Bringing your chain to get Sharpened?

I asked 3 Stihl dealers if they change their grinding wheels depending on doing little chains to 3/8 chains. They all said no, We only use one wheel. I only have 1) 3/8 chain (MS660) and the rest are picco and 325's. Can is just use my 1/8 wheels.

.325 is fine with 3/16 wheel, but not for picco.

Oh, and no I woudn't use 1/8 for 3/8 chain. Use 3/16 for .404 .375, and .325. 1/8 for everything else. 3/8low pro, 1/4.

parrisw said:

Oh, and no I woudn't use 1/8 for 3/8 chain. Use 3/16 for .404 .375, and .325. 1/8 for everything else. 3/8low pro, 1/4.

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What's the advantage of using 3/16 over 1/8, the side of the wheel does all of the grinding. Steve

parrisw said:

Oh, and no I woudn't use 1/8 for 3/8 chain. Use 3/16 for .404 .375, and .325. 1/8 for everything else. 3/8low pro, 1/4.

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That depends on the style of .325 chain. That small cutter stuff, seems like it likes a 1/8 wheel better.

maybe a good reason to file your own?
who cares more than you if your chain is sharpened right?
GOK what they will do with the rakers

mountainlake said:

What's the advantage of using 3/16 over 1/8, the side of the wheel does all of the grinding. Steve

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It doesn't get down to the gullet as much, and I think, but could be wrong, I found that with 1/8 on larger chains you would get a more pronounced hook, and it dulled easier. That's just my findings, not gospel.

Modifiedmark said:

That depends on the style of .325 chain. That small cutter stuff, seems like it likes a 1/8 wheel better.

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Which ones?? I'm running Oregon LP, I've used the 1/8 on it, I think it makes it a little sharper, but dulls easier.

Blue Tooth!

Maybe 5 years ago I thought I'd give the local chainsaw dealer a chance to sharpen a couple chains, mainly to get all the cutters back to an even length. I dropped the chains off before work thinking that they would have all day to sharpen them so they would take their time and not destroy the chain. Well, when I stopped by after work to get the chains, they weren't done. I said to the guy "no problem, I'll get them tomorrow." He said "no, just wait here and I'll do them." I was about to scream "NO" but I figured maybe he can do a decent job, plus they had a bunch of really nice mowers there that I wanted to check out.

When I saw the chains, I was flabbergasted. All the cutters were blue, like he hit them with a torch! The teeth looked like crap and were probably less even than my hand filing job. I just turned and walked out and have never been back since then.

I bought a Northern tool sharpener for $99 and have sharpened all my round ground chains with that ever since.

rmihalek said:

Maybe 5 years ago I thought I'd give the local chainsaw dealer a chance to sharpen a couple chains, mainly to get all the cutters back to an even length. I dropped the chains off before work thinking that they would have all day to sharpen them so they would take their time and not destroy the chain. Well, when I stopped by after work to get the chains, they weren't done. I said to the guy "no problem, I'll get them tomorrow." He said "no, just wait here and I'll do them." I was about to scream "NO" but I figured maybe he can do a decent job, plus they had a bunch of really nice mowers there that I wanted to check out.

When I saw the chains, I was flabbergasted. All the cutters were blue, like he hit them with a torch! The teeth looked like crap and were probably less even than my hand filing job. I just turned and walked out and have never been back since then.

I bought a Northern tool sharpener for $99 and have sharpened all my round ground chains with that ever since.

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Ya, I had a similar experience, I think they took a 1/4" off the cutter, and brutalized the rakers. Since then I've never taken them to get done anywhere. I can't believe the countless stories I've heard like this, how and the hell can they run a OPE business, or just one that services OPE, and can't sharpen a chain to save your life???? To me, I can't even understand that??

if a shop that can't sharpen a chain to save their life, what can they do?

strip threads changing a plug

put bar oil in the mix tank

put the chain on backwards while using pliers on the bar nuts

ask you what a carb kit is when you ask for one

give you a really dumb look when you ask for a impulse line

tell you your saw has no compression when they don't know what the drop test is never mind have a gage with a valve in the right location...just suggest its time to buy a new saw and the new saw comes with one year of chain sharpening as long as the the chain lasts

and the reason to do your own work?

