Chain Saw Sharpening

[Ridgewalker]

Been there, done that...and agree, I don't know how else I could take out a few of my "leaners" with out cutting bottom up. I have also been watching the logging show on Discovery and saw them drill a hole with the tip of the saw. I tried that when installing a few fence posts and it worked great.

As far as sharpening chains, I have 6-7 of them...all dull. I stink at it but then I am using a file in the field. I need to buck up and get a guide and will be using ya'll's comments to pick one.

Sometimes you have to... like when a log is on high points at each end. If you cut it from the top, it will pinch your bar. If you cut from underneath coming up, it opens as the log settles down. No other way to do it other than hiring some massive equipment to drag the tree out.

 

[MossRoad]

I was watching the helicopter logging show and there, the guys have to limb a tree as they climb it, top it, come back down and cut through the trunk, but not all the way, leaving just enough wood to hold up the tree but take just enough wood that the helicopter can snap it off the standing trunk!

The guys were pushing the saws straight into the trunk to watch the color and hardness of the wood before they climbed them to make sure they weren't hollow inside.

I also went to a few tree felling websites to learn how to fell trees and watching the logging shows gives you a good idea of how to apply the things you read and the diagrams you look at.

I took out about 50 trees a few weeks ago and that knowledge was very handy. Even though most of the trees were under a foot in diameter, it was nice to start at the edge of the woods and drop them in a nice neat stack that was easy to haul out with my little tractor. I did drop a couple large cherry trees and did it real slow and watched and learned. Very satisfying to get them to go down where you want.

 

[Diesel-ME]

I use the Granberg 12volt clamp-on deal - this one
I bought it from Bailey's a few years ago for similar $.

I charge an old car battery once every year or two and keep it in my basement shop and this thing runs forever on a charge - no need to buy an inverter. Just buy a bunch of spare stones up front and change them as needed to maintain peak efficiency.

It works wicked good as we'd say around here

~paul

 

[MossRoad]

I just started sharpening my own chains this year, as we got a wood burning stove last fall. I use one of these hand files to sharpen my chains. It works very well. I give about 6 strokes to each tooth and try to maintain even pressure. Every few times I sharpen the chain I take a flat file to the depth gauges to knock them down. Again, I take about 6 strokes to each depth gauge. I use a red sharpie marker to mark the teeth I have done.

I have 3 chains. I tend to use the saw for about an hour at a time. I can cut a cord in that time, usually with one chain and no sharpening. If I detect any loss of cutting speed, I switch chains and keep cutting. At the end of the day, I sharpen any dull chains and then store them in a zip lock bag with oil. Works well for me. It would be nice to have an electric sharpener, but I looked at the harbor freight model and it looked flimsy. And the one at Northern tool is $90.00. The hand file was under $10.00. It only takes me maybe 10 minutes to sharpen one chain by hand. I will be cutting about 6-10 cords a year, so that is only about 20 sharpenings a year, plus another 4-5 for the felling. I just can't justify the cost of the electric sharpener for that, but it is a cool tool.

The one at Harbor Freight doesn't do the depth gauges. Does the one at Northern do them? If so, it might be worth it.

 

[Bedlam]

RIDGE<

'I have also been watching the logging show on Discovery and saw them drill a hole with the tip of the saw. I tried that when installing a few fence posts and it '

Sorry what do you mean by hole in the bar?

 

[Ridgewalker]

You lost me but I guess I didn't explain that well enough. I used the tip end of the bar on the saw to saw straight into a fence post to complete the notch I was putting in the post for a horizontal rail. I saw them "drill" trees on TV to see if they were solid that way and I wanted to try the technique to see if it works. Which it did...but getting it started was a little tricky and the safety guys may poo poo the technique.

No holes in the bar...just in my head.

RIDGE<

'I have also been watching the logging show on Discovery and saw them drill a hole with the tip of the saw. I tried that when installing a few fence posts and it '

Sorry what do you mean by hole in the bar?

 

[Highbeam]

A plunge cut that is.

I use the top of the saw all the time.

Honestly, for the last few years I have been taking my chains two or three at a time to the saw shop where he sharpens them to perfection for 10$. I'm not retired, I have work to do and don't want to sit around trying to sharpen a chain.

If I stumbled into one of those electric sharpeners I Might have to try it though.

 

[jimmyj]

I use a dremel for a few touch ups and then the HF sharpening wheel thingee noted earlier. It works really well, fast, easy and brings the chains back to consistency whereby the dremel method over time will get the teeth and such out of synch with each other.

Interestingly the HF tool I use is my next door neighbor's as he drove to the US to get it. HF won't ship to Canada and the same darn thing (instead of 29.99 at HF) is currently on "sale" here at a tool store for 84.99!

