Chain Filing Outside In.

[Pierreg]

I just had to try it. Seems crazy but reverse filing from the tip to the gullet seems to make a very sharp edge. I thought you guys were putting us on about the reverse method. I have always used the Carlton file plates and tried filing an old crap chain and will throw it on the Jred and see. I never would have tried this. Any pointers for reverse sharpening are appreciated. Cheers.

 

[craig71]

I agree with the reverse filing, I recently tried it on my 480 stihl clearing saw and all I can say is WOW. The top of the tooth feels less sharp but the point that first cuts the wood fibre is much sharper(working corner) It definitely works for a chisel tooth blade and I am sure it works well on aa chainsaw chain. I would still advise you to sharpen inside to outside after every 2 or 3 outside to inside sharpenings, just to make sure that your top plate angles stay correct.cheers.

 

[zombywoof]

Filing from outside in makes for a sharp edge, but it also damages the chrome layer, causeing it to flake off faster....your chain will become dull quicker filing like this.

 

[craig71]

Filing from outside in makes for a sharp edge, but it also damages the chrome layer, causeing it to flake off faster....your chain will become dull quicker filing like this.

:msp_unsure: I have never seen any evidence of this. Explain how this is so.

 

[Mpbowyer]

Filing from outside in makes for a sharp edge, but it also damages the chrome layer, causeing it to flake off faster....your chain will become dull quicker filing like this.

I'm not a chainsaw chain metallurgist, but I am an engineer that designs boilers with hundreds of different types of steel from SA-178A to 50/50 Cr Ni. Steel can have many things alloyed in it, the how you heat treat it can have just as much effect on the properties of your end result. That 50-50 literally has no iron or carbon in it, but it's still "steel".

Stainless and otherwise alloyed steel used in this type of application is probably not plated like a chrome car bumper. You most likely have a consistent alloy throughout the cutter that id imagine starts out as a sheet, then has the cutters stamped out of it then possibly bent square with a second stamping resulting in a forged piece.

Filing direction is only going to change edge geometry, and probably the biggest difference is going to be burr location.

 

[Mpbowyer]

Nope, there is a crome plating and it's very visible under 3x magnifaction.

Well you learn something new every day. I'll have to look at mine under my glass.

 

[D&B Mack]

When you file, you will always take more metal from the leading edge than you do from the trailing edge. So, in order to get a sharp edge from filing outside to in, you will have to take unwanted metal from the outside edge.

 

[Sagetown]

Nope, there is a crome plating and it's very visible under 3x magnifaction.

Repped

 

[J.W Younger]

Yer not gonna file the plating, just the metal under it. The plating will damage the file more outside to inside, but either way the plating is gonna be the same thickness after filing.
You want the plating thinner you gonna have to stone it.

 

[SawTroll]

Nope, there is a crome plating and it's very visible under 3x magnifaction.

Definately, and teeth with thick crome (typically Stihl) can not become as sharp as chain with thinner crome (typically Oregon). That is of course more important for race chain, than it is for work chain.

 

[hillwilliam]

I've been chisel filing my chains for well over 30 years, and I don't think I could even do it inside-out. Seems similar to sharpening other tools from outside to in: knives, crosscut saws, machetes, etc. seem to be sharper without forming a burr on the cutting edge. I don't think that's just an old husband's tale, but that's not to say I know anything about metallurgy.

Hillwilliam

 

[Hedgerow]

Definately, and teeth with thick crome (typically Stihl) can not become as sharp as chain with thinner crome (typically Oregon). That is of course more important for race chain, than it is for work chain.

Is this where a grinding wheel may be of use?

 

[Red Amor]

My Father a sawer many years at mill and a faller just as many in bush cutting mill timber n mine props, once told me to sharpen outside in explaining that he found it left a sharper point and gullet told me be careful and attentive of cutter edge on top place

I dont do this every time but believe it better if a little harder to do if you not doing it all the time
I showed this to fellers I was working with for the water board at Warragamba Dam in N.S.W.
THEY LOOKED AT ME WITH ONE EYE SHUT

 

[dumbarky]

I have never tried or heard of this but will try it after lunch. So will get back to post later after experimenting.

