Sharpening

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cbn was what i was trying to think of. got that.
also yes i have tried bumping, tapping, contstant ,. same results
with tapping it dont at first but by the 3rd, or 4th tap its hot enough it turns. i suppose if i took minutes per tooth i could succeed.

as far as hook by machine do you mean lower in height or lay motor on a lower angle as in column C in 2nd pic
You have got to have a "goal" in mind....if you don't know what a good profile for a cutter is, a grinder will mess a chain up faster than a file...:if you know what profile you want, a grinder will achieve it quicker....

Get a brand new chain to keep as a reference and have a tree guy/arborist show you how to correctly file a chain....

What settings are you running???
 
You have got to have a "goal" in mind....if you don't know what a good profile for a cutter is, a grinder will mess a chain up faster than a file...:if you know what profile you want, a grinder will achieve it quicker....
Get a brand new chain to keep as a reference and have a tree guy/arborist show you how to correctly file a chain....
Sounds like the wise man in post#135!

Philbert
 
khntr85 ---What settings are you running???
for my husq. table 30* down 10 and motor 60* down 10
for dads stihl 30* table flat 75* motor

is there a diff. in the top plate angle and side plate angle just seen it in my notes and cant remember what i wrote?

what bar clamp on hand guides is everyone using
 
I get more hook going from 60 degrees to 55 degrees.
I set the chain up so the wheel just barely touches the tooth, then I go all the way around the chain with one tap per tooth, if that is not enough I adjust the chain into the wheel & go around again one tap per tooth however many times it takes to get it sharp,
then I go to the other side of the chain & do it all over again readjusting the chain into the wheel.
If your burning the cutter your either taking too much at a time or staying too long, just a ''tchick'' is all it takes.

isnt it kinda hard to keep the teeth the same length doing it like this?
 
i think the greats here should have a shootout and whoever thinks there the best at machine and/or by hand, should make a video for all of us under achievers and be the ultimate Stickie here. i know theres youtube but you never know whats right, or point out this or that
 
khntr85 ---What settings are you running???
for my husq. table 30* down 10 and motor 60* down 10
for dads stihl 30* table flat 75* motor

is there a diff. in the top plate angle and side plate angle just seen it in my notes and cant remember what i wrote?

what bar clamp on hand guides is everyone using
I have my Oregon grinder heat tilt set at 55, (that's what Oregon reccomends)...

I use 30-toplate for Stihl and 25-for Oregon...

We need to see some close up cutter pics....get a clear pic of both sides of a cutter...

I use the "vice tilt" on chisel chains.....


Also don't get the hand filing side plate angles confused with the grinding head tile angle....look at the grinding chart philbert posted...

Can you get some pics of your chain....it's so much easy to see what you could be doing differently in a picture...
 
Also CBN wheels are nice, but you CAN still burn a cutter....you need to try and use a tap-tap-tap method, and take a tiny, tiny bit off each cutter at a time....

Do NOT try and take all the dull or bad materieal off at once.....as others have stated, you may have make 2-3 passes on a chain that is really dull or has hit something....

As a lot of guys who have cut a lot, you learn to stop cutting as soon as you have to force the saw to cut...:if you have to use the digs and apply a lot of force, that chain is done....swap out chains when they get dull, and sharpening them is easy...
 
Also CBN wheels are nice, but you CAN still burn a cutter....you need to try and use a tap-tap-tap method, and take a tiny, tiny bit off each cutter at a time....

Do NOT try and take all the dull or bad materieal off at once.....as others have stated, you may have make 2-3 passes on a chain that is really dull or has hit something....

As a lot of guys who have cut a lot, you learn to stop cutting as soon as you have to force the saw to cut...:if you have to use the digs and apply a lot of force, that chain is done....swap out chains when they get dull, and sharpening them is easy...

I change out chains when one quits "pulling", i.e., feeds itself down through the cut without down pressure. If t won't cut holding with one hand it gets changed. No I don't cut one handed but will do it just a few seconds to see if the chain is cutting well.
 
isnt it kinda hard to keep the teeth the same length doing it like this?
BobL has pointed out that the chain "porpoises" or has an up & down or close to bar then a few hundredths of an inch away from bar motion. His point was that keeping the depth gauge height close to the same for each tooth is more important than the cutters all being the same height. If the bar was flat and the chain rode a uniform way down this level rail same height cutters wood be ideal. When the raker relation to the cutters on the chain is uniform I think the chips/cut will be smoother for the power head and operator. This isn't the first time my thoughts have been disagreed with. Stay safe
 
Excellent statement! And time saver, both cutting and sharpening.
Do you use a grinder or hand file or both...

I use both, actually really like to use both...

I cut down a silver maple that was leaning towards my house the other day and I hand filed the chains....

I usually cut hardwoods, so when I cut a soft wood like silver maple I realize how much easier it is to cut....when a guy cuts hard woods all the time, he better have his chains in point!!!!
 
I know a lot of guys say safety chains are "junk", well I gladly keep them....any one whom is competent with a grinder or handfile, can make them cut just fine....

I grind the safety hump down, then I use the chain for situations were there may be metal/debris in wood...

This chain has been ground/filed pretty far back, but still plenty of life in her....

As a wise man once told me, grind as you file, file as you grind.....

This is a Stihl RM 3/8 chain that was sharpened with the grinder...
IMG_2735.JPG IMG_2736.JPG IMG_2738.JPG
 
Do you use a grinder or hand file or both...

I use both, actually really like to use both...

I cut down a silver maple that was leaning towards my house the other day and I hand filed the chains....

I usually cut hardwoods, so when I cut a soft wood like silver maple I realize how much easier it is to cut....when a guy cuts hard woods all the time, he better have his chains in point!!!!

I use an Oregon clamp on that sets all the angles and depth. Only takes about 10 minutes/20" loop including mounting saw in vice and attaching the guide. Also had one of those cheap grinders. Used a couple times but it took longer than the filing guide. Never could see trying to free hand it as I can't see where it saves any time.
 
In my grinder days some times I used a spay bottle to make sure the cutters did not get too hot. Along with that if I was setting up a chain for myself I would take a small amount of the cutter off and on to the next for accuracy and to make sure they did not get too hot. To do a great job on your chain it is a little slow and tedious. I still have some safety chain or low kick back and find that it does not cut any different than any of my other chains. Of course the low kick back part has pretty much been ground away. I am always looking for any log or misc. wood laying around that could cause a kick back knowing that a lapse of concentration could bring disaster. Khn's chain look about the same hook as my filed chain so they should cut fine. Thanks
 
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