Sharpining Chain, Chain grinder, TIPS, do's, n, don'ts

I have a Stihl USG, but I currently do not even have it mounted.

 

I do chains commercial, Close to a thousand a year., running 2 511ax units and an old Foley just for depth gauges. So I will start with the Wheels. They will need to be dressed with a stone to the shape of the gauge supplied. This you need to keep an eye on as after a couple chains the wheel will need to be redressed due to wear. There are different wheels available. But be aware of your arbor size, some units are 7/8" others are metric( 22.5mm I think ) almost but not quite the same. The usual wheels are vitrified stone types, an alternative is the resin based wheels. These run much cooler the the vitrified. Always use light short taps on the down stroke or burning/overheat of tooth will result. Oregon and Firestorm - soft vitrified nice wheels the big O's are pricy, Fire's a bit less, Molemab harder wheel works ok but a lot easier to burn with, cost less than o and F. I do not have a brand name for the resin based wheels softer than the O & F wheels so more dressing needed. The last type of wheel is a CBN ( $ 100+/- ea.) I am not a fan of these but some like them as form is permanent.
Set up : books say 60 deg top angle but I find that leaves too deep a hook, my recommendation is set the head for 65 or 70. Never advance the wheel where it is cutting into the tie strap, that is too deep. Book will say 30 deg for across the tooth, this a little dependent on the chain some are 25 deg. from the oem. Most chains have a end of use mark on the tooth that will also indicate the cross angle. If in doubt 30deg for small chain /saw combo, 25 for the heavyweights. Depth gauges can be done on the grinder by setting head at verticle and dressing the 1/4" wheel to about a 15deg angle or reversing the chain in the vise and resetting the head to achieve same, you can try to match the oem angle as well. There is a tool for measuring the depth gauge height. Mutiple very light passes are your friend, and make sure the chain is locked in the vise.
Note most of the grinders now are single direction grinding-away from the operator, so that will leave a burr on the off side cutters, it will not hurt anything provided you are careful and use the short tap approach.
Left / right cutter variance- this is something you also need to be aware of. So you will need to adjust the stop finger for the tooth between sides to get equal lengths. I sneak up on it comparing the cutters by holding left next to right. You can use a caliper, but it needs to be modified by thining the arms down some to get between the tooth and the depth gauge. Get within 1mm your fine . Likely more than that error measuring wise anyway. Hate to say this but do read the manual, as All I have done here is paraphase it with some added notes. Be safe take your time, hope this helps some, Chris note: Pico chains need a 1/16 or 1.5 mm wheel 1/8"(3.2mm) is too thick for these

 

Great Info, Thank You, for taking the time to share your knowledge Chris

 

So what about the tilt angle on the grinder ?
Some oem specs say 10 degrees, should I Worry about that or just set all at 0? ?

 

Do most people set up the grinder to oem specs for each individual chain?

 

No - most people just grind all their chains at 60/30.
Then there is the few that's left who have their own special angles or they are very specific about grinding each chain to the manufacturer's angles.

I grind all mine at 60/30 but the chisel chains, I do add the 10 degree droop.

 

I was at a GTG in North Central Ohio last Saturday and there was a guy talking to me about how he recently quit doing the 10 degree droop thingy because he couldn't tell any difference cutting with the chain.

Some grinders will not do the 10 degree

I still do it on the LGX and RSC chains.

 

Nice post Chris, I think you did a nice job summing up the process. I used to commercially sharpen chains too at a Stihl dealer with CBN wheels, was not a fan of the temper change from heat. I run vitrified and resin.

I know there are a lot of good hand filers that are on this forum, which is awesome, but when I ran my own shop I cannot count how many chains were screwed up by people hand filing.

+1 on short bites, or cuts. I always try to get in a rhythm and operate the cutting head consistent and take the hinge lash out by slightly pushing on the down stroke. Biggest mistake you can make is cutting into the tie strap, set your depth and keep it there.

If anyone that is interested in getting training on the basics, Foley-Belaw out of River Falls Wisconsin has a decent video on sharpening and you can purchase sharpeners, stones and accessories from them. Not being biased but they have been in the sharpening supply business for a long time.

 

Do you have a link?

 

If I remember when I get to the shop I will post a link to another firm in WI that has some real nice vitrified wheels for most grinders. 1/4 the price of Oregons almost identical as to how they behave ( for all I know might be the same without so much horrendous markup) Labeled Forrester. The rep says it is their house brand. The ones I have tried have been fine. I got a couple resinoid ones from them balance or arbor was way out of wack - not usable. Double +1 on staying off the tie straps - if your wheel is shaped correctly( of the correct size for the chain) and your depth is set no more than the original sharpening it is not an issue. For picos and a couple other very short height cutters I will use a 60 setting for the head most others 65. I do not see the huge harvestor chains much any more in my area, that's a whole different ball game.

 

WWW.ahlbornequipment.com link as promised

 

Was thinking about buying a diamond wheel for my grinder but a few of you said you did not like them.
Seemed like most people liked them better then the other type.
I am all ears!

 

IIRC , Diamond wheels are for carbide chain . Look for CBN wheels . They work very well,you have to be pretty brutal to smoke a cutter with them . Forrester, diamond wheel ,and bailet's sells them . There are certainly other places as well .
Edit: just noticed Chris' post with the link to Ahlborne's. They carry a good selection .

 

Ok will check it out, must have got my wheels mixed up, I thought there was a diamond wheel for regular chain.
Back to my other question with the right terms.
Do some of you guys think the CBN wheels are a waste of money and not needed?

 

Couldn't be more pleased ! The wheels that came with the USG were excellent as far as not smoking the cutter ,but the CBN's are better . They also leave a smoother finish.( whether that means anything in terms of cutting ability IDK . )I also like the fact that I don't have to mess with dressing the wheels profile . After I got mine from Diamond Wheel , I found the Forrester wheels at Ahlborn for less . But, that's generally how my luck runs ...... It can be raining $100 bills ,I reach out and grab an IRS audit notice .

 

I looked on Alborn's site, and think I found the right Forrester wheel for my old silvey.. It's an 8"x3/16" thick.. Very cool to know they exist...
And what type of wheel it's called... If it ever wears out, I got a source...

 

I bought one of those CBN wheels from the diamond wheel company and stuck it on my 511A grinder last summer. It ran smooth with no wobble. It does a nice job on the chains. It is 3/16" width as all my chains are either 3/8" or large tooth .325. I've been pleased with it.

The results in the wood seem good to me. Trying to judge results is sometimes subjective? Wood varies so much. Even the same piece of wood from one end to the other. Even using a stop watch? Probably best to look at the chips?

 

You'll still get dust ,but not as much because the wheel is not wearing down appreciably ,only the cutters. I use a couple of old hard drive magnets to catch a lot of the particles ,so that helps a lot . Put the magnets in a ziploc unless you like trying to separate magnetized filings from a very strong magnet !