Harbor Freight Chainsaw sharpener

[Agent319]

Ok, yes I have a Harbor Freight chainsaw sharpener. But let's forget about that for now. What I'm interested in is that it has a 1/8" thickness wheel on it (my chain is a Stihl .325 .050 RS) and the chain is ment to us a 5/32" round file to sharpen it. I also know 1/8" = .125 and 5/32" = .156. Now I have sharpened my chain with this Harbor Freight sharpen twice now and it really works well and the chain cuts great. But since 1/8 is smaller than 5/32 will the chain dull faster, cut smaller chips, or whatever? Anyone else had any experience with a smaller file diameter and seen any significant difference in cutting?

 

[Nardoo]

I think you might be over thinking this a little - in the real world it would be very hard to detect any difference. My advice would be to go cut some fire wood while that chain is nice and sharp.

 

[Fish]

On a grinder, the top angle is determined by the side of the wheel, while that
angle is produced by the files diameter when using a file, which makes file
selection much more critical.

 

[redunshee]

On a grinder, the top angle is determined by the side of the wheel, while that
angle is produced by the files diameter when using a file, which makes file
selection much more critical.

As good and logical explanation as I've heard. Makes perfect sense if you think about it.
Bob

 

[Agent319]

Does it matter if you have a Semi-Chisel or Full-Chisel tooth when using this Harbor Freight grinder?

 

[bigredd]

Does it matter if you have a Semi-Chisel or Full-Chisel tooth when using this Harbor Freight grinder?

Shouldn't matter. I used a HF grinder last year and the 1/8" wheel worked well with .325 pitch chain. It will also work with 3/8" picco chain. Lots of plastic parts that can wear out quickly with heavy use, but should be fine for occasional use.

Be cautious and not put too much pressure on the aluminum oxide wheel because it's poor quality and can shatter in your face if not careful.

 

[cc firefighter]

Not saying my in put is any good. But I used a HF chain grinder for over a year and it worked great (still does). I put it the back shelf because I bought a Northern Tool grinder recently however sometimes it seems to work better, because it does not have as much power. The new one can take a lot of meat of the chain real quick if your not careful and burn the chain. The other nice thing about the Harbor Freight grinder is there real cheap. I paid 30 buck that's 3 sharpening at the local Stihl shop. Also if it breaks it's going in the trash and replaced with a new one. No messing around trying to fix it.

 

[fearofpavement]

For chain file size I have found that going to a larger file as the chain wears seems to work better.

Since I have a number of saws and just about every one takes a different chain I have some of every size file and I just pick one out that seems to fit best for the saw I am using. I don't pay much attention to what the file size is. If I wasn't old and could read close up I may pay more attention but I just grab one and if it fits I use it and if not I find one a bit larger or smaller.

One trick I have done in the past and has worked well is that I sprayed paint on a certain size file and then sprayed a patch on the bar in the corresponding color. ie, green file is for green painted bar, blue file for blue bar and so forth. I use my saws to cut with, not display, so the paint splotch doesn't bother me a bit.

Hopefully it wouldn't need to be said but don't paint the tooth portion of the file lest it be plugged up.