New Chain Sharpener

[CoolCat44]

just got mine!

While waiting for delivery, I was keeping aside a couple chain for sharpening, then the Timbeline got here. Finally! What a nice quality tool!

Figuring how to make adjustment for the height, took me a coupe of tries. However, everything else is pretty idiot proof (hope not to insult!?!)

My 2 cents: For post-war chain, I will still be using my file, for end of life and almost worn out, still my good old 13/64 hand file + Stihl guide, but for light touch up Timberline is by far the best tool. And for regular sharpening also Timberline is pretty hard to bet.

Two thumbs up Timberline!

 

[OLD MAN GRINDER]

Got mine last week and just got a chance to use it today, sharpened the chain on my 660, 32" and the chain on my ms310 20", easy to use no problems, don't know if i took enough off or not but chains were not in real bad shape and i had just sharpened the 20" last week so just touched it up, if i am using it right it just sharpens the edge of the tooth and does not leave a shiny surface like when i hand sharpen, have a lot more chains to do but will hold off until i get a chance to put the ones i just did in some wood to see the results....overall pleased right now....will update later..

Bob....

 

[MGoBlue]

I definitely didn't get 40 sharpenings w/ my 7/32. I just emailed Timberline to see if I'm a minority with this prematurely worn cutter. I'm no rookie to using tools... I never rotated it in the wrong direction and I didn't take overly aggressive bites. In hind site would I take less, yes but this is a tungsten carbide cutter. Nothing I did should have caused such excess wear. I'll reply when I hear back via email.

 

[7sleeper]

Not suprised. But at the price it costs you should expect more.

How many sharpenings did you get?

7

 

[shootingarts]

Got mine last week and just got a chance to use it today, sharpened the chain on my 660, 32" and the chain on my ms310 20", easy to use no problems, don't know if i took enough off or not but chains were not in real bad shape and i had just sharpened the 20" last week so just touched it up, if i am using it right it just sharpens the edge of the tooth and does not leave a shiny surface like when i hand sharpen, have a lot more chains to do but will hold off until i get a chance to put the ones i just did in some wood to see the results....overall pleased right now....will update later..

Bob....

I definitely didn't get 40 sharpenings w/ my 7/32. I just emailed Timberline to see if I'm a minority with this prematurely worn cutter. I'm no rookie to using tools... I never rotated it in the wrong direction and I didn't take overly aggressive bites. In hind site would I take less, yes but this is a tungsten carbide cutter. Nothing I did should have caused such excess wear. I'll reply when I hear back via email.

Their reply should be interesting. With the magnification your images indicate the teeth on the cutter is chipped and broken, not worn and dull. That doesn't mean the damage was your fault but I do wonder if they are going to make that claim or not.

Hu

 

[avason]

I should be getting mine next week. What are you guys doing about the rakers?

 

[Clarkbug]

I should be getting mine next week. What are you guys doing about the rakers?

Flat file and a raker gauge. The TL doesnt have anything special on it for those.

 

[OLD MAN GRINDER]

Flat file and a raker gauge. The TL doesnt have anything special on it for those.

DITTO..

Bob....

 

[MGoBlue]

I didn't count how many times I sharpened with that cutter. I'd guess 25-30.

I use the Husky file guide for rakers.

 

[MGoBlue]

Here is the reply:

Thank you for the feedback. One tip that should prevent the wear you experienced is to take only a small amount of material off at a time. On badly worn chains you may need to make a couple passes. Also, you can first remove any burrs or rough edges that may bind the carbide by leaving the side screws loose. This is just to seat the chain then go through the chain and sharpen as you normally would. This should eliminate the chipping you had from the pictures.Hope that helps.
Thanks,
Phil


I'm just posting for the benefit of the members here. Hopefully someone learns from my experience. If you rock a chain, use a hand file first to remove the burr. That's the only thing I can think of that may have cause my issue. I love the Timberline and wouldn't hesitate to buy one again.

 

[greg986547]

I had the same experience with what I feel is premature carbide wear. This is a well made, quality tool and works well if..... you are sharpening chain that is "wood dull" only with cutters of nearly equal length to start with. My Timberline will be posted on the classifieds in a few minutes. sharpened two chains with it

 

[avason]

I had the same experience with what I feel is premature carbide wear. This is a well made, quality tool and works well if..... you are sharpening chain that is "wood dull" only with cutters of nearly equal length to start with. My Timberline will be posted on the classifieds in a few minutes. sharpened two chains with it

That's to bad...My should be coming in tomorrow. Would have bought yours.

