chain saw sharpening

[singlestacksig]

Any recommendations on where to get several chains sharpened, off saw,around Lafayette . and what is the going rates?

 

[JdsBiff]

https://www.harborfreight.com/electric-chain-saw-sharpener-61613.html

 

[patience0830]

A dremel with an angle guide and an appropriately sized stone makes for quick and easy touch ups on the saw. A good file and some practice will accomplish the same thing. Any hardware store worth its salt that sells reputable saws should sharpen chains. If you cut a lot of wood, a grinder will pay for itself in short order.

 

[bocefus78]

I can't help with a location near you, sorry.

Going rate is all over the board. $7-10 is fair for anything 20" and smaller. Bigger than that, and the smart people start charging by the drive link. Which they should imo.

If they have hit metal or rocks, tell them up front you want it done right, or you won't be paying. This takes a lot more time and finesse to do without overheating your cutters, and to take the rakers down to the correct level below your cutters.

If your cutters come back blue, they overheated it and the metal has lost its hardness and ability to hold an edge.

It's hard to find anyone who does it right anymore. Personally I'd look for who charges the most, and ask them why. They probably do it right. That's your best chance to find a good shop imo.

 

[CountryBoy19]

IMHO, learn to do it yourself; get a guide if you have to. The key is using fresh, sharp, quality files, the metal will come off like butter; 1-2 strokes/tooth for a touch-up, and ~10 strokes/tooth for a "rocked chain". I can sharpen ten chains faster than I can gather them up and drive them someplace. Start with quality files, not the 2-pack of Oregon brand files you get at the hardware store; markup on those is 200% or more. You'll go broke buying them, or you'll be tempted to keep using them long past their usable life. I buy genuine Pferd (swiss) files from Baileys. IIRC, they are $9 or $10 per dozen, when they start to get dull they get chucked because I don't have time for a dull file.

 

[LockStocksAndBarrel]

 

[SMiller]

IMHO, learn to do it yourself; get a guide if you have to. The key is using fresh, sharp, quality files, the metal will come off like butter; 1-2 strokes/tooth for a touch-up, and ~10 strokes/tooth for a "rocked chain". I can sharpen ten chains faster than I can gather them up and drive them someplace. Start with quality files, not the 2-pack of Oregon brand files you get at the hardware store; markup on those is 200% or more. You'll go broke buying them, or you'll be tempted to keep using them long past their usable life. I buy genuine Pferd (swiss) files from Baileys. IIRC, they are $9 or $10 per dozen, when they start to get dull they get chucked because I don't have time for a dull file.

This

Stihl sells a file set, do it by hand, easy and doesn't burn the chain.

 

[Mgderf]

This

Stihl sells a file set, do it by hand, easy and doesn't burn the chain.

I'll have to look into this.
I just bought a new Stihl and couldn't be happier with it.

 

[thunderchicken]

It's not something I use often, only a couple time a year. But I usually have my chains sharpened at Ace hardware for $7 ( 20" chain) but I also have a file & guide set that I use for touch up work between small jobs

 

[ghitch75]

if you where closer i would sharpen them for you......i can put them back to factory sharp for 5 bucs a chain up to 20"......longer than that is 7.....

 

[grunt soldier]

The sthil file guide is about as easy thing out there to use. They are like 35 bucks. It does it all in one motion. Takes about 5 to 7 minutes and it will be sharper than factory

 

[grunt soldier]

If your around north Indy side and have 15 mins to spare I'll do the first one for free to show you just how easy it is. Westfield area.

 

[igotdiesel2]

I wanted to sharpen my chains myself so I went to youtube to learn how to do it. I found a video of a pro and he said you should never use anything other than a file to sharpen your chains. After watching it I now do my own. I do 2 or 3 strokes of the file every time I fill the fuel tank and knock the rakes down as needed. I have 3 chains and they take a beating as I'm usually the guy one calls when a branch or something came down in a storm. -Jason

 

[SSGSAD]

I'll have to look into this.
I just bought a new Stihl and couldn't be happier with it.

I bought a Sthil, and I am VERY happy with it .....