You can hand file (without a jig) and precision measure/ refile, or let your jig measure for you. If you can handle the setup, the Granberg File-N-Joint, or Grind-N-Joint will give excellent results, with equal length teeth (without burning like the cheap bench grinders); the trick is getting ALL teeth same lengthWell unfortunately only 1 pic made it. That logs 1 of several I've got. Started on a white oak also and boy oh boy.....I really need to figure out this chain sharpening thing.
. . . . the trick is getting ALL teeth same length
Put a straight ruler across the top of the cutter and then use a feeler gauge between the ruler and the raker to measure the raker depth.I've read a lot of your tips and hints on sharpening bobl the problem I have is understanding where your angles are referenced from.
I assume you mean a raker gauge with a fixed (usually 0.025") depth. These are OK when the chain is new but are increasingly less so as the cutter shortens due to sharpening.And to show my lack of experience also..... Ive never even used a gauge before.
Ive got one sitting in my tool box next to my grinder. I've always just "bumped" the rakes every few sharpenings. (Set the stop of course) I think they're probably still to high. All I'm getting is very fine dust and a backache. Any suggestions, help, and pointers will be appreciated and attempted.
Put a straight ruler across the top of the cutter and then use a feeler gauge between the ruler and the raker to measure the raker depth.
If the raker depth is <1/10th of the gullet width then the rakers are too high and this will make a lot of dust.
An easier way to do this is using a digital angle finder like this - the angle finder is perched between the cutter edge and its adjacent raker top
The starting point for raker angles is 6º
- they don't have to be exactly 6º anywhere between 5.5 and 6.5º is fine
- the optimum raker angle depends on things like available power, length of cut, hardness of wood and how much vibe you are prepared to tolerate.
- big powerhead, short cut in soft wood and don't worry about vibe then try 7, 8 or even 9º
- small saw, long bar and hard wood leave it at 6º
- to see what your saw can handle for a given situation increase the raker angle util the chains starts to grab and the lower the angle but filing the cutters (not rakers) and then measure the angle
- of course I don't do this every time I touch the rakers - just set the angles at home and then bump the rakers every 3-4 raker touch up which for me is after every tank.
- the extra time taken to set the raker angles like this is EASILY recovered in improved cutting speeds, reduced powerhead/chain/bar wear and tear, and the sheer joy of watching chips rather than dust fly.
I assume you mean a raker gauge with a fixed (usually 0.025") depth. These are OK when the chain is new but are increasingly less so as the cutter shortens due to sharpening.
One think about filing cutters is that the "feel" of a cutter does not provide the best indicator that it is sharp. Provided the cutter profile (hook etc) is OK, filing just enough to remove "edge glint" is all that is required. Any more than this is a waste of metal.
I will try this out. I'd like to think I'm a fairly tough guy and viberation won't bother me too much. I've got an 075 that's been bored and resleeved to 115cc. Dull chain and kinda dry white oak didn't even stop that saw! (Stopped me t
Oh....this saw has definitely seen its better days. I'm trying to find some parts that are broken and replace them, and let me tell you it's been an adventure! I'd like to be able to set the saw down while it's running to give it a cool down but, it likes to go walkabout on the ground while at idle. It kinda likes to vibrate itself apart already, and anything I can do to prevent that will be a plus. What style chain would you recommend? Plus what is meant by "cleaning" out the gullet? I've got a couple days off ahead of me and am gonna give it another try.....I wasn't really referring to the effect of vibe on an operator as this can be managed by using a remote throttle and soft rubber mountain bike handles on the mill . What I'm referring to is chain vibe caused by the chain grabbing more wood than intended. This results in greater strain on the chain and higher pressure slaps of the chain back down onto bar rails which causes increased B&C wear. Some operators can deal with that while others prefer to be more gentle with their gear.
Oh....this saw has definitely seen its better days. I'm trying to find some parts that are broken and replace them, and let me tell you it's been an adventure! I'd like to be able to set the saw down while it's running to give it a cool down but, it likes to go walkabout on the ground while at idle. It kinda likes to vibrate itself apart already, and anything I can do to prevent that will be a plus. What style chain would you recommend? Plus what is meant by "cleaning" out the gullet? I've got a couple days off ahead of me and am gonna give it another try.....
... flat file for rakers and the guage to set the raker depth,
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