty well worn...
I also have the Woodland bar rail closer so I can tighten a bar back up if it had begun to spread.
Mark
Last edited:
SawTroll
Information Collector
I was working a few bars over this past weekend and decided to take a couple of photo's of the set up.
I mount a 10" sanding disc in the table saw and square the disc to the table, really easy to keep the rails square this way.
Do make sure to vacuum all the saw dust out of the saw before you begin, and don't run the dust collector unless you are overinsured.
The disc is fitted with an aluminum oxide sanding disc intended for wood, lasted through 6 or 8 bars before I tore it up. Since both sided are fitted with the sanding discs it was a simple matter to flip the whole thing around and finish the rest of the bars on the other side.
I like to use the flashlight behind the square to make sure I have it properly positioned.
Some bars will have a bad burr on the edge and won't want to slide across the table so well, in that case I use the Pherd rail file accessory to clean them up before grinding, all of the edges are deburred again after grinding. I try to keep a few links of various pitch/gauge chain around to check the depth of the groove after grinding. Some of the old bars come to me pretty well worn...
I also have the Woodland bar rail closer so I can tighten a bar back up if it had begun to spread.
Mark
Mark,
+1. I was just going to post the exact same post. Can't get much truer then a table saw and a flat top. I use a 24x24 piece of plexi glass to protect the stainless tabletop. use a couple of stops against the fence to keep the plexi from sliding into the "blade"/sanding wheel. Use gloves as well, the edge gets real sharp.
A set up I saw one time used the side of the wheel on a bench grinder. They had put a block of 4x4 on the table at the end of the grinder. The bar laid flat on the block and contacted the side of the wheel. Looked like it would work.
Mentioned it because you said you have a bench grinder.
That bar has lots of like left in it. It was not overheated at all. The bluing is from the factory. If the bar ever got hot enough to blue like that it would light the wood you were cutting on fire and smoke like you can't believe. I know because I had it happen when the bearing went out in a stump cut. It got so hot that chain was scoured and fused to the bar rail in areas. It was not lack of oil, it was a really old bar that had seen stumping duty it's whole life. New tip, a little dressing, close the rails, grind the groove, and she cuts like new again.
Mr. HE
Mentioned it because you said you have a bench grinder.
That bar has lots of like left in it. It was not overheated at all. The bluing is from the factory. If the bar ever got hot enough to blue like that it would light the wood you were cutting on fire and smoke like you can't believe. I know because I had it happen when the bearing went out in a stump cut. It got so hot that chain was scoured and fused to the bar rail in areas. It was not lack of oil, it was a really old bar that had seen stumping duty it's whole life. New tip, a little dressing, close the rails, grind the groove, and she cuts like new again.
Mr. HE
tdi-rick
Addicted to ArboristSite
The local chainsaw/small engine fella has a belt sander for truing the rails, and grinding discs in .058" and 0.063" to re-groove the bar if the groove's are too shallow, all on the same machine.
After exploding another disc a little while he back wont do it anymore, but it shows even small shops have the ability to repair the rails.
After exploding another disc a little while he back wont do it anymore, but it shows even small shops have the ability to repair the rails.
