Lost my training wheels today chain sharpening

[JTM]

Okay- got tired of the file gadgets. The 2 in 1 never hit the rakers consistently and the clamp on type was more of a pain than I could deal with. With that said they are not bad gadgets and good training. The pic is of a .325 Stihl chain on my ms271. This is freehand with no guide other than the witness marks on the cutters. Please critique.

 

[Ax-man]

Looks good to me. Is that RS chisel chain, looks like it. Need to see your top plate angle.

 

[Khntr85]

Looks good fron there my friend, that's chisel chain for sure....did you use a guide for the rakers too....looks like they are set for soft-wood....


True test will be when you sink it into the wood!!!!

 

[happysaws]

View attachment 560825 Okay- got tired of the file gadgets. The 2 in 1 never hit the rakers consistently and the clamp on type was more of a pain than I could deal with. With that said they are not bad gadgets and good training. The pic is of a .325 Stihl chain on my ms271. This is freehand with no guide other than the witness marks on the cutters. Please critique.

Looks good, but looks aren't everything. How does it cut?

Maybe a tad aggressive with the rakers...(what wood will it be cutting??)

 

[JTM]

Yes, RS chain. I imagine a bit of variation of the top
plate filing angle between cutters but I have improved. The angle is consistent with the witness marks. My challenge was/is maintaining a consistent file depth when on the top plate. My father in law can freehand a crazy sharp chain and noticed how he would first wallow out the gullet the come up into the top plate. I started mimicking this and it seems to work for me. I guess the bottom-up transition is smoother and more controllable for me when coming into the top plate so as to allow me to maintain a more consistent file depth. Am I making sense here?

 

[JTM]

Looks good, but looks aren't everything. How does it cut?

Maybe a tad aggressive with the rakers...(what wood will it be cutting??)

Of course it's aggressive because I've been on sweet gum and pine. Anything above 16" in oak or hickory well, it's a bit boggy/grabby embarrassingly.

 

[Khntr85]

Look how low I have the rakers on this chain.....they were actually a hair to low, as the chain chattered just a little the first few cuts in hardwood....the chain came out of it and cut fine after the first few cuts.....


These chainwas sharpened many times and the rakers were never touched, so when I finally got my grubby paws on these chains, they were in bad shape...a lot of people would have tossed these chains....I love messing with chains, so it was a challenge to me....

 

[Khntr85]

If you like to clean the gullet then hit the tooth, it's all good....with chains, it's all what works for you personally.....

I have learned what one person calls a sharp chain another calls pitiful!!!!!

 

[JTM]

The way I see the rakers is like a wood planer, it don't matter how sharp the cutter is if doesn't bite the wood.

 

[JTM]

Of course it's aggressive because I've been on sweet gum and pine. Anything above 16" in oak or hickory well, it's a bit boggy/grabby embarrassingly.

I came off as a smart a$$ sounding smarter than I am. No, I did not initially intend the rakers to be that low and it was by accident that it worked well in the soft wood but not so well in the hardwood.

 

[happysaws]

Of course it's aggressive because I've been on sweet gum and pine. Anything above 16" in oak or hickory well, it's a bit boggy/grabby embarrassingly.

Ya, a chain like that usually does well in pine, I'm used to seeing rakers a little higher as there's alot of Oak, Hickory and Hackbearth around these parts.

 

[happysaws]

I came off as a smart a$$ sounding smarter than I am. No, I did not initially intend the rakers to be that low and it was by accident that it worked well in the soft wood but not so well in the hardwood.

All's well that ends well [emoji4]

 

[StihlNick]

Looks good to me. Something I do is hold the file with the back of my hand facing down which seems to help me keep the file riding at the right height above the cutter

 

[Conquistador3]

I cannot file a chain for the life of me. I've long given up on it.
But give me a Dremel and, for whatever reason, I have no problem making it as sharp as a samurai sword.

 

[Khntr85]

I remember a Long time ago when my dad showed me how to file.....even if he didn't have much time to stop and touch up a chain, he always took his time, and didn't rush the job....

One thing that helped me long ago was when I learned that you don't have to be applying abunch of pressure to the tooth, let the file do the work....

