I've got a great chain grinder that my Grandfather got when he started selling saws in the late 40's. I'm guessing he got in sometime in the 50's and it still works great on most any chain as it is so adjustable. I want to make a a nice depth gauge or raker fixture to make them all exactly the same and to be able to do it quickly. For years we've used the old standby lay on gauges and have gone through numerous ones as they wear. I have a surface grinder with a digital readout. I can easily hold .0002 tolerance which is way overkill for this but nice to have the option. My question is is there a good reference on the best configuration for a raker? I've always just tried to get them flat but is there any advantage to a slight rake? Portion Radii on the lead edge,? etc? Would like to have all the needs down before I start to make it. Have some ideas for a nice adjustable snap down holder and adjustments but open to ideas. I'll do a build thread if that intersts anyone. Again, I know this is overkill for most but I'm tired of filing and guessing a lot of the time. No need when I have the tool that would make this a lot easier. Yeah, I'm getting old and lazy (er)!
Why not just pull the round file out of one of those Stihl guides? That way the guide becomes the flat file system sliding across the top of the adjacent teeth. If you are building a DIY for a flat file you could even use some dowel to maintain a distance from the adjacent teeth to avoid slipping off the rakers. Just trying to think outside the box on designing a tool now.
Only idea I have is how great the finished product will be, and the well detailed build thread will be much enjoyed! Hope you've got something cooking now, Kevin in Ohio
This would be for when I grind a chain with the above grinder. I can set it so all of the teeth are ground exactly the same, so while the chain is off the saw I can then adjust all the rakers to the best setting possible for the saw. I've hand filed and ground them for years but it is a pretty slow process. Still have not gotten any info on the "perfect" design of a raker so if any of you out there have a link or know, I'd appreciate hearing about it. Worse case I'll take a RSC link in to work and copy that from the comparator. One interesting note is that dad normally hand files on the bar. A friend of mine has a grinder he takes along and does it on the bar. I just carry spare loops and change in the field if needed. They go through twice as many bars as I do and I'm pretty sure I saw more than they do. Same oil but different saws though.
For a long time I've angled mine forward and beveled them on the outside . Performance is noticeable enough that I've kept filing that way for many years . Don't think you'll be able to replicate the outside bevel on a unit like that without some serious and maybe expensive mods.
You can see the release handle on the back and you can grind any angle you want. Degrees are marked on the arc. Press the clamp to hold the chain and screw on the end sets you infeed on the chain. Even has a diamond dresser. Really a nice set up and was sold to dealers through Homelite at the time. Dad thought it was in the early 50's when they got as he hand filed chains for people at the start. When they started Homelite only had one model to sell.
A properly profiled wheel on the Nielsen 100B is 55 degrees. The first grind will take a lot off the front of raker. They hold tolerance very well and are fast. All parts are still available, PM me for the contact info if you need anything. I love mine.
Wow im glad you started this thread kevin. I have my grandfathers old nielson model 100 that I would love to bring back to life. Firewood Bandit you have a parts source for them? I need a belt for mine
Nice grinder Firewood Bandit. John Brooks Enterprises bought all of the old parts stock. He's not an internet kind of guy but very easy to work with. As I recall, changing wheels on the Nielsen is a bit more work than I preferred, but that aside I'd just buy an extra thick wheel and profile it on an angle to make it fit a raker top perfectly.
A flat raker will make for a rough cutting chain. So any "profile" you can pit on it to round (much like the factory does) will give you a very smooth cutting chain. Looking forward to what you make of this!!
Took some RSC 3/8 .050 in to the day job and checked the raker radii. It's .210. Won't be a big deal to do that as I'll use a chisel diamond.
It should be a good grinder, I got it from a good guy. Thanks again. Mr. Brooks is great to deal with and has all the parts. I bought a new pawl and raker wheel from him. I had adapted a dewalt wheel to fit and it worked. However this was extremely hard and although it worked it was not near as good a wheel as the one from Mr. Brooks that was properly profiled. BTW the nut that holds the wheel on has left hand threads. (don't fight it like I did) I know locally where there is another Nielsen right now I can probably get real cheap as it is lacking a belt. John Brooks PO Box 72274 Springfield OR 97475 541-343-0458
