Oregon bench chain grinder

[Mr_Brushcutter]

Hi

I'm thinking of getting the Oregon bench grinder. My question is it any good? £300 is a fair chunk of money to spend. Will it improve sharpening acuracy does it stay sharp well after grinding. I guess i'm just looking for some feed back from owners of the grinder

Thanks

Andy

 

[mazurrj]

I have a 511a, Yes its very good grinder and worth the money to me.
I'd say yeah for a novice like me it does improve accuracy plus saves me time.
You may be pron to take off a little more than if you where doing it manually.
See what the regulars say from their view, but help me greatly. As far as i can tell it holds edge well.

 

[Greenthorn]

I also have the 511A, don't use it alot, I mostly hand file...but 2 or 3 times a year...I'll put most of my chains to the grinder...just to even them back out. That is a lot of money, 300? I got mine at a local auction, think I paid around 70 - 75 buck for mine about 5-6 years ago. I don't know what local shops around there charge...but it is 7 - 9 dollars to get chains ground at our local dealer. So I am satisfied with mine - although it did take me quite some time to get acustomed to. Your question

-Will it improve sharpening acuracy does it stay sharp well after grinding-

That of course depends on the operator, IMHO.
You can use different angle - yes make it razor sharp - but edge wont hold as long, just as well as you can make it really sharp - and edge will hold a lot longer. Really to many variables - and I don't know if I am making sense about that, that has just been my experience.

 

[kattcutter]

I use my 511a for anything over 20". I hand sharpen anything else. The Oregon sharpener works great for me, does a good job. For a $300 unit I am pleased with it.

Read the manual thoroughly; I skipped over a couple parts in my haste to use it at first, & I found I was heating the teeth up too much by not engauging the grinding wheel properly. I was pulling the wheel down into the teeth & they were getting red hot! (Hardened) The result was a "dull" chain, even though the teeth felt sharp.

The solution is to "bump" or "tap" the wheel into the teeth in a series of small taps. Most experienced users know this, but I thought I would post from my own experiences, since it is an easy thing to overlook.

Regards, kattcutter

 

[Rleonard]

I have the 511 with the hydraulic clamp. Really like it. Much faster.

Bob