a sharp chain!

[s219]

I generally field sharpen my chains with a file 3-4 times a day when cutting. I am amazed when I hear from someone that doesn't do that! Should be standard practice when using a chainsaw, and it can be a matter of 1-2-3 minutes tops.

Another important factor is choice of cutter type. A lot of people are in love with full-chisel chain because it cuts better, but it also dulls way faster, so it's only better cutting when it's freshly sharp. For that reason, I use semi-chisel most of the time. It reduces the need to file by about 2/3 when cutting wood that is on the ground or has been dragged or rolled on the ground. That is a lot more productive.

My general rule is that when the chips start to show some dust mixed in with the confetti, it's time to pull out the file and sharpen. Don't wait until you can feel the reduction in cutting performance. I also flip my bar after every day or 3-4 sharpenings, which is very important. Many people overlook that too! When flipping the bar, it's a good time to clean the sawdust and gunk out of the clutch cover. An old stiff paintbrush and/or toothbrush works well for that.

 

[Industrial Toys]

Where does one get a semi chisel chain? I would like to try that, for it does seem that the good cutting life of a regular chain is very low and terminal if you touch the ground for even a split second.

This all raises more questions then answers. How long is a file good for? I find the files last worse then the chains. You can feel when the file is sharp and that seems like the first few swipes and then that's it! Are there different quality files? I am sure there are! No where have I seen the mark of poor quality tools more then with cuting tools! Files, drill bits, saw blades, and so forth.

 

[s219]

Files are tricky, but I have found Stihl brand files last a decent while. Remember to periodically turn them in your filing jig if you use one.

All the chain brands make semi-chisel -- just need to find the nomenclature they use to label it. On most of my Stihls, RS is full chisel and RM is semi-chisel. They come in most all of the pitches and gauges.

 

[Industrial Toys]

How important is chain tension? I think I tend to go a bit tighter then others I know. There seems no good way to really judge this, other then by feel. Pulling on the chain to see how many teeth come out of the grove seems somewhat imprecise for something I imagine to be quite critical.

 

[crazyal]

I have a HF sharpener. It seams to work OK but I find that it will grind too much off the chain unless you're very careful. So the only time I use it is if I've hit a rock or did some real damage tot he chain and it needs major filing to get the profile back on the teeth. Otherwise I use a hand file or a Dremel with a sharpening stone.

 

[TomSeller]

One nice thing about the better electric grinders is you get the exact same angle every time. Although I have to appreciate those that can hand file well.

 

[MossRoad]

Setup does trump machine, and the cheapos can do perfectly well with proper technique.

:2cents:: With the motor off/unplugged, adjust the wheel to the bottom of the gullet. Then adjust the 'stop finger' while turning the wheel by hand. You will feel a 'high spot' (inevitable, harmless wobble), that will account for .010-.020" stock removal once you power up. Tighten the finger adjustment and mark your start tooth. You'll always have to reset the stop when you switch to the other side of the chain.

Beware of side play of the wheel head, esp at the bottom of the stroke, due to hand pressure or wear in the head's pivot. If the wheel contacts the tooth on the upstroke it's easy to round it over, compromising relief angle at the cutting edge/corner. I encourage using a j-shaped stroke that's held away from the tooth going down and slightly wiggling the wheel head for say 3 quick but gentle swipes against each tooth face. Hold the wheel to the away side of play when bringing it back up. Be consistent with each stroke/tooth and with tension held against the stop when clamping for best results. If the side doesn't clean up, adjust the stop screw 1/8 - 1/4 turn and go around again. Don't rush it.

Using a cheapo dial caliper or similar, measuring tooth length is as good as measuring tooth height (for side to side consistency) and is faster/easier. Don't sweat one bad tooth here and there. As with saw blades, only having several bad teeth in a row will noticeably affect cut quality/efficiency. If the wheel 'fans' on a tooth when sharpening it won't be tall enough to cut anyway. Don't readjust for a single tooth. Let it go & hit it on the next sharpening or repeat pass around.

Two things often overlooked are fully cleaning up (grinding back) the shine on (from) top of the teeth right at the front corner of each, and not keeping the height gauges trimmed far enough below the teeth. I'm one to shave them pretty far down, but if going too far the saw can pull in or bog more easily. If neglected you remove less stock/tooth and cut less wood per sharpening. If ~half your chips look like sawdust, you probably should have changed to a sharp chain already, and you might have to 'peel' quite a bit to 'bring it up sharp' again. (trade lingo )

The HFT gadget I sharpen with for myself and several others is kind of whomped after the years, but I get good results and do lots of 'return engagements'. As always, it's not what you have, it's what you do with it. (My name says what I do. :laughing tog

I have the HF sharpener as well. I like your comment about the "J" stroke. That's pretty much what I do, too. Just kiss that tooth, don't grind it. I've used mine for about 4 years now. I have 5-6 chains in a zip lock bag with some oil in my saw case. I just change them out in the field if they get dull. When I get down to only one spare, I sharpen all of them in one sitting and put them back in the bag. Works great. Only thing I don't like about that sharpener is you sharpen towards the front of the blade on one side of the chain, but towards the back on the other side of the chain. I'd like to sharpen from the front towards the back on both sides and you can't do that with this sharpener.

