Sharpening chainsaws

[Rockbadchild]

Years ago my wife & I took a small engine repair class at a local community College that a friend was teaching who owns a local sales & repair business of chainsaws, mowers...basically all lawn care products.
He said the depth gauge needs to be cut down a bit each time it's sharpened which makes sense, but said a lot of professionals cut the depth gauge down to the chain. I tried it and it cuts very fast.
Has anyone heard of this?
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Down to the chain sound crazy, I don't buy it one bit and I have never heard anyone doing that and I have been around my fair share of '' pros ''. Most ''pros '' will on a brand new chain bring down the raker right off the bat (including myself) with 3 stroke of a file, then after every 3 or 4 sharpen I will take them down. They do run on a more aggressive chain then most but not all the way down.

 

[dadohead]

Was it an actual timberline, or one of he Chiwanese knock offs? There is a big difference in how well they work.

Jigs_n_fixtures: You're from Idaho.... are you the man behind timberline?

It was a Timberline I had... just wasn't for me.

 

[dadohead]

It's easier to show than tell. Plenty of good videos on Youtube on the subject. I did tree work for a living for over 20 years, FWIW. A few things to keep in mind:

-A vise can help keep things in place while you sharpen. I got so used to sharpening saws in the field that I don't bother using a vise, but if you're struggling, a vise can make the difference.
-Sharpen often. When I was doing tree work full time, a ground saw would get sharpened at least once a day, sometimes three or four times if it was being used to cut firewood rounds. A climbing saw, that didn't see dirt, might only get sharpened a couple times a week.
-Be very careful with powered sharpeners, Dremel tools, etc. I know some people swear by them, but it's very easy to get the tooth too hot and ruin the temper with those.
-Safety chain sucks and is a hassle to maintain.
-Keep the file at a very slight upward angle.
-Don't forget about the rakers. They need to be filed down as well. Not every time the teeth are filed, but they should be checked every so often. After a while, you can develop an eye for how far down they are and should be, but, generally speaking, they should be around .025" below the teeth tips. A bit more works fine if you're cutting softer wood, a bit less for harder.
-Stihl chain has a line stamped into the tooth that shows the optimal tooth angle. That's handy and in case you weren't aware, you don't need to have a Stihl saw in order to use Stihl chain.
-Pferd makes great files.

Good list.

I served an apprenticeship in the Cat pattern shop on the wood side in the early '80's. Occasionally a wood apprentice would go to the metal side to make a tool, etc. The metal journeymen would help a wood guy who was 'lost'. A journeyman seeing me hacksaw and file had the best advice: "slow down." "Most people stroke too fast... especially with a file... go too fast and it will skate." I think of him everytime I file my chain.

 

[Runner]

Good list.

I served an apprenticeship in the Cat pattern shop on the wood side in the early '80's. Occasionally a wood apprentice would go to the metal side to make a tool, etc. The metal journeymen would help a wood guy who was 'lost'. A journeyman seeing me hacksaw and file had the best advice: "slow down." "Most people stroke too fast... especially with a file... go too fast and it will skate." I think of him everytime I file my chain.

 

[MH8675309]

Long time ago - I hadnt been using a saw very long - the idea of taking down the rakers was brought up. I went home and took an angle grinder to the rakers,,, The problem is that when they are not taken down fairly uniformly the chain will grab where the rakers are down too far. The saw can be hard to controll. What I have learned since is to file the rakers down with a flat file a uniform number of strokes. Three or four is generally enough. Then file the teeth so that you dont mess up a tooth taking down the rakers

 

[WinterDeere]

One day my buddies at work decided to bring in our chainsaw file guides. There must have been 10 different versions. It's kind of like fishing lures. We'll buy anything that we think will work better. (I own six of these varieties )
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I'd argule that the fact that one sharpens, is more important than what they sharpen with. Kind of like all the debates on motor oil brand on this forum... the fact that you're changing your oil is always going to be more important than what brand you use.

He said the depth gauge needs to be cut down a bit each time it's sharpened which makes sense, but said a lot of professionals cut the depth gauge down to the chain. I tried it and it cuts very fast.
Has anyone heard of this?

I always knock my depth gauges down a little below spec when sharpening each chain for the first time, which allows the teeth to take a bigger "bite" and cut much faster. It's why you see me always arguing for larger saws on smaller bars, since pulling a more aggressive chain does take a lot more horsepower... you ain't gonna pull that chain around a 20" bar buried in oak with a 50cc saw.

