Hedge trimmer blade sharpener

[digger1]

For gas powered hedge trimmers, looking for input on your experience on sharpening the blades. I have seen the small handheld portable 12 volt sharpeners advertised. Do you sharpen them yourself or take them somewhere?
Thanks for your input.

[green boy]

do myself and use a dremel tool to do it.

[1stclasslawns]

I have used a dremel as suggested above. but I have used a good sharp file too it does a n excellant job and if you don't have a dremel.

Jim

[digger1]

what type of attachment is on the dremel tool (stone grinder, metal, ceramic, etc.)?

[brian mon]

Do myself.....angle grinder(very carefully)......have used good flat file, does do a nice job but takes too long...

[Gravely_Man]

Dremel tool with the cone shaped sharpening tool or a rat tail file for a very quick touch up.

Gravely_Man

[digger1]

Thanx for the tips and info. Will give it a try while the snow is flying.

[tiedeman]

I have always used a rounded file, but it takes a long time to do. Usually about 30 to 45 minutes.

[FiNaL]

can you use a chain saw sharpener to sharpen hedge trimmers? i was told that they don't sale hedge trimmer sharpens any more and you either had to buy a new blade or get it done by some one.

[Runner]

I use a die grinder (air) with a 3" cutting disk on it. This works excellent. Very fast and with precision.;)

[GLAN]

To use a chain saw grinder you have to remove the blades.


Go buy a 4" side grinder and a vice grips.

Less than 10 minutes all 4 gutting edges are done.


It takes practice

[darryl gesner]

I use my round chain saw file. It is time consuming, but my Shindaiwa blades hold an edge very well and rarely need sharpening. BTW, It needs to be a sharp file or it won't do squat.

A 4 inch grinder sounds kinda big to me. I've been told by many friends and dealers that a die grinder (like Runner said) is the way to go.

[bam]

angle grinder, it only takes a few minutes. if its awkward, lock the gearbox into a vise and its easy to sharpen all the blades.

[QuadRacer041]

Originally posted by green boy
do myself and use a dremel tool to do it.



same here works fine that way

[Team Gopher]

Here is a sharpener I found. Click image for link.

http://store4.yimg.com/I/right-tool_1758_34619141 (http://www.right-tool.com/grandualshar.html)

[bigmower1]

I use a fourteen inch cut off wheel. You take the blades off and set the cut off wheel at 90 drgrees for one side and the turn it 90 degrees for the other side. All you have to do is pulse the cut off wheel for a second and light file the edge and dont accelerate the wheel to fast or it will burn the blade, but doing it this way is very fast and the edges are perfectly straight when you sharpen then this way, which is a must or even if your blades are sharp, doesnt mean they will cut perfectly, unless the edges are also perfect and they stay sharp for a long time. Before you do it this way, make sure you use a broken practice blade first to get the hang of it.

[Roger]

Wow, ... a thread that is four years old is revived. The question and information is just as valid now as then.

I take my blade assembly apart, put each blade in the bench vise at an appropriate angle, and use a hand file to sharpen each tooth. The angle is critical so that I can hold the file at the right position for full cut across with width. Also, the lighting is important to see that the file is cutting properly.

Sure, taking the blade assembly apart takes time, but in the off-season, time isn't important to me. More importantly, it allows me to clean out old grease in the case, and repack with fresh grease.

[BeautifulBlooms]

My answer: I use a die grinder (like a dremel tool only free after rebate last year. Using a stone, preferably the cone shaped or cylindrical shape. I am unsure if I got cheap stones but I go through one stone per sharpening per 24" hedgetrimmer. Anyone else use that many? They are pinkish in color is there a different stone I should be using.

Speaking of greasing them at the same time, how important is using the exact grease on the load on the engine. I used a red high temp lithium grease on mine, and was told to change that to the white lithium grease, is this true? Can you explain the differences?

[saw man]

We use a bench belt sander. best way!

Similar to this.

http://toolmonger.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/09/DM_Belt_Sander.jpg

[Envy Lawn Service]

That thing is sweet!

How much?... And what type of belt do you recommend?

[Pietro]

I have had my STIHL for awhile now, going on 2years.....the dont need to be sharpened....I always spray the blades in WD40 after I use em to keep the sap and crap off of em.....keeps em sharp.

