Flat files for rakers

[charlesfarm]

I've used both Stihl and Oregon flat files for doing the rakers on my chains. Seems that after filing them down just a few times, the files are so dull they'll hardly work on a fingernail.

Do they just not hold up for very long, or is there a secret to getting them to last longer????

Thanks,
Chris

 

[2dogs]

The newest Oregon files are Swiss made and should last quite awhile. My raker file is probably 2 years old and is still sharp.

 

[Ekka]

I like the 8" Husky flat file.

 

[SawTroll]

I like the 8" Husky flat file.

So do I - I suspect those are rebranded Pferd, but even those don't last forever......

 

[Crofter]

Filing across the hardened raker guage is hard on your files. You can use the guage as a check and take it off to file. Carlton has very hard rakers especially for the first few strokes till you break the surface. Some used chains that have the rakers taken down with a grinder have been hardened so a raker file wont touch them and they have to go on the grinder to take them down. I dont think files are as hard as they used to be.

 

[huskydave]

You can use chaulk on your files to prevent them from getting plugged up and if they do get plugged soak them in vinegar It works good and won't dull the file. I don't get much life out of files in general but they are only a couple of dollars to replace around here. I throw all the old ones in a vinegar solution and try to squeeze more life out of them.

 

[kurtty]

cant you touch up the file with a file brush when it starts to lose its cut? thats what i always do. just file brush\wash the files and they cut for a long time.

 

[huskydave]

Yes that brush is called a filecard and that is always the first thing to use for file maintainance they keep the cutting edges free from grit and can unplug some files.

 

[kevin j]

Q Filing across the hardened raker guage is hard on your files. You can use the guage as a check and take it off to file. Q


Hard on files and also wears the gauge down. I was taught to put the gauge on, use the square corner of the end of the file to go back and forth across the raker, If it just touches, good to go. If it snags on the raker, take of the gauge and stand the gauge on end in the tooth gap just ahead of the cutting tooth edge. Then file the raker. Protects the file, the gauge surface and keeps from accidentally touching the cutting edge of tooth with the flat file.

k

 

[Festus Haggen]

I'm still trying to figure out what to do with the coffee can full of old files that I have. Maybe a 'file gun'? Suppose I could just throw them in the metal bin, but they might come in handy "someday".

I only cut 15-20 cords of hardwood a year, a 5-dollar file or 3-dollar gauge doesn't concern me so much. If I did it for a living, suppose I'd want to economize a bit more.

 

[Mad Professor]

I hit the rakers with an angle grinder or dremel to get things close then finish up with the file, rounding a ramp into each raker.

 

[Crofter]

Q Filing across the hardened raker guage is hard on your files. You can use the guage as a check and take it off to file. Q


Hard on files and also wears the gauge down. I was taught to put the gauge on, use the square corner of the end of the file to go back and forth across the raker, If it just touches, good to go. If it snags on the raker, take of the gauge and stand the gauge on end in the tooth gap just ahead of the cutting tooth edge. Then file the raker. Protects the file, the gauge surface and keeps from accidentally touching the cutting edge of tooth with the flat file.

k

100%

file plugging is more an issue with soft material and large surfaces. Look at your raker files that have lost their ambition and I think you will see mostly its cutters have been dulled by small area contact with hard surfaces. A chain that has been rocked will often have rakers near untouchable with a file.

 

[24d]

Is it unacceptable to use a grinder like a northern or 511 to do the rakers?

 

[scotclayshooter]

RBW pointed out the quickest way to dull a file was to have contact on the backstroke, Now im a lot more careful on that!
Stihl files last me a lot longer than the oregon ones i used to get.

 

[harrygrey382]

I'm still trying to figure out what to do with the coffee can full of old files that I have. Maybe a 'file gun'? Suppose I could just throw them in the metal bin, but they might come in handy "someday".

I only cut 15-20 cords of hardwood a year, a 5-dollar file or 3-dollar gauge doesn't concern me so much. If I did it for a living, suppose I'd want to economize a bit more.

I heard they're the same tool steel as good quality knives, just need tempering at a higher temperature to soften them up a bit. I save my dead ones to make tools/knives, haven't made any yet but...

And I'm impressed at how long the Stihl ones hold out

 

[Festus Haggen]

I heard they're the same tool steel as good quality knives, just need tempering at a higher temperature to soften them up a bit. I save my dead ones to make tools/knives, haven't made any yet but...

And I'm impressed at how long the Stihl ones hold out

I'll keep that in mind in case I need to make a tool. Still say the "file gun" would be more fun. Have to make plastic sabots to keep them from filing the barrel, wonder what the flight would be like on a chainsaw file at 1500 fps or so? Sure you wouldn't want to catch one.

 

[MAG58]

I touch up my files with a file brush

:greenchainsaw:

 

[Sprig]

I'm still trying to figure out what to do with the coffee can full of old files that I have. Maybe a 'file gun'? Suppose I could just throw them in the metal bin, but they might come in handy "someday".

I only cut 15-20 cords of hardwood a year, a 5-dollar file or 3-dollar gauge doesn't concern me so much. If I did it for a living, suppose I'd want to economize a bit more.

Put 'em in a jar of vinager for 24 hrs (no more usually), it'll smarten some of em up.

Like everyone has said, keep them clean (and don't drag them backwards over the metal), and they'll last longer, try not to use just one spot in the center as most are prone ta do, tap every tooth/raker.
I'm using one of the swiss flat files at the moment and its holding up very well so far compared to the last one (made in India I think) which was pooched after 20 rakers :bang: :censored: junk!



Serge

 

[Festus Haggen]

Yeah, I have flashbacks of learning to use a file properly, after dad caught me with his "good files", think I was trying to improve the performance on my runner sled or something. The care and proper use of tools was a big subject in our house, I remember my brother leaving an open toolbox out in the rain, dad was pretty irate.

I do have a file card, and keep my files very clean. But what, exactly, does the vinegar do? I'll try it tonight, but I'm also going to look at some of my old files under the microscope to see if they're really worn, or just clogged. Maybe someday I'll get that USB 'scope for the computer, just have a 10 dollar portable one from radio shack now.

 

[huskydave]

The vinegar is an mild acid it loosens up the metal filings that are stuck in between the teeth of the file.