Brush Ape Makes his Stand

[LegDeLimber]

As for the space saver function, What about a setup resembling an engine stand?
Make the pivot tube as long as the distance to the opposite side from where your bar
is bolted on now. Much shorter length of a pivot tube and you'll have a wiggler
that wont stay tight (use at least a pair of *fine* thread tension/clamping screws for holding it in position)
Then put the top plate back on an continue the hooks & accessory zones.

 

[Bluefish]

Damn Ape, that is a great piece of work! Russ

 

[bag-o-donuts]

That's pretty darn cool, I know what you mean about filing being enjoyable in a mindless sort of way. This rig looks like it would help a guy get into that zen-ish state of mind a lot better than a tailgate and a half round of wood with a shallow kerf cut in it...

 

[Raganr]

Good effort but unless the bar groove is tight it seems like there would be movement.

I have been very pleased with my Homelite410 gen 4 vise. It actually clamps down on the drive links and allows you to manually tension the chain.

 

[scallywag]

Nice work Mr Ape!

 

[Brush Ape]

Thanks for the encouragement and input for improvements, gentlemen.

What precipitates ingenuity in America is unmet needs or just problems to overcome. We tend to search for a path to the goal which offers the best ergonomics, efficiency, dependability and safety which can be made in the most straightforward way. When you invent something or reinvent it, do it like a writer writes a detective novel. They already know the outcome (meaning who did it), right. What gets done then is you fill in the where,when, why, what and most importantly how in the story. Look at the problem first then write the solution backward, build it and try it. Then do it again. And in America, it needs a cool paint job so you can get chicks.

I'm a mechanical guy. Over the years, I take note of the things that can make sharpening chain a struggle. I'll do it on the saw in a stump vise or at the bench if I'm working in my own neighborhood. But preferably, it gets done off the saw. Moving parts get cleaned and lubed. Period. Gliding, rocking, vibrating and rolling parts susceptible to friction don't need metal shavings between their respective surfaces. User friendly to the lazy mechanic is a euphemism for something you can abuse which still remains a serviceable and reliable machine.

This setup is just a baby, but it spent a long gestation. I like the ideas being offered. The best guys on this site make this a worthwhile community.

 

[Brush Ape]

wow what a set up. i hope you have a patent lawyer on stand by, that looks to be a potential money maker. really nice work

lol. Thats what the Mrs. said. She is sore at me for publishing it on the web as she knows what went into it. She has seen me eliminating some glint on a 25" chain in just minutes. I'm not afraid to share it with this group. if I could get someone like Lakeside53 or metals406 to crank out the next prototype it would have been worth all that and more.

Very ingenious. Maybe a peeneumatic cylinder for a chain tensioner?

I like pnuematics a bunch. I would have concerns about it jarring then rapidly advancing a sharp tooth into the user's hand unexpectedly. Thanks for the tip Termite, the sky is the limit.

I must say i am impressed with some of your skills ,you get an atta boy from me today with a pat on the back .

edit ,would an adjuster like a car has for alternator or steering pump be any better than the 2 bolts you have to loosen ? like modify or build one of these ? for a tightener on the chain ? maybe a t-handle on end of the bolt ?

Thanks Brian. I'm always impressed with your work, too. That type of tensioning mechanism will work real well with the type of channel-shaped frame I'm proposing next.

Slickness! And my inner nerd likes the voice activated advance feature planned.

Coming in the next generation. I'm a nerd too. This isn't Star Trek though. One good thing about it being 2014 out there is that this will actually happen in a hermit's garage in Illinois.

Looks good. I have made a few different vice mounted clamps that I wasn't overly happy with.

Never give up.

Nice job and very good pics too!

Thanks, Man. I always enjoy your climbing pics.

X2.... Very well done..
I have a Homelite410 chain vise, and I could see myself buying one of these as well. This one set permanently in the ground in my basement shop, and the little vise I have for G2G's and the like..

When I get it completely right, I'll stamp out five extra buffed out ones and sell them. That would make Mama happy. And you know what they say.