[Furness & Sons L&L]

we use the belt sander from harbor freight. Better than any shop can do around here.
Its the 1" belt sander cost is under 40.00
bucks, pays for itself. Its similar to saw mans belt sander he has pictured

[saw man]

I will have to check the belt, I believe the units we got were around $500 a piece at the time. Bought a few so I am not sure.

[saw man]

I have had my STIHL for awhile now, going on 2years.....the dont need to be sharpened....I always spray the blades in WD40 after I use em to keep the sap and crap off of em.....keeps em sharp.


Are you serious? All we need is WD40 and nothing will go dull?

And to think we spent tens of thousands on sharpening equipment and all we needed was wd40!

:rolleyes:

[RELIABLELAWNMAN]

I use the Black and Decker RTX-2 rotary tool. It is compatible with Dremel
accessories. Instead of using WD-40 I spray my hedge trimmers with CRC silicone spray before and after trimming.

[grassman177]

are you kidding me????

all cutting edges need sharpening. you probably dont sharpen your mower blades much either!

or you dont do much trimming, one of the two. *trucewhiteflag*

we have to sharpen our trimmers a few times per year cause we do lots of trimming .

i found that the die grinder used carefully is the fastest but i want that grinder tool as posted above if it works!.

[ed2hess]

angle grinder, it only takes a few minutes. if its awkward, lock the gearbox into a vise and its easy to sharpen all the blades.

I use the angle grinder also and take the top off the gear box so you can rotate the gears to get at the various surfaces. Used to take blades off but after putting them back on once I discovered they were out of sync and operated that way for 4 months. Now I know what the alignment pin holes in the two gears are for in Echo.

[Pietro]

I swap mower blades every other day. We do lots of trimming......the WD40 helps. Of course they will need to be sharpened eventually, but not as often as youd think. I bought mine 2 years ago, use em like crazy and theyre still razor sharp.

[Breezmister]

I have had my STIHL for awhile now, going on 2years.....the dont need to be sharpened....I always spray the blades in WD40 after I use em to keep the sap and crap off of em.....keeps em sharp.

Pietro is right, you can get 2 years before you have to sharpen your blades if you oil them all the time, and keep them adjusted. And use a punning shears for anything half the width of the opening of the cut, or about 3/8 th of an inch.

[Roger]

... and keep them adjusted. ....

????

Help me understand your statement. Please elaborate. I would like to get more life from my blades.

[Breezmister]

????

Help me understand your statement. Please elaborate. I would like to get more life from my blades.

Your blades are held on with nuts and bolts, they need to be tightened to take up the slop from wear and tear. Metal against metal, that is why you should oil them daily. Now you don't need to do this in the first few hundred hours if you maintain you blades by oiling them, but they do wear.
And you don't need to do it the way I do it, it can be done with the hedge trimmer off
What I do is mount the hedge trimmer in a vise or on stand so it can be started and ran. BE VERY CAREFUL DOING THIS ! the last thing you want is to have the hedge trimmer fall out of the stand and cut you up.
Adjust the idle screw up so that the blades are moving, about 1/4 throttle. Take two long wrenches, hold the bolt and unlock the top nut, then turn the bolt up until the blades stop, then back the bolt off until the blades move again and lock the nut back in place. There should be washers on the bolt side, they should move freely, if not, you are too tight. Back the bolt off just a tick until the washers move freely. DON"T put your fingers near the blades when they are moving :nono: Of course you can do it with the machine not running and it is safer :) For the first timers do it with the machine off. I do it this way because it saves me time and I've been doing it for 30 + years BTW, I still have all my fingers...with some scares :laugh:
Some times this is all you need to do with out the need to have them sharpened.

[desert rose gardening]

Where I live and work I cut 90% green brush and 10% dead brush. That dead brush will dulls my blades fast! Like cutting dried hard wood with a chain saw. I have to sharping mine all the time.

[Envy Lawn Service]

Oil them with fluid film instead of WD-40.

Fluid Film is better all the way around... lubes, stays damp, resists the crud buildup, and is safe on the shrubs.

