Sharpening Thread

That will get you a little better hook on your tooth.
Better self feeding / Less need to run rakers excessively low /
Do you ever find yourself cleaning the gullets out a bit after a few filings?
Maybe with a larger file or the grinder?
I've seen your chains cut, and they seem to have fed nicely. Work them old 08's right down into their happy range...

 

Biggest thing I find with a grinder is keeping a consistent cut on all teeth, if one doesn't cut much off leave it. Small bites with a consistent motion to avoid excessive burrs and blueing of the steel. Another thing is that all grinders have slop in the hinge area, cheaper ones are more noticeable. I tend to push the wheel in the direction of the cutting angle with each pass.

There are lots of resources on the web for angles. I keep a book by my grinder and gauges, otherwise it is easy to fall into setting tilt at 60 degrees and the grinder at 30 degrees. Way too easy to get confused!

More important is setting the depth of cut so that you do not cut into the tie strap! I have seen lots of trashed chains from people and shops ramming the stone or diamond too far down.

As others have stated, some will sharpen a chain at 25 degrees.

I realize that I may not be technically correct in everything stated, but It has worked well for me.

 

This tread will definitely be book marked.

The grinder is used on occasion which seems to keep the gullet open. Plan to pick up another grinder so I can have one setup with a wider stone to round the rakers. I plan to get the proper 2in1 file for .404 chain. This one will be the Pferd CS-X which has blue plastic handles so I can tell the 2 file systems apart at a glance. Stihl = 3/8" chain & Blue for .404.

Learning to sharpen square cut full chisel is on my to do list. The wood I cut is mostly clean. With my grapple/forks on the loader I am able to carry a lot of the trees out to the staging area . If I have to skid them, I can lift the butts into the air with the winch/boom on the back of the tractor in addition to leaving enough branches to keep the trunk out of the dirt.

 

And...
Some will sharpen a top plate at 20/15 or even 10 degrees, depending on their needs..

 

30° top plate for semi or full chisel. Square or round also. 7/32" and low on the gullets around even with the top of the tie strap.

 

How about cutter length???
Is it possible to have a great cutting chain, with teeth that are of different size?
Absolutely.
Each cutter is an individual tool. And should be treated as an individual cutting tool.
We all strive for perfection, and in a perfect world all cutters would be identical. But... we know that this is not always the case.

 

Mike, if you have time, please expound on just exactly what that Cutter is doing in the kerf when the chain is moving.

 

I don't bother measuring all cutters and making them match. I'm working my milling chains towards a 10° top plate. I'm not going to do it all at once and take that much cutter off.

 

The chain rides like a wave as it cuts and is pulled side to side some. The more top plate angle will pull it sideways more. If you cut a cookie and stop in the middle and break the cookie off And you can see the cutters that are getting a bite and ones are skipping along at that time. If you make a cut and have fuzzy ends the chain is cutting different widths and not doing it smoothly. That's the reason for stoning a chain. All the teeth cut the same width. The gain pulling against itself on the left and right cutters robs power and won't be as smooth.

 

Well said

 

And there we have some meat and taters on this subject...
Each cutter on a loop of chain is doing its own thing.. If you can bring them into submission, and make them work together, you'll have a smoother cutting chain that requires less power to do the work intended..

 

Hedge for me, it all varies with the chain I'm butchering. I go by the specs. on the box that the chain came in .
As for 3/8 chain , I use a 13/64 ths on Stihl and 7/32 on everything else . For square ,I use Valorbe files .
The tools I use as file guides are Husqvarna roller guide , Stihl FG1 , Pferd file guide ,Atop ,and the Timberline .
If I come across a Silvey 510 in decent shape ,and a good price, I'll snatch it up . But, that's the only round grinder I'd really want . I just enjoy filling .

 

Mike got me started digging into this chain game.. Many things are a simple trade off with chain. "Faster cut=shorter life".. But, design of cutter makes a big difference too... Like semi chisel chain.. You can try that 50 degree angle, and know she's gonna last a bit longer, cause you don't have that fragile point of the chisel cutters.. On a chisel cutter you can use the knowledge of chain wobble to put a 25 degree top plate angle on a chain with that 50 degree tilt for faster cuts and a more durable point. Or freehand slab a log with a 35 degree top plate grind for a more forgiving and wider kerf...

 

So do I..
I'm a chain geek...
Some things work well, some not so much... But when ya get one that feels like the wood is melting out from under your chain, you know you did good...

 

Subbed. I am in on the lessons too at the next charity cut.

 

Let's get Mike to show up...
He'd enjoy it..
Did your chain show up today?

 

If I can make it I'll talk chain and show you what I use. Chain is the most over looked part of saw performance. A stock Saw with a great chain can beat a ported saw with a crappy chain.

 

Boy aint that the truth, I found a couple of good threads abut chains and sharpening on another forum, if you guys are interested and its OK I can post them.

 

I would think it was ok here. I don't think they are scared of that stuff.