"They do say what doesn't kill you makes you stronger. But no one ever seems to mention how it chips away at your sanity." This is the real-world experience you don't get on other channels.

I know. I know. I am watching yet another chain saw video by ToT. What Tony doesn't realize is that I could care less about chain saws, but listening to Tony's hands tell us what is going on is what brings me here and gets me to stay, and even watch again.

Loved the After-After comparison, really focuses the difference between after sharpening and before it gets dull again.

It’s ridiculous how long I’ve been watching Tony and how I still get excited like an 8 year old in a candy store whenever a new vidya pops ip

Before hand filing, mount an overhead green laser to the angle you want to file at. It won't help much, but will sure make filing more fun. 👍

I don't even own a chainsaw and I'm still here watching these. But boy am I prepared when I get one!

"Live, learn, forget, learn again. That's my way." As a cantankerous middle-aged (former) chainsaw user, I appreciate the truth in these words.

I worked for Oregon Tool in the Machine Design Dept, designing the chain assembly/grinding machines. I learned SO MUCH about chain cutter geometry in the short time I was there and it’s fun to see it talked about again :-)

Could I confess something, Tony? I only get my chainsaw out every two or three years and I thought that when the blade went dull, you either bought a new one or found a professional to re-sharpen the old blade. Then, one day, I was buying a new saw chain and saw that the shop had a sharpening kit. IIRC it was less than £20 - essentially a file and a guide and a leaflet in a plastic wallet. Fortunately, I never throw anything out, so I have a dozen blunt blades and I can now re-use them all. For an occasional user, like me, I don't see the point of buying a grinder. The file and the guide let me bring the chain back to life in five minutes. I'll probably die before I use up my store of old blades. Possibly by bleeding out of my femoral artery.

"whether is here in the garage or out at the club, i enjoy grinding" - This Old Tony 2023 - This guy is a f'in lyrical wordsmith

The "after" and "after" shots really showed the difference between the dull chain and the freshly sharpened one! I almost couldn't believe the difference!!! wow! 😍😍😍 I wonder what the "before" and "before" comparison would be....

This old Tony is my new favourite 3D printing channel. This has increased my engagement by at least 27%

I didn't click on a chainsaw sharpening video, I clicked on a This Old Tony video.

Tony, it is actually us who enjoy your company and, in the recesses of our machine oil-stained souls, yearn for it. You've put a caption on the screen for people who want to skip ahead. May I just politely and with all respect laugh in your face? I guarantee you, there is no one who would do that! Yes, we learn about things from you and your videos are full of practical advice and machinist's wisdom, but there is a secret reason we all watch you. We love your company and we want to hear your voice and laugh and forget our worries for that short time we can spend with your virtual self. Thank you for all you bring to this world, Tony!

Finally a youtuber that recognizes the hardships of us metric forest lumberjacks. 😂

Big fan, long time viewer, your channel got me through Covid! As a Finnish IT guy who grew up around chainsaws and has never used or sharpened one, this was a really nice and detailed explanation of how a chainsaw blade works and how to sharpen them. Looking forward for more videos!

It's the middle of the night, i don't own a chainsaw, nor have I operated one for years so i have absolutely no reason to wanna know how to sharpen them better but here I am and i am absolutely not regretting it❤

On the question of “Will you go through chains faster?” one consideration would be that you’re more likely to sharpen before your chain is dull as a river rock, improving safety and cut quality.

I have owned the more common “Little Brother” to your fancy version for about 25 years. There’s no going back once you figure them out and get good at using them. You’ll want to get yourself a chain breaker and rivet spinner and a 100 foot coil of chain. Then make up several chains , use each one until they’re dull and then you set up your grinder for one side of the chain and sharpen, for instance, all your left-side teeth. Then change your grinder to right-side teeth and sharpen all of those. Then if your rakers need attention set it up for raker grinding. Take small cuts on the teeth. It doesn’t take much. Once you get used to the machine the consistency will be there. You’re going to love this machine - I promise. I have several short vids on my channel. Check them out if you’re so inclined.

