Oliver1655
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It will provide a start point. Then as you round off the rakers you can give each one a couple of more strokes as the cutters get smaller.
Does it do progressive filing on the depth gauges, or maintain Stihl's recommended .025" difference in height?
I like what I've heard of this system but can anyone answer the above question? It seems to me that for the money of this tool, this should be built in.
I bought the Stihl version and I like it. Takes only a couple of minutes to sharpen my chain (16" bar). The reason I got it was because of the raker function. Now I could be wrong, but I thought since the guide rails on the sharpener ride on the teeth (one rail on the tooth in front of, and one behind the cutter being sharpened), then as the cutters are taken down the flat file is lowered too and thus the rakers are also taken down. Hope this makes sense.
What aren't new?These aren't new, they've been around for ages. They're pricey for what they are, and if you intend to every get a decent cutting chain a tool like this only slows you down in getting there. They're great for people who are occasional saw users and don't have the patience to learn to handfile properly. There's no substitute for the BobL progressive raker filing method.
What aren't new?
Where can you buy these Stihl guides at? I looked them up on the Stihl website and none of my local dealers have any according to their websites.
I wouldn't think you would want to file the rakers every time you sharpened. I would think you would be taking off to much using this system. For me, I do not have to file the rakers every time I sharpen, more like 2 to 3 sharpenings.
I got the husky version specifically for the rakers. I wanted to be able to quickly sharpen the chain, and touch up the rakers in the field. It really does work great!
It does not do progressive filing; the files are in a fixed position. The tool does not know how far the tooth has already been filed.
For those of us who are chain sharpening challenged, it works just fine. It doesn't take much time to go back with another flat file & round off the leading edge of the raker & drop it down a little bit more as the cutter shortens. This is the same thing you would have to do with a regular raker depth gauge.
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