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When the first wears down, you'll need to buy an entire new kit. there's not much to the package. just a few parts. But it reconditions the chain as promised. I would have made the chain holder out of metal rather than plastic and I would have provided a second grinding stone.
Lets you to keep working with a sharp chain without the long down time. I upgrade the bits to the diamond flake ones worth the added money.
No electricity required and it easily goes in your thigh pocket or field kit. Only one or two strokes per tooth needed for a touch-up and you are back to work. If the bar gets into the dirt or you hit a nail you will be sharpening even sooner. At that rate, a chain does not last very long. Corded grinders need a place to be plugged in. I have my chains sharpened professionally when they begin to cut crooked due to uneven wear.
This usually occurs after about an hour of cutting hardwoods or two hours of softwoods. You can either carry several chains to get you through the day or be prepared to touch them up on the bar.I prefer to touch up my own chains because the saw shops usually take off about 2MM of steel when they sharpen. Either solution limits you mobility.I prefer the "Oregon" brand file and gauge. Cordless grinders don't hold a charge very long so you need to carry extra batteries. Otherwise, I touch them myself as soon as they fail to cut uniform shavings. If you touch up your own chains when they first begin to dull, you will only take off a few thousandths of an inch.This tool works well if you gauge the grinder off of the tooth as described in some of the other posts.
The gauge make it easy for even a neophyte to maintain proper tooth shape and depth. The problem is powering the grinder while in the field.
Plus, by the time you take out your Dremel & attach the tool, you could have already sharpened your chain by hand. This tool works OK, but not great. I tried this three times, but I still get better results when I use a hand file in a standard file guide. For the price it was worth a try, but I doubt I'll use this again. When you file by hand you can feel whether you're getting a consistent cut from tooth to tooth, with this it's tough to tell.
I bought this for my landscaping business to try to keep the saws sharpened without having to send them out. Works very well.
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