Windsor sharpening guide.

[Allar]

Does anyone have any experince with that guide? Looks similar to husqvarna roller guide.


 

[Allar]

 8)

[lxskllr]

Well, why ya posting? Got one, can get one?? Looks like it should work well. The only guide I've used was one a friend bought to have me sharpen his chains. It was a simple plate that fit on the file, but you had to control it manually. I didn't really get on with it. I was inexperienced, and it was a cumbersome setup. I later learned to do it freehand, and that's what I use now. I'm not perfect, bu t I do a functional job, with minimal equipment. I can turn a duster into a nice chip thrower. That's good enough for me, cause it's gonna soon get dull again, and I'll be doing it all over.

[TACOMATODD]

From the limited view that I have, it may be a better setup that the husky. I will have to find out more about these things. It DOES look promising for newbies, like me. And I even understand the geometry behind these things, I just can't execute a straight line while filing. My body does not listen to my brain. I wish it did!

[Allar]

I absolutely love the husqvarna roller guide and it keeps my angles spot on with great ease. However somehow my chains don't pull into the wood.

I don't really wanna purchase this one without knowing anything about it. For sure it doesn't give you the freedom that you get with husqvarna roller guide and i would like to know if this gauge has  one slot deeper than another to compensate for teeth lenght.

It's weird that there's no videos or info about that guide..

[lxskllr]

Windsor doesn't seem to have a strong presence over here anymore. I see the occasional(Usually vintage) forum post, but I don't think I've seen a Windsor anything for sale at the big retailers, online or otherwise  :shrugs:

[Old Greenhorn]

Is it all plastic?!

[Allar]

Is it all plastic?!

I guess so.

[HolmenTree]

Is it all plastic?!

I guess so.

Actually hard plastic is a good thing, it doesn't dull the cutting edge that you're trying to get razor sharp.
Here's a test I did once with a snap on metal Oregon file holder guide. I marked the underside of the center rib with a black permanent marker.
You can see where the cutter's cutting edge was scratching the ink off into the steel.
Guide also left marks in the chrome layer of the top plate.

[Allar]

After doing some research, i found the same guide sold by Bahco.
It seems like that it has the raker gauge on it just like on husqvarna roller.

So in theory, you can sharpen chains with one hand because there's simply no need for 2 hands.
I think i'm getting one just to see what their all about.

Bahco Chainsaw 4.8 mm Professional Sharpening Kit Manual: Amazon.co.uk: Garden & Outdoors

[teakwood]

Is it all plastic?!

I guess so.

Actually hard plastic is a good thing, it doesn't dull the cutting edge that you're trying to get razor sharp.
Here's a test I did once with a snap on metal Oregon file holder guide. I marked the underside of the center rib with a black permanent marker.
You can see where the cutter's cutting edge was scratching the ink off into the steel.
Guide also left marks in the chrome layer of the top plate.

Willard, i have used this guide without any problems. every new stihl saw comes with a sharpening kit like these. it's not my preferred tool for sharpening but it definitively worked for me. i could not found the problems you mention. Maybe oregon and stihl isn't the same model.  

[HolmenTree]

Teakwood, I don't have a Stihl clamp on file guide to study, but from my experience good German engineering probably fixed the "Oregon guide problem " years ago.

[outinthewood]

Couple of points, I've never had the catching the cutter problem with any guide so maybe I'm just lucky ! but you get what I mean if I have caught the cutter then it's never been enough to cause damage or blunt what you have just done. 
You cannot do the job one handed with the Windsor guide you still need both hands to use it as it's meant to be used ! one good point is the "wheels" that the file runs on are a hard nylon so no real wear problems like you get with the Husqvarna type of roller guide, the rollers are a softer type of nylon ? which will if used a lot will give too much of a hook in the top plate and it happens so slowly you only notice when the saw starts to "grab" ask me how I know !!
As I've said I use guides a fair bit since cutting as much windblow as I do I find I get a lot more out of a chain using a guide every 4-5 times or you end up going to far down into the cutter when you are rushing ahead of a over keen harvester driver bearing down on me !

