Shop Re-Sharpened Chains vs. Factory

[user 122190]

I can sharpen a chain in 10 minutes or less. If it's really bunged up then multiples of that. Most of my time is in R&R the chain and cleaning it in a tub with some solvent.

 

[user 122190]

An $80 to $100 bench sharpener is all any weekend warrior needs. I probably sharpen chains 10 times a year. A busy shop during spring/summer/fall maybe could benefit from a more expensive one, but I doubt it.

Or get a good one!!!

 

[bayard]

spend the 100$, you will get it worked out in 5 min.it takes 8 to 10 minutes per chain. light grinding.i do rakers by eye, with a angle grinder.

 

[CoreyB]

A shop sharpened chain should cut just as good or better then new.
Lots of decent sharpeners for home use. Granberg jigs work very well and worth learning also the stihl/preferd all in one is a fast easy touch up. Husqvarna sells one as well and for 30 buck hard to beat. Sharpen with something like that for 4 or 5 times then take to a good shop to even them back out. At work we have Oregon 520 with Diamond wheels and that works very well. But is over $500 each one (with diamond wheel) we also do depth gauges if needed. It still takes me a good 10 minutes per chain.

 

[BenK]

Not to muck up the thread but I recall a post recently (within the last 3 months perhaps) that tested all kinds of the same type of chain. NIB, hand hand filed, granberg something or another filed, etc and the winner across the board was the NIB chain. Maybe I have had a few too many white wine spritzers tonight but I recall the nib chain performing the best in that particular scenario???

 

[heimannm]

At the WKY GTG a few years ago one of the events was a chain contest, those that wanted to brought their best efforts in sharpening a fast chain. All chains were run on the same saw by the same operator.

The winner was....new chain out of the box.

Mark

 

[Woodblocker55]

Or get a good one!!!

You got deep pockets go for $500 Oregon one . [emoji106][emoji3]

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[aokpops]

Dremel

 

[Mac&Homelite]

I will have to say 99% of the time factory sharpening's (especially with brand name chains) is way better than what most people can do. I've tried the dremel sharpening attachment, but I found it to be quite awkward to use and removes a lot of tooth fast. Never tried a bench mounted one, but had some chains sharpened on one (by a Stihl dealer lol) that came out duller than I brought it in. No joke, but I could tell the machine wasn't set up correctly and was operator error. I much rather prefer to hand file, and I believe that you get more life out of the chain, as well as the benefit of never being reliant on someone to sharpen it for you.

 

[Deleted member 149229]

It ain't apples to apples but there is a big difference with carbide drills. I was a machinist for 40 years and on multiple run jobs we would get 150 holes with a factory drill. We tried sharpening in house and averaged 30 holes before failure. We sent the dull drills out to a company that specialized in resharpening them and they averaged 50 holes before failure. Needless to say we always wanted new but you don't always get what you want.

 

[Woodblocker55]

What I do is keep touching them up on bench grinder . Get about 15-20 sharpens per chain that's about 15 cord per chain . Had one last year I cut 20 cord . They start wearing back rivet of cutter tooth and start cracking then I stop using them .
Woodblocker55

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[Woodblocker55]

Other thing to note if I have let's say 2-3 teeth in bad condition I just leave them and in 1-5 sharpenings they clean up again .
No since getting wild grinding down 58 teeth to match 3 bad ones. I see local stores do this all the time ... But there selling chain I guess lol

Woodblocker55

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[Philbert]

Properly sharpened chains cut wood. Lots of ways to sharpen: but it is the operator that sharpens, not the tool.

1. Some guys (or shop employees) are good with a file; some with certain guides or jigs; some with a grinder. Other guys can ruin a new-out-of-the-box chain with the same tools.

2. 'Sharpen' is a relative term - beyond restoring the actual cutting edges, multiple angles on the cutter can be defined and optimized for different species of wood, for speed versus durability, etc. This could make performance 'better' than stock chain.

3. Depth gauges absolutely need to be maintained. It is in all of the manufacturers' instructions. Not maintaining them would be contrary to those instructions. 'Attorney' may be confusing low-kickback bumpers with depth gauges.

Philbert

 

[Woodblocker55]

Yes it's a art form all in its own . And take while to get good at it. But grind to manufacturers angles and results can be amazing.
Makes saws run longer and makes more chips..[emoji106]

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[Woodblocker55]

This all you need to make them better then factory . First timers takes about 5 sharpening to get the hang of it . And you'll be on your way .
key point is set vise to 10 degrees ( Oregon chains ) the right way and don't hit the chain links set the the stop down correct . you will say
wow I should of bought one along time ago ... ( that's what I said and you need to get good at dressing grind wheel to right radius . Gauge and
instructions come with it . only thing was bad in the instructions was they didn't explain the 10 degree vise very well .. otherwise its priceless .
I have 2 one for sharpening and one to set rakers .. Had this style since 2011 ( 90 cord ago ) before that I had cheaper Oregon sharpener with 4 inch wheel .
These are my findings others may differ ..

Woodblocker55

 

[Woodblocker55]

or this one
Woodblocker55

 

[Little Al]

I took 7 chains into the old time local shop that I really like, but it took them over two weeks to get all the chains sharpened. The only charged me $44 for all of them, which is overall a pretty good price. Now the downside. I put on of one the freshly sharpened chains on the 038MagII that has a 25" bar and did some test cuts on some 16" oak. Really cut slow. Next I grabbed my 036 with a 20" bar with a brand new 3/8" 33 RS3 72 and cut the same log and it blazed through it. Both saws are well tuned, so it's got to be the chain. Going to hand file the shop sharpened chain and try it again, then put on a fresh Stihl chain and make another cut.
Is this experience an outlier, or do new factory sharpened chains generally out cut shop sharpened chains?
In any event it looks like I need to start shopping for a Grandberg 106B.

This question comes into " How long is a piece of string" factory new robot macine sharpened chain will usually be to an acceptable edge, but if you have someone that knows his stuff his hand sharpened chain will be better than new. So factory is usually to a certain standard; shop machine or hand is dependent on the skill of the person doing the job

 

[ChoppyChoppy]

I can sharpen a chain in 10 minutes or less. If it's really bunged up then multiples of that. Most of my time is in R&R the chain and cleaning it in a tub with some solvent.

The worst one are hand "sharpened" with every angle WAY off and teeth all different lengths.
Or a chain ran until it was pretty much just making smoke instead of cutting.

Some of those take 3 passes on the grinder, or a pass to the trash can.

 

[Jet47]

This question comes into " How long is a piece of string" factory new robot macine sharpened chain will usually be to an acceptable edge, but if you have someone that knows his stuff his hand sharpened chain will be better than new. So factory is usually to a certain standard; shop machine or hand is dependent on the skill of the person doing the job

Agreed.
The first thing I do with a new chain is hand file it.
I have never seen a NIB chain be able to cut with a properly hand filed one.

 

[mohick]

10$ per chain what a dam screw!!!! And I thought gas station owners were gougers, I would buy new chains and pitch the old ones before i would pay 10 bucks for ones that never cut worth spit again !!