Bump.
Anyone else tried this Oregon 310 grinder?
Thanks.
Philbert
Anyone else tried this Oregon 310 grinder?
Thanks.
Philbert
Oregon 310 Mini Grinder
- Thread starter Philbert
- Start date
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Starting to see clones:
Half the price. Says 'aluminum base' in the description. Other quality / feature differences? Cheap wheels or good wheels? Did they address the issues I identified in posts above?
Again, I hope that Oregon addressed these issues - it was my favorite of the mini-grinders, once it had the good Oregon wheels on it. Have not tried one since the posts above, slightly more than a year ago.
Philbert
Half the price. Says 'aluminum base' in the description. Other quality / feature differences? Cheap wheels or good wheels? Did they address the issues I identified in posts above?
Again, I hope that Oregon addressed these issues - it was my favorite of the mini-grinders, once it had the good Oregon wheels on it. Have not tried one since the posts above, slightly more than a year ago.
Philbert
UPDATE
Part of me thought about ordering one of the Forester grinders, above, just to 'test and compare' (like I need another grinder?). But the eBay seller just bumped the price up 15% to almost $50, and the warranty is only 30 days.
Philbert
Part of me thought about ordering one of the Forester grinders, above, just to 'test and compare' (like I need another grinder?). But the eBay seller just bumped the price up 15% to almost $50, and the warranty is only 30 days.
Philbert
MountainHigh
Selective Tree whacker
Yep - I just got an Oregon 310-120 on sale from local dealer. Would have liked a 410-120 but this a cheap way to put toe in the water. My first electric grinder after many years of hand filing - thumb injury can heal now.
I tried to see the issue you mentioned about clearance on this model, but so far it looks like they've fixed it, as even with a much smaller wheel after some grinding, I don't yet see how it would rub when sharpening from either side.
I doubt I'll ever return to hand filing entirely. So far so good.
Only complaint- it was confusing that for 3/8 chain you can use a 3/16 grinding wheel, and for .325 chain you can use a 1/8 wheel. Some simple language in the manual would have stated that grinding wheels do not translate to file sizes. Pity the poor folks that don't have Arborist site to help them out
Good to hear they fixed the height issue. I liked that grinder - Thanks for sharing your updated experience with it.
As far as wheel thickness . . . it depends.
Most people I know will use the 3/16 inch wheel on .325 chain. Some older .325 chains had lower profile cutters and used the 1/8 inch wheels. Some guys even use 3/16 wheels when the chain is new (larger cutter) and switch to 1/8 inch when heavily worn (smaller cutter)!!!
It's up to you. See what looks right, or which cuts better. You can also check with the manufacturer of your chain to see what they recommend.
Philbert
As far as wheel thickness . . . it depends.
Most people I know will use the 3/16 inch wheel on .325 chain. Some older .325 chains had lower profile cutters and used the 1/8 inch wheels. Some guys even use 3/16 wheels when the chain is new (larger cutter) and switch to 1/8 inch when heavily worn (smaller cutter)!!!
It's up to you. See what looks right, or which cuts better. You can also check with the manufacturer of your chain to see what they recommend.
Philbert
MountainHigh
Selective Tree whacker
3/16 wheel on .325 chain and 3/16 wheel on 3/8 chain?
It sounds a little more like art than science.
when I get into it a little more (just 3 chains so far), I'll likely have more thoughts and questions.
Thanks for this great thread!
Most of the time I run:
Stihl 35RSF on my 562xp
Stihl 23RS on my 346xp
Oregon 20LP on my EA4300
It sounds a little more like art than science.
when I get into it a little more (just 3 chains so far), I'll likely have more thoughts and questions.
Thanks for this great thread!
Most of the time I run:
Stihl 35RSF on my 562xp
Stihl 23RS on my 346xp
Oregon 20LP on my EA4300
This might be the best grinder for Stihl’s new tiny chain....pic o micro?
Get a thin CBN wheel. Ain’t cutting much.
Get a thin CBN wheel. Ain’t cutting much.
Thought Philbert would be here by now.........
I think that they are the best of the 'mini grinders' (assuming that they have addressed those issues from 3 years ago). Users have to be satisfied with the limited angle adjustments offered. I have not been impressed with the CBN wheels; actually prefer the 'pink' wheels, well dressed.
