:thumbs_upFor years now I've been milling my own lumber but have been hand sharpening my blades. My rig is a Stihl 044 with a 30 inch bar using semi-skip chain on a Granberg mill.... that adds up to 105 teeth on a blade.
I had done some in depth reading recently to find out why I wasnt able to cut as quickly or smoothly as I had in years past. Over time, hand sharpening leads to teeth that are different lengths and heights. It's unavoidable, much like walking circles in the desert.
I don't do enough milling to consider a $200+ sharpener from the Oregon company, but figured I would give good ole' HFT a shot for $39-. As I had suspected, the machine needed a few minor mods to turn it into a precision sharpening device; the positioner lock mechanism needed to be cut down to keep it from trying to lock onto the round headed rivits (which causes the chain to turn at an angle sometimes), and the remainining adjustment lockdown turnscrews would not firmly lock into place. After fixing those minor issues, I was very pleased with how accutely and consistently each of the teeth were sharpened. After headed off to my neighbor's yard where a 24 inch wide Cherry tree lay, I was even more thrilled with how my mill cleanly and quickly cut through the wood.
-david
I had done some in depth reading recently to find out why I wasnt able to cut as quickly or smoothly as I had in years past. Over time, hand sharpening leads to teeth that are different lengths and heights. It's unavoidable, much like walking circles in the desert.
I don't do enough milling to consider a $200+ sharpener from the Oregon company, but figured I would give good ole' HFT a shot for $39-. As I had suspected, the machine needed a few minor mods to turn it into a precision sharpening device; the positioner lock mechanism needed to be cut down to keep it from trying to lock onto the round headed rivits (which causes the chain to turn at an angle sometimes), and the remainining adjustment lockdown turnscrews would not firmly lock into place. After fixing those minor issues, I was very pleased with how accutely and consistently each of the teeth were sharpened. After headed off to my neighbor's yard where a 24 inch wide Cherry tree lay, I was even more thrilled with how my mill cleanly and quickly cut through the wood.
-david
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