New Chain Sharpener
- Thread starter Old51AVE
- Start date
Help Support Arborist Forum:
Hi,
New to the group from a search on GAMN operating instructions. The Timberline is close enough. I just picked up 2 GAMN sharpeners off eBay for a very reasonable price and since my neighbor wanted one for his saw it worked out perfectly. I very much like the mods done adding the second set screw to the device. The GAMN doesn't seem to need it....or so that I've seen yet, but it could be added to that as well quite easily. The one thing that I like about the unit I have is the set shaft that is detented for the initial setup of the device. Slip it in, slide the tooth until the shaft is in the tooth cutout and lock it down. It does a great job of correctly setting the height and initial cut depth. I'm surprised that the Timberline did not use that as well since it seems to be a great feature. I am pleased, however, that the Timberline cutters will correctly fit the GAMN. I was rather concerned about it when purchasing them. I tried to locate the old owner... James Shrode...to see if I could find a set of instructions for the unit.... I can use it just fine, but it would be nice to have them anyway. If anyone here has the instructions for one of these I'd greatly appreciate it if they could be scanned and uploaded or if I could be emailed.
Thanks.......and a great group here! Had I not retired from the film industry in Hollywood, moved back to a lakehouse near Atlanta and just have 2 70 ft trees snap in a heavy wind into my back yard I'd have never looked! Surprising at almost 70 that I can still cut over 140 ft of 22" diameter trees in just several days.....( I didn't walk too well the next few days, but didn't have to pay to have it done for me either! The newer chain saws are a lot lighter now and the vibration dampeners work really well...)
Thanks again for the wealth of information!
BTW.... The lake was so stirred up from the "straight line tornado" that I was filming it when the trees came down....one snapped about 8 ft up and the other simply uprooted. I posted them on youtube so my daughter could see it. The videos seemed to get a bit screwed up from uploading them...( they're perfect on my camera, but not so great on line), but it'll give you an idea of just how bad the storm was....and my poor canoe that was hit and got folded inside out when it was hit!
New to the group from a search on GAMN operating instructions. The Timberline is close enough. I just picked up 2 GAMN sharpeners off eBay for a very reasonable price and since my neighbor wanted one for his saw it worked out perfectly. I very much like the mods done adding the second set screw to the device. The GAMN doesn't seem to need it....or so that I've seen yet, but it could be added to that as well quite easily. The one thing that I like about the unit I have is the set shaft that is detented for the initial setup of the device. Slip it in, slide the tooth until the shaft is in the tooth cutout and lock it down. It does a great job of correctly setting the height and initial cut depth. I'm surprised that the Timberline did not use that as well since it seems to be a great feature. I am pleased, however, that the Timberline cutters will correctly fit the GAMN. I was rather concerned about it when purchasing them. I tried to locate the old owner... James Shrode...to see if I could find a set of instructions for the unit.... I can use it just fine, but it would be nice to have them anyway. If anyone here has the instructions for one of these I'd greatly appreciate it if they could be scanned and uploaded or if I could be emailed.
Thanks.......and a great group here! Had I not retired from the film industry in Hollywood, moved back to a lakehouse near Atlanta and just have 2 70 ft trees snap in a heavy wind into my back yard I'd have never looked! Surprising at almost 70 that I can still cut over 140 ft of 22" diameter trees in just several days.....( I didn't walk too well the next few days, but didn't have to pay to have it done for me either! The newer chain saws are a lot lighter now and the vibration dampeners work really well...)
Thanks again for the wealth of information!
BTW.... The lake was so stirred up from the "straight line tornado" that I was filming it when the trees came down....one snapped about 8 ft up and the other simply uprooted. I posted them on youtube so my daughter could see it. The videos seemed to get a bit screwed up from uploading them...( they're perfect on my camera, but not so great on line), but it'll give you an idea of just how bad the storm was....and my poor canoe that was hit and got folded inside out when it was hit!
Welcome to A.S.!
"The one thing that I like about the unit I have is the set shaft that is detented for the initial setup of the device. Slip it in, slide the tooth until the shaft is in the tooth cutout and lock it down. It does a great job of correctly setting the height and initial cut depth. I'm surprised that the Timberline did not use that as well since it seems to be a great feature."
