Granberg G-1012XT 12-Volt Chain Grinder, by Thomas Christianson

The ability to effectively sharpen a chain is one of the most basic foundations for productive chainsaw use. Cutting with a well-sharpened chain is a joy. Trying to cut with a dull chain is a frustrating and soul-rending ordeal.

In Greek mythology, a man named Sisyphus was punished in the afterlife for his wickedness. He was eternally compelled to roll a large bolder up a steep hill. Every time he neared the top of the hill, the bolder would slip away and roll back down to the bottom of the hill. His punishment was the frustration of being forever engaged in a difficult job without ever being able to complete it.

If the ancient Greeks had any experience with chainsaws, I think they would have forced Sisyphus to eternally harvest firewood with a dull chain instead. There are few tasks in the known universe that are more joyless exercises in futility.

The Granberg G-1012 12V Precision Grinder is an outstanding tool for sharpening chainsaw chains to factory-new effectiveness. The use of a 12-volt direct current power supply makes the batteries of most motor vehicles into a convenient source of power for the grinder.

The tool is robust, easy to understand, simple to use, and is American-made. It cost $109 at www.granberg.com at the time of this writing. I highly recommend it.

Background

I have typically sharpened my chainsaw chains by hand. This process has given me good results for many years now. The use of a simple file guide has given my efforts the appropriate degree of precision.

About two years ago or so, I purchased a new chain for one of my saws. The teeth on the new chain were made of harder steel than any of the chains that I had previously used.

Theoretically, harder steel means that the chain will stay sharp longer. The problem is that when trees are felled on sandy soil, some of the sand seems to embed itself into the bark. Then, when those logs are bucked, they quickly dull chains made of even the hardest steels. And when chains that are made of harder steel become dull, they are that much more difficult to sharpen than chains made of the more common steels.

As a result, it suddenly became much more difficult to sharpen the chain on this particular saw. The useful service life of my files was also significantly diminished. My chain files had previously lasted many years. Suddenly the files that I used on this particular saw were wearing out much faster.

Eventually, I was getting such poor results hand-sharpening this particular saw, that I began periodically bringing the chain in to a local small engine repair shop for professional sharpening. But even the professional sharpening produced less than stellar results. I began to wonder if there was a problem with the saw itself rather than with the chain.

Then I ran across the Granberg G-1012XT 12V Chainsaw Sharpener online. I wondered if it might give me better results than sharpening by hand. I contacted Granberg, and asked if they could provide me with a sample for testing and evaluation. They were kind enough to agree. Not long afterward, a package arrived on my doorstep.

First Impressions

The sharpener arrived in a 13.75 x 12 x 3.5 inch USPS Priority Mail Medium Flat Rate Box. It was shipped from Granberg International, 1051 Los Medanos St., Pittsburg, CA 94565-2561.

The box contained a large number of styrofoam packing peanuts, a “Picking Ticket”, a Granberg sticker, and a plastic clam pack containing the sharpener.

The clam pack contained the grinder base, the motor unit, instructions, a warranty card, and 3 grinding stones (sized 5/32, 3/16, and 7/32).

I found a link to a helpful how-to video at the Granberg website. After viewing the video, I headed out to the pole barn to give the G-1012XT a try.

Testing

My problem saw was a Stihl MS251 with an Oregon 22LPX068G chain. I placed the saw on the workbench in the pole barn, properly tensioned the chain, and then began to follow the instructions for the use of the grinder:

1. I began by placing the grinder base over the chain and bar.
2. Then I placed the chain clamp over the chain rivets and tightened the screws finger tight. This allowed the clamp to hold the chain snugly while permitting the cutters to slide through the clamp smoothly.
3. I then tightened the grinder base screw to secure the base firmly to the bar of the saw.
4. Next, I marked the top of the first cutter on the chain with the red Sharpie. This would show me when I had finished sharpening all of the cutters on one side of the chain. I then positioned the marked cutter against the chain stop.
5. Then I placed the 3/16 grinding stone into the mandrel of the motor unit and tightened the stone finger tight.
6. I next attached the motor unit to the grinder base, set the angle dial to 30 degrees, and left the tilt angle at 0 degrees in accordance with the sharpening recommendations for this particular chain.
7. Then I adjusted the height dial until the grinding stone surface was between 1/5 and 1/10 inch above the cutter surface.
8. I attached the alligator clips on the power cord to the battery poles on my John Deere 110 lawn and garden tractor, which I typically park near the work bench in the pole barn.
9. I turned on the grinder, and gently stroked the full length of the grinding stone back and forth along the cutter until the cutter was sharp.
10. I adjusted the cutter-length-stop for uniform cutter length. I then sharpened each of the cutters on the one side of the chain.
11. I then reset the angle for the cutters on the opposite side of the chain.
12. Using a bolt and two nuts, I made a cutter length gauge as suggested in the instructional video. This enabled me to readjust the cutter length stop so that the cutters on both sides of the chain would be the same length. I then sharpened each of the cutters on the second side of the chain.
13. After sharpening the cutters, I checked the depth gauge to see if they needed to be adjusted. They did not yet need to be adjusted.

Results

After sharpening the chain, I used the saw to buck four maple logs. Each log was about 15 feet long and between 18 and 24 inches in diameter.

The performance of the chain after being sharpened with the precision grinder was dramatically better than it had been when sharpened by hand or in the chainsaw shop. The saw cut just as well as it had when the chain was factory-new.

The results with the Stihl MS251 were so dramatically improved, that I also sharpened the chain on my Jonsered CS2255. For that saw I used the 7/32 stone and set the angle to 25 degrees. Otherwise the process was the same as that described for the MS251.

Granberg Grinder History

Elof Granberg was a World War II veteran who found a job as a contract logger after he returned home from the war. He was not satisfied with the results of free-hand chainsaw sharpening, so in 1954 he invented the File-n-Joint, a file guide system to bring precision to the task of chain sharpening.

Then in the 1970s, Granberg developed a hand held 12 volt electric sharpener. Eventually, Granberg wedded the electric sharpener to the File-n-Joint file guide to create the precision grinder.

Granberg is justly proud of their precision grinder. As they write on their website:

“Elof Granberg introduced this as the first hand held 12 volt sharpener to the chainsaw accessory market in the 70’s. Why is that important? We originated the tool so we’ve had longer than anyone else to develop it and we set the standard. Every other bar mounted grinder is a copy of the standard we created!”

Granberg International may be best known for their bar-mounted chain saw mill, the Alaskan. This mill made sawing lumber from logs accessible at a lower price point than other commonly available mills. The Alaskan mill was also easier to transport to remote locations than other commonly available mills.

Granberg International is still a family business, owned and operated by Elof’s descendants.

Conclusions

The Granberg G-1012XT 12V Precision Grinder does an outstanding job of sharpening even the hardest to sharpen chainsaw chains. It is easy to use, and produces consistently effective results. I highly recommend this quality tool.

Disclaimer

Granberg provided me with a sample of their G-1012XT 12V Precision Grinder for testing and evaluation. I tried not to allow their kindness to interfere with my objectivity, and I believe that I have succeeded. I did not receive any other financial or other inducement to mention any vendor, product, or service in this article.