Two videos in less than a month, that's great 🎉 Loved to hear the comparison between after and after sharpening, the after definitely did better

I can't believe This Old Tony is here 🎉 We missed you a lot.

That was so much fun, Tony. I always love your videos, even though I'm not really a 'chain saw guy'.

Been watching for years, you're the best. This one had me literally laughing out loud.

Tony I'm always excited to see you work on something. The father figure I never had. Take it easy

I don't think I've ever winced so much during a youtube video, first when the tap broke and then in the sequence when you were sharpening the same tooth over and over and over again. I've missed ToT videos, I get invested!

Next project: Foot pedal clutch cylinder connected to vise piston. -4AN lines and fittings are used for race car brakes. Pretty common and relatively cheap for DIY projects. Thanks for another great video!

I have been doing a lot of cutting lately so looked at several videos. I think yours might be the best explanation I’ve seen. And Tony-ism are always great.

What a great explanation of Chainsaw sharpening. When I was a kid my dad just told me "have you any idea how expensive that chain is? Sure when can get a new one, then you can come visit me in the poor house in between ruining chains"

This rounded out my knowledge about filing chainsaws that will come in hand if I ever own a chainsaw, fortunately for me the decision whether to grind or file is still undecided... I will consider the smaller, compact chainsaw for office use, that was good advice.

When the hardware store where I used to work invested in a set of diamond wheels for our chain saw sharpener, it was a godsend.

Finally, this video was all the justification I needed: I went and bought a new surface grinder. Thanks This Old Tony!

That’s life, Tony. We don’t get to choose the tales Tony’s hands tell, we just have to strap in and stare into the gaping maw of chaos and accept our fate.

Maybe you could build an override valve on the hydraulic clamping to allow you to adjust the position of the chain. Thanks for the video!

I'm blown away by that After-After comparison. Such an improvement! 😮

Hey, Tony! Great vid, as usual! 2 tips from a long-time hand filer and 620 grinder user.... 1. Change the chain pawl to the tall one included. Works much better than the shallow one. No need to spring load... 2. Ditch the included pink wheels and replace them with CBN wheels. You will be thankful you did! All the best from South Africa Mike

I used to sell Chain Saws, and this video its a really good way to teach someone new to it for sure... Thanks Tony (please, next time you're on the market for one, check out the Echo brand... it is made in Japan) ;D

Great video Tony. Im a dremel chain saw sharpening guy. The battery operated dremel can also come out in the field with me, so its a lot more versatile. I thought you might take that sharpener and try to adapt it to sharpen your mills.

As someone that can razor sharpen a chain by hand, I can't believe I just watched a 29 min video on it!! LOL great vid. When he mentioned the teeth not being hardened, you would never want super hard teeth on a saw chain because they could easily snap off and strike the operator or a bystander! the speed of a tooth flying off the chain with it wide open at 9000 rpm and getting hit could be pretty bad.

I grew up in my dad's lawnmower shop. One of the jobs they would give me was sharpening chainsaw chains on a sharpening machine like this, but made in the 70's. It had the catch to push on the back of the cutting tooth. This catch was spring loaded, holding it down, had no side to side play, and the very tip turned up slightly. This upturn would push the tooth down against the guide rails at the cutting side, while the spring tension would hold down the non-cutting end. The guide rails were adjustable, but not a vice like feature. To set the guide rail opening width, you would insert the chain and then tighten down a thumb screw at either end of the guide and pinch down on the bottom of the chain teeth. You'd then back each thumb screw off 1/8 to 1/4 of a turn, giving just enough clearance to allow the chain to slide but not roll. You'd eyeball match the rotational angle. This got you close enough. Then, you'd pitch the head over to a default setting, which was not the right setting, but close enough to get started. The catch had an adjustment screw to move it along the guide rails. You'd bring the cutter head down, placing the cutting wheel against the lowest part of the original cutting edge. The catch would be adjusted to this point. The head would then be moved up and down, adjusting the pitch over of the head until the wheel contacted the original cutting face for about half of the edge. Now the cutting would start. The catch arm would be adjusted half a turn of the screw, and the whole chain would be run through on these settings. This would clean up about 3/4 of the vertical cutting face. The catch would be advanced another half turn, and the chain ran through again. This would repeat until it was close to grinding the cutting corner. At the back of the grinder was a flip down arm with an adjustment screw. This would limit the vertical limit of the grinding wheel. The wheel would be set against a tooth, at the corner, and the vertical limit adjusting screw would be gently snugged, then backed off half a turn. The vertical limit arm would then be put in a third position, where the adjustment screw on it was lined up with a spring loaded pin that had a big knob on it. Push the knob in, and the vertical travel is limited to what was set at the point. The last pass of sharpening, the full front cutting edge and corner were sharpened, you'd push in the knob, bring the head down to this stop, and then advance the chain to the next tooth. While advancing, the grinder would adjust the height of the depth gauge. Everything would be flipped to cut the other set of teeth. This sounds like a lot of work, but with setup and grind time, a single chain only took about 5 minutes. We also offered non-stock grind profiles that the professionals loved We would also do less aggressive profiles for customer machines which didn't have the power for their chain. We could even face the top face of the tooth for a more abrupt corner.. I think my favorite modification was a 3 face faceted corner which gave 3 points for cutting the fiber rather than just one or a wedge.

