deezlfan
Meadow River Lumber Co. 6
Sorry, broken link.
Here is the image that was deleted in my earlier post.
Here is the image that was deleted in my earlier post.
FYI - Northern Chainsaw Sharpener
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Quick note
If anybodies looking at these the northern web site has them listed on sale for $101. They had them in stock at the local store but the price still said $119 - when I got to the checkout they guy said they really were on sale for $82 (and you can get a 2 year replacement warranty for another $10).
If anybodies looking at these the northern web site has them listed on sale for $101. They had them in stock at the local store but the price still said $119 - when I got to the checkout they guy said they really were on sale for $82 (and you can get a 2 year replacement warranty for another $10).
Hello all, I'm new to the site. Have a very general question on this grinder. Been reading this thread for a while now. I've never had one of these things. Always did mine by hand. Took them to someone else once in a while to be ground. I'm not a professional but do my own firewood cutting and some tree work on the side. Also get some requests to sharpen chains for others. Would one of these NT Grinders be a good starter for me?
danrclem
Addicted to ArboristSite
It would all depend on how many times you sharpen your chains, how well you can sharpen your chains and how much wood you cut. I love my NT sharpener so I'm going to say yes, by all means get one. Just be prepared to take a little time setting it up right and learning how to use it.
edit; Oh yeah, welcome to the site.
edit; Oh yeah, welcome to the site.
tree md
Addicted to ArboristSite
I am a total rookie at sharpening chains but mine is working nicely for me. It is the only one I have every owned or used so I don't have anything to compare by but it does a fine job of sharpening my chains and I use my saws commercially.
Edit: Never mind, I found it. They don't call it a chain grinder, but rather a sharpener.
Do you have a link by any chance? I've been searching their site and can't seem to find this grinder. Thanks
Mr. HE
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Thanks for the input guys. Think I'm gonna go ahead and order one.
One more thing, I saw on here somewhere that there was an "upgrade kit". Something like a shim and a washer or something? Anyone know anything about it? Is it needed? Have they corrected the current ones from the factory?
Hddnis, did you find what you were looking for?
One more thing, I saw on here somewhere that there was an "upgrade kit". Something like a shim and a washer or something? Anyone know anything about it? Is it needed? Have they corrected the current ones from the factory?
Hddnis, did you find what you were looking for?
I think the "kit" you speak of was something a member here had made to fine tune it, but that has been quite a while ago. I think if you make sure the paint & casting excess on the mating surfaces are cleaned up, you'll be fine.
Particularly where the vise mount rotates, to make it smooth.
Thats all I did to mine, and bought a couple "better" wheels from Bailey's.
Gregg,
Just wait till you really get to know us.:greenchainsaw:
And yes, I did find it finally. I guess it was a symantics problem on my end.
Mr. HE
Streblerm
Addicted to ArboristSite
Northern customer service?
Well, I finally bit the bullet and ordered one of these machines. After reading about this thing for over a year, learning of its shortcomings and fixes, I pulled the trigger during the last sale. I have to say I am starting to regret my decision. Time will tell...
I spent some time cleaning the castings and shimming the unit. I had it all put together and started sharpening a chain. The first thing I noticed was the slop in the "hinge." I have been using the Harbor Freight unit for rocked out chains and the NT unit seemed just about as sloppy. This just didn't seem right, Why bother shimming the vice if the hinge is sloppy? but I started sharpening a chain that contacted a vein of concrete in a yard tree i was bucking.
After the first sharpening, I noticed that I had wildly different cutter sizes, so I started using it like the HF unit, that is, holding it to one side. I made it about halfway around the chain again and the pin in the hinge moved enough that the hinge separated. This caused The spring to push the hinge apart and broke the casting that the pivot pin goes through on the upper part of the grinder
Analysis of the failure revealed several problems. First, the pivot pin was not knurled correctly allowing it to move out of place as the grinder was lowered and raised. This also caused it to pivot on the casting, not the bushing which accounts for the slop. The second flaw was a bubble in the casting of the arm where the pin goes through. Had this casting flaw not existed, it probably wouldn't have disintegrated when the pin came out. I probably would've been able to reassemble and re-knurl the pin, but here I am with a junk grinder several hours of playing around.
