Want square chain with a round grinder?

Looks like a guy on AS is making it happen.

 

Not yet available but it looks pretty good to me. I think a consistently dressed wheel will be the biggest challenge.

Square Jig

 

Looks interesting. I wonder what the cost will be. Does it connect to a Tecomec style grinder?

 

I likee. As a toolmaker/machinist, I think I need to make one of these

 

I believe you are correct, a person could end up with a bunch of different type of cutters per loop.

 

Talk of $300 range. And it fits Oregon grinders so all their basic copies should be good (Tecomec, Efco etc).

Knowing the end goal and what a proper square tooth looks like will be important too. As a tooth gets ground back with time, positioning it will be interesting because there is no stop or guide for it to set against, like most grinders have. Maybe I’m missing something there.

 

I can square grind with my round grinder

 

x2 on that.

 

It will be interesting to see how it all shakes out as people get them in their hands. I have never run square ground chain, but if it was something I wanted to do much of, I'd just find a square grinder, but I like that this could be a viable option for people.

 

New you’re looking at 1,500-1,700 USD. Used is pretty high as well, if you can find one.

 

I knew new ones were pretty high, but I didn't realize used ones were so scarce and you're right, they're pretty high too. I guess I was a bit too optimistic thinking a used one could maybe be found for 500 ish.

 

You are right thou if it was something we wanted to get into I could see spending the money on a new grinder
Most are of us are firewood cutters and some are tree companies
I personally will take a round ground chain over any for I can hand file and I have the electric grinder to sharpen them
Also where I live round chains are more available
If I grew up where squares chains where the go to I obviously would be running a square chain

 

Once you try it, it’s a slippery slope… I recommend sticking to round unless you’re okay with going down a rabbit hole
Oregon 72CJ (3/8

 

Kind of a dumb question from a non metal worker/fabricator.

I noticed the edge of the chain he ground in the OP video turned bluish/purple when he finished. Is the hardness lost on the tooth?

 

Yes… you definitely don’t want to heat it up to the point where it’s turning colors. That means the metal became annealed (softer) Small/quick taps with the grinding wheel with pauses in between is good practice.

 

I will ask you Eric
3/8 chisel chain
Does round hold an edge longer/better than square ground
Same saw same size bar round vs square how much faster do you really feel it is

 

IME square holds an edge longer than round. It’s also a lot smoother in the cut. It’s no doubt faster too, but I don’t know by how much, numbers wise. What I can tell you for sure is I’ve had 3/8 Oregon full chisel chain on my old Stihl, bucking oak. I started with a square filed chain, made probably a couple dozen cuts before dulling it in the dirt. Then I switched to a brand new Oregon round ground factory chain (same chain minus the square filing) and it was cutting significantly slower than the square was when it was sharp. Not quite like 50% slower, but it was a night and day difference.

 

That is exactly the way I wanted the answer.
Do you think if o bought a square chain grinder that I could make my round chains square or at that point are you better just buying new chains
Just putting it out there

 

It’s easy enough to convert round to square. I only do it with chains that have at least 50% of their life left though. If they’re already filed back close to the tooth limit it’s kind of a lost cause.

 

The first chain I converted was rocked pretty bad anyway and needed to be filed back considerably, so it was a good guinea pig for me. I start by rough filing with a flat file, squaring the tooth up to get most of the material out of the way. Then I switch to the bevel file. I’m going to use this same approach with the grinder.