Armorbilt 350W Electric Chainsaw Sharpener - $91.20 Delivered via Outbax Camping eBay

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SteveAndBelle on 19/01/2017 - 12:20 ebay.com.au (151 clicks)
Last edited 19/01/2017 - 12:40 by 1 other user

COMMIT20

Have been filing my chainsaw chains for several years and although it seems to work 'OK' and I know all the benefits of filing I just can't be bothered wasting an hour of my life sharpening the thing every time I want to 'quickly' fell a few trees and cut a few branches. I'm already aware that using one of these will greatly reduce the working life of my chain but I'm keen to give it a try as I just can't be stuffed filing those damn teeth by hand anymore, urrgghhh.

Anyway, seems to be a decent unit with ultimate adjustability so for $91.20 Delivered I thought I may as well give it a go. Thought it may be beneficial for others too.

UPDATE Just found a similar if not identical unit for $75 from SWARTS

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• 

  edrift on 19/01/2017 - 12:26

  How much does just getting a new chain cost?

  • 

    SteveAndBelle on 19/01/2017 - 12:28

    New chain for mine is $20-$30 so yes I could buy a few and keep them in stock but over the longer term I'll need to sharpen them one day anyway.

  • 

    hoxygt on 19/01/2017 - 12:42

    +1

    Its irrelevant, when cutting you can need to sharpen every 30min or minimum every couple of hours, you're not going to throw chains away continuously!

    • 

      SteveAndBelle on 19/01/2017 - 12:45

      Hey Hoxygt, as a casual-ish Chainsaw-er I was tempted to get a Tungsten-Carbide tipped chain as although expensive and non-sharpenable it will stay very sharp for a very long time. Can you (or anyone else) comment on them? Not cheap though… anything from $100-$300 each chain! Ow.

    • 

      edrift on 19/01/2017 - 12:45

      I was thinking from a low use diy perspective it might be easier just to buy a couple of spare chains and sharpen by hand every so often

      • 

        SteveAndBelle on 19/01/2017 - 13:04

        Yeah, I already have two spares and thought the same thing… but it still means I've gotta sharpen them :(

      • 

        hoxygt on 19/01/2017 - 16:23

        @SteveAndBelle:

        I'm only casual too but have a big session once in a while. Can't comment on the tungsten carbide, I've just touched mine up as needed, which can be frequently if the going is tough!

        All comes down to frequency of use I suppose.

• 

  hooray on 19/01/2017 - 12:29

  It would won't to be very good. I've been sharpening my chainsaw chains on a similar looking unit one from trade tools that cost $45. Aldi sell one occasionally that also looks the same for under $50. I sit down and sharpening 20 chains at the same time and put them in sandwich bags ready to swap over as required

  • 

    SteveAndBelle on 19/01/2017 - 12:36

    Yeah, had a look at the current TradeTools offering (not sure if the same as yours). It's $52.20 but seems to be identical to the Bunnings/Ozito one for $49: https://www.bunnings.com.au/ozito-85w-chainsaw-sharpener_p33… I'm really not sure what the benefits are across all the different types but I did read that more adjustability is key as it gives more control over the grind therefore giving better overall life to the chain. Without owning or using them all I obviously wont know but hey this one is a start ;)

• 

  BlinkyBill on 19/01/2017 - 13:17

  Sharpeners regularly come up at Aldi for UNDER $40. I think I bought my on a whim when it was on clearance for $20. Works great, would have used it about 10 times in 2 years (I cut a lot of firewood).

  • 

    SteveAndBelle on 19/01/2017 - 13:20

    Lots of different sharpeners available but I'm the first to admit I don't know the pros & cons of each type. Is your ALDI one like the one above?

  • 

    Spam Service on 19/01/2017 - 14:23

    How does an electric one compare to using a chainsaw file? I've only ever used files and haven't considered using a machine since it doesn't take long anyway.

    • 

      BlinkyBill on 19/01/2017 - 14:38

      I find it quicker. Once you get it setup you can smash thru a chain in no time

    • 

      SteveAndBelle on 19/01/2017 - 14:44

      I must be doing it wrong. Takes me about an hour to sharpen my 20" Husky chain with the proper guides etc. and I still don't really know if I'm doing a good enough job because although it seems to cut OK each time I really have no comparison. Felled a medium size Peppermint last week after only about 20mins of very basic work on a few baby Wattyls and it just seemed to take forever so the first thing that came to mind was that I'm not sharpening the chain properly but as it takes me so long with a file I thought a machine may kill two birds ie. save time and prove/disprove my file method. We'll see…

• 

  ghostknife on 19/01/2017 - 15:55

  +2

  I don't want to say it but you're probably doing it wrong, sorry. I've been sharpening chains for 25 years and I just go by feel and knowledge these days, BUT probably the worst thing you can do is use one of these. If you don't know what a properly functioning and sharpened chain is supposed to be like then this won't help. I'm not trying to be an ass here, just trying to impart some wisdom that you need to practice and get to know how to do it by hand, one slip with this and your chain is ruined anyway. IMO the best and easiest tool/guide to use to learn for care free sharpening is the Husqvarna roller guide.

  https://www.arbormaster.com.au/shop/outdoor-power-equipment/…

  I'm in the SES and I looked after 20+ saws of all sizes and 40+ spare chains and I did them all by hand. There was a collection of "labour saving" machines previous people had used and they all just screw chains up or take even longer, it should take 5 mins to sharpen a blunt (not destroyed) chain. 3-5 correctly angled passes of the file on each cutter

  Even if you're using this to sharpen what nobody realises is that you also need to dress the sharpening wheel to the proper shape after every chain or it's just going to start cutting all the wrong angles and make cutting wood even worse. Don't forget to check the rakers/depth guides or your super sharp chain is cutting air anyway.

