Took the rakers too far down

Sharpened a chain for today and I took a lot off the rakers. Chain was as grabby as me with my high school sweetheart. Found that when I took the pressure off the cut and ran the saw at top r.p.m. it did ok. I'm hoping as I sharpen the cutters over time, it will even out. Won't do that again.

 

Been there done that!! Sucks man!

 

I've done that a few times. Saw takes a big bite & grabs. Like you,
I just run with less pressure, but when up to max RPM, it sure cuts fast

On which saw/bar length
I imagine the 441 would just smile
if the rakers were a bit short LOL

 

441 with 3/8 pitch, 16 inch bar, and 8 pin sprocket. It did ok, but it was grabby even in a saw buck where the wood was held firmly in place. I cut red oak and ash tonight.

 

I've heard of people breaking the crankshaft when they take too much off the rakers.

 

I'll take it really easy with the chain then.

 

I sharpened a little more often , it helps to be good & sharp.
After a few sharpening's & a couple cord, it was back to cutting good.

Better a little to short than to long IMO, I like to hear the engine load up in the cut.
To long & it sounds like a dull chain, not loading & high rpm.

You are making big chips, not saw dust

 

It still did great, but I saw my mistake quickly. H.P. overcomes operator error.

 

In April 2013 I was roughing out some White Pine blocks with the 2100CD.I'd lowered the rakers a bit more than usual,works great on softer woods.Imagine my surprise when a few weeks later forgetting to switch to a different chain when milling some large Honey Locust...

Pulled it OK of course,but talk about a teeth rattler!!

 

Maybe because I was cutting green birch & spruce , it is more forgiving than
the super hard woods.
I bet cutting dry, dead standing oak or locust would be a hand/wrist bone rattler.

If you are worried, the price of a chain is a lot less than a saw repair.

 

When i suspect the rakers need work..i just lay a flat file across 2 cutters...should b able to slide a dime in there..if not take a little off...

 

441 with 16" bar Talk about east coast!! You also running 3/8 lo pro chain?

 

That's almost European!

 

Many, many moons ago I was teaching a friend to sharpen a chain with a file. He came to me one day with a freshly sharpened saw that didn't seem to be cutting very well. He asked what he was doing wrong. It looked sharp so I fired it up and cut into a log. I knew right away the rakers needed to come down a bit. I explained to him what was wrong and showed him how to fix it. A couple weeks later he came to me again and said something was still wrong. He said it wouldn't cut. It just grabbed the wood and got stuck. I looked at the chain and my eyes just about popped out of my head. He had taken an angle grinder and ground the rakers OFF! I asked him; Why did you do that!? His reply: "Well you said it would cut faster by taking the rakers down so I figured it would cut REALLY fast if I took them down all the way."

I told him to take it off and throw it away.

 

West Coast would be a 28" with a full skip chain on the soft wood out there. I don't think I could pull a 28 even. 25 yes.

 

Here's that set-up with a properly sharpened chain. The 16 inch and 8 pin is my favorite. Much lighter than a 25 inch bar setup.

 

There was someone on here that posted a pic of a chain his biddy bought at a shop...had no raker!!! It was a return or something that ended up on the shelf!

 

Must have been my friend Andy from my post above.