Can you post a photo or short video of this feature?
Philbert
"The one thing that I like about the unit I have is the set shaft that is detented for the initial setup of the device. Slip it in, slide the tooth until the shaft is in the tooth cutout and lock it down. It does a great job of correctly setting the height and initial cut depth. I'm surprised that the Timberline did not use that as well since it seems to be a great feature."
Can you post a photo or short video of this feature?
Philbert
These photos aren't the best, but what I could get quickly. One additional thing....This unit, old as it is, has steel bushings for the pin and carbide cutter holes. Even this dated the unit has no play whatsoever in the pin guides and if it ever did they could be pressed out and replaced. Notice the offset on the guide pin. When it is placed in the guide and rotated to where the detent falls into the body of the device the pin lines up exactly where the cutter should be cutting so if you leave the unit somewhat loose on the bar and insert the guide pin and allow it to enter a cutting tooth it will automatically give you the correct height for bar mounting and put you exactly where the cutter will be cutting. It's a simple thing to add to the Timberline....aside from making the correct offset pins the detent in the body can milled in moments.
Also... I didn't show a photo of the cutter, but it is exactly like the Timberline.....or rather the Timberline is exactly like the GAMN and the one that came with this unit is virtually unused. For a unit that is 30 years old it is in remarkably good shape with no play or sloppiness in anything on the unit!
The only drawbacks to the unit from the Timberline that I can see is that you are restricted to the 30 degree cut and the chain stop does not have a micrometer adjustment. You slide it to the correct position and then lock it down with another thumbscrew. Once set it's fine, but the micrometer adjustment does allow for a fine increment of increasing your cut if needed. This hasn't been a problem for me, but it's not as precise to make minute adjustments.
Notice the offset of the pin end and it is the exact diameter of the cutter
This shows the detent in the pin's head aligning it to the correct cutting height
This shows the detent in the unit's body. When the pin is in the detent and also in the cutting tooth of the chain the unit is at the correct height and the stop for the chain can also be set.
This shows the other pin and cutter guide. Also you can see the steel insert ( I believe it is stainless steel) which after 30 years still has no slop or play to it at all. If need be though it could easily be pressed out and a new one installed.
This shows the alignment pin installed with the detent on the head in place.
Sorry about the appearance of the unit, but it just arrived today and I haven't put it in the ultrasonic cleaner or even brushed it off yet..... For $20 you can't beat it though....the entire unit for less than the cost of the cutter! I'd love to own a Timberline, but I like a couple of the features of this one better and also couldn't justify paying that much for one when I'd only be using it several times a year!
Also... I didn't show a photo of the cutter, but it is exactly like the Timberline.....or rather the Timberline is exactly like the GAMN and the one that came with this unit is virtually unused. For a unit that is 30 years old it is in remarkably good shape with no play or sloppiness in anything on the unit!
The only drawbacks to the unit from the Timberline that I can see is that you are restricted to the 30 degree cut and the chain stop does not have a micrometer adjustment. You slide it to the correct position and then lock it down with another thumbscrew. Once set it's fine, but the micrometer adjustment does allow for a fine increment of increasing your cut if needed. This hasn't been a problem for me, but it's not as precise to make minute adjustments.
Notice the offset of the pin end and it is the exact diameter of the cutter This shows the detent in the pin's head aligning it to the correct cutting height This shows the detent in the unit's body. When the pin is in the detent and also in the cutting tooth of the chain the unit is at the correct height and the stop for the chain can also be set. This shows the other pin and cutter guide. Also you can see the steel insert ( I believe it is stainless steel) which after 30 years still has no slop or play to it at all. If need be though it could easily be pressed out and a new one installed. This shows the alignment pin installed with the detent on the head in place.Sorry about the appearance of the unit, but it just arrived today and I haven't put it in the ultrasonic cleaner or even brushed it off yet..... For $20 you can't beat it though....the entire unit for less than the cost of the cutter! I'd love to own a Timberline, but I like a couple of the features of this one better and also couldn't justify paying that much for one when I'd only be using it several times a year!
