PRECISION GRINDER (12V) – BAR-MOUNTED CHAIN SAW SHARPENER – G1012XT

I can’t praise this little guy enough nor the company behind it. This sharpener makes sharpening a blade evenly a breeze. It is like having a workbench sharpener out in the woods. I run mine off a Milwaukee 12v battery pack so I can get a ways back and not have to run to the truck to sharpen my chain every time. The company sent me new parts no questions when I had a bent shaft. Love this tool and this company.

After 5 minutes of use the motor assembly developed a clunking noise from within…like something had come loose. I sent complaints to Granberg’s CS department but received no reply. After a couple of attempts I finally received a response from the seller, Forestry Suppliers who offered to help me deal with getting either a refund or warranty repair from Granberg. My low rating applies to Granberg and their product and not to the seller, who has been the only bright spot in this whole process.

Awesome tool – it took me a few tries to get it and myself dialed in, but I feel like I’m getting my chain factory sharp again, for the first time ever. I’d had my local Stihl service shop sharpen my chain a couple of times, but I can now get a better result myself. Using the tool for setting raker depth works really well too, no depth guage required, no guesswork around adjusting raker depth to suit a particular wood.

I’m not a professional but I use a chain saw a lot, and I’d always struggled with getting a really good result with all the various hand-sharpening methods, jigs and devices, to the extent that I often wondered whether the effort was worth it, the chain was certainly less dull afterwards but nowhere near as sharp as it once was, and the edge would quickly go again; but this little grinder has made me a believer!

First, the bad news – compared with something like the Husqvarna Sharpforce all-in-one file, it’s a lot slower, from first tooth to last, not least because there is a set-up process which requires a certain amount of precision, you can’t just clamp it on anyhow and dive in. But that time and effort is rewarded – the good news is that the chain is brought to a level of sharpness that in my opinion exceeds that of the factory specifications. I tried it on a chain that I thought was nearing the end of its useful life, the teeth were dull, of varying lengths, and the cutting angles were inconsistent, one go round with the Precision Grinder and every single fault was corrected, I was able to grind all the teeth to the same length, angle and razor sharpness to a degree that I had previously found impossible with a hand file (there was always some variation in one or other characteristic) – and I used it for accurately setting the raker height as well – a job that I would sometimes put off or not pay full attention to when hand-filing. The result with the Precision Grinder was a chain that sliced through 24 inch diameter long-dead sun-baked Eucalyptus wood like it was soft fresh pine.

The other minor caveat was that this old chain required so much correction and renovation that there wasn’t much left of the grinding stone by the time I finished, but at a couple of bucks a-piece for the replacement stones, that’s a price I’m happy to pay for this level of sharpening success. And I would imagine a chain with less drastic wear-and-tear would take far less passes with the stone, so the one-and-done nature of this task would be rare.

However I would still recommend buying a few replacement stones and possibly a Kool Grind lubricant stick at the same time as ordering the Precision Grinder, mainly because you’re going to be using this gadget a lot! Not only does it do a great job, it’s actually kind-of fun – not something you could ever say about filing by hand!

Also, rather than run it off my truck battery, I wanted to use it indoors for ease of set-up first time round, so I connected it up to my bigger 12V trickle charger and that worked without any issue.

Bottom line is that the end result (a very sharp chain!) is well worth going through the slightly intimidating learning curve of assembly and set-up, I used it once and by the time I’d filed the last tooth on the first chain with this grinder, I had the method down to a fine art and have total confidence that I could repeat it every time; whereas with hand filing (at least in my ham-fisted experience), it takes an extended period and a lot of of trial and error to master the technique enough to even start to get an acceptable consistent result. With this I know I’m going to get it right every time.

It’s not cheap but still reasonably priced in comparison to rival devices, plus you spread that cost over dozens and dozens of chains and many years, to use a cliche – it pays for itself.

I own my own tree care business, we use several saws daily with bars from 14” to 62”. While in the field we hand file but once a week we true all the chains we’ve used and this makes the process so much faster, saving me money in the long run.

I have been cutting firewood over 47 years. Bought my first Stihl about 40 years ago. I own a Stihl 390 and a Dolmar 7910, both saws are really dependable, but to work the chains need to be sharp. The Granberg sharpener is the best I have ever owned, it is fast, easy, and dependable, so far! It takes a small amount of time to get used to how to set it up and how to use it. Once you use it a couple times it makes sharpening chains enjoyable,never though I would be saying that. It is making some internal noise but still works fine,buy the Kool Grind stick , will make your life better. 5 stars

Precision is the key. Every tooth in my opinion is better than factory. Razor sharp not Speedy but so worth the effort. Watch the video. You wont ever have a shop sharpen your chain again.

After using 3 times the motor today is clonking and sounding like it’s about to jam. Also the unit jams on the guide rails, so not at all a smooth to use. The inherent poor tolerances of the assembly combined with some poor design choices make this pretty much a mickey mouse throw away item for me, which is a shame.