[Roger]

Breezmeister, ... Thanks for your explanation. You didn't say what kind of gas powered trimmer you use, but the blade assembly must be different than mine.

I have a Stihl HS80, 24" bar. I also have a Stihl hedge clipper attachment for my string trimmer, 22" bar. The teeth on the attachment are slightly smaller, but the operation is the same. Both are double reciprocating blade units.

I understand the metal-to-metal friction. I put fresh oil on my bar about every 20 minutes. A full tank of fuel runs for about 45 minutes at WOT, so I oil when I refuel, and about half way through the tank. I use bar and chain oil, undoubtedly much to the horror of some on LS who are concerned about petroleum products on green shrubs. I've never seen this thing called "Fluid Film," but that seems to be a favorite with many here. I have WD-40, but I think the bar and chain oil lasts longer for lubrication on the blade than the much lighter weight WD-40. To each his own on this matter.

My blade assembly has four bolts through the bar, spaced a few inches apart. The blades have slots where the bolts pass through. In that slot is a spacer, a short metal block, perhaps 1/2" long, with a hole in the middle. The spacer is held in place by the bolt, and allows the bolt to be tightened. The spacer allows enough slack in the fit-up, so that the blades can pass back/forth, yet the bolt remains fully tightened. In other words, the tightness of the bolt does not determine how snuggly the blades fit against one another.

The first year I took my bar assembly apart, I tightened the bolts snug, but not firm. I was concerned that the blades would run too tightly, developing heat and be too hard to drive. I quickly learned (20 minutes, maximum), I had two bolts fall out. They became loose quickly from the vibration. The other thing I learned is to get new nuts each time I take it apart. The nuts are Whiz Nuts" (I think that is what they are called), with one-way serrations on the bearing surface. This is a form of lock-nut bolting. When one bolts down on them, the sharp ridges of the serrations get mashed down a bit, and will not hold very well. That is why new nuts with sharp serrations work best, and will remain tight.

I take my bar apart when sharpening (with a hand file). Also, I can clear out old grease in the transmission and repack with fresh grease. When I reassemble the bar, the blades are clean as I can make them. I do spray them down with WD-40, and tighten the bolts snuggly. I keep track of the spacers and put them in the same place as they came out, oriented the same way (side to side, top to bottom). I fired up the trimmer, let it run for a couple of minutes. Then I reset the nuts, torquing them down tightly. I refire, and run again, being sure the spacers and blades are running well, are not too tight, and get no heat buildup. Then I reoil liberally with bar and chain oil, and put it away until next season begins.

I have done this for about 7 or 8 seasons. I thought about getting new blades a couple of years ago. These blades are showing signs of wear from the sharpening. But, I learned the bar assembly is about $225. Yikes!! With the other wear-related parts in the bar, I would not consider just replacing the blades, and keeping the spacers and other strips that are part of the assembly.

Perhaps you could write a page for the OSHA manual on gas powered trimmer blade adjustments. I'm sure they would plussed by your procedure.

[topsites]

I have never in 6 years sharpened mine and I am sure they are very sharp, I do spray them with a little oil in between uses, but other than that all I did was follow dealer recommendations as in: are they dull?

[Breezmister]

Breezmeister, ... Thanks for your explanation. You didn't say what kind of gas powered trimmer you use, but the blade assembly must be different than mine.

I work on what ever comes into the shop, which is a Tanaka dealer now.



I understand the metal-to-metal friction. I put fresh oil on my bar about every 20 minutes.

Thats great, I'm glad some guys read the manual.


I use bar and chain oil, undoubtedly much to the horror of some on LS who are concerned about petroleum products on green shrubs.


I have had this ,,,disagreement with one guy that comes into the shop, that putting oil on the blades will burn the plants...I have yet to see this happen. But the Tanaka manual does tell you to oil your blades.
He borough his all most new hedge trimmer back in after a few weeks of use complaining that the blades were frozen, I put some PB Blaster on them and just chatted with the guy as to why he didn't follow the directions in the manual. Giving the PB Baster time to work. Started the trimmers up and the blades moved just as they should have. His time and $ because he would not follow the drictions in the manual. Personally, I don't care what oil you use, one of my better customers use old motor oil.