Neat idea indeed.
Seen a basic version of that on chainsaw repair site. Heck we got a whole thread on these things.
And this one you can buy too. ChainMeister

I saw the chainmiester after I started on this one. lol.

I wonder if you can change chains on it without unclamping the bar like you can do on mine.

 

[Brush Ape]

Nice, is it possible to make a universal sprocket to eliminate changing, just a thought.

I can change over completely in less than one minute. Would you believe I'm dumb enough to not verify the hole size on the .325 rim sprocket to see if it fit the same shaft? lol. I'll look today. No hill for a climber. 3/8" pitch is the workhorse around here and I'm a self-centered bastard when it comes to my saws.

As for the space saver function, What about a setup resembling an engine stand?
Make the pivot tube as long as the distance to the opposite side from where your bar
is bolted on now. Much shorter length of a pivot tube and you'll have a wiggler
that wont stay tight (use at least a pair of *fine* thread tension/clamping screws for holding it in position)
Then put the top plate back on an continue the hooks & accessory zones.

Good ideas. I'm thinking of a spring loaded pin to pull and drop the bar or captive threaded tubes welded to the channel on the back side of the bar. Rigidity is a stipulation in whatever gets built here.

Great Job!!!

- To keep the chain from moving on the bar while filing, maybe have a stop like on the chain grinders? It you pull the chain forward it will flip up the fall down behind the cutters so when you are filing the chain will not move away from you.

- To make tighten/releasing the chain for quicker chain swaps, maybe something like a spring loaded chain binder?

_ Is the post adjustable height?

There used to be an Oliver plant here. I'm curious about your user name. lol. Oliver also makes some killer woodworking shop equipment. That's a different outfit up North though. Or is it your name?

The chain doesn't move now when you are filing. When a guy struggles with wobble of the drive links during filing, he is only trying to milk a dull file for too many cycles. A new file @ $1.15 every five or ten chains will rectify many ailment.

I feel this could be made compatible with any filing jig, though. I could build in a guide for angles no sweat, or a stop or a robotic tool which milled each tooth in a line bore fashion. Trust me, Brother. "Be Relentless," is my mission statement.

I like the binder idea a lot. You are one hell of a farm-styled mechanic and it shows. I don't want anything that can spring loose and bust knuckles, but there is daylight in that tunnel. Your idea is grounded solidly and on the drawing board.

About post height, it is made for me at my height. I have an old drum throne in the shop that also is very comfortable for this setup. The way it is mounted means when you do the opposite site cutters, you take a step around the jig. You will love how you can keep both hands on the file and push/pull with the fingers of the front hand off the opposite side of the bar.

I had questions regarding the crank handle accessibility from the right cutter side at first. But it is evident that it works better from behind than in front. Any issues will be resolved there when I convert to motor drive via a small gearbox which will turn the crank.

 

[farmer steve]

nice job BA. wish i was as mechanically adept as guys like you. uhh i have a hard time using a scrench some days.

 

[KG441c]

That is super cool! How much u gonn charge for the stand and one of the saws like u made in the video that sounded like a Nascar!!! lol! Refine that thing and patent and sell?

 

[Brush Ape]

Very nice setup you have brush ape! I always like when people come up with ideas to make things easier.

Thanks, grizz. It is easier as the motion involved is smoother. And you don't handle the chain or pull it along from behind the bit. In a short time, it will get the rivets lubed during the sharpening process, even if I have to develop the proper grease. This is the USA. The sky is the limit. Be Relentless.

Damn Ape, that is a great piece of work! Russ

Thanks, Russ. Mainly the praise should rest squarely on the shoulders of my machinist friend. He listens to many caffeine fueled rants of a dreamer who tends to go on tangents. That's what keeps the project grounded. And the good feedback from those from various walks of life on AS keeps it interesting for a bonafide doer.

Nice work Mr Ape!

Thanks, Mr. Wag.

Good effort but unless the bar groove is tight it seems like there would be movement.
I have been very pleased with my Homelite410 gen 4 vise. It actually clamps down on the drive links and allows you to manually tension the chain.

Thanks. Sounds like a plan.

