Posted: 4/7/2009 5:31:07 AM EDT
|
How do you sharpen tools like axes and chainsaws? I'd like to know how to do it both with power and without power. Thnx. |
| For axes, I remember my grandpa would use a slightly rough sharpening stone. For chain saws, I know for a fact that Stihl makes a kit just for sharpening chains. The main sharpening componenet is a round file that fits the profile of the chain. I guess you could use the file to sharpen an axe also now that i think about it. |
| For my axes, and hatchets I use, when at home with electricity, my delta bench top sander.The sander I have is like this one, but is a delta branded one. It puts a very nice edge on them. When I do not have the luxury of the power equipment I use hand files. First I clamp the axe or hatchet down to a non movable object with the cutting edge hanging over the edge and then use the files like you would stones on a knife. Here is a site for info hot link. Here is a video hot link |
|
Axes: file (8" or 10" mill bastard) for heavy work, a hocky puck sized stone for 90% of sharpening, or just toclean up after the file.
Power: Wet Whetstone (ie antique or Tormak), or 36 grit flap disk in angle grinder. With the latter be careful not to overheat, but far better then a grindstone. Chainsaw: Chain saw file (sized for your chain, there are 5 sizes, 2 of which are common) + Mill bastard for the depth guages Power Stationary grinder from Oregon (check Northern for pictures) or clone from Harbor Freight. As long as you are careful, you will not burn the chain. if not, you will destroy it. The biggest reason to use a grinder is to restore proper tooth geometry- in between a file works almost as fast You also have to remember to radius the wheel. The mill bastard is your universal sharpener from shovels to 52" saw mill blades. |
|
A bench belt sander really makes most sharpening jobs lots easier. I have a big 72 X2 inch one I built but you can pick up smaller ones on the cheap pretty easy...Much better then an electric grinder.
..While you can put a razor edge on with just the belt sander using finer grit belts on things like knives and chisels I normaly finish up using a couple of old oil stones with a hard translucient giving the final edge. For None power you can use a hand crank or foot powered grinder. These work well and are very common and cheap on the old tool market. Some axes and the like are soft enough so they can be sharpened with a file. Lots of wood workers use sandpaper on glass to sharpen things like chisels and plane blades. Simple and cheap. For hand saws you need a saw vise to hold the saw or just two boards in a regular vise. If the teeth are not all of the same height they have to be jointed with a saw joint which is just a tool that holds a file and levels the teeth off. Then sharpened with a slim taper triangle file and then set with a saw set....I've sharpened more then a few handsaws but never a chain saw but I think they use a round file and most times done with a guide. Sharpening is one of those things that is easy once you know how, get a book on it or look on line and then just practice....T. |
|
I sharpen all my lawn and garden tools with a file - usually a 10" bastard cut mill file. A fine cut file or medium hand stone to finish it off and smooth out the file marks. I even sharpen my "everyday" chisel with a fine cut file - of course it doesn't get anywhere close to my good Japanese chisels.
Chainsaws require a special round file the correct diameter for the tooth and a sharpening jig that goes fits over the chain bar to keep the correct sharpening angle (I'm sure pros don't need the jig but I only sharpen my chainsaw a couple of times a year). Mounting the whole rig in your bench vise makes it relatively easy work. Very important to take the same number of "swipes" on each tooth to keep the chain cutting straight. |
|
+1 on files for sharpening axes, My dad had a chainsaw kit both for hand sharpening and for attatchment to a roto tool but it was all lost in Katrina, I just bought a new chain saw, so new kit in my future,
remeber to sharpen your shovels, picks, hoes and forks make life a whole lot easier if these tools are sharp..seems many fail to think of sharpening them. I grew up with a grandfather who still used a scythe to cut hay and then it was bundled and tied off and stacked in the barn for livestock he kept a triangular stone on a stick in his back pocket, as soon as the scythe started to catch a bit, you pulled it up, pulled out the stone, ran it up and down both sides and back to work you moved forward with a rocking motion, swinging the blade, once you get with the rocking/step/sweep motion it goes pretty fast and easy as long as the blade is sharp..I did it more than a few times growing up |
|
Quoted:
How do you sharpen tools like axes and chainsaws? I'd like to know how to do it both with power and without power. Thnx.
