Oregon square ground

So I have read much on here about the square ground chain and am going to have to take the plunge. I ordered some Oregon just to try and for a reference when my file shows up. Some of you guys are producing much better looking chains than this in my opinion.

 

That looks like it will be pretty durable. Finding a balance with angles is the “hard” part, until you get a muscle memory down. I love how smooth square is compared round and I find it to stay sharp longer. Definitely faster cutting!

 

I'll be running it this weekend on the 044 with 24 inch bar.

 

Just something else to obsess over.

 

Don’t judge it solely on what you feel outta the box. It gets better.

The vid this pic is from is the best for learning square.


And I get the obsession comment. I’m somewhat there with keeping my chains razor sharp. I can feel the slightest dip in performance.

That’s ^^ time to swap loops and continue. The pic is magnified and it wasn’t as apparent with the bare eye.

 

I use a fairly strong light to inspect my chains . If I see light reflected back at me ,like in your picture ,the chain is damaged ,and needs attention to get it back to full efficiency . The reflected light is called glint . Folks would be surprised at how small of a dent like that on the working corner of a chain affects it’s ability to start cutting .

 

Cutting faster and staying sharp longer is very attractive in a saw chain. I noticed that even on my first couple of attempts, which were not very good at all, the saw still cut pretty good, and stayed sharp longer then I expected. What I really like about it is how much better it cleans out the face cut when falling.

 

Thanks. I'll have to find and watch that video.

 

Just so know, it was your posts that pushed me over the edge

 

Are we a "bad" influence??? Im in the throws of CAD and have yet to succumb to MM/porting let alone square grind. Looking forward to what your thoughts are Ron.

 

Thats a trick ill use to check mine sometimes. (standard round filed) Reflected edge is dulled. Didnt know it had an actual name. Something else ive now learned here.

 

Bad influence.....nah. Like I tell the wife, it could be worse!!

 

I finished up a roll of 72cl last winter, it’s good chain that factory grind is not bad. Madsens held a Oregon sponsored comp, the results are on Madsens website or was. Jason gave you some tips for angles. I cut softwood and my chain is a little aggressive for hardwood.

 

Yep, that’s why I took pic at that angle. It’s very easy/quick to see glint with some 1/2 decent lighting.




Ron T
If you raise the back of your file too high, the angles will be good for milling but won’t cut as good bucking. Like this pic:

Still appears to be corner to corner, but it’s even a bit much for mill duty. I think I posted that vid in lastmohecken’s post.

 

I appreciate all the advice. Not sure when I'll get my file working, but will definitely post my thoughts on the chain I purchased.

 

So when converting a round to square, is it common to gain profile with a regular flat file 1st?

 

No, you need to use a file designed to file square chain . Also , don’t get hung up on going from outside corner to the inside corner of the cutter . Concentrate on hitting the outside corner . Go to the Madsens site . They have tons of good stuff about square filing . Guide Bar & Saw Chain Menu

edit: Try using a chain that’s already square ground if you can .
If you are going to use round ground . One thing to remember is this ;
You don’t have to get the exact profile you see in pics of square chain . If you get the top cutter’s profile ,and inside angle you want ,and hit the outside corner . You don’t have to get the side cutter profile as deep as pictures show . If you get it about 40 thousandths long , it’ll cut . You can work on getting the full profile as you sharpen the chain from using it . Remember , your chip will only be about 25 ,or so, thousandths thick depending on your depth gauge setting .
Hopefully , someone reading this will translate it to English ,so that it’s easier to understand ...

 

Look at the side cutter . Right where the gullet has been started . Notice the reflected light . It’s showing a bit of metal from grinding the gullet . It’ll fall off easily . But it does demonstrate using light easily to find bad spot in a cutter’s profile .

 

I read that article a while back, and I’ve tried finding it again, but no luck. It’s a pretty interesting read. If you’re into that sorta thing...

 

Understood....its all new to me. Thanks for the explanation