Sharpening my own, I probably get four times the life in my chains compared with taking them in. I've taken chains in that were not bad, no rocks or anything, and gotten them back half gone. Inevitably, when I say something, they say back, well, you know you had a couple o' them teeth short, musta hit a rock you know, and we had to really cut 'em back to get 'em even.

Bullshot.

I am sure that a lot of shops do a poor job of grinding chain, but when you consider the folks that bring them in and the condition they are in, even a bad grinding job would be an improvement.

Since I collect a lot of saws, I have all kinds of chain and the condition they arrive often make you wonder...some would almost certainly cut better on backwards.

Tommy Hall can even sharpen both ends for the guy that wants a reversible chain...

Mark

parrisw said:

It doesn't get down to the gullet as much, and I think, but could be wrong, I found that with 1/8 on larger chains you would get a more pronounced hook, and it dulled easier. That's just my findings, not gospel.

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:agree2:

parrisw said:

Ya, I had a similar experience, I think they took a 1/4" off the cutter, and brutalized the rakers. Since then I've never taken them to get done anywhere. I can't believe the countless stories I've heard like this, how and the hell can they run a OPE business, or just one that services OPE, and can't sharpen a chain to save your life???? To me, I can't even understand that??

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The last loops I took in, they ended up with all the right hand cutters square ground(with a top beak) the left round(semi chisel). Wow is all I could say...

mountainlake said:

What's the advantage of using 3/16 over 1/8, the side of the wheel does all of the grinding. Steve

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Since the width of the grinding wheel determines the radius of the curve dressed onto it's edge (you do dress a radius on your wheel, right ?), the thickness of the wheel will affect the angles ground into both the top and side edge of each cutter. It's this radiused edge that does (or should do) most of the grinding.

A wheel that is too narrow will not grind the side of the cutter properly.

A wheel that is too thick may damage the tie straps or depth gauge in order to fully grind the cutter - some times they do not fit.

Same reasons you use different diameter files.

Philbert

Junior said:

The last loops I took in, they ended up with all the right hand cutters square ground(with a top beak) the left round(semi chisel). Wow is all I could say...

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Wow is all I can saw.

Philbert said:

Since the width of the grinding wheel determines the radius of the curve dressed onto it's edge (you do dress a radius on your wheel, right ?), the thickness of the wheel will affect the angles ground into both the top and side edge of each cutter. It's this radiused edge that does (or should do) most of the grinding.

A wheel that is too narrow will not grind the side of the cutter properly.

A wheel that is too thick may damage the tie straps or depth gauge in order to fully grind the cutter - some times they do not fit.

Same reasons you use different diameter files.

Philbert

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Thanks, you explained it a little better then I could.

Who here cleans out the gullet, after a the tooth has been ground back a bunch?? It's time consuming but I do it every so often. I think it helps with chip clearance.

parrisw said:

Which ones?? I'm running Oregon LP, I've used the 1/8 on it, I think it makes it a little sharper, but dulls easier.

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The Oregon 30 series with the small cutter that uses a 4.5mm file insted of the 3/16" file. 33 LG and 33 SL Call for a 1/8" wheel.

Some of the Stihl .325 chains use a dinky cutter also, but I don't know the # of it.

Philbert said:

Since the width of the grinding wheel determines the radius of the curve dressed onto it's edge (you do dress a radius on your wheel, right ?), the thickness of the wheel will affect the angles ground into both the top and side edge of each cutter. It's this radiused edge that does (or should do) most of the grinding.

A wheel that is too narrow will not grind the side of the cutter properly.

A wheel that is too thick may damage the tie straps or depth gauge in order to fully grind the cutter - some times they do not fit.

Same reasons you use different diameter files.

Philbert

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Keep in mind that only the top and 25 to 30 thousdand of the side of the tooth do the cutting and I can assure you that the flat side of 1/8 wheel grinds well past 30 thousands down on the side, the only thing the bottom of the wheel does is not let the wheel get low enough on small chains and then needs to be dressed at a slant so the wheel can get lower. I cant think of any reason to run a 3/16 wheel except it would be more ridgid but then a good grinder just touches the tooth lightly and when you dress the wheel there's just more to take off. Files and grinding wheels have nothing in common except the they both sharpen chains. Steve