 

[avason]

I'm sure you'll get a buyer from here shortly.

 

[Gologit]

I'm sure you'll get a buyer from here shortly.

No doubt. I've bought two for my volunteer trail crews. 15 minutes of explanation and demonstration and those guys, most of whom had little or no experience, are now sharpening chains like they ought to be.

The Timberline is dead simple to use and it works. If you have a badly rocked chain a couple of swipes with a hand file will lessen or eliminate any chance of scoring the carbide bit. I haven't kept track of how many sharpenings I get from one bit but it's a lot and more than enough to justify the cost.

 

[shootingarts]

I had the same experience with what I feel is premature carbide wear. This is a well made, quality tool and works well if..... you are sharpening chain that is "wood dull" only with cutters of nearly equal length to start with. My Timberline will be posted on the classifieds in a few minutes. sharpened two chains with it

I have a somewhat similar tool used to cut the lugs on a 1911 barrel. Works well for that.

I kinda suspect that the hardchrome layer of some chain teeth is rolling up in a burr creating a thicker piece at the angle of attack that is almost as hard or even harder than the carbide. I don't know the hardness of either offhand. Having to keep a spare carbide cutter on hand and buying a few replacements would take all the fun out of owning this tool for me.

Hu

 

[memory]

This may seem like a crazy and stupid idea but has anybody tried putting the cutters in some kind of small drill like a dremel or a rotary tool instead of hand cranking it? I don't know about you guys but my arm starts to get sore after a few passes. Sometimes I will do more than one chainsaw at a time and have to make a couple passes on some of those saws.

I do realize this couldn't be done out in the field but alot of times, I sharpen in between wood cutting since we normally don't spend all day cutting. I keep thinking of what would work and realize a cordless drill probably wouldn't work. Your arms would get just as tired from holding weight of the drill the whole time. I don't think a dremel would work because it has to be a special bit for it to work with a dremel. It would also have to be variable speed as well. I don't think you would want to spin it very fast. Surely there is something that would work with this and surely I am not the only one that has thought about this.

 

[Currently]

This may seem like a crazy and stupid idea but has anybody tried putting the cutters in some kind of small drill like a dremel or a rotary tool instead of hand cranking it? I don't know about you guys but my arm starts to get sore after a few passes. Sometimes I will do more than one chainsaw at a time and have to make a couple passes on some of those saws.

I do realize this couldn't be done out in the field but alot of times, I sharpen in between wood cutting since we normally don't spend all day cutting. I keep thinking of what would work and realize a cordless drill probably wouldn't work. Your arms would get just as tired from holding weight of the drill the whole time. I don't think a dremel would work because it has to be a special bit for it to work with a dremel. It would also have to be variable speed as well. I don't think you would want to spin it very fast. Surely there is something that would work with this and surely I am not the only one that has thought about this.

Just about every post on this subject, I mention using a battery powered drill on the low speed setting. I am approaching a hundred sharpenings with the first bit.

As for the previous poster chipping his carbide bit ... he was trying to bite off more than the bit can handle at that critical stage where the bit and chain tooth align for the final sharpening stage. This is where one has to let the bit work its way climbing to the straight part of the shaft. He needed to back off the amount of material removed for that pass.

My bit does have a couple chips broken off at the same place yet it still sharpens very well. Carbide is brittle, yet if you feed it gently, would not be surprised to see well over a hundred sharpenings per bit.

 

[memory]

What size drill do you use? The only drill I have at the moment is a Dewalt 18volt, I figured that would be kind of heavy and cumbersome to use when trying to be that precise.

 

[Currently]

What size drill do you use? The only drill I have at the moment is a Dewalt 18volt, I figured that would be kind of heavy and cumbersome to use when trying to be that precise.

9.6 volt Makita. It has a hi and lo speed setting and I run it on low.

 

[memory]

How does the carbide cutter turn in that drill? Is there any wobble to it? I have an 18volt Dewalt and since the chuck is not holding on to much of the cutter's shank, it does not spin perfectly true. I am not sure how much it will affect the outcome.

I really don't want to spend alot of money on another drill just to use for this tool. But then again, I am not sure how a cheap Harbor freight drill would work either. I also hate the idea of having another set of batteries if I went with a cordless drill.

Do they make a dremel or similar type tool with an adjustable chuck?