[HolmenTree]

outinthewood, I can relate to exactly what you're saying :D
I have many times in my past cut and skid logging career having had 2 cable skidders or a big grapple skidder barreling back from the landing looking for more limbed and topped treelength logs,  while I'm touching up my chain on my 18"-20" b/c.

But our crews always worked as a team, I'd help my cable skidder operators pull out the mainline and help them set chokers, keep the stumps low to the ground  along with keeping the trees felled straight.
They'd help me limb my felled trees off the block's face by butting up the trees and back blading off the majority of the limbs. They'd even carry me a spare saw on their skidders in case I rocked out a chain or something worse.

But on the subject of guides they are what they are....training wheels. Practice makes perfect then you move onto free hand.
On the subject of the guides that catch the cutting edges and working corner of the chain's cutters as I earlier mentioned, that's like putting a nice sharp edge on your hunting knife and then scraping that edge down your rifle barrel.
Practice makes free filing making things done alot quicker with less stuff to fiddle with and to haul around.

[outinthewood]

Sorry Willard but you are missing my point, in my case I use a guide to maintain a good top plate and since you have watched some of my videos you know I can file very well ! but as I may file maybe 10+ times a day then I do all I can to get as much from a chain as I can... I've always thought of the guide being just that a "guide" i.e. keeping everything on track ! I did on one site wear out a 28" chain in 3 days. 

As for working as a team on skyline then yes you have time to help each other out but on a harvest CTL job things are a little more hectic.. we don't have skidders here, but, I do put a spare bar and chain in the harvester tool box along with a spare chain with me as I don't know any driver who would want a saw in his cab for 8-10 hours ! that's what we work.  The guys do as much as they can but I'm there to do what they can't so if a John Deere 1470 or Komatsu 951 or Tigercat 840 can't do it then I do ! the bottom line is production, not at all cost , but as much as possible the aim being 1000 tons a week from each machine. 

The guide mentioned by the OP is very compact and very "foolproof" to use and takes no real extra time as is Husqvarna type but the easiest is the Oregon - Stihl clamp type which as I say I've not had problems with....

[HolmenTree]

Gotcha, realize now your cutting bigger trees that the harvesters can't cut or get to .
Our  skidder's cabs weren't enclosed with lexan glass , only heavy screen mesh and no doors so the operators  didn't mind having a saw sharing the cab space.

I only touched up my chains at the stump and 3 to 5 minutes max was normal for a 18"-20" b/c. Rocked out I'd grab another saw or spare chain and file the 20 minutes on the rocked out chain in the lunch shack at lunch break or at the end of the day.

90% of our wood production was spruce, rest jack pine and balsam fir.
Good week me felling and 2 skidders put 750 cubic meters (300+ cords) limbed and topped tree length in the landing in 5 days (40 hr.) scale.

Did that once with only 1 cable skidder.
Not putting down file guides as some of the best fallers in our camp used them faithfully. Learned to file with them and stuck with them.
I just did things a little different. ;)

[Allar]

Sorry Willard but you are missing my point, in my case I use a guide to maintain a good top plate and since you have watched some of my videos you know I can file very well ! but as I may file maybe 10+ times a day then I do all I can to get as much from a chain as I can... I've always thought of the guide being just that a "guide" i.e. keeping everything on track ! I did on one site wear out a 28" chain in 3 days.

As for working as a team on skyline then yes you have time to help each other out but on a harvest CTL job things are a little more hectic.. we don't have skidders here, but, I do put a spare bar and chain in the harvester tool box along with a spare chain with me as I don't know any driver who would want a saw in his cab for 8-10 hours ! that's what we work.  The guys do as much as they can but I'm there to do what they can't so if a John Deere 1470 or Komatsu 951 or Tigercat 840 can't do it then I do ! the bottom line is production, not at all cost , but as much as possible the aim being 1000 tons a week from each machine.

The guide mentioned by the OP is very compact and very "foolproof" to use and takes no real extra time as is Husqvarna type but the easiest is the Oregon - Stihl clamp type which as I say I've not had problems with....

How is the oregon/stihl clamp easiest. With the windsor/bahco every single angle is set, all you have to do is push the file and apply pressure on the tooth ( based on picture).