Watch: Sharpen a Chainsaw With a Cordless Drill

If there’s one thing chainsaw users agree on, it’s that they disagree on how best to sharpen chain teeth. Some love files and hate electric sharpeners, while others are happy enough to sharpen up a few spare chains and swap them out when they get too dull.

I have to say that although I usually use an electric sharpener and carry a number of spare chains in my saw case, I can see the value in using a file. After all, it’s pretty easy to get a tooth too hot or take off more material than necessary when you use an electric sharpener with a grinding wheel.

This guy offers a compromise, demonstrating how you can use a round chainsaw file in an electric drill to quickly and easily return even a damaged chain to tip-top shape, and I think his method is faster than using my dedicated electric sharpener.

With today’s cordless drills being so small and handy, it would be pretty easy to take one along with you on a job, and touch up your chain quickly and easily on your tailgate (or in a handy cut-off tree as shown here).

As explained in the comments, the chain in the video had been damaged by a metal object, so this was a little more than just a quick touch-up. I wish the final part of the video had been clearly focused, but I don’t doubt the chain got nice and sharp.

Check it out and see what you think.

Russ Chastain

Editor & Contributing Writer Russ Chastain is a lifelong hunter and shooter who has spent his life learning about hunting, shooting, guns, ammunition, gunsmithing, reloading, and bullet casting. He started toting his own gun in the woods at age nine and he's pursued deer with rifles since 1982, so his hunting knowledge has been growing for more than three and a half decades. His desire and ability to share this knowledge with others has also grown, and Russ has been professionally writing and editing original hunting & shooting content since 1998. Russ Chastain has a passion for sharing accurate, honest, interesting hunting & shooting knowledge and stories with people of all skill levels.