Yeah Dennis, I'm gettin ready to get ready myself but the log's are still hot. Another week or so we'll both be ready (me & the wood). The fact that last year's "row" still has near 6 cord left in it has something to do with my procrastination's along with the weather.
They are awesome and worth every penny. I can sharpen a knife a surgeon would be proud to use, a chain though is another story. Best purchase I've made since the Polar trailer and the pickaroon. Had a friend that used to do them with an electric sharpener but I felt it took too much of it each time. Maintained regularly, the Stihl sharpener with 3-4 smooth strokes per and its hot knife through butter time...
When I took the Certified Logger Training course they spent a day on chainsaw use and filing. At first I was like, "I've been cutting wood for years, what could they possible tell me," an hour into it I was paying attention. My father...he needs fancy guides and all that stuff, but we differ that way. His woodworking shop is full of gizmos and gadgets where as mine is filled with just a few tools. I am a minimalist by nature and most of the time its just a a round and raker file that I have on hand. To each his own I am saying. As long as it is sharp, its sharp.
Yes send some of that cooler air to Virginia please! It's actually going to cool down a bit here but fall is still a few weeks away I think.
Don't know why the eastern states aren't getting any of the cooler days....sending it all your way....as soon as we're done with it! The mornings are in the low 50's upper 40's now and the amount of dew is just unbelievable! these are the days that as a child you would need to wipe of your bike seat before jumping onto it! Much more pleasant working conditions for those of us that are not fully retired yet....(ahem).
I have the electric one that is like a Dremel with a cylindrical stone and a guide. It took long and was easy to grind away too much.
I have to agree. Before I got one I think I made my chains worse by attempting to file them. Now in a matter of minutes they are pretty respectable. best money I have spent.
I don't do much cutting anymore, but when I do cut, I use a simple file guide. Cuts are really good. Only takes a few minutes to trim up a chain.
It would not work for me because I change woods that I am cutting. If I am cutting hardwood the raker height is far different then when I am cutting softwood. And that same hardwood in the dead of winter is far different in raker height then what it is in summer. The same goes for the softwoods, but to a lesser degree. I have found too that right out of the box, Husky chains are a bit aggressive on their raker height and Stihl does not have enough taken off, but this might have to do with the size of my saws too. The Stihl is 72 ccs and the Husky is only 46 cc's. I used to adjust the angle my tooth to get a sharper saw, and square up the cutting edge some when I was cutting in frozen or dirty wood, but that was one of the myths the Certified Logger Program debunked. They said having a more aggressive angle only made your saw dull that much quicker, and that making the angle less only meant you cut longer with a dull saw in dirty wood. If you do want a super sharp saw though, just use one of those fine diamond strops sold at woodworking stores and take the burr off the back of the cutting edge that forms just after filing. It cleans it up and makes for a SUPER sharp saw...for about 5 minutes anyway. Sometimes sharp, and not super-sharp, is sharp enough, so I no longer bother with that strop nonsense.
NortheastAl please forgive me but I have to ask about the price of those and how long you've been using one.
I've seen them on Amazon for $44 and $48, some even more. The Stihl dealer around here has them for $40 plus tax.
It's cooling off a bit around here too. High of 70* tomorrow. I'm also seeing a few loads of firewood passing by. Fresh cut no doubt, to burn this season. It won't be long before I'll be enlisted once again to help with the C/S/S of far wood for my neighbors relative. Yep, fresh cut with the exception of a load I brought over to her a couple of months ago (at least that has had a couple months to try to season) and I guess recently someone else brought over a load, and probably fresh cut. But she will need more. I tried to convince her last season that she needed to get her wood in early to at least have the summer to dry out a bit, but I guess I was talking to a brick wall.
Got a link for that sharpener? I so hate having to ask friends to sharpen...I did it a few times but results were less than perfect....
I don't know about being all technical soft/hard-dirty, etc-these keep it even, takes the rake down and makes my chains last a long time-they were not $40. each...thinking @ 30ish...files of course are replaceable, angle is easy to maintain on Stihl chains-worth every penny to me...
