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How To Sharpen A Chainsaw With A Dremel? 8 Simple Steps!

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The Dremel has got to be one of the most useful power tools you will ever own. Among the most basic and useful abilities, a chainsaw owner can have the ability to sharpen the chain and blade.

While having it professionally sharpened is a terrific option, learning how to do it yourself may help you save time and money. In this article, we will discuss, How To Sharpen A Chainsaw With A Dremel.

Chainsaws are extremely powerful, even those designed for beginners. They are subjected to a great deal of friction, pressure, and usual wear and tear on a daily basis.

Understandably, the chain will dull with time and need sharpening. Regular maintenance, including sharpening, is required whether you have a gas-powered chainsaw or an electric chainsaw.

You should keep the machine you bought for working with wood sharp if you value it. It’s exhausting and unsafe to use a chainsaw that hasn’t been sharpened.

A chainsaw that isn’t sharpened will waste a lot of gasoline while doing very little work. Due to the possibility of kickback from the chainsaw, your machine may break down.

How To Sharpen A Chainsaw With A Dremel
Sharpen A Chainsaw With A Dremel via Aliexpress

A Guide on How To Sharpen A Chainsaw With A Dremel

Using an angle grinder (Dremel), you can sharpen your chainsaw’s blade to perfection. Before you begin sharpening your chainsaw, ensure you have all of the tools you’ll need.

All recommended is a tarp, a Dremel with a sharpening attachment, lubrication oil, safety goggles, and work gloves. Each tool is necessary for sharpening your chainsaw effectively.

You should also choose an open area for sharpening your chainsaw. So that you don’t strain yourself when sharpening your chainsaw.

Although you can hone your chainsaw anywhere, choosing an open place such as a garage can aid with waste disposal. The garage has adequate space for all of your gear, and you’ll be less likely to be disturbed while working.

In most garages, there are special areas dedicated to sharpening. Let’s get to the procedure of how to sharpen a chainsaw with a Dremel.

Step 1

The first thing you need to do is wear the proper safety gear. A good pair of gloves will keep your hands safe from nicks and other injuries, while a helmet should be used to protect yourself from any debris that may come loose during the sharpening process.

You’ll want to have ear protection on since the grinder is amazingly loud.

Step 2

Next, you’ll need a good-quality sharpening stone that will fit into your angle grinder. For a good reason, Dremel’s sharpening tool is among the most prevalent sharpening products on the market.

You’ll need to figure out which of the three grinding stones in the rotary tool’s three sizes fits properly into the chain’s gullet. After that, you may start putting the Dremel together. A file can be used if you don’t have one, but it will take more time and effort on your part.

Step 3

Attach the gauge to the screw-on adapter and insert the grinding stone into the rotary tool. Between the screw-on attachment and the gauge, the thinnest grinding stone will not need a spacer, the 2nd will need one spacer, and the thickest stone will need two spacers.

Step 4

Attach the Dremel to the setup. Continue to tighten the screws keeping the gauge in place until the grinding stone is parallel.

After that, place the grinding stone between the teeth of the chain and align the blade with the gauge’s angle marking. After you’ve set the angle, it’s just a matter of turning on the Dremel and letting it go!

Step 5

The sharpening process starts with detaching the chain from your chainsaw and moving it to a safe location away from anything that might get damaged if it were to come loose. Afterward, you can begin loosening any bolts or nuts that may be holding the blade in place.

Step 6

The Dremel should always be on the right side of your body. To retain the Dremel in the proper position, remove and flip it.

Apply little pressure to all the chain teeth’ edges against the blade of the Dremel for a few seconds for best results. You’ll have a razor-sharp chain in no time if you spend roughly 2 seconds on each tooth.

Step 7

With the modules in the frames, you can sharpen some chainsaws. But when blades are removed, they are simple to sharpen, and it is also simple to work on particular blades on the chain.

With the chainsaw blade now off, you should have an easy time getting to work on sharpening it. Using your Dremel (angle grinder), you should run the sharpening stone along the blade’s cutting edge. This will flatten out any rough spots that might otherwise damage your saw’s performance.

Step 8

After you’ve got the blade as sharp as desired, reattach it to your chainsaw and enjoy! This process only takes a few minutes so, unless you’re an expert with your Dremel (angle grinder), finding a professional to do this for you is probably a good idea.

What are the signs that the chain needs to be sharpened?

When cutting, the chainsaw will start creating fine sawdust instead of chips, for starters. You could also note that you have to exert pressure while chopping instead of the chainsaw completing its job effortlessly.

Even if you’re sufficiently lubed, there’s a chance you’ll get some smoke while working. Kickbacks may become increasingly common in the future.

If you see any of these indicators, you should sharpen your tool right away. Dull chainsaw blades and chains will use more fuel while providing half the efficiency of a sharpened chain. They could result in greater kickbacks, which could be quite risky for the user.

While sharpening their chainsaws, some people make blunders. You must know how to use a chainsaw sharpener appropriately to avoid making a mess. The following are some common errors made by chainsaw sharpeners:

  • For round-tooth chainsaws, using the wrong-size file.
  • Instead of using the depth gauge, I’m filing the cutters.
  • Overfilling the depth gauge causes your chainsaw to work too hard and cause kickback.
  • Sharpening your chainsaw using a dull file.
  • Not properly bracing the saw.
  • Filing backward

Aside from these blunders, you should always sharpen your chainsaw at the proper chainsaw sharpening angles. Failure to do so could result in the blades or the entire chain being lost or damaged.


Final Remarks

You can either use a file to sharpen your chainsaw manually or an electric chainsaw sharpener. It’ll all come down to your personal choices.

However, others may argue that sharpening it with your hands is great, but it is exhausting and time-consuming. Electric sharpeners like Dremel are the greatest alternative for aggressive, cost-efficient chainsaw sharpening since they save time and are effective.

With all of the information provided on how to sharpen a chainsaw with a Dremel, you should be able to sharpen and use your chainsaw more effectively.

This will make your experience more enjoyable and help you avoid any accidents caused by dull blades. This will save you on the cost of repairs, and it’ll keep your tool running optimally for a long time.

Whether you’ve just sharpened your chainsaw or will do so in the future, remember always to be safe when operating such dangerous equipment!