  Also you need to buy decent chains, if you bought it from Bunnings and it's made in China it's complete crap. Carlton, Stihl, Husqvarna, Oregon. Carlton is my preference because they still use hardened cutters/teeth and it's well priced, I'd buy stihl but it's so damn overpriced, most Husqvarna chain available here is probably made by Oregon anyway. There's a guy on eBay (I'm not associated) called [chainsandblades], he'll make whatever size you want in Carlton.

  Bonus tips:
  Always use semi-chisel chain, our hardwoods will just kill full-chisel chain too quickly.
  Wattle trees suck, some of the hardest crapiest wood you can cut ;)
  Vallorbe round files, Vallorbe flat files, no other files required
  Sharpen the chain on the saw, in a vise and tighten the chain tighter than you'd use for cutting, loosen it off after. This prevents the chain from wobbling (imperceptibly) while sharpening, which gives wrong angles, we're only talking a few degrees here folks, it makes the difference.

  Safe cutting. :)

  • 

    Spam Service on 19/01/2017 - 16:15

    +1

    Thanks for the info - very useful.

    How does the Husqvarna roller guide work? I've only ever used a file with a file holder guide, does the roller guide replace a regular file holder guide?

  • 

    SteveAndBelle on 19/01/2017 - 16:15

    +1

    Excellent post GhostKnife! Thanks.

    OK, to give you some background… I paid for a 2-day Chainsaw Course even before I purchased my Saw as I'm inherently paranoid about crazy dangerous devices such as these. Very very glad I did the course as it covered all the basic dos and donts plus we spent the majority of an afternoon learning how to sharpen the chains on the massive old Stihl Saws we were given to use. We used files & roller type guides on the course so when I bought my Chainsaw soon after (A Husky Rancher 20" direct from the US) I kitted myself out with all the accessories including two extra Husky chains, the Husky Roller Guide & File Kit, Husky Helmet/Visor/Face Guard and Husky Cut Proof Pants and Gloves. The accessories cost as much as the saw itself but hey I wanted to do it as safely as possible and that's just part of the setup price. I also know there are many Tiger Snakes on the property which is another reason I didn't mind paying $300+ for the cut-proof pants.

    Anyway, I'm glad you said Wattles are hard/crappy to cut because that's the majority of what I have to deal with. Maybe 20 minutes of non-stop Wattle cutting is prematurely blunting the chain? Maybe I am sharpening the proper way without even knowing it!? Hmmmm. It's just very frustrating when I go further & further out of my way to sharpen the chain each time just to end up in the same situation of working with a blunt chain after only about 20 minutes. It has made me question & review everything about my chain sharpening and wood cutting technique hence the purchase of this sharpener. I just refuse to spend another HOUR session sharpening the chain when I'm not even a professional tree lopper.

    Cheers, I'll keep all this in mind next time I use the beast. Maybe I purposely only cut non-Wattles for the first 20 minutes and see how that turns out. Thanks again for the info. If it turns out I've wasted $90 odd on the above machine doesn't bother me as I've got way more value out of the replies here anyway :)

    • 

      ghostknife on 19/01/2017 - 17:11

      +1

      @Spam Service, yes the roller guide replaces the top plate type guide. It's sometimes difficult to get the roller guide to fit over certain chains, particularly Stihl chain which is a bit thicker (what a shocker, they're not compatible!)

      @SteveAndBelle

      Best video available on these types of sharpeners, yeah they can be quicker IF you know how to use it, have crap tons of experience and have a $100+ diamond wheel

      https://youtu.be/0hRAAi4wygs

      Also I once completely ruined a brand new bar & chain trying to make ONE single cut through a 30cm dead wattle trunk. Third of the way through it was dead blunt, half way through it was stuffed and it pissed me off and figured nothing to lose now so I just he-manned it the rest of the way until the smoke stopped. Pulled the bar out and the entire setup was glowing blue, yep that's toast. Saw never ran out of bar oil, that tree was just made of steel or something, the stump is still sitting there 10 years later, not even a hint of rot.

      Re your chain I'd try some Carlton. Husqvarna chain is made by Oregon in the USA, Oregon also have a manufacturing plant in Brazil, if you were unlucky and got chain from that plant then it's possible crap. I had two 30m rolls of it at one point and thought I was going completely insane, no matter how much care I took in sharpening that junk it couldn't cut a wet sponge without going blunt, it was crazy useless. Maybe I had a bad batch but nevertheless I'll never buy it again, I literally gave it away (with caveats) to a pro tree cutter, thought he'd just use it on rough jobs where he didn't mind junking a chain. He ditched it.

      If you were in Adelaide I'd come see if I could help or something but sadly looks like you're a bit far away

      • 

        SteveAndBelle on 19/01/2017 - 17:18

        Yeah, good to know the Wattles are most probably a major part of the problem. Also good to know I'm not the only one who gets frustrated with a dog of a cut and ends up just putting more muscle into it ;) I have to live with the damn Wattles, they're like weeds however they do keep the Wood Heater pumping throughout Winter so I can't complain ;) The Peppermint Eucalypt on the property is an amazing burner too plus it splits up really nicely. Pity the Wattles grow faster though :(

        So what are your impressions of Tungsten Carbide tipped Chains? Worth the crazy high cost and do you think they'd be a good idea to combat the Wattle factor?

      • 

        ghostknife on 19/01/2017 - 18:51

        @SteveAndBelle:

        I've never actually used one to be honest, I know my mate the tree cutter uses them when having to fell/clear certain types of trees, old ones that are dirty or full of sand in the bark or have ants/bees nests so they must be good for something. I don't know what other drawbacks from using but I think they are a bit harder on the saw and user because actually not as sharp, just hard wearing. Could be wrong, might have to Google that