depth guides on the chain
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redunshee
Addicted to ArboristSite
I believe most raker gauges recommend .025 or .030 below cutting teeth. Too little and the saw won't cut efficiently. Too much and it'll bog down or catch in the log and stop. If its a big saw it'll throw you over the log(kidding). Best to stay within recommended limits for best result and care of chain and sproket.
avalancher
Arboristsite Raconteur
Depth or rakers should be set with a gauge, I think its .025 to .030?Someone correct me if I am wrong.
If you take your rakers down to far, you can bog the saw, overheat the clutch,premature stretch of the chain, etc.
Guys running hot saws will of coarse take them way down, and even remove them,but for your working saws I wouldnt even consider it. You are also going to increase your chances of severe kickback if the tip gets into anything it can grab.
Just becarefull!!!
Too much your gonna ruin a chain it'll grab,,put alot of wear on your saw and you'll have to grind,,file away the cutters to make it cut ok again....Make sure you check the specs. on the type of chain,,and be patience with filing em down,,and take your time!!!!!
Too much your gonna ruin a chain it'll grab,,put alot of wear on your saw and you'll have to grind,,file away the cutters to make it cut ok again....Make sure you check the specs. on the type of chain,,and be patience with filing em down,,and take your time!!!!!
motoroilmccall
ArboristSite Guru
Every so often I'll hit them with a flat file for 2 or 3 passes. You'll know when they're too high, the saw just won't cut even with sharp teeth, and your chips will be very small and thin.
SawTroll
Information Collector
The Husky raker guides make it right every time, for soft or hard wood.....
If the saw is an 090 stihl gear drive It WILL throw you over the log if it hits a hard knot (NOT KIDDING)
ShoerFast
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As the chain wares, you will need to take them down some, a very loose rule of thumb is to have just the bottom of the top plate shown as you eye-ball them.
Personal preference and each saw and type of cutting will tell you what you need. DG hight is the final tune to any saw.
I like a saw that i need to help into the wood slightly more then a saw/chain that I need to hold out of the wood.
This would be an aggressive DG setting, picture the line-of-sight just coming to the bottom of the top plate an all-around good place to start. (or look at a new chain)
I use a Pferd file that takes the rakers down when you sharpen the chain on my milling chain , it needs to very consistent depth when milling.
For crosscut chains, I hit them lightly with an angle grinder then dress and round them with a flat file, after every ca. 2-4 sharpenings. Check these for depth with a gauge.
For crosscut chains, I hit them lightly with an angle grinder then dress and round them with a flat file, after every ca. 2-4 sharpenings. Check these for depth with a gauge.
You got a picture of how that thing works? I can't figure it out for nothing.
bluequill56
ArboristSite Operative
I like the Stihl depth gage guides. Quick, easy, and consistent.
.030 for the big saws, .025 for the 'lil guys. I played with .035 and .040 a little. They tend to get grabby at .035, and flat out dangerous at .040. Kicks like a friggin' mule. I'd rather keep the R's up and cut with chain speed. Much safer and just seems much easier on the equipment. I also found an unexpected safety issue; accidentally touching a smaller piece of cut wood laying on the ground. Too aggressive of a DG setting will pick one of those baby's up and throw it at your shin. I had a 3"er shoot past my leg traveling just shy of the speed of sound. If it had hit me, I would have been on crutches for sure. After that, .030 is max for me. And I think my saws are much happier.
.030 for the big saws, .025 for the 'lil guys. I played with .035 and .040 a little. They tend to get grabby at .035, and flat out dangerous at .040. Kicks like a friggin' mule. I'd rather keep the R's up and cut with chain speed. Much safer and just seems much easier on the equipment. I also found an unexpected safety issue; accidentally touching a smaller piece of cut wood laying on the ground. Too aggressive of a DG setting will pick one of those baby's up and throw it at your shin. I had a 3"er shoot past my leg traveling just shy of the speed of sound. If it had hit me, I would have been on crutches for sure. After that, .030 is max for me. And I think my saws are much happier.
bluequill56
ArboristSite Operative
opcorn: opcorn: opcorn: I played with one for awhile, never quite got it. Can't argue with results, but I'd rather know what the number is. +/- .005" makes a lot more difference than you'd think.
tommymacher
ArboristSite Lurker
Check out the carlton web site and look at their "complete book of saw chain"
It explains it pretty well on pg. 12-14
It explains it pretty well on pg. 12-14
Adkpk
Addicted to ArboristSite
I took the rakers down too far on the 24" chain on my 288 a few months back. Cleanin up a job one day the chain grabbed a 4" diameter piece of firewood and shot it into my shin at full throttle. The pain was so bad I vomited. It has heeled now and there is a piece of chipped bone you can feel sticking up on my shin. I respect all saws equally but there are certain saws out there I know not to screw with in terms of things like raker height.
Nailgunner
ArboristSite Operative
^^ :censored: me, ow! ouch!
the rakers on my Partner's chain have been filed down too far by a previous owner, it needs holding back to stop it bogging down. Pain in the arse, I might have to replace the chain (if I wasn't so mean)
the rakers on my Partner's chain have been filed down too far by a previous owner, it needs holding back to stop it bogging down. Pain in the arse, I might have to replace the chain (if I wasn't so mean)
Crofter
Addicted to ArboristSite
You can peen the sides of the raker and draw it up a bit, but it is almost a two man job and you need a mini, hard anvil and a hammer and punch so you dont strike the cutter. Not worth it for a working chain. I only did it with a competition chain that already had a days work invested in it and only needed to get back about 5 thou. Low rakers are not fast cutters!
According to the Carlton Document one of the critical things about rakers is to maintain a constant angle at which the cutting edge of the cutter attacks the wood. This has also been discussed elsewhere on this site.
A 0.025" raker setting for a new chain (0.25" gullet width) this corresponds to a cutting attack angle of ~6º
The top cutter shows what the situation is for a new cutter. The botto one shows what happens as the gullet is opened up with sharpening
To maintain that 6º angle, as the gullet gets wider the rakers should be dropped more than 0.025".
Here is a (table in inches) that shows gullet width and raker height setting for 3/8 standard chain.
Gullet Raker setting
new 0.025
0.250 0.026
0.300 0.032
0.350 0.037
0.400 0.042
0.450 0.048
0.500 0.053
0.550 0.058
It's a lot more than 0.025"!
If you use the carlton file-o-plate it will automatically take this into account for any other gullet width but it does happen with most other depth gauge tool.
BTW, the EXCEL formula to calculate this for any gullet width is TAN(6*PI()/180)*gullet width.
Cheers
A 0.025" raker setting for a new chain (0.25" gullet width) this corresponds to a cutting attack angle of ~6º
The top cutter shows what the situation is for a new cutter. The botto one shows what happens as the gullet is opened up with sharpening
To maintain that 6º angle, as the gullet gets wider the rakers should be dropped more than 0.025".
Here is a (table in inches) that shows gullet width and raker height setting for 3/8 standard chain.
Gullet Raker setting
new 0.025
0.250 0.026
0.300 0.032
0.350 0.037
0.400 0.042
0.450 0.048
0.500 0.053
0.550 0.058
It's a lot more than 0.025"!
If you use the carlton file-o-plate it will automatically take this into account for any other gullet width but it does happen with most other depth gauge tool.
BTW, the EXCEL formula to calculate this for any gullet width is TAN(6*PI()/180)*gullet width.
Cheers
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