mikim
Veteran Member
OK -- so where were you when I was spending $100 more for the same !@#$% thing from Baileys?? /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif /forums/images/graemlins/tongue.gif -- but they sure do work --
Chainsaw chain sharpening
- Thread starter sendero
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mikim
Veteran Member
that's OK -- I don't need a top on it as much as you do anyway /forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif (watching behind while hoggin' and driving under limbs is tough on hats)
woodmills1
Gold Member
cut as much with a chain saw as I do and two things become clear. that 5 or 6 dollars begins to add up, and more important, I can't stop working to go out and get a chain sharpened after hitting dirt or a rock in the woods. so sharpening is a must. good advice earlier to hit each tooth 2 3 times at each start and refuel. now for the scoop. first you have to use a chainsaw file not a rat tail and it must be sized to your chain, nothing else will do. put a hadle on it or you won't get a good cut. now push the file from the inside to the outside of the teeth don't pull. try it on a lightly used blade so the angle is good to use as a guide. with the saw in front of me motor close and bar away I sharpen the teeth on the left from the right side of the bar. the the ones on the right from the left side of the bar. righties and lefties will be better at one side or the other. I use my right hand to push and my left as a guide with the file lightly riding on it. sharpen all the teeth that are on one side at the top of the bar then rotate the chain untill the whole thing is sharp. the do all the teeth on the otherside. you don't have to push hard or fast using just a little down pressure. mor light passes are better than one heavy one. the entire curved part and the complete cutting edge should be shiny. rotate the file after each cut.
now most important WEAR GLOVES. DO IT YES saw chain will bite you bad in 2 seconds and you will bleed profusley. I know this you won't be happy.
now most important WEAR GLOVES. DO IT YES saw chain will bite you bad in 2 seconds and you will bleed profusley. I know this you won't be happy.
Spencer
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</font><font color="blue" class="small">( I hate to tell ya, but I think you got ripped off on that hat too /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif )</font>
sendero, that actually made me laugh out loud! Thanks
sendero, that actually made me laugh out loud! Thanks
cowboydoc
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Like all things it requires a touch and a feel. Not everybody can be a machinist, roper, quarterback, mechanic, etc. Everybody has their gifts. Not everybody can sharpen a chainsaw chain. Certainly to get good you first have to see what good is. The only way to do that is to get with somebody that can sharpen a chainsaw chain. Learn from them and repeat what they do. If you don't get it right go get another lesson. That is really the only way you are going to master it.
knucklehead
Platinum Member
Sendero, you made wifey spit watermelon on me! She was sitting here making fun of my measly post tally and asking me why I wasn't so manly as Mr.XXXXX and Mr.YYYYYY (funny, she was really ticked when the new windows and siding weren't getting put up last year), and laughing at the funny profile pics, when you popped up with the hat thing. Watermelon is sticky.
knucklehead
Platinum Member
I was waiting for Woodmills to pop up, and I defer to his wisdom, as I am only a brush clearer and 10 cord +/- firewood cutter. But I also couldn't help but notice Egon had a nice, concise (can you teach me that?) post of very pertinent info, which I second from my experience:
<font color="blue">Never let the chain get a glaze on it. Tighten it well before sharpening [even overtight so you don't round the edges] and touch up often. Like at each fuel refill as mentioned. When cutting don't force the saw to make a cut.
When you have a fresh sharpened saw on the blade check out the angles with a file so you can repeat them later. When filing always use a straight stroke and work at a convenient height. </font>
Get comfortable - if you get the saw at roughly elbow height, you will find the stroke of the file is naturally straight, and the file itself has less tendency to roll over the bar like a rainbow. I also notice things go much better when the chain isn't trying to roll away from my file stroke, so the tension is checked first on my saw, too (but not over tight - it's too hard to roll the blade, and that's how I get cut, even through the gloves). The left side is the one I fight rolling the bar or chain, because I am pushing the saw over in it's unstable direction. They make bar clamps you can drive into stumps, and my Father made one by welding a sharpened piece of bar stock onto a C-clamp. I was thinking of a simple piece of 4x4, maybe 12" long, with a saw cut part way into it - the bar would have to be lifted to advance the chain, but it's simple and I wouldn't have to drive that spike into my tailgate /forums/images/graemlins/tongue.gif
<font color="blue">Never let the chain get a glaze on it. Tighten it well before sharpening [even overtight so you don't round the edges] and touch up often. Like at each fuel refill as mentioned. When cutting don't force the saw to make a cut.
