Chainsaw bars and chains

[johnnytheboy]

I have a ordinary wee chainsaw, Ryobi something or other, but its chain is blunt as hell and its time to buy a new one!

Anyway I noticed Oregon do a chain sharpener, but it looks like it has to be used with their chain, so will that chain fit my Ryobi bar or do you need to buy a bar that suits a chain?

http://www.mikeschainsawshop.co.nz/oregon-power-sharp/

It looks like it would save a few bob in the long run, just not sure if bars are standard or not!

 

[Biker]

A file and a guide bar to resharpen the existing chain would be a LOT cheaper. Your call of course

 

[johnnytheboy]

Not if I factor in my time! and the fact that I just don't have any these days working two jobs! for me its a longer term solution that provides a fast fix!

 

[ozzy1977]

Surly you were taught how to sharpen the chain when trained how to use the saw?

 

[Biker]

Not if I factor in my time! and the fact that I just don't have any these days working two jobs! for me its a longer term solution that provides a fast fix!

Point taken, but you can sharpen a chain in a few minutes, perhaps not as fast as changing the chain and blade over for a new one but it can be done. Both my chainsaws still have the same chain and blade on them from when I got them new 6 years ago, a retouch now and then keeps them tip top. Granted I don't use them much but they get a real workout when I do.

Sorry I can't answer your question about the Oregon chain fitting the Ryobi blade. I would suggest taking your chain to an Oregon dealer and comparing chain profiles. Here n France you can buy chain by the length in certain shops and have it made up to your required saw, which seems to indicate that chains are much of a muchness rather than specific to a certain make or brand.

 

[Zingmo]

Oregon make chains. Your Ryobi may have an Oregon chain on it.
When the joints of my hands are playing up, I use an attachment for my Dremel. It eats the chain really quickly though, so it is preferable to give it a quick once over with the file every time I use it.

Z

 

[Nice65]

Oregon came out with this system some time ago, seems it hasn't died yet. The reps used to come round and run the saw against concrete or a patio slab, and then delight in showing us how it was amazingly sharp.

What it does is poorly sharpen the wrong side of the cutter, the top.

If you look at your blunt chain, you'll see the sharpened part is the hook shaped piece of steel beneath each of the cutting links. Not trying to be patronising here, but with your reference to bar sizes and thinking you need to chuck a blunt chain, you need to get a bit more educated.

 

[Ronnie]

You can sharpen a chain by hand in about 5 minutes. How fast do you want to be? I've never used a power sharpener and never intend to.

If you're running a chainsaw servicing business, are a professional forester or run a work gang then maybe a power sharpener would be useful. To keep your Ryobi something or other sharp I'd suggest a file guide, file, to RTFM, and to invest a bit of time in learning how to do it right.

You need to know the file guide angle for your chain, this varies. Take your saw down to a local dealer. Anyone with a lot of Husqvarnas or Stihls in their window should be able to help you. They'll charge you a little more than the internet for the parts, but if you ask the right questions will teach you a lot and make sure you buy the right ones.

 

[Ronnie]

Youtube have some good vids on chainsaw sharpening:

[video=youtube_share;-PTXj1VIlbc]http://youtu.be/-PTXj1VIlbc[/video]

 

[johnnytheboy]

Nice you need to read what I said rather than regurgitating it into something its not, I never said I needed to chuck a blunt chain, nor did I mention bar size!

Time waits for no man my friend, chaining the chain system to a self sharpening one looks to me like it would save me time for the rest of my life, that could be better spent doing other things!

It would be great to learn to sharpen it myself and one day when I have time to burn I'll very well probably do that and remember how many chains I wasted, but time is precious nowadays and chain sharpening isn't on my short term agenda!

I do appreciate everyones input if the system isn't that good, I might be quicker just buying chains!

 

[didicoy]

I use chainsaws lots. I do sharpen by hand all my chains. Eventually I have to replace my chains, then I buy new. They are bought off the roll and the seller will count the number of links I need, These are not cheap to buy. A few quid more than the cheap rubbish quality chains for sale on ebay. All chains come with a wear line on each cutter. It is a safety thing. Once you sharpen down to below this line, its time for a new chain. What most people forget to do, is file down the DEPTH gauge in front of the cutter link. There is a tool to allow the correct amount to be removed each time we sharpen our chain. I must admit. sharpening is a pain in the bum when all you want to do is cut wood. If I have to sharpen 4 times a shift, its a hard day. I always start the day with sharpening the saw. A blunt chain, like a damaged or worn chain is a dangerous chain. I have looked at the bar and sharpening attachment that you are on about. I've never used one. I have had good reports about them & have considered buying one myself. But most, if not all of my forester mates still sharpen by hand on site. We have various electric/mechanical jig type sharpeners knocking about our workshops and truck tool box, but they can make more work and eat chains. Your chainsaw manual should tell you what sprocket and bar size is fitted and the recommended chain size and therefor pitch and file size can be worked out by a chain/bar supplier. When a chain is sharpened and before the engine is turned over. Rub the chain/filed cutters with a piece of scrap wood. This will remove any burrs that would be deposited onto the wood when first contact with the running chainsaw is made, these burrs can instantly take the edge off a sharpened chain. Let us know how you get on if you buy the sharpener.

 

[demographic]

I tend to sharpen about every second tank of fuel if I'm cutting clean hardwood, more if its a bit manky.
There's a very good Carlton chain sharpening guide on PDF about on the internet which gives a good explanation of all the parts of the chain as there's more to it than some people imagine.

