dadohead
Silver Member
A year or two back I read on an Arborist discussion forum that most of the pros (when they hand file) prefer to use the Husqvarna roller guide more than any other. This peaked my interest. What surprised me was that a few of these guys even use them on their Stihl saws. They mentioned that only the 3/8 pitch gage works on the Stihl... one guy went further and said he had to "do a little filing" on his gage to make it work really well. None of the posters particularly liked the limiter portion of the gage so they don't use it. The guide was around $18 so I thought I'd try it. Here's what I've learned.
Yes, the Husqvarna roller guide snapped right on my full chisel Stihl 3/8 chain just like it was designed for it. The rollers were NOT parallel with the tops of the teeth though. "Ah, this is what the guy was talking about." Before modifying my brand new guide, I thought I'd better get some basic dimensions from my old Stihl 3/8 'clamp on' file guide. Stihl branded 13/64" files measured .202" diameter. The Stihl clamp-on guide holds them so .027" is above the tooth and .175" is below actually contacting the tooth. I made a little fixture in the mill and super glued it to the top of a tooth (holding a surface .027" above and parallel to the tooth). The "front" of the gage did NOT need changing; the back side needed lowering to bring the rollers parallel. I did this with a file on edge until I got this:
So how much did I take off to get there??? Again, just the slots in the back side of the gage were modified.
I ripped thin duct tape strips and covered the two front slots to protect them from the file (they show some bright marks where the anodizing has worn though). Both rear slots were filed to ~.254" between the slot and TOP of the tool frame. I think the new gage measured around .280"ish?
Note the caliper is following the new angle of the rear slot made by filing.
So how does it work? I LOVE this thing! Arborist boys are right on! I've only used it one season but I'm not going back. I'm posting to share what I've done and see if others have tweaked theirs differently. Hope this helps!
Yes, the Husqvarna roller guide snapped right on my full chisel Stihl 3/8 chain just like it was designed for it. The rollers were NOT parallel with the tops of the teeth though. "Ah, this is what the guy was talking about." Before modifying my brand new guide, I thought I'd better get some basic dimensions from my old Stihl 3/8 'clamp on' file guide. Stihl branded 13/64" files measured .202" diameter. The Stihl clamp-on guide holds them so .027" is above the tooth and .175" is below actually contacting the tooth. I made a little fixture in the mill and super glued it to the top of a tooth (holding a surface .027" above and parallel to the tooth). The "front" of the gage did NOT need changing; the back side needed lowering to bring the rollers parallel. I did this with a file on edge until I got this:
So how much did I take off to get there??? Again, just the slots in the back side of the gage were modified.
I ripped thin duct tape strips and covered the two front slots to protect them from the file (they show some bright marks where the anodizing has worn though). Both rear slots were filed to ~.254" between the slot and TOP of the tool frame. I think the new gage measured around .280"ish?
Note the caliper is following the new angle of the rear slot made by filing.
So how does it work? I LOVE this thing! Arborist boys are right on! I've only used it one season but I'm not going back. I'm posting to share what I've done and see if others have tweaked theirs differently. Hope this helps!
