Sharpening chainsaws

[BlueKnife]

Pretty much any method of sharpening a chainsaw could work with enough experience. I think the learning curve for an average guy to pickup on was the whole point of the video.

True. Then I wish he had at least included some decent hand files instead of those garbage Chinese ones.

 

[BnRidge]

Taking the depth gauges right down to the top of the links is going to cut a little faster in a long kerf, if you have the horsepower to pull it, but would make the thing totally unusable (if not)

I have a chain, brand new, ms462, 24in, rakers filed to .60-.07, and, unusable, all grabby and wonderful. I wonder how short of a bar it would take to get it to pull through. A 2:1 sharpens really well with slight sideways pressure, and really poorly with excess downward pressure.

 

[4570Man]

Taking the depth gauges right down to the top of the links is going to cut a little faster in a long kerf, if you have the horsepower to pull it, but would make the thing totally unusable in any cut lacking a flat kerf at least 3 cutters long (e.g. 1.5" for 3/8" chain). Rock that chain a bit in the kerf, or put it onto a branch that's only 4" diameter with a curvature too great to catch 2-3 cutters, and it's just going to grab and stall.

You’re talking way beyond practical hp to pull a chain with the rakers gone. I don’t use a depth gauge on the rakers and just bump them on the bench grinder every now and then. The grinder leaves visible scratches across the raker that start to polish off with use. I usually won’t grind them again until the previous scratches are mostly polished off. A 16” diameter log can easily stall a 500i if I get them too low. You can control the saw enough that it’s not grabbing all day but you can’t pivot it full force off the dogs either.

 

[WinterDeere]

You’re talking way beyond practical hp to pull a chain with the rakers gone. I don’t use a depth gauge on the rakers and just bump them on the bench grinder every now and then. A 16” diameter log can easily stall a 500i if I get them too low. You can control the saw enough to work but you can’t pivot it full force off the dogs either.

I've done a lot of milling with 0.5 - 3 tpi hook tooth blades on a bandsaw, and I'd expect the same rules there to roughly apply, when using a chain with the depth gauges removed. Generally speaking it becomes a self-limiting mechanism, as soon as you have 3 or more teeth in the kerf.

Depth gauges set at .025 may cut a little slower than .035, but taking them down to .100 probably isn't 3x faster than .035, as one tooth begins to act as the depth gauge for the next.

I haven't tested this, but that's what I'd expect, having spent more time at a bandsaw than most. For me, just taking the depth gauges down .01 below factory gets the job done at a speed/hp compromise that keeps me and my saws happy.