That's pretty darn cool, I know what you mean about filing being enjoyable in a mindless sort of way. This rig looks like it would help a guy get into that zen-ish state of mind a lot better than a tailgate and a half round of wood with a shallow kerf cut in it...

We validate ourselves through our work. I find relaxation in productive action. Dropping trees and making them into furniture and home comforting heat for my family is true actualization.

I'm glad you could relate, donuts.

nice job BA. wish i was as mechanically adept as guys like you. uhh i have a hard time using a scrench some days.

Thanks, Steve. You're one hell of a nice guy. With that Super Duty grocery getter, you shouldn't have to turn a wrench for a few years, any how.

That is super cool! How much u gonn charge for the stand and one of the saws like u made in the video that sounded like a Nascar!!! lol! Refine that thing and patent and sell?

Thanks for the encouragement, 441. Shipping would be a bear. The setup must be 90 pounds. When I nail it all down, I'll keep the thread updated. I wouldn't do any sales here without sponsering the site. So that's some things to consider. Right now it is 100% build and test mode. I think the real deal is going to rotate on a 20" Cannon super hardnose.

As for the saw, it is a Stihl.

 

[RedneckChainsawRepair]

Video showing how they CM change chains on it. BA

 

[Brush Ape]

Video showing how they CM change chains on it. BA

He didn't change chains. He undid the tensioning unit.

To change chains, he had to loosen the clamps, take it out of the clamps, switch chains, put it back in the clamps, tighten the clamps, put back on the tensioning head, tension it and advance the chain with his hand. Would you agree with that statement?

 

[RedneckChainsawRepair]

He didn't change chains. He undid the tensioning unit.

To change chains, he had to loosen the clamps, take it out of the clamps, switch chains, put it back in the clamps, tighten the clamps, put back on the tensioning head, tension it and advance the chain with his hand. Would you agree with that statement?

I see what you are saying. Agreed. Bring that up in their video and see what they say.

Me I would just use my bench vise if I were to use one in shop. But I wont ever need this.

 

[RedneckChainsawRepair]

If hand filing I just use my vise. Swivels too.

I just usually turn saw 180 for other side.

 

[LegDeLimber]

Ah I'm a lousy detail writer. Yeah the indexing pin is just sort of a given (inside my brain)
I just like the pair of clamp screws for eliminating that last tiny bit of really irritating, file dulling chatter.
One of Your clamp screws could also be an indexing pin if it was pointed at a flat spot on the pivot tube.
maybe the far one from the chain bar and then the one closest to the bar would be a pinch type i.e. the outer tube is split and the pinch bolt pulls it closed to hold.
Seems to give a firmer, smoother grip that way as the index pin will tend to work lose as the load on the samll er contact area is hogher and it will dig in a just a miner shift there
is greatly magnified out on the bar.
And that aprox 90# weight is a positive once that sucker's been shipped!

Edit: the flat spot serves the purpose of indexing But also gives room for the inevitable cratering from the pressure point of the crew and keeps it from binding the pivot tube.
also is handy on those shafts like your stump grinders, cement mixers for *reducing* the old bearing is stuck on the shaft problem.

As someone who used machine the o.d. of turn 1/2" wall 30" diam x 5' long drums,
I can definitely appreciate getting things to be still.
You job shop guys would have liked my internal damper rings and assorted ghetto stuff in my welding fixtures.

 

[LegDeLimber]

If hand filing I just use my vise. Swivels too.

I just usually turn saw 180 for other side. "

With the powerhead still attached, Clamp that bar up about where the tree is and you'll be amazed
at the sudden improvement in the bar not wanting to sing and the file chatter.

 

[RedneckChainsawRepair]

With the powerhead still attached, Clamp that bar up about where the tree is and you'll be amazed
at the sudden improvement in the bar not wanting to sing and the file chatter.

 

[Oliver1655]

My tractor is an Oliver 1655. 70hp diesel, loader, fluid filled tires. I use it mainly as a loader tractor with forks, grapple, boom, bucket, land plane, ... A 70 hp tractor is a handy size. You can do a lot of work with it for the fuel used.

 

[bigG]

Looks nice WC