Having used a similar machine for about ten years now. I get about two to three extra grinds out of the chains, as long as I'm setting up properly. The chains are more consistent and seems to stay sharp longer. It's also faster than hand filing as long as you keep the machine ready on the bench. In the field I use a file guide.

God i always enjoy your content and delivery. Just wish you could do this more often.

Im not a tree pro, but i do cut/split 15-20 cords of wood a year. Ive found that my dremel with a 7/16 stone bit is a nice in between. Having the dremel out anyway is nice for when i need to take down the rakers also (about every 5th sharpen or so). I have a cheap 400 watt inverter that plugs into my trucks cigarette lighter that easily runs the dremel, for when I need to touch up the saw on the go. You still need to hold your angles correctly, and be careful not to blue the teeth with heat, but I'd take it over a hand file anyday. Much less of a pain to bring back a trashed chain and touch ups are quick and painless. 3 bits for 6.99 at tractor supply, im sure you can get them much cheaper online. 3x common sizes, same as hand files. Its definitely worth a try. Teeth come out like new.

I would watch paint dry with your commentary. Always excited to see your name pop up when you release a new video.

Watching that tap break really hurt, and sent chills down my spine thinking back to CNC holes drilled shallower then the tap was going….😢

Even more petrol beaver content? We might come to think you are lumberjack. Good to see you (or your hands)

Woohooo another chainsaw sharpening video I can't wait to share it with all my friends at the chainsaw sharpening society!

Even though I haven't touched a chainsaw in twenty years, I really enjoyed this video. And the after/after comparison convinced me that I need an EDC chainsaw.

Bought my Husqvarna sharpener at a yard sale for $10, including the 8x2 it was mounted on. Never have used it for sharpening a chain, but that grinding wheel comes in handy for lots of other things so I just mounted it on a floor stand in the shop.

Those Oregon saw chain sharpeners are the bees knees! We used to sharpen our chains by hand and they'd be pretty sharp, but after getting the sharpener our saw chains are razor sharp. They do take some getting used to, and in my experience you do have to lightly "kiss" the chain. Once you get used to them though, they are a game changer. We have a tree farm and about 12 chain saws of various sizes, so we're sharpening a lot of chains. Probably not necessary for someone with 1 or 2 chain saws. Also the hydraulic clamp would probably be a bummer as you mentioned, ours has the manual one and it's not a problem to use that way. Great video as usual.

I’ve been laid out in bed for the past week with a bad back, and this video is the best thing that has happened so far! Good to see you, TOT!

"Live, Learn, Forget, Learn Again" wise words that should be on a T-Shirt

As usual, killer indepth analysis that comes to a point. Thanks keff

As someone who's been 3D printing, feels good to hear that it has it's pros over metal working. I eventually want to build up to metal working, but that is quite an expensive hobby.

