Last week's high tides brought all kinds of great logs. Here's the first one I've been working on. My chain is dead after cutting 8 or 9 rounds off of a log this size. Is this normal? Is there a general consensus of the best way to sharpen a chain in the field? Thanks!
Nice find! You can get a bar clamp that you can drive into a cut-off round, and then hand-file if you are good at it.
Nice Log and Nice looking splits too! Nature of the beast especially with dealing with rock like that. But a tool such as Woody Stover shows and a file.
Nice log. It's even already peeled for ya! The bar clamp is essential, and Stilh makes an easy to use file with guide.
Its all that grit and rocks stuck to the wood. That will kill a chain ASAP. Maybe try brushing it off with a stiff brush or wire brush. I like a file guide. Oregon/Stihl style. Cheap and effective.
I've thought of trying one of those, but figured it would be harder to see what's going on as you are filing. Maybe I should give it a shot... I've just been using a file handle.
Give it a shot. Less than $9 at my local WM. Stihl brand costs a few $'s more. Both work fine for me. The guide sets the depth of the file and shows you the angle. Not much left to see other than to check if you've filed enough to get the chain sharp. When I free hand a file, works great for a couple/few sharpenings. Then things (depth/angle) get off. Go back to the guide and its obvious. Sure works for me. Then set your raker depth, every few sharpenings. YMMV.
I'm with Woody Stover and NortheastAl . I have a heck of time not doing more harm than good without a solid base and a good guide. Those two tools make me look like I know what I'm doin'!
I'm with you , I really like mine , sharpen your chain and take down your rakers in one pass, not cheap but on sale at Baileys $34.99 Pferd Cs-X Chain Sharp Filing Guide - 7/32" | Pferd Filing Guides | Chain Filing Guides | www.www.baileysonline.com.com
Justin, I sharpened with a file for many years until it started hurting my hands too much so went to a dremel tool. I like it and it is fast. The only thing is you have to be very careful to not sharpen too much or uneven and you can easily burn the chain if not careful. But after a couple times you'll find you can sharpen the saw in a couple minutes right in the field. I had one that clipped onto the battery of the atv but changed it so it plugs into the cigarette lighter socket. You can get grinding wheels quite reasonable and even get diamond wheels if you like. I do quite often keep a round file on hand, just in case but rarely use it. Just use the dremel and touch up the chain at least every other tank of gas but sometimes every tank of gas. Old rule of sharpening; Don't sharpen a dull chain; sharpen it before it gets dull.
That's an excellent idea. I have a battery-powered Dremel with grinding wheels and hadn't even considered this. Do you simply eye-up the angle and take it to shiny?
Yes, I eyeball it but do that with a file also. Learned to do that about 60 some odd years ago. But, you can get a chain saw sharpening kit at various places like Amazon or even at a chain saw shop or other places online. There will be a bar with marks for the angle. 2-3 seconds per link about does it with very little pressure. More and you take the chance of burning the steel. If you look, I believe you can find some videos on youtube but I always look at youtube videos with a grain of salt. Some good information and some bad there. Probably more bad than good as any idiot can make a post. Seems to me when I started using a dremel I bought one from our local saw shop but don't remember for sure.
If you look at the tooth on a dull chain from the top, you will see a shine at the front of the top-plate at the cutting edge. Take off just enough so that the shine disappears. Actually, the corner and side plate do the majority of the cutting, but keeping an eye on that top-plate shine will give you a pretty good guide. When I think I might have gotten a tooth sharp, I test the corner with a thumbnail or fingernail, and make sure it is real "grabby."