When you have a fresh sharpened saw on the blade check out the angles with a file so you can repeat them later. When filing always use a straight stroke and work at a convenient height. </font>
Get comfortable - if you get the saw at roughly elbow height, you will find the stroke of the file is naturally straight, and the file itself has less tendency to roll over the bar like a rainbow. I also notice things go much better when the chain isn't trying to roll away from my file stroke, so the tension is checked first on my saw, too (but not over tight - it's too hard to roll the blade, and that's how I get cut, even through the gloves). The left side is the one I fight rolling the bar or chain, because I am pushing the saw over in it's unstable direction. They make bar clamps you can drive into stumps, and my Father made one by welding a sharpened piece of bar stock onto a C-clamp. I was thinking of a simple piece of 4x4, maybe 12" long, with a saw cut part way into it - the bar would have to be lifted to advance the chain, but it's simple and I wouldn't have to drive that spike into my tailgate /forums/images/graemlins/tongue.gif
knucklehead
Platinum Member
Action item report:
I just got back from my dealer, 15 miles west of here and worth driving by the other shops along the way. Turns out that overheating is the big cause of fast dulling, as MarkV mentioned - takes all the temper out of the chain. His opinion is that overheating pretty much ruins a chain, as it makes for more frequent sharpenings which reduces life significantly. Buying bulk chain and making your own, machine filing, rotating chains are fine, but he takes a simple approach (which is why I like him) - keep it cool, stop when the chain says it's time (not always when the gas runs out), and a hand file with good comfortable rest is all we need. He also says hit the rakers with two good, full flat file strokes when the saw is half used and it will be O.K..
Sendero, I'd keep filing if you like it. I like hand work, as it seems you do. You probably know to use new files. I rotate my file in the holder once in a while so I'm not using just one spot on each side (right and left). I wrap it in an oily shop rag to keep it dry and away from banging into other metal stuff in the box.
Does anyone flip their bar every so often? I never did it until I got the manual with the new saw, and it makes sense, so I do it every 6-8 tanks of gas (book says 8 hours). They say it keeps the bar from developing a dip where the cuts are made frequently. Woodmills?
I just got back from my dealer, 15 miles west of here and worth driving by the other shops along the way. Turns out that overheating is the big cause of fast dulling, as MarkV mentioned - takes all the temper out of the chain. His opinion is that overheating pretty much ruins a chain, as it makes for more frequent sharpenings which reduces life significantly. Buying bulk chain and making your own, machine filing, rotating chains are fine, but he takes a simple approach (which is why I like him) - keep it cool, stop when the chain says it's time (not always when the gas runs out), and a hand file with good comfortable rest is all we need. He also says hit the rakers with two good, full flat file strokes when the saw is half used and it will be O.K..
Sendero, I'd keep filing if you like it. I like hand work, as it seems you do. You probably know to use new files. I rotate my file in the holder once in a while so I'm not using just one spot on each side (right and left). I wrap it in an oily shop rag to keep it dry and away from banging into other metal stuff in the box.
Does anyone flip their bar every so often? I never did it until I got the manual with the new saw, and it makes sense, so I do it every 6-8 tanks of gas (book says 8 hours). They say it keeps the bar from developing a dip where the cuts are made frequently. Woodmills?
Spencer
Veteran Member
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</font><font color="blue" class="small">( Does anyone flip their bar every so often? )</font>
I do it every time I take the chain off. I don't know if it is right or wrong but thats what I have been doing.
I do it every time I take the chain off. I don't know if it is right or wrong but thats what I have been doing.
woodmills1
Gold Member
not only flip the bar, but take the back of an old hacksawblade and clear the junk out of the groove. always make sure the oil feed hole is clear. using dull chain will actually reduce the life of the saw. something like cylinder wall scoring I think.
knucklehead
Platinum Member
Me, too. I also clean the boogers out of the bar with a piece of cardboard, and brush or blow the sawdust out of the thing - cylinder and head fins, and clean inside of the side cover, especially around the brake band. I figure I want to keep that brake band happy.
There's a lot of wet, oily sawdust packed in behind the cover in the Winter, so I disassemble the saw every night after working in freezing temps. Evidently the saw moves a lot of snow when the bar is into it - sometimes I can see water running right out with the chips. Even though it's fun, I think I may be abusing the saw slightly (or not slightly) by running it in the snow, so I'm going to cut in the Fall this year.
Just remembered (wish I had at dealers): what do others do with the drive sprocket? Sawing was simple before I got that manual......it says replace it with a new bar. A friend at work says if it isn't banged up, he keeps running it. The manual only show one of those "international symbols" that makes the sprocket bearing look like it's sweating /forums/images/graemlins/tongue.gif so I've been sticking my sprocket grease gun in the center and pumping grease into it - seems like there's a chamfered hole there that fits it well, and the grease goes into the bearing - I think.