Personally I use a Stihl file guide for the cutters and a Husqvarna guide to set the depth gauges as I can't really get on with the Carlton File-O-Plate but the info in the PDF book is still brilliant all the same.

 

[Nice65]

It looks like it would save a few bob in the long run, just not sure if bars are standard or not!

You did

Mate, don't go with that crappy sharpening system. Learn a bit.

Bar, chain and sprocket sizes vary. All the info is out there, most of it actually stamped into each chain link. I'd post you some info, but I'm on my phone. And kinda sleepy

Best of luck.

 

[david1]

well chain saw chains come in standard sizes if you think small medium and large its sort of the picture.. old sizes used to be pico 325 3/8 and 7/16.. now there there seems to many many names. but that aside normally there is a link count and chain size stamped on bar of chain saw. but just take the whole thing to a shop they will sort you out, but ask them wot you need to ask for next time or just buy two chains .

chains get blunt by cutting the ground more often than anything else but I have found bullets nails and fences inside trees. I sharpen a chain when its gets a little bunt well before the chain has got over heated and case hardened. this way a chainsaw file will last weeks, but if I get asked to sharpen a saw thats been used until its so blunt it wont cut butter you can get through several files and the chain will have lost all its temper and never really stay sharp for long :-(

and thats my 2 cents worth 40 years of using chainsaws

 

[Dave Budd]

I sharpen my saws by hand, but then I would. I've looked at the powered sharpeners for other things beside saw sharpening due to the way that they work (as mentioned, they sharpen the points off your cutting edge and grind away more steel than needed, shortening the chain's life). Also, I don't use a file guide because I am so used to holdin a precise angle with a file that I find them more fiddly than I like, but that's just me.

My dad hasn't learnt to sharpen his saw (despite using one for 40 years for firewood), so he has 3 or 4 chains and rotates them on the saw as they get blunt. When all but one is blunt he takes the rest to the local gardening tool servicing place and gets them to sharpen his chains for him. Its more expensive than doing it yourself, but cheaper than buying new chains and quicker than doing it yourself too.

I would think that the gadget would fit your saw, most of these gizmos are designed to fit anything from a cheapy hobby saw to a mid sized pro saw. The really big saws may be too large (wide kerf/thick bar), but that's not what you have

 

[British Red]

I have a ordinary wee chainsaw, Ryobi something or other, but its chain is blunt as hell and its time to buy a new one!

Anyway I noticed Oregon do a chain sharpener, but it looks like it has to be used with their chain, so will that chain fit my Ryobi bar or do you need to buy a bar that suits a chain?

http://www.mikeschainsawshop.co.nz/oregon-power-sharp/

It looks like it would save a few bob in the long run, just not sure if bars are standard or not!

Yes, it uses a specialised bar. The bar has two lugs to locate the posts in the sharpening shroud on the saw tip.


Powersharp Bar by British Red, on Flickr



Powersharp Sharpener by British Red, on Flickr


Powersharp Sharpener ready to go by British Red, on Flickr

You can buy a package that includes the bar, or for subsequent replacements, just the sharpening stone and chain. This costs a small amount more than a standard chain but you don't need to buy files, so hardly any total price difference.

I'll buck the trend here, I think its a good system. Makes it extremely quick (a few seconds) to sort out a very blunt saw - or more importantly keep it very sharp.

I don't use it on all my saws, but I have a saw dedicated to logging up firewood - A Husqvarna 321EL. It is an electric saw, very light but remarkably powerful. The electric motor is quiet and emits no fumes - meaning I can buck up logs inside a barn in the rain during the Winter. I pick up and put down the saw all the time shifting logs and the 321 just stops when I release the trigger. I run that saw all day (8-10 hours) of constant sawing and I don't want to keep stopping to sharpen the blade. The powersharp system is perfect in that place.

Sure I also run a big petrol saw and keep conventional chains on that, my pole saw etc. But, that said, I think the powersharp certainly has its place, It does sharpen the outside of the tooth, but is set up to work that way, and after many, many hours of using one, I can attest that it works just fine


Chainsaws by British Red, on Flickr

Any questions, just shoot!

 

[greensurfingbear]

It only takes about 20mins to sharpen the chain on a 15" bar. Only time you need to replace chain is once you've sharpened it so many times the its worn down to the mark.

The powersharp attachment was poo pooed by a well respected arbocultural store who got a few in to check them out said something about the chain not lasting as long. Don't know as I've never used it so can't comment, I can see the advantage of it. I used to spend my lunch breaks sharpening saws that we'd used in the morning to use in the afternoon..... Being able to stick the power sharp on and getting a resharpened chain at the flick of a switch certainly appealed lol


Orric

 

[British Red]

My local store (a Husqvarna main agent) rates them. They sell all the sharpening systems from bench mounted grinders to bulk packs of files, service and repair saws and all the rest. As the guy said to me "they are different, people don't like change, but they work and work well. They are especially good for heavy users in dirty environments or who may ground saws"

There is little price difference if you have to replace a bar anyway - as you will need to now and again.

I see them like a Lansky sharpening system. People will say you shouldn't need one, but they undeniably get your knife sharp with minimal opportunity for user error - other than sharpening too long - 5 seconds is enough for a REALLY blunt saw.

The one thing I would observe is why its taking 20 minutes to sharpen a chain??

 

[greensurfingbear]

I was being conservative


Orric

 

[British Red]

It can be a pain to do properly - especially if you hit a chunk of metal in a trunk