Loved the metric tree joke 🙂 I've always understood the line on each tooth to be the maximum amount of metal you can file back before the chain is worn out. I'd not considered the angle check, nice idea. I tend to file when working in the field, then run the grinder on the chain before putting the tool away, so the teeth are uniform and sharp ready for next time. I agree that the grinder does take off more, I've found that you need to set the tooth position separately when switching between the lefts and the rights. I advance the tooth towards the wheel until its just cutting enough. The other handy one is to flip the chain bar regularly so that it wears uniformly on both sides and you get better life from it.

That’s what I love about your channel - learning about stuff that I didn’t even know existed. And of course expertly and expertly funny explained ❤

I have probably sharpened hundreds of Chains over the last years. I have never seen those markings on the Teeth. I really like the "Stihl" combo files. They indicate the angle and take of the little depth thing just the right amount.

for as long as you have been posting chainsaw videos, I imagine a once dense forest standing tall and proud, now a desolate and stumpy landscape :)

I'm grateful that you showed us the after and after comparison. It really put it all into perspective.

Thank you for the education and humor you've brought into my life with your videos. So glad to see you back 🙂

A This old Tony video. My day can't be better. ❤ Wait, is it a chainsaw video?

I'm no arborist, so how can I tell if my trees are metric?

Thank you Tony for this chain sharpening video! I've waited it for years!

Of all the Oregon grinder presentations out there, yours is my favorite!

Love your stuff. The fastest way to sharpen a chain is with a Dremel, or similar, tool with a new cylindrical diamond bit of the correct diameter. With a little practice it's more controllable and accurate than a file, and faster, and many times faster than any other sharpening device.

Awesome - a half hour **squee!** of new video from the single most personally consequential/my favorite individual on KZfaq!* *I own and use a metal lathe and a TIG welder, both (but especially the latter) because of time spent enjoying _This Old Tony's_ pleasantly excecuted audio (keeping loud, grating, or sudden & jarring metal-cutting noise to a minimum), wonderfully dad-joke-ish sense of humor, and the standout, absolutely _excellent,_ downright artistic production & camera work, that's always left me wondering if Tony was a film student in a past life. These attributes (primarily the production quality and camerawork) have long set Tony apart from almost all other welding and/or machining on the internet - and even inspired the flattery of a few imitators paying clear, if overenthusiastic, homage to their inspiration. We love our This Old Tony!

I love "Old Tony's" channel -- always a great pleasure with each video. Greetings from Münster in Germany.

Not only did I watch this the first time, I watched it again. I cannot emphasize how much I love your videos.

The hand filer from Stihl is pretty damn good. Never been real good with a file but I get REALLY good results with it.

Have the same one and use the heck out (side hustle) sharpened 80 plus changes last month. You might consider a CBN grinding wheel. That was a real game changer for me ... grinds lots cooler and profile seems to last forever (well almost forever LOL).

That line on the top of the tooth at the correct cutting angle is also the maximum life of the tooth marker. Can't file or grind any further than that because the root of the tooth is too weak and it'll just snap off in the cut, which makes for a fun time trying to pick it out of the cut before you go at it again with a new chain.

Thank you Tony. I do miss your videos, your dulcet tones, and your paws. I enjoy the fact that you create videos on loads of topics, and that all are excellent.

Love this! I run a 72" chainsaw mill. I bought a similar model and loved hearing your thoughts on it. Ill have to try some finer wheels to help with chain life.

Thought this one was going to be a long grind But it turned out pretty sharp! Ps: No video of yours has ever bin a grind Love you ToTony

*By far the clearest Vid I've watched on Chain Sharpening. The 1st 15-20 minutes are an absolute Must See*

Your videos are a pleasure to watch. Thanks for the good content.

I've got a few dull chainsaw saw chains, so I'm gonna watch as many of those videos as necessary until the chains somehow become sharp again without me actually touching them.

Awesome. I do make ripping chains and they need to be consistent. I usually hand file chains for crosscut a few times then stick them on a grinder to get everything back to matching. But when ripping I use the grinder every time. I also use the grinder to take down the rakers(depth guides). When crosscutting as long as a chain is halfway sharp it doesn't have to cut straight for more than 10-20 inches usually at most. But when ripping through 8 or 10 feet the chain has to cut perfectly straight all the way. I don't think perfect angles matter as much as consistency as you mentioned. Thanks Tony

I had never saw a comparaison video of after and after anywhere. This is first class genius !!

