Chainsaw grinder is the life safer tool for your heavy-duty Chainsaw. Whether you are a professional woodworker or occasionally cuts logs for your fireplace, the need of having a good chainsaw sharpener can't be replaced. The widespread use of a chainsaw makes the chain rugged, and if not appropriately sharped, it can lead to many severe accidents.
Chain with jagged cuts entirely deteriorate the performance of the saw and can give further damage to it. Therefore, the sharpening ritual should be performed regularly to ensure the longevity of the tool. If you are new to the chainsaw grinders or sharpeners, you should read onto the more for a depth insight on the equipment and its use.
Points to consider before choosing a chainsaw sharpener
However, there is not any typical rule of thumb applicable while choosing a chainsaw sharpener, but it's more dependent on an individual's requirements and budget. Grinders come with a few variants which include manual or electric, portable or bench-mounted, and are also available for certain chain sizes.
Chainsaw sharpeners vary in both design and method of operation; thus, you have to choose accordingly by comprehending your needs. Some grinders are designed to be portable, and others are meant to be stationary and mounted on a workstation.
Some sharpeners are versatile enough to be used with different saws, while others are fashioned to suit specific models only. Durability is another critical factor to look out for.
Therefore you should always have a check onto the primary features of the grinder before making the final decision. Considering the sharpening ability and the power source, we have divided the chainsaw grinders into three main parts.
Manual sharpeners:
Simple and easy to use
Comes with a metallic or plastic frame
Most models are lightweight and designed to be portable
Best suited for working outdoors or in woods, as they are easy to carry around
Electrical sharpeners:
Highly efficient and accurate than its counterpart.
These grinders come with a plethora of advanced features
Can be easily mounted on any platform
Larger knobs and handles help in sharpening chains more conveniently
Battery powered sharpeners:
Portable and easy to use
Adjustable features
The only drawback of battery powered grinders is a limited power source
There can be many other factors such as cutter type, chainsaw file size, chainsaw gauge, and more you can consider while buying a chainsaw grinder or chainsaw sharpener kit.
How often do we need to sharpen the chainsaw
How often you should sharpen your chainsaw, depends on how frequently you are using it and how much work you are getting done by cutting different types of wood.
A chainsaw is being used for high-volume industrial work should get in touch with a sharpener quite often than a saw getting used occasionally. For instance, if you are cutting down dry logs for your home fireplace, then maybe sharpening it once or twice a session will be sufficient.
However, there are no technical guidelines for determining whether the blade needs to sharpen or not, but considering the results, you can gauge the current condition.
While cutting, if your chainsaw is giving perfect woodchips, that means it's sharp and yet to get blunt. Whereas, if it is producing small dust particles, then it's high time to file the chain on a grinder.
A few sharpening hacks you should know
Add oil- A small oil drop is needed to be poured on carbide shift to enables the carbide whirling freely in the guide.
Not cutting straight- If your saw isn't going straight, the uneven cutting teeth could be the reason. The teeth of the chain from both sides need to be uniformly equal. If the right side of the chain has longer cutting teeth, it will comparatively take the lager bite of wood that the shorter one. For making both sides even, you can sharpen the side of the chain having longer teeth.
Chain not cutting- Did you ever feel like the chain is not cutting wood properly, despite being sharpened? If yes, you are better off lowering the rankers and depth gauges. The primary objective is to restrict how deep the cutting tooth plunge into the wood. But don't forget if you dropped the depth gauges extra much, it allows the cutting teeth to take too much of a bigger bite that will make your saw jam.
Level sharpener- This is one of the most common mistakes new users make by not leveling the grinder accurately on the bar. Always make sure when you first fit the sharpener, it must be flat on the bar, and the side screws need to be tightened up. To ensure the grinder is filed correctly, you can remove the carbide and pulls the chain forward, and it should move freely throughout the tool. And if not, loosen the screws and adjust it by pulling back and forth to enable the carbide to adequately inserted.
Safety measures for using a chainsaw sharpener
One should not proceed to sharpen the chain unless it's ensured to be tightened up correctly.
After sharpening the chain, oiling or greasing it is a mandatory practice. It prevents the tool from opposing resistance and breaking of the blades.
Always wear safety gears beforehand, indulging into any wood cutting operations. You should know what you are dealing with, and failure to any measure could cause severe injuries to you.
Make use of die when sharpening the chain since it helps you tracking the details on how many times you need to swipe each tooth. The aim should be to make the blade even as much as possible by producing the same number of swipes on each tooth.
Inspect the grinder before commencing to the sharpening because the tool is undoubtedly prone to failure and malfunction. Always have a quick check onto the primary parts so that there would be no probability left that can ruin your chain and hard earned money.
That's all for this comprehensive guide, and we hope you reaped some benefit out of this.