There are many different types of chains however this tutorial is mainly for home users so we won't go into all the different styles. Our focus is going to be mainly on semi chisel & full chisel chains. This is based on my experience given I have been doing this for some time on the side for others with great success. Per request I will do a video on how I set up the grinder but I can't give an eta for it as I am working a lot. Next time I sit down with chains I will try to record it for you. There may be some double info or miss spelling I apologize in advance I am running on 2 cylinders out of 8... O and Strohs beer... What to look for in a dull chain. First look at the top plate if its even slightly chipped its dull! STOP DROP AND SWAP right away before any more damage is done.. First a chipped tooth you can see its chipped and not straight anymore. Second a straight sharp tooth. Put side by side you can see the big difference in the teeth. I carry three chains for every saw when one goes dull another goes on the saw. If you need to push the saw your chain is dull it should walk right through the wood on its own power. Angles are by far the most important thing to know! 1st) The top plate angle. The blue is pointing out the top plate or top of the tooth. This is the top of the tooth itself. The angle can range anywhere from 15 to 35 degrees on most factory chains. The angle will literally determine the speed by how sharp an angle you make it. For example if you sharpen the top plate at a 35 degree angle it will cut faster than at 30 degrees. Sounds great right well here is the down side a 35 degree angle holds a sharp edge for less time than at 30 degrees. My personal chains are done at 60/ 35 / 0 because I like speed ( that will make sense when your finished reading. ) 2nd) Tilt angle. Tilt angle only matters two about 10% of you guys and honestly you should never really have to use it. If you hold the file in the tooth of your chain and look down the bar at it you will be at 0 when the file is perfectly perpendicular to the bar. Your chains are mostly zero however there a re a few that have a 10 degree angle when you file them. At 60 / 35 / 0 the 0 is tilt 3rd ) Filing the depth gauge. Remember when I said speed is determined by the angle well here is the second half. The depth gauge is your best friend on the chain period. If you don't do the raker after a couple sharpenings the chain will literally spin in place and not hook the wood to cut. This is a major pita! Often times people think its due to the oiler not working but its really just a tall depth gauge. If you take to much off you will discover that a 50cc saw can pull right out of your hands if it doesn't stall. It will be so grabby you will think there is something wrong with the saw. Most wear and tear on your bar and sprocket is caused by poorly sharpened chains usually the rakers being too short or too tall combined with crooked teeth. Here is the solution I use still! It is a depth gauge guide. You can get them for around $5 most places. You set it over the tooth your about to do the connecting raker of. Slide it forward until you bump the depth gauge as the picture shows. Once you have done this you will look at it level to the side to see where your height is. As you can see its much higher than the guide shows. Personally I will figure out how many passes with the flat file I need to make it even with the guide on a new chain and then make however many passes are required all the way around the chain. Always file from the inside of the chain out just like the tooth. I am going to explain a little about the hook on the next post so bare with me...
I have been sharpening chains for over 40 years so I know this will help many folks out there. Its the little things that make a big difference. Easy to understand and well written. Thank you, Sir.
Good job on the sharp vs dull chain pictures. Even if you never plan on sharpening your own chain, you should know when it is dull. A sharp chain is much more efficient and SAFE than a dull chain. You can easily look at a chain and tell if its dull before you even start cutting. Notice the leading edge of the cutter on the dull chain is shiny....and the sharp chain isn't. Shiny cutter = dull cutter.
Your welcome! I remember how confused I was and bad at hand filing I was at first.... It's good to pass on the knowledge after all that's why we started this place to help others out.
For the raker gauge, you would need one for every size pitch you own right? Is there a poor man's raker gauge? i.e. a flat piece of something placed somewhere with a business card spacer? Haha, I am too cheap
Most pitches use the same raker setting so one tool should do 3/8"P/.325"/3/8". .404" is a bit different and yes, a piece of flat stock and a feeler gauge works fine too.
I have cleaned up this thread and intend to keep it on topic as much as possible meaning no more beer.. I even deleted my posts..... It was getting too confusing with all us beer snobs myself included lol.
Ran across this in my files ,thought I would put it up File sizes Large 7/32? - 3/8? pitch chain as well as .404? pitch chain Large 13/64? – also for 3/8? pitch, but slightly smaller. Recommended on 3/8? Stihl chain. Medium 3/16? – .325? pitch chain Small 5/32? – 3/8? small Low Profile chain, Picco, and 1/4? pitch . 7/32? = 5.5 mm 13/64? = 5.0 mm 3/16? = 4.8 mm 5/32? = 4.0 mm
Tough call. Square is a different ball game but this thread has been quiet recently. I would welcome some square file info!