Now to the customer service. I called immediately, last Saturday, and talked to a very friendly CSR who gave me a return authorization. She explained that it would be until Monday before someone would e-mail a prepaid shipping label, and it would take about two weeks to turn everything around, and would that be OK? Well, I was leaving for work on Sunday night so I had my wife watch my e-mail for the return label. It never showed.
When I got home on Friday, I called customer service again. This time I got a slightly less friendly CSR who informed me that it was my responsibility to mail the broken item back. I argued that it was a poorly made unit that caused the failure, it didn't even perform its intended function once, and that I did not feel that I was responsible for return shipping. We volleyed back and forth a few times on the issue and she finally agreed to send me a return label "within 24hrs"
Well, here I am, 24hrs later, with a broken grinder and no return label. I guess another call is in order on Monday as the weekend call did not prove to work out so well. I am of the mind at this point to just return the POS. I would too, had I not ordered replacement grinding wheels from Bailey's already.
My local Stihl dealer had one of the Italian jobbies on sale in the low $300 range. After seeing the quality of this unit, I think maybe I should just cut my losses and buy a decent one. I was fully prepared to do some "fine tuning", but I have to say that the $29 HF grinder has proven itself to be a better buy than the NT unit so far. At least the HF completely sharpened some chains.
Stay tuned, I'll let you know how it turns out.
Well, I finally bit the bullet and ordered one of these machines. After reading about this thing for over a year, learning of its shortcomings and fixes, I pulled the trigger during the last sale. I have to say I am starting to regret my decision. Time will tell...
I spent some time cleaning the castings and shimming the unit. I had it all put together and started sharpening a chain. The first thing I noticed was the slop in the "hinge." I have been using the Harbor Freight unit for rocked out chains and the NT unit seemed just about as sloppy. This just didn't seem right, Why bother shimming the vice if the hinge is sloppy? but I started sharpening a chain that contacted a vein of concrete in a yard tree i was bucking.
After the first sharpening, I noticed that I had wildly different cutter sizes, so I started using it like the HF unit, that is, holding it to one side. I made it about halfway around the chain again and the pin in the hinge moved enough that the hinge separated. This caused The spring to push the hinge apart and broke the casting that the pivot pin goes through on the upper part of the grinder
Analysis of the failure revealed several problems. First, the pivot pin was not knurled correctly allowing it to move out of place as the grinder was lowered and raised. This also caused it to pivot on the casting, not the bushing which accounts for the slop. The second flaw was a bubble in the casting of the arm where the pin goes through. Had this casting flaw not existed, it probably wouldn't have disintegrated when the pin came out. I probably would've been able to reassemble and re-knurl the pin, but here I am with a junk grinder several hours of playing around.
Now to the customer service. I called immediately, last Saturday, and talked to a very friendly CSR who gave me a return authorization. She explained that it would be until Monday before someone would e-mail a prepaid shipping label, and it would take about two weeks to turn everything around, and would that be OK? Well, I was leaving for work on Sunday night so I had my wife watch my e-mail for the return label. It never showed.
When I got home on Friday, I called customer service again. This time I got a slightly less friendly CSR who informed me that it was my responsibility to mail the broken item back. I argued that it was a poorly made unit that caused the failure, it didn't even perform its intended function once, and that I did not feel that I was responsible for return shipping. We volleyed back and forth a few times on the issue and she finally agreed to send me a return label "within 24hrs"
Well, here I am, 24hrs later, with a broken grinder and no return label. I guess another call is in order on Monday as the weekend call did not prove to work out so well. I am of the mind at this point to just return the POS. I would too, had I not ordered replacement grinding wheels from Bailey's already.
