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  Lawncare-4u.co.uk November 20, 2010 at 10:21am

  how much are stones and when do they have to be replaced ? another cost !
  
  files are only £1 each... depends on usage i guess. can be more help sorry.
  
  ive looked at £30 cheap one
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  Matt Brown November 20, 2010 at 10:52am

  well i rarely use my chainsaw i used to last year to cut firewood for my open fire but my landlady took that out! i havent done my chain saw training but i have been using chainsaws with common sense for the past 10 years i dont have the patience to sharpen with a file usually i take the chain off and take it to my local tool hire shop and they sharpen it for £5 but the last two times it has took less than 5 minutes and i havent noticed a huge difference.
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  Geoff Norfolk November 20, 2010 at 1:43pm

  
  
  Pro Gard said:

  I would not even contemplate it as an ex forestry worker and very regular saw user, thoughts are as follows,
  
  A grinder sharpener or similar tool will never get a chain as sharp as hand fileing and will take off more metal I have a bench mounted chain grinder but only ever use it to restore a chain if I have hit metal.
  
  1, the chain is expensive and being sharpened by machine you will go through a lot of it.
  2, It is only available in 325 pitch, most pro saws are on 3/8
  3, The only application were it might be handy for me would be when cutting stumps or trees on field boundaries that are full of metal. However my saws are all 3/8 pitch and I like sharp chain so wouldn't want this device mounted permanently.
  
  In reality i have around 15 chains at any one time and If i hit metal i just swap chains and sharpen at the workshop in my leisure using a chain grinder to get back the cutter length, before hand sharpening to give a 'proper edge'. If I think a tree is likely to have metal in or I hit metal then the cost of a chain comes out the profit margin and if I suspect metal then I will usually allowed for a new chain or multiple in my price.
  
  Sharpening with a file is quick and easy, it is a total cop out to say you can't be bothered, this is only because you are unable to haveing never done any training!
  
  Learn to sharpen little and often and it is super quick. My own chains get a quick sharpen every time I ree fuel the machine, two or three strokes of the file keeps a nice sharp chain.
  
  If your chain is coming back from sharpening and is cutting badly then check the angle they have sharpened to and most importantly the depth gaudges.

  
  Think you might be a bit unfair on bench grinders etc here...... whenever I buy a new chain, which must have been sharpened using some sort of grinder, it really does feel sharper than one that has been done with a file.... ah, I hear you say.... he's obviously not doing it properly!! Well the chains I sharpen, and I must have done 100's, all cut fine... its just new ones do feel sharper to the finger. (yes, I know I shouldn't be feeling it with my finger lol!) As you say though, it must be much easier to remove excess metal with one and get a bit carried away.
  I did buy a Stihl filing guide/jig thing about a year ago.. FG1 or 2.... something like that anyway. Cost me about £100 so must be quite good though have to admitI've never used it yet!! I'm always in a bit of a hurry so end up using the ordinary file etc.
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  Matt Brown November 20, 2010 at 2:34pm

  "Sharpening with a file is quick and easy, it is a total cop out to say you can't be bothered, this is only because you are unable to haveing never done any training!"
  
  
  i didnt say i cant be bothered i said i dont have the patience to do it, i tried and i lost my place and got irritated, i know that i dont have the patience it is very rare that i use my chainsaw once every 10 months or so and mostly thats my own fire wood in my own garden.
• PRO

  Paul @ Ashgate Garden Care November 20, 2010 at 2:50pm

  I'm with Paul (Proguard) on this one and carry a spare couple of chains in my toolbox for if I'm short of time. Otherwise I'll sharpen my saw onsite.
  
  My only worries about sharpening with a machine are:
  
  That they take off more metal than required thus decreasing the lifespan of the chain and increasing your costs.
  
  You get out of the habit of sharpening using a file and if you needed to sharpen a chain onsite with a file it would take longer.
  
  I'd be worried about the heat caused by a grinder case hardening the cutter edge and making it difficult to sharpen using a file if needed. (Which may explain the need for a special chain)
  
  Also it's not really that much of a faff to sharpen a chain with a file so why burden yourself with the extra expense and limit your chain choice.
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  Geoff Norfolk November 20, 2010 at 5:08pm

  Thats a bit harsh Colin lol!......just because Matt lost his place, he should abandon chainsaws!! I agree, you can lose your place when sharpening, if the chain was in reasonable nick before you started, its does need a close look to see where you were... hence I always use a marker for the starting cutter and just slide the chain along in the vice, 2 cutters accessible at a time. Don't really think a circular saw is a very good alternative though as you're very restricted on the depth and if you're not careful, you'll cut through the power lead!.
  