Pages may be out of order but here is the Gamn OM. I wish I had a size #2 Set-up pin. I have a #1. Ron
Can't upload a file.
Can't upload a file.
Can't upload a file to a PM either. Sorry, RonI don't mind my email addy being here..... it's fxbillxxxxx Sorry.... I'd let you have one, but I only have the 1 and the 3! If you don't mind buying the cutter as well I believe there's one on eBay right now...brand new in the package with the cutter, pin and chain dragger.
Whoops..... my mistake.....it's a number 3 and the auction ended today, but I'm sure he'll be relisting. It didn't sell...
A decent machinist could take a 3 down to a 2 though.....
By the way....here's a clean GAMN!
Whoops..... my mistake.....it's a number 3 and the auction ended today, but I'm sure he'll be relisting. It didn't sell...
A decent machinist could take a 3 down to a 2 though.....
By the way....here's a clean GAMN!
Is that yours or just a picture? The OM in the picture looks to be the same I scanned. I'll try to email you a scan but not sure if I can from the home computer. Ron
No.... I wish I had found it! It sold a couple of weeks ago for $44 complete. I would have jumped all over it! Yes.... If you could try to email the file I'd certainly appreciate it.....or possibly upload it to rapidshare or some other free site. I know a number of people looking to find the instructions.
I saved it to PDF. Just can't figure out how to get it to you. For some reason I can't upload a file tonight on AS. Family member has messed up email from this computer. Maybe I can find time to scan it at work and send it to you or maybe this site will start working again. Ron
Changed browsers but can't respond to your PM but it seems I can upload - go figure. Ron
Weird stuff here. Can't upload from Firefox and can't download from Explorer. Nonetheless I think you got it all. Ron
Thank you very much Ron. I'll keep a lookout for a #2 alignment pin. If I can even find another #3 I can have one of the studio machinists make it into a 2 for you. I'll just need the diameter of the #2, but I'm sure I can find it out from measuring the ones I have compared to the cutter size. After that it's a simple job for a cnc mill.
Perfect.... Got them all and the resolution is great. Thank you Ron!!!!
Perfect.... Got them all and the resolution is great. Thank you Ron!!!!
Ahhh... I didn't realize that with the depth bar you can use the carbide cutter to adjust the raker height as well! I did get the bar with both of my units, but wasn't sure what it was for.....I've just been using the slotted guide with a flat file that's available for just a few bucks. I might just stay with that for the rakers since I'd hate to use the carbide cutter just for trimming them.....the flat file does those quickly with the slotted guide and can be replaced much less expensively. It's nice to know that the GAMN will do it though......that's one more thing that it does that the Timberline doesn't although it's not a biggy. I just like the solid feel and weight of it. You get a feeling that it will last a lifetime.....and to think this entire kit was only $20 in the 80's....and tool prices haven't inflated that much since then.
There have been quite a few of them sold on eBay in the past several weeks and most of them were in quite nice shape....all going in the range of $40-$60 ....some complete with carrying case and multiple size cutters and pins. My first unit was around $50 complete....my second...and I just bought it for a spare, was the $20 unit I pictured above, but for $20 including the pin and cutter you can't beat it....and it will clean up nicely if I put a bit of time into it....the worst feature being the oxidation on the stop wedge. That's come off easily and looks worse in the photo than it really is.
I'm actually looking for a couple more of them for neighbors here who have saws. We all have electric bench sharpeners, but it's nice to have something that you can use in the field, on the spot and without having to remove the chain. You tend to keep your chain sharper if you have something you can use quickly to touch it up every now and then while using the saw and not putting it off until you pull the chain and have time later on.
This is my other unit...
I'm actually looking for a couple more of them for neighbors here who have saws. We all have electric bench sharpeners, but it's nice to have something that you can use in the field, on the spot and without having to remove the chain. You tend to keep your chain sharper if you have something you can use quickly to touch it up every now and then while using the saw and not putting it off until you pull the chain and have time later on.
This is my other unit...
Similar threads
