I've been so accustomed to sharpening my chain while its on the saw that I totally overlooked the option of using a vice.......until now. While considering a grinder, one of the features that I wanted was to sharpen chain off the saw. That led me to consider options of vice inserts to clamp chain without marring the chain or damaging the drive lugs. This is the idea that I came up with. I cut a kerf 3/4 of the way through the "tube" that is where the chain lies and scribed guide lines in the top to the angle that I usually file. It works well.
Cool idea. Would be great for all the chains not on the saws. What is the tube made of? From the pics it looks like. Nylon or plastic
I was thinking of making something out of a old bar I have around and making a flipper to bring the chain back against it. Gary
That plastic has plenty of give in it so I can use the vice to clamp down on it and it has plenty of grip without it damaging the chain. The reason for cutting 3/4 of the way through the tube is to give the plastic enough flex to clamp but enough rigidity to return to its original shape when I unclamp.
A flipper like a chain grinder has? That sounds good, but how would you fix the chain so it doesn't move when you file it?
That looks awesome. The radius at the top helps for all types of thigs. Member Homelite410 makes a vise specifically for chain. You can clamp it in a vise either vertically or horizontally.
Yeah, that's the sort of thing I was going for except his is betterer. Do you know what material it is made out of?