Electric Chain Saw Sharpener

[Ron Borowicz]

I typically sharpen the blades for my chain saw by hand but I just saw Harbor Freight has one for sale for $29.99. Does anyone have any experience with the Harbor Freight model?

[Larry Storm]

I have the northern tool version, works great.

[david privett]

over 15 years ago I bought a chain sharpener from harbor freight it is made in Italy cost 100.00 bucks and it works great. Now they have a clone of the same unit made in china sells for around 35.00. If all was equal it should work as well. I know I use the diamond wheels from harbor freight and they work well on my machine. Really for the price you can not go to wrong. One thing when changing cut directions the swing of these machines are not perfectly centered so the amount of cut the blade needs to be adjusted when changing cut directions each time. I hope you got what I was trying to type out.

[Roger Chandler]

I have used two of them in the past, and they work great. I now have a professional model, and gave the HF model to my neighbor who still uses it.

[Perry Hilbert Jr]

ten years ago, I paid 39 bucks for the chinese HF model. It works great. One thing I found, when I switched from a Homelite saw to a Stihl, I could not longer get a decent edge on the stihl chains with hand sharpening. On the cheap Oregon chains for the homelite, the hand file worked fine. I keep 4 chains, sharp. When one hits a nail, barbed wire, etc, I can switch to another. I sharpen when I have three dulled chains. The HF sharpener makes easy work of it. Just a touch with the stone does the trick.

[Thomas Heck]

Works great and simple to use. It has saved me lots of money.

[Jason Roehl]

over 15 years ago I bought a chain sharpener from harbor freight it is made in Italy cost 100.00 bucks and it works great. Now they have a clone of the same unit made in china sells for around 35.00. If all was equal it should work as well. I know I use the diamond wheels from harbor freight and they work well on my machine. Really for the price you can not go to wrong. One thing when changing cut directions the swing of these machines are not perfectly centered so the amount of cut the blade needs to be adjusted when changing cut directions each time. I hope you got what I was trying to type out.

Same here--I have the EYE-talian model. I have sharpened chains for friends before, and they've always told me that the result was sharper than a professional chain sharpening shop, and I took less off to boot.

P.S. With these grinders, you can set the jig perpendicular to the wheel, limit the depth of grind and touch up the raker teeth as well.

[John K Jordan]

I know nothing about the Harbor Freight model, but I have experience with a cheap sharpener from Northern Tool. I can't remember the name but after using it for about a year I gave it away and bought a better quality Oregon grinder. I like the Oregon far better. The best way I could describe the one I had was "sloppy", at least compared to the Oregon. I suspect a cheap grinder would be OK for casual use.
JKJ

[Brice Rogers]

I have the HF model and it works okay but is a little sloppy. I find that if I press a finger on the side of the blade to counteract the force of the grinding, that it helps make everything very repeatable. So, if you apply some care and discipline, it should work fine for you.

[David Castonguay]

Hi folks.....new woodturner here, but someone who has been cutting and splitting 8 cords of wood a year for heat for a long time.

I recently picked up the Pferd Chain Sharp. This company makes the same product for Stihl and sells it also under its own brand for a much reduced price. Simple, files both teeth and the rakers in one step. After sharpening went out and cut a 24" ash log into bowl blanks. The rip cuts produced long shavings and it cut much faster than normal. Sharpens on the bar in just a few minutes. For the price and convenience it is a GREAT option.

BTW, the forum has been a great source of information as I have been learning to turn bowls. Thanks for the collective wisdom and advice.

DOC

[Edward Weingarden]

Just ordered the Harbor Freight. There's currently an additional $10 off (at least in my part of the world).

[Doug Herzberg]

I've been using the HF for years. It is a little sloppy and I think it may take a little more steel than necessary because of it, shortening the life of the chain. I still have to file the rakers by hand.

[Wayne Jolly]

I was talking to a neighbor a while back and I mentioned that I had a very dull chainsaw chain. He loaned me his HF sharpener and I had a devil of a time getting it to hold the chain properly. Then I noticed that he (or someone) had assembled it incorrectly. When I fixed it, it worked!! So it's light weight, cheap, fragile, AND it works.

Wayne

[Bob Coates]

I found it sloppy also but had some shim brass that I was able to insert between the rod and the plastic for up and down motion and this took slop out. My son saw mine and picked one up but he had no slop in his.
Bob

[Brice Rogers]

Doug, I used mine yesterday and used it also for the rakers. I set the depth by trial and error until it was right and then locked it in. Then with my left hand I pulled the bottom of the chain loop to make it tight and rotated the chain under the grinder wheel. I ended up with all of the rakers the same height. Then I used a little dremel tool to soften the nose/leading edge a bit. The operation is a little clumsy but it works and gives consistent results.

[John K Jordan]

Doug, I used mine yesterday and used it also for the rakers. I set the depth by trial and error until it was right and then locked it in. Then with my left hand I pulled the bottom of the chain loop to make it tight and rotated the chain under the grinder wheel. I ended up with all of the rakers the same height. Then I used a little dremel tool to soften the nose/leading edge a bit. The operation is a little clumsy but it works and gives consistent results.

I find it easy to use a grinding wheel in a dremel to both lower and shape the depth gauges as needed.

The saw and chain makers recommend using a gauge to check the depth gauges on the chain and dress the with a file. https://www.amazon.com/Oregon-Chain-Depth-Gauge-40466/dp/B001SCQ6PC

I do use the little gauge to check but grind instead of file. Don't tell anyone but I sometimes lower them a little more than recommended on my smaller saws since I prefer a more aggressive cut. Use caution. Stihl warns that "improper lowering of the depth gauges may increase the chance and the potential energy of a kickback." They say this three times in some manuals.

JKJ

[Doug Herzberg]

Doug, I used mine yesterday and used it also for the rakers. I set the depth by trial and error until it was right and then locked it in. Then with my left hand I pulled the bottom of the chain loop to make it tight and rotated the chain under the grinder wheel. I ended up with all of the rakers the same height. Then I used a little dremel tool to soften the nose/leading edge a bit. The operation is a little clumsy but it works and gives consistent results.

I saw a video on using the HF sharpener to do the rakers in a Google search, but didn't take the time to watch it. I don't file them every time; just when it seems like I need more bite. I'll look into this though. Thanks for the tip.

[Jim Silva]

Have had one for years (HF) and while I don't typically like any of their tools, the saw sharpener has been great with no regrets

[Bob Bouis]

I tried one and wasn't impressed with it.

Northern Tool sells one that's 10x nicer for about $70 when it's on sale and you use one of their coupons.

https://www.northerntool.com/shop/tools/product_200673874_200673874