But I only knock mine down to .032" to .036", whereas standard spec is .025" to .026", so my bite is only 25% - 40% more agressive than stock. Even that amount of change makes them very grabby on smaller diameter wood.

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.

 

[Eagle1]

Or throw that stick you thought was anchored enough into your shins at 372 mph.....

 

[BlueKnife]

Then file the teeth so that you dont mess up a tooth taking down the rakers

You should not be using a standard flat file on your rakers. A raker file, like this, Pferd Depth Gauge Raker Files - 15050P, has smooth sides so that it doesn't damage a tooth, should you scrape it by mistake. The raker height is based on the height of the finished teeth, so you can't take them down properly before sharpening the teeth.

 

[MH8675309]

It works for me rather well. Im thinking since I use a hand file my teeth are reasonably close in height. I do the rakers first so the smooth side thing isnt an issue. I didnt know they made such a file

 

[WinterDeere]

I didnt know they made such a file

Not a usual hardware store item, unless they have a chainsaw section. But when buying files from a machine shop supply or McMaster, you can usually specify "safe edge" or "cutting edge" for any rectangular file, to distinguish between one that has smooth edges vs. teeth on the edges.

My favorites, for general shop use are the ones that have one safe edge and one cutting edge, so you can flip it to choose which edge is up against your work. Best of both worlds.

 

[Suburban Plowboy]

Regarding kids and grinders, I took my CS-590 to Mike's Lawnmower in Ocala (authorized repair center) for some work, and I specifically told them not to sharpen the chain. Of course, they did, badly. When I got it back, it was so messed up, I threw it out instead of putting in the toil required to fix it. Goodbye, $20.

They also kept my saw for a very long time because I was an amateur. I lost a summer of sawing between the two authorized centers I took it to. I should have just rebuilt the carb in a few minutes, but back then, I didn't know that, and at the time, my only other saw was a little Jonsered, so losing the Echo was a big hit.

I'm up to four gas chainsaws and an assortment of other saws now, so the worst scenario is having to use a backup.

I eventually found a good repair place, but they still have a turnaround of well over a week, so I know the professionals are cutting in line. When you're a consumer, you really need to learn how to work on your own equipment, because the shops will always put their bread-and-butter guys ahead of you, and they will never admit it.

 

[BlueKnife]

Not a usual hardware store item, unless they have a chainsaw section.

Yeah, I've not seen them at a Home Depot or place like that. To be fair though, I don't think I've looked at anything related to chainsaws in such a store. Any chainsaw dealer will have them. It's a standard item for professional users who hand sharpen saws outside the shop.

 

[Topzide]

Regarding kids and grinders, I took my CS-590 to Mike's Lawnmower in Ocala (authorized repair center) for some work, and I specifically told them not to sharpen the chain. Of course, they did, badly. When I got it back, it was so messed up, I threw it out instead of putting in the toil required to fix it. Goodbye, $20.

They also kept my saw for a very long time because I was an amateur. I lost a summer of sawing between the two authorized centers I took it to. I should have just rebuilt the carb in a few minutes, but back then, I didn't know that, and at the time, my only other saw was a little Jonsered, so losing the Echo was a big hit.

I'm up to four gas chainsaws and an assortment of other saws now, so the worst scenario is having to use a backup.

I eventually found a good repair place, but they still have a turnaround of well over a week, so I know the professionals are cutting in line. When you're a consumer, you really need to learn how to work on your own equipment, because the shops will always put their bread-and-butter guys ahead of you, and they will never admit it.

When I was working at lawn & garden sale and service, the customers that bought from us came first before the HD, Lowes or TSC customers! You bought from use so we took care of you. Had consumer and commercial service going at same time. If you were willing to pay a premium, you'd get it quicker.

You're right about needing backups! I have 5 Echos and an old Craftsman and Poulan (these 2 are same just different colors). Craftsman and Poulan are for the dirty work!

Try to keep all maintenance items on the shelf along with carb kits! Also helps that I studied under a very good 2 cycle repair guy!

 

[Suburban Plowboy]

Those carb kits are a must!

 

[John_Mc]

The Pferd-style sharpener (copied by Stihl for more money) is the correct solution.

The Stihl 2-in-1 sharpener is made by Pferd. Other than color, it's the same as the Pferd CSX.