Chainsaw Repair

Can you post a photo of the other side, so that folks who want to do something similar can be inspired?

I don't have welding capabilities, so a 'no-weld' design would be interesting.

Thanks !

Philbert

Let's see if I can post photos of my low tech filing vise.

Philbert

Originally posted this on another site (won't let me reference?).

The body is a piece of angle iron from an old bed frame.  The front is piece of flat iron stock from the hardware store.  The cam clamps were scrounged from seat posts of cheap, old mountain bikes (I used spacers on the back to avoid the need to cut down and re-thread the posts) - Rockler Woodworking also sells these new for about $10 a pair.  The small, tapped screws at the bottom are to let me add spacers to keep pressure focused near the top. 

Total vise width is 11 inches, which lets me file everything from 10" pole pruner chain to 36" MS 660 loops: any pitch, any gauge. I bolted it to a piece of 2X so that I could mount it in my woodworking vise when needed, and to allow some height adjustment.  Could be an 'L'-shaped base to clamp/mount to a trailer bed or picnic table. Make sure to offset it slightly to allow chain clearance in front of the vise.

You can probably figure it from here, or improvise your own version. The key is to keep the halves together during fabrication so that they are the same.  I used double stick tape when drilling the holes, then bolted them together while grinding the radiuses.  Hacksaw, drill press, and bench grinder is all I really used.

Next version:

- I will add a third clamp in the middle of the vise for more even clamping pressure.
- I will move the clamping holes up slightly from the middle to put more pressure on the drive links.

Philbert

I can definitely post a pic. I will get one later today. All it is a short hardwood board and I drilled a hole into it to attach sprocket/drum.


Any updates on the photos?

Thanks!

Philbert

Noticed the homemade vice above  was made from an old bed frame rail. That material is manganese steel. You have to be a "MAN" to saw or drill it but it should last forever,

Those old bed rails were my dad's favorite material for building little things around the house that utilized angle iron. He would seek it out at the scrap yard. As a kid I always wondered why it was so difficult to work with but later on, in college, I noticed what steel they were made of.

So if you have any old bed rails laying around, don't take them to the junk yard.