I light up every time a see a this old tony video, it makes my day. Post more often bud!!! Love the content!

YAAAAY!! 29mins 52second of ToT is JUST what I needed today! Thanks!!! EDIT: 18:18 isn't that another mark to show what the angle should look like? Your settings match it closer then the "by the book". Edit 2: Can't believe you didn't show us a dull saw chain cutting. (-_-) lol jkjk

I was told by a Oregon guy years ago that the burrs left by filling actually help ! I used to file from the outside in ( side with the edge I'm trying to sharpen) so there wouldn't be a burr ! Once I filed from the inside out and didn't worry about the burr it did cut better For What it's worth. Thanks 👍 enjoyed your video

Happy Father’s Day, Tony! Thanks for your many fun, informative videos!

I have the Oregon 310 and had the same problem with my M12 Hatchet chains but hadn't figured out a solution yet so I'm glad you posted this!

It's always a good day when I can watch a This Old Tony video before I go to sleep... Thank you Tony, Good Night. 😁😴

Best channel ever. I always learn a lot watching your videos! ❤

27’22” gave me the giggles which turned into a belly laugh and hiccups. Hysterical! Thanks ToT.

It's amazing, I've never owned a chain saw, never used a chainsaw, and have no reason to either, yet I sat and watched the entire video engrossed the whole time. I now know exactly how to sharpen a saw chain.

You can turn a dull subject into comedy. Hats off, sir.

i can't believe i can't get enough of This Old Tanya

As always, I watch. Not as always, my girlfriend also watches. She laughs and I notice her laughter. Your style reaches beyond general interest for the topic. You are the cool teacher that reaches the minds of the uninterested. You are the uncle all the nephews want to hang out with because he is so funny and smart. I am patiently waiting for a shoot'n the poop. somehow not having a single topic leads you down interesting paths.

Oh, how I've missed TOT! I was just running out of knowledge juice only to find this convenient resupply! Thanks, Tony....

I liked the "after vs after" side by side clip to really give us a visual representation of just how much better it was after!

I am absolutely chain grinder curious, and I’m very happy to see this kind of video from a KZfaqr who has the same kind of humor as I do. I need to consider chain grinding as I have 10+ 6 ft logs of California coastal oak to mill into boards, and my new ripping chain is already showing some signs of wear. A lot of filing is fine, but can also be tiring when you are already breaking your back lugging around 1000 pounds of logs. So I’m seeing the potential of a Oregon chain grinder in my future, and possibly a tormek as well… any day now.

Nothing better than coffee and a new TOT video Great way to start the day,

You could never make another video about machining again and have all of your videos be about lawn/yard maintenance from now on, and I would still get just as excited as I do every time you upload. Tot 4 life!!!

I’ve have a Oregon chain grinder and love it. Over the years I’ve settled on a favorite chain and the grinder now is set and I don’t have to change the angles very often. I have ended up the neighborhood chain sharpener so now all their chains are at my favorite angles.

I had a chain grinder and loved the way it sharpened the chain crisp, sharp, and consistent. It took too long to set up and sharpen a chain, so I took it apart and now use the motor and wheel for sharpening small drills and cutting tools. A file is all you need. No grinder, no angle gage, no other gimmicks.

"The way they down cost things nowadays, I'm surprised the spring is even there." I felt that. I felt that hard.

Tony, Other KZfaqrs love to ramble on about how their methods are the best because they are handed down from generations of craftsmen but you cut through all of the doubt and arguments about every issue with things like your patented after after side by side comparison. Truly the best in the business! Well done sir.

I appreciate the thorough video. One easy way to use a grinder: I buy four chains at a time. I use all four, then sharpen at the same time so I don't have to change the grinder settings or depth or settings. I use them all again and increase the depth as needed and then grind all four at the same time again. I only fuss over the first tooth on the first blade each time - very easy.