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CR888

CR888

Addicted to ArboristSite
. AS Supporting Member.
Joined
Feb 17, 2013
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3,980
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How do you rate PFRED?
l have pferd and save edge and others. Pferd make really good files IMO. They also usually have two types being coarse and smooth in their round files. The six sided square chisel file l have works well. l believe there are many good quality files to buy very few who get quality when using them. The art of filing is not in the file but in ones hand, mind & eye. A complete understanding of how a cutter functions and cuts will help. When hand filing square you only need to focus on the two angles you hold the file as if you get them right, the angle of the cutting edge will be right too.
 
MasterMech

MasterMech

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Nov 29, 2011
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324
Location
Hudson Valley NY
Hey, if you want to run round against my square at the GTG, I'll be there.
Off the roll? Sure. I'll take that bet. Otherwise I know that well-filed square beats round any day. The point of my video was that off the roll square is equal to round, at best. I have another vid where I ran Oregon CL vs Stihl RS and the CL was painfully slow. A close look at the factory grind is quite revealing.
 
SAWMIKAZE

SAWMIKAZE

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. AS Supporting Member.
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steel city
My expierence with the two are that square doesnt seem to load the saw as much , where round seems to bite harder and square seems smoother , thats both chains out of the box , once both touched by a guy with good knowledge of how to file square id agree that it is certainly faster than round
 
MustangMike
Joined
Jan 5, 2014
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11,577
Location
Brewster, NY
The Stihl RSL I purchased is faster off the roll than Stihl RS loops from the factory. My brother and My nephew (MechanicMatt) concluded the same. My 044 with RSL was cutting faster than my brother's 460 with RS side by side. Installing RSL on the 460 resolved the issue. The results with MechanicMatt's 76 cc Husky were similar.

I'm just learning square file, but I try to keep the angles stock (both about 45 degrees) for durability. I know steeper angles will cut faster, but this stuff seems to hold up just as well as RS for us, and it cuts a little faster. That is exactly what I want. I don't pretend to know as much as others who have been using square file for much longer, but for now this is working for me. It is like a free performance upgrade.

Another AS member referred to my "off the roll" square file as "Race Chain" at the GTG. Don't know what else to say, I like it.
 
MasterMech

MasterMech

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Messages
324
Location
Hudson Valley NY
The quality control on chain isn't that great. I've had both stihl and Oregon with bad top beaks on the chain where they had to be sharpened before use. I had about 40' on one roll of stihl that bad.
Maybe Mike is getting much better chain than I did. I haven't messed with factory square since I did that video.
 
cory@owen

cory@owen

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Jan 3, 2013
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338
Location
Georgia
The quality control on chain isn't that great. I've had both stihl and Oregon with bad top beaks on the chain where they had to be sharpened before use. I had about 40' on one roll of stihl that bad.
I've had 3/8 lpx that wouldn't cut well new. Depth gauges were too high from the get go. I also go ahead and file it round. That helps a little even before fixing the depth gauge. I haven't had a .325 lpx come out of the box bad like I have 3/8. I'm sure I will some day, but so far I've been happier with oregons factory .325 chain more so that their 3/8.
 
Deets066

Deets066

Firewood hack
Joined
Oct 20, 2009
Messages
3,176
Location
Northern Illinois
My expierence with the two are that square doesnt seem to load the saw as much , where round seems to bite harder and square seems smoother , thats both chains out of the box , once both touched by a guy with good knowledge of how to file square id agree that it is certainly faster than round
Not sure where I read it, maybe madsens site. But they said that square would take 10 cc more to run it than round on the same bar. Now I personally don't agree with it but I think square loads he saw more. But then again I run my rakers lower on square than on round also.
 
KG441c

KG441c

Keith
Joined
Nov 12, 2013
Messages
4,952
Location
Provencal, La.
After reading and looking at the angles which angle on square makes the tooth cut faster? Ive been reading that going from a 45° to a 30° angle would cut faster but is that in relation to top plate ° or side plate? What exactly does beak mean? Im trying to figure all this out before my chain and file gets here. Also how do u check the angles after u file?
 
mdavlee

mdavlee

Tree Freak
Joined
Apr 18, 2008
Messages
18,144
Location
tn
Square is a more efficient cutter. Beak is when the file is too high or too low and leaves a small point in the corner. A side beak is better than a top beak. Best way I found to check angles is with an angle finder and use the file to put it on.
 
MustangMike
Joined
Jan 5, 2014
Messages
11,577
Location
Brewster, NY
The angles on both the top and side plate, matter, the steeper the angles, the faster the cut, but you will exchange durability.

I think it is fairly easy to picture 45 & 45 in your head, and adjust from there.

If the corner of your file is on the side plate instead of in the corner you will create a beak. This will still cut. If your corner on the file is in on the top plate, it will not cut well. Best to focus keeping it in the corner (IMO).

My recommendation would be to start with 45 X 45 as a base line, see how it cuts and holds up, then you can adjust from there and see what you thing. If cutting softwoods, 40 X 40 is fairly common.
 
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