Pros and cons of a 511ax grinder

Well guys I have a chance to buy a 511ax that is basically new....to all of you guys that have one, what do you like about it and what do you hate.... I have heard some people complain about the clamping vise, is it really a problem...

Also do any of you guys know what "new" features the newest Oregon grinder, the 520-120 has that the 511ax doesn't....

And lastly so you guys feel with practice a guy can grind a chain as sharp as a stihl chain out of the box????


Thanks for any help Kyle!!!

 

I dont have a 511ax grinder but wish i did. I have never heard about any real problems with them. Alot of folks on here hand file (like me) and get good results. And yes with the right practice and techniques you will have some very sharp chains with that 511ax.

 

I should have said I also hand file, it's the way my dad taught me years ago.... I can definitely make a chain cut nice by hand.... also have a bar clamp granberg a guy gave me on this site....I tell ya I would buy one of those agian in a heartbeat.... can make a chain damm near to sharp, if that's possible....

I like the idea of being able to fix a rocked chain quickly.... no I don't rock them much at all, but if you cut enough it happens....and lastly I have a 18-month old little angle, a good woman, and a list of chores that grows/changes daily.... so sometimes I could sacrifice a little sharper hand filed chain for the quicker ground chain, just to save some time....an hour or two at the end of the night is better spent with them, rather than in the garage....

 

I have a 511a. It's nice for straightening things out again after filing a chain a bunch of times, or fixing the occasional faux pas. But I could get the same thing from the local guy I know that does a great job for five bucks.

As for being any faster? I don't know. I touch up at every fuel fill up, and rarely swap a chain in a day of cutting. I'm pretty good with a file, and after having the grinder, I'm glad I never spent a lot of money on one. Mine was a $70 Craigslist deal.

 

mike bayerl has one I believe. Might have some valuable input here.

 

Go for it.

You will pay more attention to the chain and you will pick it up quickly. Good hand filers pick it even easier.

Happiness is a sharp chain.

 

Cons: Price.

There are lots of knockoff grinders (Northern Tool, Tecomec, Laser) these days that can do the same job for a much lower price. Now they might not have 100% of the same "pro" features, but then again I'm not looking to sharpen chains professionally. I just want to keep my own sharp, and maybe do a chain now and then for my Dad and BIL.

 

Shawn have you been happy with the grinder ... do you have the 511ax

 

Do you have the 511ax model???

 

I have the Laser, which is the same as the Northern Tool version, just a different color. Paid $100, free shipping. I've sharpened a chain or 2 with it - very happy so far. I mostly use it for my milling chains, and it's good enough where I can usually achieve a smoother finish (for the first few cuts) than I get with my vertical bandsaw.

 

I have one, but for a multitude of reasons (excuses) I haven't gotten around to tinkering with it.

 

Well yep looks like you like it!!!!

Ya if I can get results like that, I would be happy...

 

I have a 511AX setup for grinding teeth and a northern tool knock off set for rakers. I would not be happy with the NT on teeth.

I hand file then use the grinder for damaged chains or if the angles get goofy.

 

You hit the nail on the head why I grind chains. not much time. I have a young son and a wife. I am the sole provider, and when I cut I need to cut not sharpen chains. I can sharpen at night or on a rainy day.

It's still practice to get your angles right and you still have to have the rakes correct but yes you can get a sharp chain. I forget what mine is a knock off of what Oregon model but I have the northern tool roughneck model same as timber tuff as well.

 

Do you feel that the Oregon does get the chain sharp enough to make you happy with..... I kind of planned on doing as you stated.... I will use the grinder after maybe 2-3 times of hand-filing, or of course when I have a rocked chain.....I just wondered how the chain cut after coming directly off of the grinder...

I will say this, if I can get a chain to what I feel is sharp enough, I will probably be using it all the time!!!

 

This is grinder I will be getting, it's only sharpened roughly 30-chains, so it is basically Still new....

 

Hello clemsonfor.... so I guess it would be safe to say that you are pleased with how sharp your chains after you grind them....yes I love that it doesn't take near as long to grind them.... I feel at this point in my life an hour of free time is really hard to come by.... I am literally always busy doing something....I feel the grinder will get plenty of use right now, and who knows I may like using it more that I think I will....I figure worst case scenario, if I only used it to fix angles and rocked chains, I will be money/time ahead!!!!!

Plus I am gettin it from a good guy, and it's only been used 30-times...I figure if I want one I have to jump on it... and I have.... it will be coming to Indiana here in a week or two!!!

Also I will be honest, I am obsessed with rebuilding, using, and sharpening chainsaws....wow I guess I am helplessly addicted!!!!

 

Yes I am happy with my grinder. that looks very similar to mine.

I can get them very close to factory. also a tip I learned from on here and others is that the angles marked on the grinder are close but not exact. inoted of 60° you may need to be at 58 or 64° , you just have to play with it and get the hook right on your cutters. The rakes have just as much to do with it. aND you will have to file those every 2 or 3 times depending on how much metal you take.

ONE tip I figured out is get one of your brand new chains and put it on the grinder and make the grinder match up to that chain so the wheel just kisses the cutter, then you will come pretty close to matching those angles of that chain.

 

Well change of plans.... just ordered a new Oregon 520 instead..... I think it will last me a good whole anyway... any of you guys have this newest model... mine will be here around the 18th, can't wait to use it...

 

I feel my results are as good as factory. A grinder is an 80:20 situation. 80% of the results of hand filing with 20% of the skill/effort. 80% is good enough for me.