My blade assembly has four bolts through the bar, spaced a few inches apart. The blades have slots where the bolts pass through. In that slot is a spacer, a short metal block, perhaps 1/2" long, with a hole in the middle. The spacer is held in place by the bolt, and allows the bolt to be tightened.


The 30 inch Tanaka has a guide bar that has 5 or 6 threaded holes in it. Bolts with fender washer are passed thru the blades, elongated holes in the blades, and threaded in to the bar to hold the blades in place and a lock nut is then threaded on to the bolt and locked against the guide bar to keep the bolts from coming loose.


The first year I took my bar assembly apart, I tightened the bolts snug, but not firm. I was concerned that the blades would run too tightly, developing heat and be too hard to drive. I quickly learned (20 minutes, maximum), I had two bolts fall out. They became loose quickly from the vibration. The other thing I learned is to get new nuts each time I take it apart. The nuts are Whiz Nuts" (I think that is what they are called), with one-way serrations on the bearing surface. This is a form of lock-nut bolting. When one bolts down on them, the sharp ridges of the serrations get mashed down a bit, and will not hold very well. That is why new nuts with sharp serrations work best, and will remain tight.


You learned an important lesson there, that it is cheaper to spend the few dollars on new nuts then to take the chance that they will come loose and cause you down time. Just like carrying a few tools with you, I hope :rolleyes:


I take my bar apart when sharpening (with a hand file). Also, I can clear out old grease in the transmission and repack with fresh grease.


Dosen't Stihl have a grease fitting on the gear case ?


I thought about getting new blades a couple of years ago. These blades are showing signs of wear from the sharpening. But, I learned the bar assembly is about $225. Yikes!!


Yea, blades are not cheap, heat treated and harden. I know guys that will keep throwing money in to an older machines when it would be cheaper to buy a new one. But that is a judgment call.....


Perhaps you could write a page for the OSHA manual on gas powered trimmer blade adjustments.


:laugh: Yea OSHA.... I don't think they would approve of alot of the things I do in the shop. I do take my time and think some things threw, wear my safety glasses, hearing protection and steel tipped boots all the time. Mechanix gloves when working on sharp things. Doing a quick job is important, but keeping my eyes and fingers is more important to me :rolleyes:

[J&R Landscaping]

I have used an air powered cut off wheel. Good results from this. (I got this idea from my dealer as he does the same thing. Why should I pay him to do it when I have the tool to do it myself!)

[ed2hess]

Yea, blades are not cheap, heat treated and harden. I know guys that will keep throwing money in to an older machines when it would be cheaper to buy a new one. But that is a judgment call.....
:rolleyes:
I recently replaced the blades and both gears on Echo 1500 and it was just a little over $100. I believe the new blade material is a lot harder than the 7 year old units we have. Not sure though.....

[Breezmister]

I recently replaced the blades and both gears on Echo 1500 and it was just a little over $100. I believe the new blade material is a lot harder than the 7 year old units we have. Not sure though.....

WOW ! That is a great deal. Even with the dealer discount there is no way I could beat that for a set of Tanaka replacement blades.

[RICHIE K]

I use a hand file

[Infinity Landscapes, Inc]

I use a 4" die grinder to sharpen and for oil on the blades we use pam cooking spray. Very cheep at costco. I have been sharpening my own bades for 13+ years. I have 8 hl 75 and the new sthil 4 mixes all sticks.

[bigmower1]

Your blades are held on with nuts and bolts, they need to be tightened to take up the slop from wear and tear. Metal against metal, that is why you should oil them daily. Now you don't need to do this in the first few hundred hours if you maintain you blades by oiling them, but they do wear.
And you don't need to do it the way I do it, it can be done with the hedge trimmer off
What I do is mount the hedge trimmer in a vise or on stand so it can be started and ran. BE VERY CAREFUL DOING THIS ! the last thing you want is to have the hedge trimmer fall out of the stand and cut you up.
Adjust the idle screw up so that the blades are moving, about 1/4 throttle. Take two long wrenches, hold the bolt and unlock the top nut, then turn the bolt up until the blades stop, then back the bolt off until the blades move again and lock the nut back in place. There should be washers on the bolt side, they should move freely, if not, you are too tight. Back the bolt off just a tick until the washers move freely. DON"T put your fingers near the blades when they are moving :nono: Of course you can do it with the machine not running and it is safer :) For the first timers do it with the machine off. I do it this way because it saves me time and I've been doing it for 30 + years BTW, I still have all my fingers...with some scares :laugh:
Some times this is all you need to do with out the need to have them sharpened.


