Harbor Freight Chain saw sharpener review and modification
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- čas přidán 8. 12. 2020
- In this video, we are going to unbox the Harbor Freight chain saw sharpener. We will also address issues in the quality of the saw and then put it through its paces. Then we recap and see if the saw is worth it compared to the competitors that are 7-10 times as much.
- Jak na to + styl
I’ve had my Chain sharpener for so long I can’t remember. I have found it a true time saver, having different brands of saws all my chains sharpen well and can be sharpened many times. I’m careful to set the blade for a shallow cut extending the life of the chains.
mount the grinder on a piece of angle iron and when you need it just clamp it in a vise works great
I have an older previous model of one of these and they are 100 percent better. Everything is alligned and it works great. I can sharpen chains very fast with it.
My chainsaw sharpener had all of the problems you listed. GREAT VIDEO. Another item I would add is "don't grip the clamping brake too hard" I pulled the cable right out. I have a 3d printer so instead of the large washer with the larger hole. I 3d printed a washer .850" OD with a .050" deep counterbore .455" in diameter. and a .150" hole through the center. It took me 7 minutes to print it. To stabilize the stop finger I removed the axle it pivots on and removed .035" off of the end. I also bent the stop finger to get it more centrally located. After that I sharpened 5 chains in a row with no problem. Thanks again .
Been having mine for years. Still working just fine.
This has great “features", so tweaking it made a huge difference and for that price it’s a bargain. I think some spray coolant on each side of the wheel would give a sharper edge, along with a Slower "wipe" with the wheel especially when you retract. Coolant = water - two drips of dish soap to make it a little slick. Just whetting the wheel will keep it from clogging/glazing and burning the cutting edges, which softens the steel right where you don’t want. When the quality falls short it makes sense to repair it as you did. Thanks for the video, think I will get one.
Great instructional DIY video. I'm not expecting a "plug and play" electromechanical jig out of the box from Harborfreight. But an immediate modification and enhancement that is both a safe and practical application for my needs. These modifications are essential to the low prices "made in China" offered to the US consumer. You want higher quality, you pay a premium for it. If you want cheaper alternative with your own ideas, its the way to go. I've had great success with Harborfreight Tools over the years. Their newer lines of power tools are excellent of just a few years ago. Thanks again for the great video. . .
I've had my chainsaw sharpener that I got from harbor freight 10 years ago got the same grinding blade on there and probably have sharpened 500 chains with it and it's still works as good as the day I got it
Mine blade rounded out and the cut into the teeth are not accurate.
@@thorthunder3227, the profile of the edge of disc may need adjusting, correcting with carborundum dressing brick. Or the disc could be clogged with crud & need dressing to expose fresh grit.
@@thorthunder3227they sell new blades for the grinder. They are a wear item
Thanks for the video man. Looking forward to cleaning up all my hand filed chains and getting the teeth back to the same size again!
Just ordered this machine, thankx for posting these mods. Great video
it is a very good chainsaw sharpener, this chicago sharpener is terrific, economic, but good enough to do the job. it saves me tons of money to buy chains.
I don't know what you guy's expired but I have no problem and love mine
I found that there was way too much slop in the chain stop system. I took it apart and used a razor blade to cut off the flash so the washers would sit flush. I added a washer to tighten things up a bit.
I also found that the metal part that acts as a stop for the chained had too big of a loop so the chain-stop flopped all over the place. I tightened the loop until the metal chain stop fit snug on the plastic shaft.
There was another area that caused a lot of slop in the system. That was the plastic shaft going into the plastic shaft holder. I used shrink tubing to fill the gap.
Once I got done fiddling with the chain stop system, it worked like a dream.
It is well designed, but the manufacturing tolerances are terrible.
Mount the sharpener to a 2x4 narrow side and mount that into your vice. "Bob's yer Uncle"
You should have put that washer on the inside of the plastic chain stay arm. That would have moved the metal stopper out the width of the washer and it would have then reached the tooth without having to bend it.
Thanks for posting i just got one
glad to see this needed some help with the play so i know before i buy one of these. I wish the back arm had a pivot screw so i could adjust the linear cut into the teeth.
I NEVER HAD ANY PROBLEM WITH MINE LIKE YOU HAVE HAD.
I just sharpened 8 chains and was curious of other brands. I thought my Northern Tool chain grinder was a POS until I saw this but if you only paid $30 its not bad. That little sprocket/knob to advance the chain really sucks. Mine I manually advance for better seating and chain control but the quality issues are similar just not as drastic. I wouldn't have cut up that melamine and drilled holes in my workbench though. I lagged mine to a 2X4 and clamp it in my bench vise. Also - you really should'nt use the that choppy stroke with a solid abrasive wheel like that bc it could shatter. Nice steady pressure.