My local Stihl dealer had one of the Italian jobbies on sale in the low $300 range. After seeing the quality of this unit, I think maybe I should just cut my losses and buy a decent one. I was fully prepared to do some "fine tuning", but I have to say that the $29 HF grinder has proven itself to be a better buy than the NT unit so far. At least the HF completely sharpened some chains.
Stay tuned, I'll let you know how it turns out.
justlearning
ArboristSite Lurker
Washer/Shim Kit Availability?
I just wanted to revive the question of availability of washers/ shims for the NT Grinder. Many years have passed since the original kits were on offer, and I can't find any recent discussion of a way to order them. I tried PMing, but (understandably) mailboxes were full.
As someone with the grinder and an interest in making it perform better, but without a machine shop, I'd be willing to pay well over the $3 to anyone who can set me up with the supplies!
Thanks!
I just wanted to revive the question of availability of washers/ shims for the NT Grinder. Many years have passed since the original kits were on offer, and I can't find any recent discussion of a way to order them. I tried PMing, but (understandably) mailboxes were full.
As someone with the grinder and an interest in making it perform better, but without a machine shop, I'd be willing to pay well over the $3 to anyone who can set me up with the supplies!
Thanks!
EXFFPM
New Member
My Northern Sharpener #193020 arrived today....
....and as seemed to be the case in many of the posts, the box was in pretty bad shape! Holding my breath, I cut the nylon straps and opened it and everything was in good shape, even though everything was all just packed loose in the box. $104 plus some change total and included three intact wheels. Started making the tuning tips listed on the number of posts on this site and am just curious, as a considerable number of other posters, if the washer and shim Stihl 041 was making is still available? Only things I found wrong so far is the rivet holding one end of the top plate angle gauge doesn't stay in place and the threads for the top screw that holds the shield guard/arbor shield aren't tapped clean so can't attach the top of the clear plastic blade guard t'ill I get a metric tap to clean them up. One suggestion I would make if I ordered one today is to call Northen Tool as I did and ask the sales person to double box the unit as you have had problems with damaged units in the past....it might be worth a try? Has anyone identified a specific spring for the chain stop? And I am still unclear regarding "centering the cutter under the grinding wheel"?
Thanks to all for taking the time to post all the tips to fine tune the function of this grinder.
EXFFPM
....and as seemed to be the case in many of the posts, the box was in pretty bad shape! Holding my breath, I cut the nylon straps and opened it and everything was in good shape, even though everything was all just packed loose in the box. $104 plus some change total and included three intact wheels. Started making the tuning tips listed on the number of posts on this site and am just curious, as a considerable number of other posters, if the washer and shim Stihl 041 was making is still available? Only things I found wrong so far is the rivet holding one end of the top plate angle gauge doesn't stay in place and the threads for the top screw that holds the shield guard/arbor shield aren't tapped clean so can't attach the top of the clear plastic blade guard t'ill I get a metric tap to clean them up. One suggestion I would make if I ordered one today is to call Northen Tool as I did and ask the sales person to double box the unit as you have had problems with damaged units in the past....it might be worth a try? Has anyone identified a specific spring for the chain stop? And I am still unclear regarding "centering the cutter under the grinding wheel"?
Thanks to all for taking the time to post all the tips to fine tune the function of this grinder.
EXFFPM
EXFFPM
New Member
More tuning tips for Northern sharpener....
After reading the earlier post re: the use of an 11" stainless wire tie for the base shim, I picked one up at Lowes and cut/bent it to fit and it made a huge difference in the excessive play of the chainvise mount. I also found that tightening the bolt holding the arm which holds the chainstop to eliminate the wobble wasn't possible until I shortened the bushing on the large bolt at the bottom which allowed the support arm for the tooth stop to fit flush against the cast bracket....no play now. If the bolt holding the toothstop itself was the exact size to eliminate the wobble in that part, I would expect the tooth lengths to be the same on every cut?