You really shouldnt tell people to sharpen their blades that way,because it is very dangerous. You might have never gotten cut doing it that way, but you have been very lucky and I bet you had a couple of close calls. This is the best way to do it, and I have done many this way. All you have to do is snug the bolt down just enough so the washer on the bottom has a slight amount of play in it. When you snug the bolt down, take your finger and try to push the washer side to side and there should be a little snugness in the movement of the washer. Then carefully snug up the bolt on top, making sure that you didnt change the tention on the blade washer.Sometimes you have to turn the bolt slightly on the bottom where the washer is because the blades might compress a little and thats easy enough. Then start up the trimmers with all the bolts done and run the blades for about thirty seconds on high. Turn off the trimmers and touch each washer on the bottom and feel if they are hot. If any are hot then simply back off the bottom of the bolt slightly. If they are very slightly warn then they are perfect. Use silicone oil and oil the blades up and that is it. Oil the blades after every few hours of use, just spray them on both sides, about two seconds and your off again. Sometimes people get their blades sharpened and they dont even need it because the play in the spacing of the blades is very critical. Remember, dont forget to oil the blades with silicone oil spray every few hours.

[Breezmister]

You really shouldnt tell people to sharpen their blades that way,because it is very dangerous.


Yes, It is Very Dangerous. And I would not recommend anyone doing it my way. Yet there are some guys here that are capable of doing it that way because they can think it out.
For me, it's the only way I do it now. It's a question of time and getting the job done quickly.
I've learned alot of tricks of the trade over the years that OSAH would not approve of, yet can be done safely if you do them carefully and think them out.
Safety glasses, steel tipped boots, gloves and hearing protection. You can look kool and be safe with all the different styles out there

[bigmower1]

Yes, It is Very Dangerous. And I would not recommend anyone doing it my way. Yet there are some guys here that are capable of doing it that way because they can think it out.
For me, it's the only way I do it now. It's a question of time and getting the job done quickly.
I've learned alot of tricks of the trade over the years that OSAH would not approve of, yet can be done safely if you do them carefully and think them out.
Safety glasses, steel tipped boots, gloves and hearing protection. You can look kool and be safe with all the different styles out there

Telling someone to adjust their blades with the engine running really isnt a good idea and very dangerous and it isnt worth the risk of loosing a finger or injuring yourself. I told you a better way and it really is the best way to do it and much safer. Try it out. I have been doing it this way for as long as I can remember and its been a long time.

[Alta Lawn Care]

I do a lot of hedge trimming and sharpened 'em up once this spring (flat file) and hit 'em with the WD-40 every morning and every fill up. My new Crew Leader says he's never used a hedge trimmer that cut like mine and he's used the same brand (Stihl). He also added that he can't remember his previous employer ever sharpening the blades . . .

[johnnywill08]

do myself and use a dremel tool to do it.

ditto works great after a little practice. shoudlnt need too much grinding w/ trimmers unless you tweaked em on a chain link fenc or something.

[bigmower1]

Using a file can work, but the best way to do it is to use a miter saw with a 7 1/4 metal cutting blade and just pulse it once or twice for each edge. It isnt only a matter of how sharp the blades are, they also have to be sharpened straight and if you can do that with a file, then thats good, but it is much easier and faster with the method I use.

[Envy Lawn Service]

Using a file can work, but the best way to do it is to use a miter saw with a 7 1/4 metal cutting blade and just pulse it once or twice for each edge. It isnt only a matter of how sharp the blades are, they also have to be sharpened straight and if you can do that with a file, then thats good, but it is much easier and faster with the method I use.

Now that's interesting!!!

Good for you :usflag:

I'd like to watch you do that.

Do you sharpen other things that way too?

[EVM]

You are supposed to use a tool to gap the blade tightness. I forget the tool's name but the manual has the correct gap procedure.

[Trenchblade]

dremil tool, with the chainsaw sharpener bit.