 

[mx1alex]

One nice thing about the better electric grinders is you get the exact same angle every time. Although I have to appreciate those that can hand file well.

There is a learning curve to doing it by hand. There where a few times where my angles would be off and the saw would try to twist or turn basically when I got into big logs.

As for files I think I've always used Oregon brand and they seem to last quite a while. Really when they're brand new they're probably taking off more than they need to.

s219 is right about flipping the bar over. I probably don't do that enough. Another thing I'll do to the bar is de-bur it when I have the chain off.

 

[Gafn]

I generally field sharpen my chains with a file 3-4 times a day when cutting. I am amazed when I hear from someone that doesn't do that! Should be standard practice when using a chainsaw, and it can be a matter of 1-2-3 minutes tops.

This is my first chainsaw - so i truly have no freaking clue what I am doing. Sharp spinning end goes into the tree - that is about the limit of my knowledge.
You can be amazed that I don't know how to field sharpen my chains, I have not attempted to sharpen one yet for fear of jacking it up so dang bad that the chain becomes unusable.

Why is flipping the bar important? Is it a wear issue?
I am currently working on a white oak about 24 feet long and 28 inches in diameter, I am starting to see the sawdust with the confetti - so I should pull that chain and set it aside, or since I pay to have them sharpened - just use it till it will not cut anymore?
I just bought a 2 pack of chains so I have spares.

 

[CobyRupert]

Get yourself a file guide.


Follow the instructions (designated angles and pitch) on the chain box. Be consistent. Sharpen often. Get a vise, a bench or someplace you can hold the saw steady for consistency. I always do the Michael Jackson thing with one glove so I can grab the chain and hold it tight and turn it. If you get it wrong, no problem. You'll know (no chips, just dust), so try again. Flip bar. People have a tendency to cut sideways (either because of applying pressure or uneven sharpening, etc, ?), a bar's "rail" will wear uneven on one side, causing more exaggerated sudeway cutting. Flipping bar helps this. Wear safety chaps.
Actually, don't put the spinning end into the tree.. When top side of the end of bar hits objects, this is when you get kick back. Not good.

 

[s219]

How important is chain tension? I think I tend to go a bit tighter then others I know. There seems no good way to really judge this, other then by feel. Pulling on the chain to see how many teeth come out of the grove seems somewhat imprecise for something I imagine to be quite critical.

Very important, and I think too tight is perhaps worse than too loose. I just hold the tip of the bar up with one hand and turn the tensioner until the chain comes up to meet the bottom of the bar. Tighten up the nuts slightly and then give the chain a pull to make sure it moves freely and doesn't slacken any. If good, tighten up the nuts completely, if not, adjust a little more. Might take 1-2-3 iterations to get perfect. You should be able to flick the chain and it will spin freely with no resistance.

Also, be sure to adjust tension with a cold bar/chain as much as possible, and do not re-tighten fully when the chain heats up and expands. If you do, it can be way too tight when it cools down, and actually bend the crankshaft of the saw. Stihl pre-stretches their chains, so new chains will only be expanding from heat. With other brands, a new chain may stretch during initial use, so you might need to play a delicate game of taking up slack but be careful not to go too tight. If I ever have to re-tension a hot chain, I know it should be left a little looser than a cold chain.

 

[s219]

Get yourself a file guide.


Follow the instructions (designated angles and pitch) on the chain box. Be consistent. Sharpen often. Get a vise, a bench or someplace you can hold the saw steady for consistency. I always do the Michael Jackson thing with one glove so I can grab the chain and hold it tight and turn it. If you get it wrong, no problem. You'll know (no chips, just dust), so try again. Flip bar. People have a tendency to cut sideways (either because of applying pressure or uneven sharpening, etc, ?), a bar's "rail" will wear uneven on one side, causing more exaggerated sudeway cutting. Flipping bar helps this. Wear safety chaps.
Actually, don't put the spinning end into the tree.. When top side of the end of bar hits objects, this is when you get kick back. Not good.

All good advice here, well said. :thumbsup:

 

[s219]

I am currently working on a white oak about 24 feet long and 28 inches in diameter, I am starting to see the sawdust with the confetti - so I should pull that chain and set it aside, or since I pay to have them sharpened - just use it till it will not cut anymore?
I just bought a 2 pack of chains so I have spares.

You will reach a point where the chain is so dull the saw has to work much harder and it will run hot. You want to avoid that situation, as it's not productive for you and it's not good for the saw. If you can field sharpen a chain with a file, do it as soon as you see the confetti starting to break down. If your only option is to change out the chain, then I'd probably wait until the dust and confetti are about 50/50. That is before the chain becomes totally useless, but after you have gotten some good life out of it.

Of course, how quickly a chain dulls depends on a lot of things. You can wreck a brand new super-sharp chain in a heartbeat if it hits the dirt or runs through dirty wood on the very first cut. I am sure that has happened to all of us. I usually just shake my head, cuss a little, and pull out the file.