Philbert
With that tiny chain. Dressing to the same radius would be a pain.
Unless checking with razor blades.......
Do you do that?
I’m careful and don’t need to take much.
Have to be a one off wheel if from the Normal chainsaw wheel places but with that thickness wheel..... get a standard Norton wheel and have them dress the radius before shipment.
The chain takes a 1/8” file.
Thanks.
On CBN......many get too course or worse too fine a grit.
1/8" thick grinding wheel; dress it half round. You can dress the radius slightly flatter (or oval) if you want to make it closer to a 5/32" file profile.
Philbert
Think it would have to be thinner than that to get a decent hook.
I’ll try it on a 1/4” chain grinder........
The “big” chain is 1/4”
And that is the small end of a 1/8” wheel......same wheel for the 325.
And that is the small end of a 1/8” wheel......same wheel for the 325.
flyinfinn
ArboristSite Member
Hi @Philbert! Thank you for the great thread.
I've been hand filing and using a small dremel-style tool with rotary stone to sharpen my chains. I'm improving my filing technique, but if I lightly "rock" a chain, it takes a long time.
I would like to purchase a chain grinder, and I'm considering the 310, given it's price. I would be sharpening my own chains and filing by hand in the field. I would probably end up doing a few friends chains as well.
Would this be a good grinder to start off with?
I've been hand filing and using a small dremel-style tool with rotary stone to sharpen my chains. I'm improving my filing technique, but if I lightly "rock" a chain, it takes a long time.
I would like to purchase a chain grinder, and I'm considering the 310, given it's price. I would be sharpening my own chains and filing by hand in the field. I would probably end up doing a few friends chains as well.
Would this be a good grinder to start off with?
As noted, this is a good grinder for light work at fixed angles. Especially good for touching up a chain and evening out angles. If that fits your needs, it is a good choice. If you are expecting more . . . .
Another, less expensive option to consider might be a Granberg style file guide. $20 - $40. Takes a little bit of time to get the hang of it, but once you do, you will get very sharp, very consistent edges. Use your Dremel tool to hog off the damaged material and finish with the Granberg?
https://www.arboristsite.com/community/threads/granberg-file-n-joint-revisited.193630/
Philbert
amwphotos
ArboristSite Lurker
Good evening, I have been using a chainsaw for many years now off and on and have always sharpened by hand which has worked fine for me. However, I have now started doing more, and also have an Alaskan mill. I am thinking that an electric grinder might be useful, especially on a long milling chain. I'm happy doing a touch up by hand in the woods, but think that an accurate fixed grinder might be handy too. To that end I found your reviews @Philbert of the oregon 310, but wondered is it adjustable to a 10 degree cutter angle? Thanks for your help
Welcome to A.S.!
No. It is fixed at 30°.
If you are making your own milling chains, out of standard crosscutting chains, you probably also want more power, along with the ability to custom grind angles, which generally means a full sized grinder. A good basic grinder to consider woud be:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/Tecomec-Co...h=item58ec206e40:g:nu0AAOSwySFZfiXE:rk:1:pf:0
Philbert
No. It is fixed at 30°.
If you are making your own milling chains, out of standard crosscutting chains, you probably also want more power, along with the ability to custom grind angles, which generally means a full sized grinder. A good basic grinder to consider woud be:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/Tecomec-Co...h=item58ec206e40:g:nu0AAOSwySFZfiXE:rk:1:pf:0
Philbert
amwphotos
ArboristSite Lurker
Thanks for the super speedy reply. I've been reading quite a lot on this site. That' a shame the angle isn't adjustable, otherwise it looked like a handy little machine.
I have borrowed the in laws saw as its a bit bigger than mine, i got a 28" bar and oregon ripping chain so thankfully haven't had to regrind a crosscut chain. It's working pretty well though so a bigger saw might now be on the cards.
Thanks for the advice, super helpful
OOOPS!
Sorry. @kevin j is right, I spaced out.
The vice rotates from 0° to (?). The head tilt angle is fixed at 60°. And there is no option for a 10° 'down angle' tilt.
I still think that it would be better to have a more powerful grinder, and more flexibility in grinding angles, for milling.
I can't go back and edit my post, so I hope folks will read through to this. That's what they get for free advice!
(Great score on the used grinder by the way).
Philbert
