Pros and cons of a 511ax grinder

Oh also I meant to ask you Bert, looks like you have a pretty steep angle on your grinder head... what if any chains do you use on that angle....t

 

I think I tried cutting that angle when I first got the grinder, I still set it a few degrees steeper than the yellow setting of 55° with good results as recommended to me by a friend that runs a saw shop. I've sharpened around 100 chains now and I have no regrets, I've had it 2 or 3 years. Most of what I cut is soft wood Pinion pine, Tamarack (Lodge pole). I really like the looks of the 520, good choice Khntr85 .

 

Hey Bert sounds like you got it down now!!!

I also have found that some of stihls chain seems to come from the factory at an angle under 55....this is my first grinder(I always hand-filed), so there is a lot to learn!!!


I have got my 3/8 chains were they are cutting great.... I ground a .325 stihl RM chain with the 1/8 wheel last night and it didn't come out cutting like I like, it cut, just not god enough....I had the same problem with the first 3/8 chain I ground, so once I get my angles dialed in I should be ok....

 

I am getting a 520-120 for Christmas.

 

You will love it... can't wait to here back from you after you use it!!!!

 

I really like my 520-120 Oregon Grinder.

There are refined off set marks to set angles depending on if your using the 10 degree tilt.
I dont think these refinements are on older grinders.

 

It doesn't matter if it's Oregon or Stihl chain, I never "match" the angles perfectly on a new chain. I'm told it's because they factory sharpen using angles that are only possible before the chain is riveted together.

David

 

I have the Carlton branded knock off (blue color) and another that someone dropped off. I use the Carlton for sharpening chains and the other for lowering rakers if they need a lot of work. I mounted them on a cart that I can move around, and added the bar rail grinder from Baileys as well. I have a drawer for extra wheels, bar tools, etc. and room underneath for a couple of 100' reels of chain.

I did use the pink wheels that came with the grinder, but have also purchased the CBN wheels (Baileys again) in 3/16 for full size .404 and 3/8 and 1/8" for 3/8 LP and .325. The pink wheels are very bad about overheating the cutters as you grind unless you go very gently and just tap, tap, tap the wheels into the chain. The CBN wheels were around $100 each but make the work go so much faster with less risk of overheating the cutters. I did add a switch to let me reverse the wheel so I can always grind "outside in", opposite the way I like to file ("inside out"). Anyone that really wants to use a grinder effectively should get the CBN wheel(s) or go all out for the ABN wheel(s); you will be ahead in performance and reduce the potential for damaging chains by overheating.



The Carlton came with a cam locking system that work well enough for my purposes, understand that I may only use it for 30 to 50 or so chains a year and primarily for recovering badly damaged chains as I buy a lot of old saws and some chains are pretty ugly when they arrive. Before I made the dedicated cart for the grinders I had it mounted on a board with a cleat so I could clamp in in a vise on another workbench.







It takes some tuning to get the chain vise properly centered so the cutters end up even length, so I normally grind one side, switch to the other side and check the first tooth or two and adjust the pawl position if needed to keep the cutters within 0.005" of one another.

I travel a lot for work so I often will go weeks or even months between opportunities to use the grinder so I made a couple of tags with "3/16" and "1/8" that I hang on the grinder depending on which wheel I leave on as a reminder the next time I touch it.

Mark

 

I use the pink wheels that came with my knock off grinder cause I dont do that MANY a year. I wrote on the wheels big with a sharpie for the same reasons you cite.

 

If you watch this video of the Oregon 520-120 I think there are some shots of the markings for the angle settings for 0 degrees and 10 degree setting.
So if your using the 10 degree setting then you use a different mark to set all your angles.
This is like a new tweak as older grinders and knock off grinders I dont think have these new marks. Plus in the book the setting for like a 20LPX uses 55 deg now instead of older tables show the setting at 60 deg. So I really do think they have added some tweaks to their grinder angles.

 

I use on my knock off closer to the 55 setting

 

I agree it probably impossible to match excact factory angels.....I do know it helped me to put a new chain on the grinder, and just get a general idea of the angles....

Also every chain that is factory that I get(Oregon or stihl), the angles in the top plate or more aggressive that the 60 or 55 degree angle they reccomend....


Here is a Oregon 91vxl(oregons lo-pro style chain)....this chain is straight out of the box!!!

 

That's one thing I did to try to set up. I took a new chain out of box and set on grinder

 

I use the Oregon 511 Pro model or something like that. Has a hydraulic vise. Bought it lightly used from a saw shop. CBN wheels, & a short learning curve. Get good results in a short time, & very consistent & sharp chains every time. No issues so far. Been 3 or 4 years & a lot of chains ago.

 

Yes I agree with the CBN wheels....I just got a CBN wheel a month or so ago and I can alreadybtellbtheybarebthe cats meow!!!!

You don't have to dress the wheel or do ANY adjusting for wheel wear because the wheel always stays in the same shape.... this insures that you are getting a more consistent grind chain to chain!!!!!!

I included a pic of the first stihl RS chain that I ground with my new CBN wheel!!!

 

And that is my personal chain that I was just touching up, so I didn't have to clean out the gullet..... I used to think(before I started using a grinder), that grinders took to much materiel off, well this is just not true.....you can just barely bump the cutter and just lightly touch it up!!!!,

 

That thing looks amazing!

 

Thank ya sir, I tell ya this CBN wheel is sweet....I know they cost quite a bit but they are worth it....never having to dress the wheel is priceless.... when the wheel always stay the same dimensions, you can get more consistent chains!!!!

I love the CBN wheel!!!!!

 

Mine probably look like that I just never look at them when I finish much. Haha

 

If you take "grinder" to mean the machine, it can take tiny amounts of material. If you take "grinder" to mean the average person who will remove metal from your chain for $5, it will probably take 1/16" of an inch.