511A Grinder - Improvements / Tweaks?

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Just curious if anyone has tried to make the oregon auto sharpener wheels fit on the 511 grinders?
Pretty sure they are a good bit larger, as long as the arbor size was the same( or an adapter was made), and they have abrasives all the way thru them I see no reason why you couldn't. Why would you want to when the correct wheels are readily available.
 
They are a ceramic wheel, that reportedly cuts much better then the pink stones, but costly less then half what the cbn wheels cost. I'm soon due for a new wheel on my grinder, so I figured I'd ask. The only difference is the arbor hole, I didnt know if someone had a hack to put them on or not.
 
They are a ceramic wheel, that reportedly cuts much better then the pink stones, but costly less then half what the cbn wheels cost. I'm soon due for a new wheel on my grinder, so I figured I'd ask. The only difference is the arbor hole, I didnt know if someone had a hack to put them on or not.
I see. There are aluminum spacers I've seen for going to a different arbor size.
I like the green stones over the pink ones, I think they are like $15. Just ordered a CBN for my Tecomec super-jolly yesterday, 105 delivered.
 
They are a ceramic wheel, that reportedly cuts much better then the pink stones, but costly less then half what the cbn wheels cost. I'm soon due for a new wheel on my grinder, so I figured I'd ask. The only difference is the arbor hole, I didnt know if someone had a hack to put them on or not.
They sell ceramic wheels for the 8" Silvey square grinders. There are some guys who have tried to mount these on an Oregon style grinder, when worn down to 5-3/4", using a bushing for the 1" arbor hole.

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Philbert
 
I see. There are aluminum spacers I've seen for going to a different arbor size.
I like the green stones over the pink ones, I think they are like $15. Just ordered a CBN for my Tecomec super-jolly yesterday, 105 delivered.
I just tried a green Tecomec wheel, and find it burns the cutters too easily, even when using a light touch. I don't have that issue with the Oregon pink wheels. I was hoping the green wheel would leave a smoother finish, and it does...but I've switched back. I only have Stihl brand chains, so I'm not sure if this factors in at all. I know they are reportedly harder. Any thoughts? I'd really like to try a CBN wheel, but have a hard time justifying the cost.
 
OR600-316 here's the part number for the wheel I was looking at, the problem is it has a 5/8" arbor. I didnt know if anyone had tried to make an adapter to run it. Thanks for the reply, I may try one of the silvey wheels out. I just dont grind enough chains to justify the cbn wheel. Just do mine when they are really messed up. And chains for a few friends and family. This last pink wheel has lasted me about 5 years, an I expect it will make it through till spring.
 
OR600-316 here's the part number for the wheel I was looking at, the problem is it has a 5/8" arbor. I didnt know if anyone had tried to make an adapter to run it. Thanks for the reply, I may try one of the silvey wheels out. I just dont grind enough chains to justify the cbn wheel. Just do mine when they are really messed up. And chains for a few friends and family. This last pink wheel has lasted me about 5 years, an I expect it will make it through till spring.
I'd just go with the pink wheel if I was using the at that slow of a rate.
I just tried a green Tecomec wheel, and find it burns the cutters too easily, even when using a light touch. I don't have that issue with the Oregon pink wheels. I was hoping the green wheel would leave a smoother finish, and it does...but I've switched back. I only have Stihl brand chains, so I'm not sure if this factors in at all. I know they are reportedly harder. Any thoughts? I'd really like to try a CBN wheel, but have a hard time justifying the cost.
It's a give/take, if you're happy with the pink wheels then stick with them. The way I look at it is more long term since I can afford it(I realize that isn't the case for everyone as I've been there) and my time is more valuable currently, so for me the CBN is a good choice, and if I ever need the cash I'm sure I could sell it used and recoup at least a portion of my initial cost. I also like that I can grind more off without over heating the cutters, it saves a lot of time on extremely damaged chains, the other option is to just toss them and buy a new chain when your time is more valuable. If you have more time than money then the pink or green wheels work great and will last most people many yrs at a great overall cost savings vs paying for new chains or paying someone to grind them(especially since they typically trash chains many places).
For me the green wheel works great if I couldn't spend the cash on the CBN, I take multiple passes to avoid blueing cutters, and that has worked well. I have used the pinks as well and had no problems with them either, not sure what the compound is on the USG, it works well though.
 
