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Thread: Electric Chain Saw Sharpener

  1. #1
    Join Date
    Dec 2013
    Location
    Greenbush, Wisconsin
    Posts
    48

    Electric Chain Saw Sharpener

    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?

  2. #2
    I have the northern tool version, works great.

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Mar 2015
    Location
    cleveland,tn.
    Posts
    385
    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.

  4. 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.
    Remember, in a moments time, everything can change!

    Vision - not just seeing what is, but seeing what can be!




  5. #5
    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.

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Dec 2011
    Location
    Pineville, KY
    Posts
    250
    Works great and simple to use. It has saved me lots of money.

  7. #7
    Join Date
    Feb 2003
    Location
    Lafayette, IN
    Posts
    4,563
    Quote Originally Posted by david privett View Post
    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.
    Jason

    "Don't get stuck on stupid." --Lt. Gen. Russel Honore


  8. #8
    Join Date
    Feb 2008
    Location
    E TN, near Knoxville
    Posts
    12,298
    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

  9. #9
    Join Date
    Sep 2015
    Location
    San Diego, Ca
    Posts
    1,647
    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.

  10. #10
    Join Date
    May 2010
    Location
    Wallingford, Vermont
    Posts
    28
    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

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

  12. #12
    Join Date
    Oct 2011
    Location
    Colorado Springs
    Posts
    982
    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.
    "Never try to teach a pig to sing. It wastes your time and annoys the pig." Robert Heinlein

    "[H]e had at home a lathe, and amused himself by turning napkin rings, with which he filled up his house, with the jealousy of an artist and the egotism of a bourgeois."
    Gustave Flaubert, Madame Bovary

  13. #13
    Join Date
    Oct 2009
    Location
    Oakley, CA
    Posts
    322
    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

  14. #14
    Join Date
    Jan 2011
    Location
    Norristown, Pa
    Posts
    269
    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

  15. #15
    Join Date
    Sep 2015
    Location
    San Diego, Ca
    Posts
    1,647
    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.

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