a year or two ago, I posted this same question here. I already had a little knowledge but wanted to see what everyone else was doing. For axe, hatchet, fro, sickle or other cleaving tool I use a bastard. I have become pretty good with it. chain for chainsaw, they make a chain file. At first I did an immmense amount of damage to my chain simply b/c I did not know what I was doing, now I go slowly and carefully. hand saw - a triangle file for 9 point saw. Get them while Lowes is still in business. |
|
Where the heck did they find them? I'd love to buy or build one, but I can't find anything larger than a 14 " wheel. I've seen some in daily use at the USFS, where they have to maintain toold for firefighters and construction work in wilderness areas. That is in fact where I got the idea of using the 36 grit flap disk- from the USFS guys that sharpen thousands of shovels, pulaskis, etc. They guys who don't do this for a living use the wet grinders.
I'd be a lot more interested in the SCA, if they just weren't so weird (my impression.) OTOH, I do like the period costumes for women that seem to leave all kinds of things poking out. |
|
Quoted:
Where the heck did they find them? I'd love to buy or build one, but I can't find anything larger than a 14 " wheel. I've seen some in daily use at the USFS, where they have to maintain toold for firefighters and construction work in wilderness areas. That is in fact where I got the idea of using the 36 grit flap disk- from the USFS guys that sharpen thousands of shovels, pulaskis, etc. They guys who don't do this for a living use the wet grinders. I'd be a lot more interested in the SCA, if they just weren't so weird (my impression.) OTOH, I do like the period costumes for women that seem to leave all kinds of things poking out. Next time I see them, I'll ask for ya. And, yes, corsets are fun. |
|
Sharpening is one of those things that is easy once you know how, get a book on it or look on line and then just practice....T.
There's a terrific book about sharpening, called "The Razor Edge Book of Sharpening." The front cover shows the author shaving with a double-bitted logging axe! This old guy knows what he's doing! Less than $22 IIRC and it is still in print. |
|
Quoted:
Where the heck did they find them? I'd love to buy or build one, . These things are very common at weekly and estate auctions as well as flea markets...I see them all the time. Most can be picked up for less then $50 and I have seen them for lots less...Sometimes you see them with bad frames and then they sell for about nothing. I used to bring the stones home and put in the wife's garden... Later more complicated ones can be more expensive. For use the best ones IMO are the wooden frame ones that have foot treadles that work the stone. The metal frame one like in the photo are pretty unstable and not built for 200lb. guys I was using one befor and the seat came off and I went head over tit!.....T |
|
Maybe it's the area of the country, but I've never seen anythign like this in the south. But as you allude to, it's really the stone I want. I could make the rest, and probally do a better job (ie SS pan, or line wood pan with fiberglass). I'm pretty sure the 14" stones that are available are big enough as a startign point, unless you add a flywheel and belt drive to speed up the wheel.
I'll look for one next time I'm in rural PA. |
|
Quoted:
Maybe it's the area of the country, but I've never seen anythign like this in the south. But as you allude to, it's really the stone I want. I could make the rest, and probally do a better job (ie SS pan, or line wood pan with fiberglass).... . If you go with a water trough for the stone to run in you can just use a piece of old tire like many of the antique ones used. Remember to not leave the stone setting in the water as it will make the part in the water soft leading to stone getting out of round....Another way is to just use an overhead "dribbler" which is just a tin can with a small hole that drips water on the stone as it is being used. Actually if you are careful to keep your work cool by dipping it in a nearby water container as you grind it you probably don't even need any of this....T. |
|
The Razor Edge Book of Sharpening.
How to sharpen anything that is supposed to have a cutting edge. |
|
Quoted:
If you go with a water trough for the stone to run in you can just use a piece of old tire like many of the antique ones used. Remember to not leave the stone setting in the water as it will make the part in the water soft leading to stone getting out of round....Another way is to just use an overhead "dribbler" which is just a tin can with a small hole that drips water on the stone as it is being used. Actually if you are careful to keep your work cool by dipping it in a nearby water container as you grind it you probably don't even need any of this....T. With Japanese water stones, they don't get soft- Wouldn't have suspected these would have. The water does one thing beside cooling- it keeps the stone from clogging. Thats why water stones need water, oil stones need oil, and even the DMT diamond stones work better with water, although the smaller ones with plastic holes say it is optional. I've heard the dribblers are messier, but would be simpler- I like the tire trick- Avalable for free in your choice of diameter. |
|
I have someone else sharpen my chainsaw blades - they use a grinding tool on them somehow.