 

[mx842]

You will reach a point where the chain is so dull the saw has to work much harder and it will run hot. You want to avoid that situation, as it's not productive for you and it's not good for the saw. If you can field sharpen a chain with a file, do it as soon as you see the confetti starting to break down. If your only option is to change out the chain, then I'd probably wait until the dust and confetti are about 50/50. That is before the chain becomes totally useless, but after you have gotten some good life out of it.

Of course, how quickly a chain dulls depends on a lot of things. You can wreck a brand new super-sharp chain in a heartbeat if it hits the dirt or runs through dirty wood on the very first cut. I am sure that has happened to all of us. I usually just shake my head, cuss a little, and pull out the file.

Yeah there is usually a little head shaking and cussing going on while I'm cutting wood too.:hissyfit: I have a 5 gal bucket I carry with me anytime I go into the bush with my saw. In the bucket is a screw driver and a wrench to loosen the bar nuts. A flat file and a couple chain files in a plastic pouch. A couple aluminum wedges and a small hatchet. I also carry chain oil in the bucket along with a can of gas/oil mix on the side.

One thing about files is you can dull one of those about as quick as you can dull a chain if you handle them wrong. don't let them bang together or put them in a place where they can roll around in contact with other medal objects. I had a old friend that said to not even touch the file with your fingers because it will cause it to dull quicker. I don't know if that is true but he showed me how to hold the file when filing the saw to make it last as long as possible one hand on the wooden handle and the other lightly on the very tip of the file to maintain stability.

What I do when cutting wood is I lightly run the file around the teeth every time I put gas and oil in the saw. It's always easier to keep the chain in good cutting order if you sharpen it before it gets really dull and out of shape. When cutting medium sized wood, 12" to 17" stuff by the time you have run a tank of gas through the saw you have cut a pickup truck load of wood once it is split. I found this out back when I was selling firewood. When the saw ran out of gas I would stop and then split it with an ax and a wedge then throw it on the truck. Pretty much always I would have a good load with a few sticks left over for the next one. I could cut split and deliver 4 loads a day sometime 5 or 6 if I was cutting good wood that was clean and split easy and didn't have to haul it too far. Doing it this way kind of broke up the operation into parts where it made the day a little easier. I hated the splitting part and loading the truck more than anything so it broke that part up. The cutting part was my favorite part but that went by so fast I didn't get to enjoy it that much.

 

[Sodo]

When sharpening with the file:

In the file-holder / jig you can set the file clamp a little less on tightness so the file can be rotated. Use your pinky & heel of your hand, give the file a few degrees rotation at each chain tooth, this spreads usage around the file. This gives the file teeth time to clean out. This is not an extra operation, you just work it in to your M.O. Like walking and chewing gum at the same time. Sometimes run your glove backwards across the file to clear the chips from the file teeth. I'm always surprised how much simply rotating the file a little makes a difference. Almost like the file is sharpening itself - try it!

I try to use between 2 and 4 strokes per chain tooth. Each unnecessary stroke is less chain life.

 

[prs]

I just sharpen mine with a file by hand and do it with the chain on the saw. I can sharpen the chain about as fast as swapping out chains.

I have never used a real chain grinder. I tried one of those that are sort of like a Dremmel tool, its on a shelf somewhere around the shop. I do have one of those Oregon hand jigs, also on the shelf somewhere. I also just use the round files on the cutters and "eyeball" it. The commercial round ground chisel chain is my favorite. I will touch-up a chain three times in the field, on the fourth I remove the chain after sharpening and rotate to one of my other two chains that I buy for each dive cog. When three chains are worn out, the cog is about due for replacement too and I would never put a new chain on a worn cog.

I had a set of three chains sharpened "professionally" once because one of the relatively new chains had two broken cutters the shop was replacing. The result was a nice sharp chain, but the cutters were half ground away!

prs

 

[Sodo]

I have never replaced a cog. Certainly they cant last forever, butttttttt,,,,,,,, ???? That sounds like an expensive way to save money.

 

[prs]

Sodo, a worn cog will be out of pitch with a new chain and thus cause chain stretch. One might end-up needing to remove a link in order to get the chain taught. I use open spur cogs that are part and parcel of the clutch clamshell; maybe that choice makes some difference, I dunno.

prs

 

[Sodo]

Sodo, a worn cog will be out of pitch with a new chain and thus cause chain stretch.

PRS what you write makes sense,,,,, in theory. I understand what you are saying if it was machinery, or a motorcycle, bicycle.

Still,,,,, in practice, I have never changed a cog on my chainsaws, and never had trouble tightening a chain, never noticed chain stretch. As far as I can tell ,,,,, and running on old cogs, my chains have are worn out when there's no longer enough "tooth" to be sharpened, not stretch.

Maybe I'm not paying attention. I dont cut wood for a living probably bought about 10 chains (&zero cogs) in my lifetime. And I run a chain to the bitter end so maybe the normal guy woulda bought more chains.

 

[Piston]

I have used my new Timberline Sharpener a few times now. I've tried quite a few different jigs, clamps, and files, but this one is certainly the method I'll stick with. I really like how exact it is, and how easy it is to make every tooth an identical length.

I just wish for something so "exact", they had a more precise way to file the depth gauges.