Oregon Power Sharp

[sotc]

I think this is a very clever setup that will do well in the homeowner and landscaper market. Prices seem pretty reasonable too if the edge is fair.


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[MasterBlaster]

Really?

 

[sotc]

Really what? How many people do you know that run dull saws cause they don't know how to sharpen them? I think it is a great design and plan to get one for my Father in law that can't keep his out of the dirt

 

[MasterBlaster]

I'm thinking it's insane in the membrane.

 

[tophopper]

When you say you plan to get "one"..... you realize it's specialized a bar and chain along with the sharpening unit? Probably un-sharpenable by any other method.

 

[sotc]

Yes, bar, sharpener, stone and chain 16" is $72.50, new chain comes with a new stone

 

[tophopper]

Im curious as to how well it works....... let us know.

 

[sotc]

Be awhile, going to be a christmas present unless I hear that the edge sucks bad before that

 

[Cut4fun]

You realize right now it is only for 3/8 low profile chains. Maybe others later if a lot of homeowner people buy into it.

 

[sawcollector]

Oregon sold this stuff in the '80s on Poulans and Macs, we always called it Barricuda chain for some reason I can't recall, as I don't think Oregon ever called it that. It did not work well at all. I converted gobs of those saws to PICCO chipper chain. The first time you sharpen it it will cut OK but after that it is done. Mac even had a little rubber plug to fill in the hole where the stone went on the sprocket cover so when you took the stone off you wouldn't get chips in your face. I have a little red Sears from back then in the collection that has the original top grind chain. It didn't work well then and I just got back from the Louisville EXPO today and saw the new stuff on display, on a 200 T no less! A guy came by the booth and said he had cut with the new stuff and that he was not impressed, for what it's worth.

 

[gf beranek]

There were some attempts at this design concept in the 70's too, but the stone was in the clutch cover and you pulled a lever down to do the sharp job. Though it didn't last more than one model and was quickly discontinued. Maybe this design may prove more efficient. I'll bet to see it at the TCI show.

 

[Al Smith]

They had it on the Mini Mac 140 I think .It didn't work well then and it's doubtful it will now .

Darned shame they thought it neccessary to try it out on a 200T ,the king of trim saws .That's about like putting recap tires on a new Lincoln .

 

[SkwerI]

By putting it on the absolute best saw they could find, they could more easily gloss over the product's shortcomings. Many people who have never run a 200T could try it out on the test log and say "Wow, that cuts great!"

 

[Al Smith]

Yep and if the truth were known the 200 was probabley "messaged " a tad bit .

 

[Gord]

I can see it might be able to do the job if the cutter hit a minor bit of dirt or fine sand, but if the cutting edge gets rounded by something more serious I doubt it would remedy that. The funny thing is, all these homeowners have to do is....wait for it....not cut dirt.

 

[sotc]

Haha, but theres hardly a homeowner that even knows when they hit dirt!
Good input guys, thanks

 

[sotc]

My alpine magnum stumper is a topgrind and like has been mentioned, when they really round over, it takes alot of grinding to get them to cut decent again

 

[Reddog]

I think the dresser teeth may help with the issues they had in the past.
I see you use for it sotc, and it makes sense. Let us know how it works out.

 

[HolmenTree]

Oregon's Power Sharp is a big advancement from their much earlier design. In 1966 Beaird-Poulan was the first chainsaw manufacturer to buy Oregon's "Safety Sharp" self sharpening system for their lightweight saws.
But years later the design went the wayside because of the stone design no longer making proper cutter angles as the stone wore out.
So 40 yrs or so later Oregon has it figured out. Sell the consumer a matched chain and stone that is easy to use and performs well. When the chain is worn out so is the stone.
I have never tried out the Power Sharp but I know a few homeowners who have and they are happy with it. New 18"chain with stone is about $25-$30.

Willard.

 

[Burnham]

Wouldn't a better solution simply be to learn to sharpen a chain with a file? It's not rocket science. I cannot imagine that this thing can come close to the results even an average hand sharpening would produce...but what do I know?

 

[Newfie]

Most of them don't know it needs sharpening anyways. One of my buddies called one day. He had bought a new saw to clean up some ice storm damage. He was worried that it was not cutting very fast and was smoking. Wanted to know if 5 minutes to cut half way through a 10" diameter tree was normal. He "only" touched the ground 7 or 8 times. I went over to find the paint completely burned off the bar. I told him not to bother having the chain sharpened, that he should just throw it away when it was cool enough to touch. This power sharp stuff could be a good solution for idiots like that. Insulting that it is even being marketed towards "pros".

 

[HolmenTree]

Burnham, many casual saw users I know even the ones claiming to have cut wood all their lives won't even attempt filing. They get out the dremil and make a half effort to get a edge but with all kinds of scary angles. I would be insulting them if I showed them what they did wrong.
Now they have a setup they keep in their truck's glove box and stick it on the end of their bar ,make some sparks and in a few seconds they now have a better cutting chain from what they can get from their dremil, plus time saved doing it.
Oregon has a brilliant idea here.
Back in the 1960s my older brother competed in chainsaw speed cutting competitions at the Prince Albert, Saskatchewan Winter Festival. The chisel chain wasn't out yet so they only had the chipper Oregon S70 chains to use. Some Frenchmen from Quebec was winning all the races in the 10"X10" logs they cut. My brother figured out he was using Oregon's weird looking "Safety Sharp" chain. He used a flat file to sharpen it , it cut like crazy with a 70-80cc saw driving it.

Willard.

 

[SouthSoundTree]

It still need the rakers to be filed.

I'll suspect that it is marketed only to HO's under the guise that pro's use it.

Only filing the tops of the cutters doesn't seems to do much for a rocked chain. The worst spot is where they've been bent down. I'd have a hard time seeing that it would cut well across the width of the tooth, since the part of the top plate that is opposite the side plate on the cutter is a bit lower that the sideplate corner.

It would be great if it would work, but I imagine a better Christmas present would be, maybe a good filing guide, but more importantly teaching him the standard way to file, sitting down with him while he does it, side by side, and do some before and after timed cuts for him to understand how much better it is to take the time not to dirt/ rock the chain. Maybe a timberjack or peavey and lessons would be a helpful match.

 

[stig]

Give him 5 sharp chains and a promise of sharpening them when they get dull.

I have two different friends, that I sharpen for. They have 5 chains each, the deal is, they change the chain as soon as it stops cutting well and they DO NOT attempt to sharpen anything by themselves.
Nothing worse than trying to file a chain that somebody has botched by filing too deeply into the teeth.

Both of them cut firewood with friends and have noticed that they are the only ones, whose saws can actually cut..

 

[Burnham]

That's a great favor to your friends, Stig.

I guess it's true that I seldom cut in concert with anyone else, and basically never with amateur sawyers, with the exception of students to the S-212 classes I instruct. They tend to come without saws, so use ones maintained by more experienced people. So I guess I'm blissfully unaware of how poor most people are at this aspect of saw work.

I do instruct S-212 to a group of FS volunteers who help with trail work most years. I have seen some pretty lousy chains show up in that class, but over the years I've given enough negative feedback on that subject that the regulars know not to show up without saws in good shape, and must warn off the rookies .