  
  
  colin said:

  if your sharpening correctly then the sharpened cutters should be fairly obvious to spot. if you cant spot them then maybe using a chainsaw isnt a good option for you. it is one tool where awareness is an absolute essential. you have to be aware of what you are cutting, aware of where you are standing, aware of your body position, and aware of anybody around you.
  
  if your nearly always doing reclaimed timber as firewood as your main wood then buy a circular saw it will probably much safer for you
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  Matt Brown November 20, 2010 at 6:43pm

  i dont use reclaimed wood and i dont have the log burner anymore. in the 10 or so years i have never had a chainsaw related accident, i have never had a near miss. some of you that have chainsaw certificates will without doubt say i'm just lucky but as with a lot of things common sense counts for a whole lot more than certificates a certificate says that on the day of being tested you shown that you knew the correct way to operate and maintain a chainsaw it doesnt say that you arent going to chop your limbs off!
  
  if we are so keen on training them maybe we should train people to use bow saws, i for one cut large ish trees down with my bow saw and a falling tree can do lots of damage whether cut with a chainsaw or a bow saw.
  
  i am not anti training and i understand that it is there to stop anyone running round with a chainsaw and to ensure that people know how to handle them.
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  Geoff Norfolk November 20, 2010 at 10:57pm

  
  
  Matt Brown said:

  i dont use reclaimed wood and i dont have the log burner anymore. in the 10 or so years i have never had a chainsaw related accident, i have never had a near miss. some of you that have chainsaw certificates will without doubt say i'm just lucky but as with a lot of things common sense counts for a whole lot more than certificates a certificate says that on the day of being tested you shown that you knew the correct way to operate and maintain a chainsaw it doesnt say that you arent going to chop your limbs off!
  
  if we are so keen on training them maybe we should train people to use bow saws, i for one cut large ish trees down with my bow saw and a falling tree can do lots of damage whether cut with a chainsaw or a bow saw.
  
  i am not anti training and i understand that it is there to stop anyone running round with a chainsaw and to ensure that people know how to handle them.

  Agree with you there Matt........ as long as you're reasonably intelligent, then commonsense is one of the most important attributes and with it, you can usually carry out most jobs in a safe and efficient manner though you still need to learn the "basics" obviously. As you suggest, almost any idiot can get a certicate on the day as I witnessed many times with my 27 years working for Harrow Council (which I hate to admit to!!) I still remember the man who had just got his spraying certicate but insisted afterwards that he would just carry on with his old "calibration" methods which was "2 glugs (the sound you get when you turn the concentrate bottle upside down!) per knapsack full of water" ..... after all... "it works" he said.
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  Matt Brown November 21, 2010 at 12:58am

  when i learned to walk i used to follow my grandad round his 3 allotments and his gardens and i used to follow my dad with my hammer and spanners. he taught me about engine and machine maintenence being a mechanic he really knows what he's doing for 3 years i had a hobby buying and selling lawn mowers and other garden related machinery i used to strip them to nothing and replace all worn parts and when i finished they were like brand new some of them were pre ww2 i didnt do it for money so i would like to think i know a bit about maintenence.
  
  i do deffinately think pestisides and herbisides should be very strictly certified as they can and do have a lasting effect on the ground, nature and health, i wouldnt like to be eating residues from ground sprayed with nasty chemicals. they do have their place.
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  Bigyin November 21, 2010 at 1:32pm

  As an unqualified occasional user of five years experience I would say that most of the above points are valid. The hardest part of hand sharpening is having a vice available in which to clamp the bar as the filing will not be very accurate and difficult to handle if the saw isn't held firm. Not an issue if only sawing less than a tank full at a time on site.
  As to remembering where to start, I always start on one side at the double cutter (two pointing in same direction) and then do the other side.
  A new chain always cuts best but after that you can't beat hand filing. I've tried shop grinding and the Dremel attachment but neither give the same result.
  I'd be a bit cocerned about H&S with using the Oregon PowerSharp Diamond Sharpener. ? Are there any members who teach the courses that could comment ?