Dremel’s chainsaw sharpening kit (#1453) is a fantastic little Dremel attachment to have, but the instructions that came with it were a little confusing. So I took some pictures while shapening my own chainsaw.
Here is the kit itself (Ordering Info):
This is what my chainsaw teeth looked like before sharpening:
The kit comes with 3 grinding wheels. Blue (5/32″), Pink (7/32″), and Orange-Brown (3/16″). Figure out which grinder wheel to using by sliding each into the tooth. One of them should match the curve on the inside of the tooth. That is the one to use. I used the Orange-Brown wheel for my Poulan Pro.
Assemble the attachment as pictured here. If you use the Pink grinding wheel, use both spacers. If you use the Orange-Brown wheel, use one spacer. If you are using the Blue wheel, you don’t need to use a spacer. The spacer keeps the grinding wheel away from the guide. In the photo here, you can see the unit put together. Notice that I have one spacer between the guide and the plastic body (since I am using the orange-brown wheel). Don’t fully tighten the screws yet.
You will need to use the guage to adjust the guide.
Use the side of the guage labeled “side 1″. I don’t know why they have “side 1″ as there is no “side 2″. With the guage fitting against the guide as pictured here, adjust the guide so the wheel just touches the guage, then tighten the screws.
Lay the chainsaw in front of you with the motor to the right. You are first going to sharpen the teeth on the far side of the bar. Power up the Dremel, and insert the spinning grinding wheel into the first tooth. Line up the index line with the bar, and stroke the grinding wheel in and out of the tooth a few times with light pressure against the cutting edge of the tooth. Move the chain around, and sharpen the next tooth until all of the teeth on the far side are sharpened.
Turn the chainsaw around so the motor is now on your left. Now sharpen the teeth on the opposite side of the bar as described above, but with guide lined up as pictured here:
After getting the unit put together, it only took a minute or two to sharpen all the teeth. And since you have the unit adjusted, next time you will only need to remount it onto you Dremel motor, and sharpen away. This is what my teeth looked like after sharpening them:
