Filing to straight for rip?

   / Filing to straight for rip? #1  

chopped

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New England yankeee
The focus of this post is to see peoples opinions on what someone told me about changing the angle of the cutters to 0 degrees for ripping is best.
I am presently using it to cut a checkerboard into a few stumps. They dull fast even when I think its clean. But it has to be done. What i do is cut the checkerboard real deep and then use the backhoe teeth to twist chunks off it..
Lots of sharpening, the last sharpening there were 3 teeth on one side of the chain lol So im using it to it is ''gone''
So i was wondering ,if anyone has resharpened to the straight angle or close. Id like to take a new chain and then each sharpening id slightly change the angle to the 0 degrees..
 
   / Filing to straight for rip? #2  
Yes, the cain can be sharpened to straight configuration.

Rip chain can also be purchased ready to go. :D
 
   / Filing to straight for rip? #3  
The focus of this post is to see peoples opinions on what someone told me about changing the angle of the cutters to 0 degrees for ripping is best.
I am presently using it to cut a checkerboard into a few stumps. They dull fast even when I think its clean. But it has to be done. What i do is cut the checkerboard real deep and then use the backhoe teeth to twist chunks off it..
Lots of sharpening, the last sharpening there were 3 teeth on one side of the chain lol So im using it to it is ''gone''
So i was wondering ,if anyone has resharpened to the straight angle or close. Id like to take a new chain and then each sharpening id slightly change the angle to the 0 degrees..

I messed with it once. It struck me as looking way more effective than it was and yes, the chain dulls rather quickly as cutters are slamming into the wood as opposed to slicing into it. I guess it would differentiate as to the type of wood you are ripping. Mine was hardwood but never tried it with pine and the gains (if there were any) did not outweigh the pain in the neck of constant saw sharpening. i wouldn't file any cutter straight ever again. You can certainly try a 10 degree angle as opposed to the standard 25-30.

Now for a real work out, checker board your stumps about 1 and half inches deep then block them out with a maddock. No matter what you do, you reach a point low on the tree where mineral build up just dulls the heck out of a cutter. Couple that with all the hidden earth and small stones and dirt filled breeches the tree sucks up into its bottom as it grows and you have a chainsaw sharpening extravaganza.
 
   / Filing to straight for rip? #4  
Yes, the cain can be sharpened to straight configuration.

Rip chain can also be purchased ready to go. :D

I suppose rip chain has its place for some applications but I never saw the big deal about it being so much more effective than regular chain. I never thought so but I never did any milling with it on a tool such as the Alaskan mills. File back a regular chain to 10* and your golden. I've had to split logs in half that were too heavy for whatever was there that day to pick them up. Going to the mill they had to be halved rather than bucked of course but regular chain seemed to do just a well.
 
   / Filing to straight for rip? #6  
but regular chain seemed to do just a well./QUOTE]

Rip chains may give a better quality of cut.:)

From what I saw comparing the two was that the stryrations were more numerous with regular chain and more spaced with rip chain. If boards were to be used for construction then I guess it wouldn't matter. If boards were used for furniture or finish stuff, then the wood would go thru a planer anyway. Of course speed of the cut has more to do with the finish than the amount of cutters when referencing quality of cut with a chainsaw?
 
   / Filing to straight for rip? #7  
There is also more than one type of rip chain out there.

I seen some lumber cut that would have been perfect for siding straight from the chain. The rip should cut a little faster too.
 
   / Filing to straight for rip? #8  
There is also more than one type of rip chain out there.

I seen some lumber cut that would have been perfect for siding straight from the chain. The rip should cut a little faster too.

Rip chains became popular when people were using undersize saws to rip logs. Fewer teeth dragged didn't allow for as much drag down of the chainsaw so it seemed to cut faster in reality it simply didn't slow the undersize chainsaw as much. They could sell a $200 Alaskan Saw Mill much better if they didn't bother to tell you that you also needed a $1200 chainsaw to use it with efficiency. "Just buy this 20" rip chain with our mill for utmost efficiency" A big chainsaw 70cc and above and preferably 80cc will cut and rip any wood with a regular chain with authority and the wood comes out nice enough to side with as well. (relative to the eyes of the beholder of course) I have this siding all over my property out buildings. Never used the rip mill as I would never have the patience but did give one of my 066 Stihls to the guy making me up a bunch of siding as his saw was much too small for the amount of siding I needed and it would have taken him forever. It still had my regular chain on it the entire time and he bought my chainsaw the next day as he was so thrilled about ripping with it over the the 58cc saw he regularly used that he insisted me selling it to him. That saw with regular chain would easily licketysplit a 20" stem lengthwise when a stem got too heavy for transport.
 
   / Filing to straight for rip? #9  
I use a Husky 395XP on a Logosol mill.
I gave my Husky a muffler mod and it's a beast. I had trouble breaking the original low profile chains and went to a 3/8 pitch, .063 gage.

I go with about a 10 degree angle, but here's the real tip for aggressive cutting:

Use a smaller dia. file than called for. This makes the top angle more acute and it really makes a difference in cutting speed.
After all, when your're milling, it's the top edge that you're cutting with.

A soapy water feed helps a lot also; it keeps the dust down and the sap off of the chain.

And keep the chain SHARP and with no more than about .025 or .030 on the depth, or you'll be breaking chains if you have a sizeable saw.

Happy milling,
Arky
 
   / Filing to straight for rip? #10  
I also use the 10* rule for ripping but I am ripping softwoods up here and am unsure of what type of wood you are ripping. If it is hardwoods then I would not file to 0* in my opinion.
 
 
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