I decided to switch to a progressive gauge, but didn't want to pay $10 for a $1 tool that didn't have the depth range I wanted. I had some .030" stainless laying around, so I cut a piece and went to work. It was adjusted/ground to give .025 and .040 raker depths. I cleaned up the edges more and polished it a bit. It looks and works great, and I saved $10 while getting exactly what I wanted. It took a while to file out the holes, but it was well worth it. It's hard to get anything between .025 and .040 because the drive link drops off right in that range. .040 is perfect for most of my cutting (20" bar in hardwood) and .025 is for the long chains. This is the rough stage before final shaping and sanding. The one end was cut down a bit to get it to .040. I didn't take a picture of the finished gauge, but I did use it and then put in my saw box, lol.
Looks great and functional I wouldn't spend to much time polishing. You're going to be pushing a flat file across it.
I just tried out the chain I used the gauge on. I don't know if I have ever had a chain cut that smooth.
If you got the dimensions I'd like to make one or two. If I can pull a favor from a waterjet shop we could make some for the swag shop...or something. For mass production a laser would probably be better...but I don't have friends that work at a laser shop.