After reading the earlier post re: the use of an 11" stainless wire tie for the base shim, I picked one up at Lowes and cut/bent it to fit and it made a huge difference in the excessive play of the chainvise mount. I also found that tightening the bolt holding the arm which holds the chainstop to eliminate the wobble wasn't possible until I shortened the bushing on the large bolt at the bottom which allowed the support arm for the tooth stop to fit flush against the cast bracket....no play now. If the bolt holding the toothstop itself was the exact size to eliminate the wobble in that part, I would expect the tooth lengths to be the same on every cut?
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Picked up a Timber-tuff version
Just picked up the TSC/fleet farm version of this grinder with the "Timber Tuff" branding. Seems to work just fine after a bit of cleaning up of casting flashing (wouldn't let me get the 10 deg angle on the chain holder). About the second time I used it the motor would not start with out giving the wheel a slight spin. This can't be normal but it will allow me to reverse the wheel depending on which way I spin it on start up. Anyone else experience this issue?
Just picked up the TSC/fleet farm version of this grinder with the "Timber Tuff" branding. Seems to work just fine after a bit of cleaning up of casting flashing (wouldn't let me get the 10 deg angle on the chain holder). About the second time I used it the motor would not start with out giving the wheel a slight spin. This can't be normal but it will allow me to reverse the wheel depending on which way I spin it on start up. Anyone else experience this issue?
tawilson
Addicted to ArboristSite
Sounds like a nice option. Some people have to rewire them to do that.
Well, that sure is interesting. I doubt that it is an OSHA approved method of motor reversing. I would not leave that grinder plugged in while it is not being used.
Streblerm
Addicted to ArboristSite
I forgot to update that NT made good on the replacement, although it took a few weeks. The second one was much better and the mods didn't take as long the second time around.
I still prefer sharpening with the granberg and a file. However the NT grinder has been helpful with some of the more messed up chains that I have. I still haven't gotten it down 100%. It seems like depth and wheel profile are really the keys to good sharpening. I'm getting better with it.
I still prefer sharpening with the granberg and a file. However the NT grinder has been helpful with some of the more messed up chains that I have. I still haven't gotten it down 100%. It seems like depth and wheel profile are really the keys to good sharpening. I'm getting better with it.
gemniii
Addicted to ArboristSite
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repped, followups are IMPORTANT. Lot's of peeps here look at HF, NT, TSC and automatically diss it as cheap chinese crap with poor support.
I view it as selecting the better ones.
And while I'm posting I'd advise getting some type of clip on magnifying light.
zxcvbob
ArboristSite Lurker
I just bought one of the Northern grinders -- $129 at the store, minus a $20 coupon makes it $110 plus tax. I opened it up at the checkout to make sure the wheels were not broken. (they were fine).
Are there any gotcha's that I need to watch for when setting the thing up? Mounting it on my reloading bench is probably a bad idea...
I can't tell it will sharpen square-cut chains (not sure if that's the right terminology. 72CK). If not, do I just pretend it's a 72LP chisel chain? I only have one 72CK chain that I bought just to try it. The rest are normal chisel and semichisel chains.
I have some chains that I know the pitch and gauge but have no idea what cutters they have. Are the angles pretty standard and I can just pick something close from the Oregon chart?
Are there any gotcha's that I need to watch for when setting the thing up? Mounting it on my reloading bench is probably a bad idea...
I can't tell it will sharpen square-cut chains (not sure if that's the right terminology. 72CK). If not, do I just pretend it's a 72LP chisel chain? I only have one 72CK chain that I bought just to try it. The rest are normal chisel and semichisel chains.
I have some chains that I know the pitch and gauge but have no idea what cutters they have. Are the angles pretty standard and I can just pick something close from the Oregon chart?
