First time square filer. WOW!

Tried my hand at square filing last week but haven't had the chance to try it out. All I gotta say is WOW! Why have I waited so long to do this? Now this may not be the perfect cutter angle but the 365sp just cut through some 18" red oak like a hot knife through butter. I'll definitely be working on a few more chains in the shop these next few days.

 

Nice! Been rolling the idea around in my head and was thinking of doing up a used chain. What file did you use?

Edit: Is it just the angle of the photo or is the left raker a bit lower then the one in the middle?

 

Honestly I just picked up a flat file out of the bin (happened to be smooth cut) and started filing. The rakers are even although the pic shows otherwise lol

 

I’d like to see some pics of the chips that chain makes if you can .

 

Congrats on your new found interest. Square chain does cut nice. Round off the tops of those rakers instead of leaving them flat and it will be smoother in the cut. I use one of those little diamond stones made for a Dremel.

 

Here ya go. This is after cutting for about an hr on some oak that was cut a few months ago.

 

Thanks! I let my dad cut with for a bit this afternoon and he was impressed. I should round the edge off towards the cutter? I did notice it has a bit of vibration

 

Round the leading edge where it enters the wood first. Like a stock chain.

 

Mag Craft ahh 10-4

 

Sometimes putting a finger behind the cutter will help the camera focus on the metal.
2 things I like best with square, it's much much smoother and it's also more durable than round filed. Win/win.

 

I feel like this might be a stupid question. Why not just buy square chisel chain,? Is there more cutting speed to be had by doing it this way? What specific type of file do you use? What angles? I have lots of chains and just might try this next weekend.

 

I buy Stihl RSL square ground and love it. Hand files well with a little practice.

 

I'm thinking about trying square ground chain. What file do you use to sharpen it? I see a couple types available, triangle and a special flat file. What do you use? Or will a standard flat file work?