Here's my latest enhancement to my Oregon 511A -- new lighting. My original bulb burned out after several years and a couple of replacements. This time I decided to try an LED for more light. I finally found one at Menards for under $4, but it was a 1/4" too long. That meant drilling a 1" diameter hole in the clear plastic shield for the bulb to project out a tad. I removed the shield and then used a Forster bit. That worked. Here's the bulb specs and the final product, light off and light on:
Grinder Light.jpgYou may notice a strip of electrical tape above the white letters to act as a shade. This light is really bright and uses less energy. What a difference! My ancient eyes really appreciate it. There may be other bulbs out there that will not be quite so long. You need 3" or less to avoid drilling the hole, but the T8 size is a must. Thanks for looking.
 
I might add that there are many Tecomec grinders out there that do not use a clear plastic shield but metal mesh instead. So, finding a shorter-length LED bulb is almost a must for them to replace an incandescent.
Surprised that you found one that interchanged that closely. I have actually have never had to replace a bulb on a grinder; assumed that the base would be 'push-and-turn', like the 12V bulbs in my taillights. Or that some type of soldering would be required, as in this thread: https://www.arboristsite.com/community/threads/couple-grinder-questions.349488/

Philbert
 
Did anyone figure out how to get the other wheels from the Tecomec graph with the four different wheels? The white and light pink wheels look like they yield a finer finish, unless I totally misunderstood the graphic.
 
Surprised that you found one that interchanged that closely. I have actually have never had to replace a bulb on a grinder; assumed that the base would be 'push-and-turn', like the 12V bulbs in my taillights. Or that some type of soldering would be required, as in this thread: https://www.arboristsite.com/community/threads/couple-grinder-questions.349488/

Philbert
It was a simple chandelier screw in base. The problem is the length of the bulb. So, I modified the grinder. Eyes that are younger than mine could find it to be too bright. But, nowadays everybody seems in love with LED bulbs. I probably turn the grinder on and off too frequently and that's what wore out the old bulb. Even my ancient drill press has two switches -- one for the motor and the other for the light.
 
Did anyone figure out how to get the other wheels from the Tecomec graph with the four different wheels? The white and light pink wheels look like they yield a finer finish, unless I totally misunderstood the graphic.
Have to order them in boxes of 20, or something like that. I've tried to get the importer to go for it a few times, but I don't want to become the distributor. The 'pink' wheels seem to work 'good enough', although a shiny cutter might be nice for a show saw or shelf queen!

Philbert
 
Have to order them in boxes of 20, or something like that. I've tried to get the importer to go for it a few times, but I don't want to become the distributor. The 'pink' wheels seem to work 'good enough', although a shiny cutter might be nice for a show saw or shelf queen!

Philbert
That shiny cutters work nice when milling, the cut quality is almost finish grade. Like everyone else in this thread I'm looking for more than "good enough" ;)
 
Philbert asked me to post some comments here related to the modifications I made to my no-name 511 type clone. I have this one set up just for adjusting the depth gauges and wanted to be more consistent on the height/depth of the gauges. Since the mechanical stop is so close to the pivot and the spring is fairly strong I found it difficult to know just how hard to pull down when grinding and felt that I needed a better system. I thought about a mechanical stop further from the pivot but never tried to carry out that approach. Instead, I added some weights under the handle to pull it down to the stop. The following is from a post in my Vintage Chainsaw Museum thread.

"I don't really know how much variation there could be due to the flex after you hit the stop, but I am guessing it could be 0.010" or more depending on how hard you push on it. I wanted a way to keep the depth gauges more consistent and the weighted handle seemed like an easy way to do it. I had thought about trying to rig a more substantial stop further from the pivot to reduce the flex in the unit and I still might try something like that but for now, the weights are working as long as I don't accidentally drop it."

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Mark
 

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