Everything else goes through this sequence, depending how bad of shape it is in.... 1) 6in. bench grinder - with med wheel - this is for stuff I pick up that needs rehabiitated 2) Rough grinding stone w/ oil 3) Blue fine grinding stone w/ oil 4) Red Arkansas stone - dry and fast 5) Black superfine stone - dry and fast 6)Thoroughly oil and polish sides of blade with ScotchBrite or Neverdull I've kind of experimented with this over the years and found that this works best for me. I've taken stuff that most people would throw away and got literally razor sharp blades that don't dull easily. The key thing about axes and hatchets is to get the blade contoured (as you look at the axe from the top w/ blade facing away, the angles should be the same from the sides of the blade to the edge.). Also, be careful not to heat the blade excessively when you grind or you'll lose the temper. |
| Usually my angle grinder or dremel for axes and hatchets. My knife sharpening kit gets my machete shaving sharp. For the chainsaw, either my Dremel or a file. You have to be dedicated at overheating the chain with it to ruin it. Have yet to get the chain hotter during sharpening than I do when I'm cutting wood. |
|
Quoted:
Thanks, RW. How fast do you run 1-3 in the process? The 6-inch is not variable speed - it runs 1/3 HP at 3450rpm 2) through 5) are done by hand with regular rectangular stones - wish I had the make of the grey and blue stones - I haven't seen others like them - found it at my mothers house. I'll go 2) and 3) as many times as it takes to get a nasty sharp blade. 4) and 5) is only for finishing and maybe 7 times each side, less once the blades conditioned well. Hope that helps.... |
|
And in a survival situation?
You find a piece of stoneware; dish, bowl, or one of those great big stoneware crocks, etc. Flip it over, and use the unglazed ring on the bottom to sharpen your stuff. Those crocks have an unglazed ring on the top, too. Chains, I don't know. |
|
I found this the other day. From the Stihl website, a video of how to sharpen your chainsaw chain:
How to sharpen your chainsaw chain I hope that works |
|
Quoted:
I always file my chains. The grinders are made, sold and used by people that don't understand metallurgy. I've yet to see one that ran coolant.  Note everyone sticks a piece of steel on a fast-spinning grinder, and lets it sit there until it's eutectic.... |
|
best results with chainsaw is a nice round file, they have ones with guide channels for those that are angle challenged
i sharpen my hatchet with a diamond sharpening stone, orange one...fine grit i wanna say. never did an axe, but i'd do it the same as my hatchets, and they get shaving sharp keeblerelf |
|
Quoted:
Sharpening is one of those things that is easy once you know how, get a book on it or look on line and then just practice....T.
There's a terrific book about sharpening, called "The Razor Edge Book of Sharpening." The front cover shows the author shaving with a double-bitted logging axe! This old guy knows what he's doing! Less than $22 IIRC and it is still in print. Just bought it used on Amazon.com. Thanks. |
|
Quoted:
And in a survival situation? You find a piece of stoneware; dish, bowl, or one of those great big stoneware crocks, etc. Flip it over, and use the unglazed ring on the bottom to sharpen your stuff. Those crocks have an unglazed ring on the top, too. Chains, I don't know. The top edge of an automobile window is also handy for touch-ups on pocket knives and such. |
|
Quoted:
Quoted:
Thanks, RW. How fast do you run 1-3 in the process? The 6-inch is not variable speed - it runs 1/3 HP at 3450rpm 2) through 5) are done by hand with regular rectangular stones - wish I had the make of the grey and blue stones - I haven't seen others like them - found it at my mothers house. I'll go 2) and 3) as many times as it takes to get a nasty sharp blade. 4) and 5) is only for finishing and maybe 7 times each side, less once the blades conditioned well. Hope that helps.... It does. Thanks. |