Buffalo Tools ECSS Electric Chainsaw Sharpener

I have been using a chainsaw since about 1985,using mostly Stihls. I have gone through chains, bars, clutches etc. Bought a Granberg Bar-Mount Chain Saw Sharpener about then, it is a great tool, even when the metal got sloppy it still worked. I could sharpen a chain in the field on the tailgate of a pickup in about 10 minutes and life was good. Well I have seen this type of sharpener and said, how can it be better? Well shucks, it is. Now for less than $50, you can sharpen all your chains and never have to pay again that 8 bucks per chain.Set up - out of the box, you simply bolt the chain holder to the base and that is about it. It took me about 3 minutes to set the depth right, this really will not vary much since the same teeth are used throughout the same series saw. The movement of the teeth through the holder is also easy. the metal stop simply stops the movement backwards, now if you ram the chain back against this too hard you will miss the cutting of that tooth. This metal stop is just that, a simple stop, run the chain through then press back against the stop and lock. You would think that locking and unlocking the chain holder would be a PITA. Well it really is not, once you get the chain through, push against the stop, spin the lock it is secure. I took a chain off a Stihl 028 and placed it in the sharpener, I think I spent longer setting it up than I did sharpening the teeth! Get a sharpie, color the first tooth you cut and move around until you see it again, reverse the angle and go at it again. I did a 16" chain in less than 3 minutes.Pros - simple - like really simple! Out the box, 3 minutes, up and running!Motor is on while you move to the next tooth, no need to start, stop the cutting wheel.Cons - now it is plastic, treat it as such. You need to learn to kiss the tooth rather than cut the tooth. I wish the pivot had lockouts at each 5 degrees, but no biggie - you just need to pay attention to the dial and hit your number as such.Now each worn chain will need the stop moved to a different place, but this is simple enough, loosen the plastic jamb nut, spin in or out and lock it down.Time will tell, right now for the $ paid, it is a 5 startUPDATE:i went and found chains that were so rusted that they would NOT "bend" , dropped them in a shallow bucket of penetrating oil, left it over night and worked the kinks out. Went to sharpen it, even after cleaning the oil off it still smoked a bit, I had teeth that the tips were gone! It would not cut warm butter, I had to take a good bite out of these teeth, so i slllllowwlly ground into each tooth, took a little more time, as the motor slowed due to the heavy cut, i would back off keeping the motor running at 100% or close. After about 6 minutes I had run through a throw away chain and it is almost good as new, I will use this chain when i am cutting wood already on the ground. Once again, machine worked very well, I have sharpened 4 chains and have 6 more to do.I added a light on the side to "see" the cut and set up a bit better.If I had to build this machine better, I would add a heavier motor and a light. But for $50, this will work very well!UPDATEhere we are 6 years later.....thing hangs in shop - rarely used, but I pulled it down today to sharpen a small 8" saw chain. Thing works like a charm. I wish I paid only 40 bucks for it !!!! I paid a little more looking back - but it has been money well spent. Treat is nice and it will be fine........

The media could not be loaded. After reading the reviews, I decided on this purchase. I'm a DIY type of person with a above average mechanical background. Recent Ice storms have put a strain on all my chains. I have a 18" Poulan wild thing, and a 10" electric pole chain saw. The first thing out of the box I noticed the depth gauge nut did not fit tightly in its recess nor was it a full sized nut. After finding a proper thread pitch and size nut, it fit much tighter in the recess. I put a dab of silicon on it to help it insert and stay in place. Mounting holes are not shouldered at the bottom so whatever you use will have to catch the top of the mounting hole. I decided on a pair of 5/16" X 2" carriage bolts and mounted it to a piece of 1/2" particle board that fit into a drawer on my workbench. I did use a pair of 5/16" fender washers to distribute the pressure of the nuts below the mount.Once mounted, I plugged the unit in and turned it on. I must say, I was not impressed with the initial sound. It sounded weak and slow. So I mounted a chain into the sharpener, and as a previous reviewer stated, look for the two identical teeth (cutters on the same side) as a starting point. that way you know you've made it around. Next, adjust the chain link lock so that it grips the drive link tightly. You can adjust the knob easily by pulling out and setting it back to tighten down more securely. Set the turntable to the desired degree setting, adjust the link stop, adjust the depth gauge and you are ready to go. At this point you're on your way to sharp chains. I did every other cutter, then switched to the other direction so you'll go around the chain twice. I did on purpose go into sharpened links twice and must say that you could tell you'd been there already. Very little cutting would occur.My concerns about the motor were unwarranted. It did just fine for the conditions. It's a sharpener not a bench grinder. As a kicker, I set the turntable to 0 degrees and used a bungee cord to hold the grinding wheel down. On the pole saw chain, since it had been sharped for the second time, I decided to touch up the depth gauge paw. I would pull the chain under the grind wheel. The depth gauge adjustment let me knock off just a smidgen so that the top plate was back in specification. This might not be for everyone, but had to try it for myself. Overall, for myself, I think this will work fine for my needs.If I were to find cons, lack of a simple LED work-light and location of the on-off switch would be better located on the handle by your thumb. Simple quality control like the using real nuts instead of whatever they were using.Pros, The price of this unit and the amount of times we have ice storms that warrant the overuse of my chainsaw make it a useful item to keep in my arsenal. The four chains that I sharpened have already paid for all but $1.99 of the cost of the sharpener.UPDATE: I've run the sharpened blades on the both chainsaws now and am very impressed with the chips and shavings that they are creating. See last photo.