 

[mt.stalker]

I have never tried or heard of this but will try it after lunch. So will get back to post later after experimenting.

Let me know how it worked

 

[hillwilliam]

My findings:

I need to start by saying there must be plenty of people out there who are better at round filing than I am, since I only chisel file my own chains.

I have a saw on the bench waiting for a new top end on which I'll do some mild porting. Figured I'd work on the guy's chain while I'm waiting for the jug and for another saw that didn't show up this morning.

It's a Stihl round-ground chisel chain that's pretty dull but not a nightmare. I have it locked in a chain vise for filing. The file I'm using is a Finnish file with the little castle on it. Out-to-in filing is natural enough for me after decades of chisel filing and I sometimes even file my gullets out-to-in to remove or minimize a burr. (Gullets are typically round filed on chisel-ground chains, just to hawg out material.)

Round filing this Stihl chain, out-to-in, I'm still getting a tiny burr (that I can barely feel but not see, even when magnified) on the top plate and down in the gullet, but MUCH less than filing in-to-out. Not at all surprising. As you probably already know, the round file does want to chatter and squawk a bit more than when in-to-out filing.

Next time I get an Oregon chain that needs round filing, I'll do the same and let you know if there is any substantive difference from how the Stihl chain is turning out.

Something you may want to try is out-to-in if it's just a light touch up. If you need to whittle a lot off as I'm doing, you could try in-to-out for most of the chewing and then finish it up with out-to-in to remove most of the burr and get it a little sharper.

I doubt my $0.02 amounts to much at the current inflation rate.

 

[dumbarky]

OK, so its a little foreign at first. Found out best way for me, is to do my rough filing inside out. Then go back and finish up the fine edge outside in. This does remove the burr on the outside of cutter edge. Haven't got to run the saw since. Been reading meters all week. Finish them up today so should get back to clean up duties tomorrow. Got several trees to remove at the park. But I feel like this may work good for me. I use a round file on everything. I would use a triangular file on my full chisel chains if I could find one. But as of yet I haven't found any. I used to use them all the time but the store where I got them closed. No one else carries them or knows what I am asking for.:confused2:

 

[J.W Younger]

OK, so its a little foreign at first. Found out best way for me, is to do my rough filing inside out. Then go back and finish up the fine edge outside in. This does remove the burr on the outside of cutter edge. Haven't got to run the saw since. Been reading meters all week. Finish them up today so should get back to clean up duties tomorrow. Got several trees to remove at the park. But I feel like this may work good for me. I use a round file on everything. I would use a triangular file on my full chisel chains if I could find one. But as of yet I haven't found any. I used to use them all the time but the store where I got them closed. No one else carries them or knows what I am asking for.:confused2:

Bailey's has the double bevel save edge brand. Shippin cost prob not worth it unless you include some other stuff tho. If you like the 6 sided better they got that too in I think a perfered.

 

[Hedgerow]

OK, so its a little foreign at first. Found out best way for me, is to do my rough filing inside out. Then go back and finish up the fine edge outside in. This does remove the burr on the outside of cutter edge. Haven't got to run the saw since. Been reading meters all week. Finish them up today so should get back to clean up duties tomorrow. Got several trees to remove at the park. But I feel like this may work good for me. I use a round file on everything. I would use a triangular file on my full chisel chains if I could find one. But as of yet I haven't found any. I used to use them all the time but the store where I got them closed. No one else carries them or knows what I am asking for.:confused2:

When I was messing around with a goofy file on a square chain, I decided to try same method on some round filed chisel with a round file...Took a lighter touch, but the results were very good... Possibly the fastest cutting chain I've ever filed... And stayed sharp for a reasonable time too...

 

[arborealbuffoon]

When I was messing around with a goofy file on a square chain, I decided to try same method on some round filed chisel with a round file...Took a lighter touch, but the results were very good... Possibly the fastest cutting chain I've ever filed... And stayed sharp for a reasonable time too...

I've honestly never heard of such a thing. Now, I guess I'll have to try it myself. However, it's gonna be just like humpin' a fat chick......I sure aint gonna let anyone see me doing it!!