Funny how it starts to matter when it your $$ in the saw.
There's a lot of wet, oily sawdust packed in behind the cover in the Winter, so I disassemble the saw every night after working in freezing temps. Evidently the saw moves a lot of snow when the bar is into it - sometimes I can see water running right out with the chips. Even though it's fun, I think I may be abusing the saw slightly (or not slightly) by running it in the snow, so I'm going to cut in the Fall this year.
Just remembered (wish I had at dealers): what do others do with the drive sprocket? Sawing was simple before I got that manual......it says replace it with a new bar. A friend at work says if it isn't banged up, he keeps running it. The manual only show one of those "international symbols" that makes the sprocket bearing look like it's sweating /forums/images/graemlins/tongue.gif so I've been sticking my sprocket grease gun in the center and pumping grease into it - seems like there's a chamfered hole there that fits it well, and the grease goes into the bearing - I think.
Funny how it starts to matter when it your $$ in the saw.
You might want to establish a watermelon-free zone within a 10' radius of your computer monitor /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif
As for the bar, I do flip it and clean it up periodically. And yes, I also like to take the cover off and clean out all the pooky periodically. It can really get packed with gunk and yes, I definitely want to keep the chain brake happy - I've never accidentally engaged it but I'd like to think it will work when I inevitably do!
As for the bar, I do flip it and clean it up periodically. And yes, I also like to take the cover off and clean out all the pooky periodically. It can really get packed with gunk and yes, I definitely want to keep the chain brake happy - I've never accidentally engaged it but I'd like to think it will work when I inevitably do!
looch
Veteran Member
I concur with woodmills. I'll also add that most of my chainsaw use is far away from the convenience of electricity - maintaining trails, building foot-bridges, dock repair, and even firewood.
I also find it rather serendipitous that at about the time I’m getting tired of sawing, the chain needs sharpening. We all know that a sharp chain is safer than a dull one. Consider also that actually taking the time to sharpen the chain provides the operator with a chance to sit down, catch a breath, and relax (because noise causes stress, too).
Technique is something I learnt from my dad. In fact, whenever there is more than one person involved in the cutting operations (almost always the case when we’re in the middle of nowhere), sharpening can be simplified. One person sits and braces the saw against them while also controlling the chain (holding it when sharpening, and moving it to the next tooth). The other sharpens. When I’m alone, I find I can get one side done by holding the saw myself, against my leg. The other side is a bit trickier. You can prop it against something, or sink it into a log to hold it. Every 2nd tooth, I'll give the file a wipe (much to the chagrin of my wife) on my pant leg.
I bring (besides gas and oil) a small tool kit with me that includes:
the sparkplug/screwdriver tool
2 files
a spare chain
a special grease gun for the bar
a stiff-bristled paint brush
a rag
and finally, a tourniquet.
I also find it rather serendipitous that at about the time I’m getting tired of sawing, the chain needs sharpening. We all know that a sharp chain is safer than a dull one. Consider also that actually taking the time to sharpen the chain provides the operator with a chance to sit down, catch a breath, and relax (because noise causes stress, too).
Technique is something I learnt from my dad. In fact, whenever there is more than one person involved in the cutting operations (almost always the case when we’re in the middle of nowhere), sharpening can be simplified. One person sits and braces the saw against them while also controlling the chain (holding it when sharpening, and moving it to the next tooth). The other sharpens. When I’m alone, I find I can get one side done by holding the saw myself, against my leg. The other side is a bit trickier. You can prop it against something, or sink it into a log to hold it. Every 2nd tooth, I'll give the file a wipe (much to the chagrin of my wife) on my pant leg.
I bring (besides gas and oil) a small tool kit with me that includes:
the sparkplug/screwdriver tool
2 files
a spare chain
a special grease gun for the bar
a stiff-bristled paint brush
a rag
and finally, a tourniquet.
knucklehead
Platinum Member
I think this site may have been mentioned on TBN before, but here it is anyway. I was searching on saw stuff and found Madsen's. There is a ton of technical stuff there, in addition to the products. Just the bars & chain link has as much as I imagine any of us would want to know about the business end of saws. It's a huge time sink.
Paul - I forgot about that rest thing. I can really relate; the saw gets much better maintenance since I figured that out.
Paul - I forgot about that rest thing. I can really relate; the saw gets much better maintenance since I figured that out.
