Chain sharpening tutorial.

That looks FAST. Do you find it to be a little "grabby"??

 

I dont think it would be great dogging in to make felling cuts, it is grabby. On a log pile bucking hardwood, it self feeds well. Using the weight of the saw....maybe just a little holding the saw back. I don't like to dog in on bucking cuts.........usually indicates the chain is dull, I'm bored, or I'm tired. All of which make things a little more dangerous. Time to take a break = touch up the chain, move the rounds out of the way, run the splitter or maul......or my favorite, pick up my toys, sit on a pile of accomplishment with a beer and whiskey enjoying nature.

 

There is a fine line between self feeding and grabby. I like it when they just eat their way through the wood and I can just hold on for the ride, then move it to the next cut and take another break while the saw does the work.

 

A buddies top handle that hasn't been touched up in awhile. She should eat a little better once i get finished.

 

I don't think that chain was even cutting.

 

Probably burnt bar paint on the bottom rails.

 

Chips will tell you what to do…

new


One tank later


If all you're doing is making saw dust…


I’ll stick with my 2-in-1 and probably get the Chicago electric some day. Probably with an Oregon square cut wheel.

 

The oregon is much better than the hf unit. I have both and the hf unit is crap.
I don't put much faith in that guy's ability to sharpen saw chain. He made the teeth less dull, but nowhere near sharp. His results were all over the place and he is leading people to false conclusions with his inability to use the products correctly.

Most of his videos are great though.

Brand new chain is not very sharp and with a little practice it is possible to make it extremely sharp.

 

Agreed.
I like most of his vids but that last one testing gas saws, he measures torque by how much down force it takes to stall the chain. Ok, I could see that as a fair comparison if they all used the same chain.

 

my exact thoughts and the fact none of the saws were the same cc as far as I could tell, he was all over the place. 52cc 45 cc 40 cc (off top of my head)
Nothing was apples to apples like most of his videos seem.

 

Has anybody experimented with tooth angles in respect to different species? I usually run about 25 degrees as standard operating procedure. I'm wondering if for harder woods like black locust or hickory if it would be worth the trouble to have a dedicated chain (or two) for them, sharpened at 15 degrees? They *might* hold an edge longer. Just thinking out loud here...

 

You might be onto something, I don't use it alot but my Husqvarna file guide has different lines/angles for hard and soft wood, for the rakers and I believe the teeth also. I'll have to look next time.

 

For milling I use 10-15 degree top plate. Make a crosscut with that and it's not as fast. Really a personal preference IMO. Try it, that's part of the fun.
Couple years ago one of the ope forum guys was trying to make a square ground chain as fast as a hand filed "race" chain. He sent me a couple different angles to test. Differences between his grinds were minimal but not as quick as the hand job and mind you I am/was no where near proficient as the good guys. I think he had 20, 25 and 30 top plate angles. The angle of the underside of your top plate is critical to durability. Want fast, try acute:


Want durable try less;


So for round file, it's the height of the file. Higher, more durable, lower is faster. Find the balance.


Pretty sure the Husky guide stay w/ the same top plate but they do have the progressive "raker" or depth gauge that allows you to set for hard or soft woods.

 

I do have a couple beater chains that I went crazy on the beak with. Fast yes, but wear fast too. I haven't tried it yet but I assume they'd be great in conifers or softer hardwoods. When I round file a chain I try not to push down into the straps so much, as to avoid putting super-aggressive forward geometry on that top plate cutting edge. Through trial and error I've played with different shapes but surprisingly never messed with that tooth angle, yet anyway.
So you use 10-15 degrees for milling for the purpose of longevity rather than speed? You definitely mill some long slabs at times.

 

Yes, 10-15 will stay sharp longer. I hand filed to 10-15 round and then square. When I got the grinder, I just used the same angles as all other chain. It doesn’t stay sharp as long so I bought a separate wheel. The profile of the wheel is adjustable with the dressers.

 

I'm still round filing the bulk of my chains. For years I had been buying 3/16" round files from TSC, because I visit the store regularly to buy chicken feed and it's convenient. I recently decided to try Oregon brand files and the difference was like night and day, I couldn't believe it. They file so much smoother, and stay sharp so much longer. Being a metal worker by trade I know there are even better files than Oregon, but still. Never again will I waste money on TSC files ever again. Oh, a 12 pack of them was only $16 on Amazon too. Compare that to TSC's 2-pack for $8 and now I'm really like WTF

 

Got a 24" chain touched up yesterday. Was cutting crooked last time out. Would cut to the left with one chain. Changed chains and flipped bar over. Cut a little straighter but now pulls to the right. Finished that saw off by making 2-3 cuts with just the tip on some 24"+ rounds. Then out came the 395 and 36" bar. Luckily that cut straight.

Anyway here's the chain i just sharpened. Will probably be the last round cutting session for it and then it'll be a stumping chain. Admittedly there's a little much hook to her but should eat good for a little bit. Next round of sharpening I'll try to use only a 1/4 of the file. I usually shoot for 1/3 but this chain might be closer to half cause i was filing out the gullets first.

 

What’s the bar look like for square?

 

Looking down the rails neither side seams to lean one way or the other but I'm sure it could use a good dressing. Will probably get out today and try it. That'll determine my next move.

 

My chains that are filed or ground that far back have much lower depth gauges or rakers. What are you using to set them? My guess is, that's your issue with cutting crooked.

EDIT: If you use this style guide


and most of the teeth on one side are shorter that the other, it will get you cutting crooked. Been there, done that.