Note: I cut with the top of the bar all the time too. I've done plunge cuts, cut holes through logs and trees and all sorts of things with the tip too. Just have to be very careful and pay attention and manage RPM's and stand properly etc. It can be done safely I think although it's not nearly as safe as regular cutting. Truthfully I love working with a chainsaw.

 

[MossRoad]

I've tried a couple plunge cuts and the thing wants to bounce hard and that seems dangerous to me, so I don't try it and am very careful to not let the tip hit anything. But, I know it can be done as I've seen it done. I just don't feel comfortable doing it.

I really need a new saw, just for safety sake. Mine is an old Sears saw. 18". Cuts great. Light yet powerful enough for me. However, it has no chain brake and a tiny hand guard. And just last week the on/off switch won't turn it off unless you really press it down. Time to look for a newer model with chain brake.

What fun toy can you make with a chainsaw engine?

 

[srjones]

I've tried a couple plunge cuts and the thing wants to bounce hard and that seems dangerous to me, so I don't try it and am very careful to not let the tip hit anything. But, I know it can be done as I've seen it done. I just don't feel comfortable doing it.

I really need a new saw, just for safety sake. Mine is an old Sears saw. 18". Cuts great. Light yet powerful enough for me. However, it has no chain brake and a tiny hand guard. And just last week the on/off switch won't turn it off unless you really press it down. Time to look for a newer model with chain brake.

What fun toy can you make with a chainsaw engine?

Plunge cuts are pretty dangerous and there's a real skill and art when attempting with a normal bar. The trick is to do the cutting with the nose bottom, not the nose top. A carving bar will work very for notching fence posts since the 'danger area' is much smaller.

You could convert your unsafe saw to a winch, or have it power a small scooter or a big model boat.

I have the HF sharpener, and it's well worth it. It does have a depth gauge but you'll need file the rakers by hand with a flat file and a raker gauge.

 

[MossRoad]

Plunge cuts are pretty dangerous and there's a real skill and art when attempting with a normal bar. The trick is to do the cutting with the nose bottom, not the nose top.

Now that makes sense. I've always hit the top of the nose instead of the bottom.

 

[jimmyj]

Hey Moss Road, you gotta get a saw with a chain brake man. You can, at certain times or with certain types of cuts actually hold your upper hand in such a way that you press against the back of it so ANY tiny bit of nasty business makes it lock on. I don't think I will ever use my antique Skill no-brake saw again.

When I make plunge cuts I use the bottom of the tip as noted and when it's finally deep enough "push" the tip straight through the log. Always at very high RPM's and I don't think I'd ever do it with a chain that was immediately just sharpened because sometimes they bit a bit harder. I wonder what an expert like Treemonkey would have for advice.

 

[Bedlam]

Ridge ,
Thanks I understand now. No troubles..

 

[wedge40]

What fun toy can you make with a chainsaw engine?

I've heard they make great blenders. A little noisy, but powerfull. Anybody need a margarita or a banana monkey.

Wedge

 

[Redbug]

I never could get all the teeth equal. This is what I use all the time, now. Best chainsaw sharpener I have ever used. And you don't need electricity!

Oregon Professional Chainsaw Bar-Mount Filing Guide

Lowe's has them for about $10 cheaper.

 

[czechsonofagun]

I never could get all the teeth equal. This is what I use all the time, now. Best chainsaw sharpener I have ever used. And you don't need electricity!

Oregon Professional Chainsaw Bar-Mount Filing Guide

Lowe's has them for about $10 cheaper.

I used it till my friend let me use his HF grinder. Than I got my own and never touched this jig again. But it works ok.

 

[Colorado Michael]

I have been using the harbor freight sharpener for a couple of years and love it for sharpening the teeth. Unfortunately it is not so handy for setting the depth. I started tinkering and found that the depth is every bit as important. That got me thinking.

I live in a pine forest and pine or aspen is all that I ever cut. Could I get away with dropping the depth deeper then the manufacture recommends since I am only cutting soft wood? I am tempted to just try it on my old mcculloch, but I figured I would put the question out there first.

 

[arrow]

I have been using the harbor freight sharpener for a couple of years and love it for sharpening the teeth. Unfortunately it is not so handy for setting the depth. I started tinkering and found that the depth is every bit as important. That got me thinking.

I live in a pine forest and pine or aspen is all that I ever cut. Could I get away with dropping the depth deeper then the manufacture recommends since I am only cutting soft wood? I am tempted to just try it on my old mcculloch, but I figured I would put the question out there first.

Most of my cutting experience is/was with hardwoods. Occasionally we'd get a pine lot to clear. Depending on the species of pine, sometimes a deeper depth gauge actually makes things worse and slows cutting down. The wood is too soft to break cleanly and grabs hard akin to getting a saw stuck in a protective leg chap. Try it for your pine and see how it works.