Get a brand new file(a good quality file) and just take light strokes....

 

[jakethesnake]

Look how low I have the rakers on this chain.....they were actually a hair to low, as the chain chattered just a little the first few cuts in hardwood....the chain came out of it and cut fine after the first few cuts.....


These chainwas sharpened many times and the rakers were never touched, so when I finally got my grubby paws on these chains, they were in bad shape...a lot of people would have tossed these chains....I love messing with chains, so it was a challenge to me....
View attachment 560847

That vanguard chain? If so how did you go about setting those big rakers down ? I have a loop I took to a belt sander. It's very aggressive Too aggressive really. I use it for just bucking firewood that's already on the ground. Vanguard would be a good chain if not for the total pain in the ass it is to set the rakes down on it

 

[Mad Professor]

I've always hand filed. Early on as a kid I didn't know better and just sharpened the chains so they cut well. We'd take a piece of branch and saw it off then drive it on to the tail of the file for a holder. Then I learned you need to file down the rakers or the chain stops cutting, got a big bastard file for that. About this time I learned about top plate angle and the rakers needed to be equal depth. Got a gauge for the rakers and a file holder that was marked at 25 30 and 35 degrees for the cutters. I still freehanded without the holder/gauge in the woods.

Other things I picked up on was wear some good gloves and your knuckles will thank you. When at home put the bar in a vice, when in the woods cut a groove in a big stump to hold the bar.

When I started chainsaw milling I got fancy and brought a Pferd file holder that did rakers and cutters and also got a dremel attachment for the ripping chains. I still never use those for my crosscut chains.

 

[jakethesnake]

I've always hand filed. Early on as a kid I didn't know better and just sharpened the chains so they cut well. We'd take a piece of branch and saw it off then drive it on to the tail of the file for a holder. Then I learned you need to file down the rakers or the chain stops cutting, got a big bastard file for that. About this time I learned about top plate angle and the rakers needed to be equal depth. Got a gauge for the rakers and a file holder that was marked at 25 30 and 35 degrees for the cutters. I still freehanded without the holder/gauge in the woods.

Other things I picked up on was wear some good gloves and your knuckles will thank you. When at home put the bar in a vice, when in the woods cut a groove in a big stump to hold the bar.

When I started chainsaw milling I got fancy and brought a Pferd file holder that did rakers and cutters and also got a dremel attachment for the ripping chains. I still never use those for my crosscut chains.

What do you mean when you say top plate angle and raker depth need to be the the same ?

Are you saying that if the top plate is 30 degree , each top plate must be 30. And if the same chain has its depth gauges set to .025 all gauges need to be .025?

If so I would agree so long as all teeth are the same length

 

[Khntr85]

That vanguard chain? If so how did you go about setting those big rakers down ? I have a loop I took to a belt sander. It's very aggressive Too aggressive really. I use it for just bucking firewood that's already on the ground. Vanguard would be a good chain if not for the total pain in the ass it is to set the rakes down on it

Yes sir, they are vanguard chain....I use the big wheel that came with my grinder to knock the rakers down....I profiled the wheel at an angle(got the idea from the Oregon manual)......I know that these would suck to hand file the rakers down, so they just hung on a nail until I got the grinder LOl....with the grinder it's a piece of cake.....

And yes you are right these are good chains, once the rakers are dealt with!!!!

I am including a pic of the wheel I do rakers with.....you can see the groove in the wheel from grinding the vanguard rakers down....I will "dress" the wheel with the proper angle, and then it won't have the groove...

 

[jakethesnake]

Yes sir, they are vanguard chain....I use the big wheel that came with my grinder to knock the rakers down....I profiled the wheel at an angle(got the idea from the Oregon manual)......I know that these would suck to hand file the rakers down, so they just hung on a nail until I got the grinder LOl....with the grinder it's a piece of cake.....

And yes you are right these are good chains, once the rakers are dealt with!!!!

I am including a pic of the wheel I do rakers with.....you can see the groove in the wheel from grinding the vanguard rakers down....I will "dress" the wheel with the proper angle, and then it won't have the groove...
View attachment 561067

Nice work man.