I just bought one a few days ago and the new ones have a different bottom that sets against the work bench or mounting board. I just used a short piece of 2x4 and a couple of large headed wood screws. I clamp it in my vise when I need to use it. On the chain stop I used brass shim stock and made bushings for both the base and the stop piece. I then used a small ball peen hammer to cup the original washers and they work okay now. Also had to file the ridges and flat spots off of the base pivot point for the chain stop. The main pivot for the grinder head has too much slack and can be pulled or pushed too far when cutting so that will be my next thing to modify. Other than those things it works great for the price. I hit a screw with my first use chain and this saved it. I have a bunch of files and one of those weird new clamp on the bar Chinese diamond hand crank sharpeners. The Chinese one I got is pretty crappy and does work if you have a lot of patience. Some of the files work, but they all get dull really quick from my experience. Thanks for posting the video!
Thank you for this excellent video.
On many of the low priced products some tinkering and mods can make them worth it provided one is mechanically minded & capable. For those who cannot or choose not to do mods, then higher price ready to use products are available. Most of the time I am price driven and I am willing to modify the product to its best use condition. I am pretty capable in most instances.
Thank you brother
Good video thanks for sharing. I have two chainsaws one uses 3/8'' p and the other 3.25''. Can the same grinding disc be used for both chains or do I have to buy different discs for each one?
The “Chain stop” goes behind the tooth not to the side 😆
Find the shortest link and set the saw up to that.
Gheeesh / I think you need a drill bit sharpener too 🤔
I have 4, that's my favorite,brake handle makes it!!
My sharpener doesn't have the chain advance wheels like that. I'm looking for a new tooth stop. Once you use this, the stop will be cut up on both sides. Set the depth properly and you can probably lower the rakers, too.
And I thought it was just me being particular about how a tool should work.
So,
I actually used a plumbing seal from a toilet water supply line.Perfect ID and much thinner than a washer. Put that behind the plastic. A little lithium grease under the supplied washer and loctite the screw.
The misguided stop...I thought about bending the metal flapper, but instead used my heat gun and reset / adjusted / tweaked the molded plastic.
Also,
I would have liked to see if the other side aligned up correctly. Did you have to adjust the stop flapper?
...Apparently I do.
After all this, I wonder how well this chain will cut tomorrow?
Gotta take out a coyote's spy tree...
Do you have a drill press cus if you have a drill press you can mount it to your drill press
man! who ever makes those sharpeners for hf has really made a piece of junk out of it, I bought one from hf 16 years ago and it still works great, just dress wheel and renew it every couple of years
Hey dude, how dull are your drill bits, maybe a bit sharpener.
I'm going to buy another one of these for my chainsaw. The one I have now, I've yet to set it up. But I guess for good reasons. I'm going to use the first one for sharpening my bandsaw for sawmill and buy a secondary for chainsaws. Had someone tell me they bought one of these for sharpening his bandsaw blades (actually the guy that sold me the sawmill I have now.) But sent him this video so maybe if he buys another then he can make some of these changes to his, to make lifeca little easier. I'm thinking of clamping mine to wood also, so I can just use it on the tailgate of my truck. Might make things easier also.
Let me ask you something if it's alright. Why do they use a round file. If this one Cuts just straight. Also on my Oregon box it says ripping chain chisel chain semi chisel chain. could you do all of these
I round file with the right diameter for the blade hook with make a perfect edge as the apex of the circle will be just about at the cutting edge. This grinder works great for getting them all squared away but in the field a file will put the edge back on once you dull it. And to answer you question yes you could do all of the teeth on those chains.
Why not just take down the plastic a bit ?
Is this sharpener good for a full chisel chain?
The worst thing about these is the slop in the head. The head wobbles left and right, when you grind... making a radius instead of a sharp edge. -) There is a .341 pin in a .355 hole. Get a 4 1/2 inch long .375/10mm pin and a .375/10mm reamer/drill bit. Need snap ring pliers to disassemble.
Are you sharpening a semi-chisel chain here? Looks like some of the teeth are rounded like a semi...
I have the same sharpener and never had to make any alterations to it to make it work properly. Mine is about 8 years old, maybe quality has suffered.
🙂👍☕
Similar machine in New Zealand is around $100!!!!
I bought one about 2 years ago and it was fine on adjustments, sharpened my Stihl MS171 chain twice and the piece of shit is dead, I won't waste my money on another one!
Never should of bent that chain stop. Should of put a washer down by spring and made sure it was attached correctly by spring.
When you buy from Harbor Freight take what ever you bought out in the parking lot EXAMINE it closely. They have no problem letting you return it and pick out another one with no problem. Adding a washer, grinding a 1/16 of an inch, etc. isn't a big deal for the price you pay for pretty decent tools.
Great advise!!
The stone turns into the cutter and that is wrong. you sharpen a cutter to the front of the cutter. IF the Moter reverse, then the tool would be correct.
FInd which side of the angle cuts to the front of the cutter and leave it. Just flip the chain around
WHY DIDEN'T YOU JUST BUY ONE OF THOSE ONES THAT SNAPS ON THE END OF THE CHAINSAW AND RUN IT....
And would cost $200, sadly.
Looks like a big peice of wobbly plastic junk to me.
Dude needs watch you tube videos and quit making them
Piss poor pitiful
unclear diction. hard to understand
What the fuck is that thing? A bicycle or a chain sharpener? 😂
That is crap you must sharpen the gullet..........