How do I get that "self feeding" back into my chain?

[Mac_Muz]

Interesting idea. Still not the same as on-side filing, but does present the off-side cutter in a different way. Will have to try it.

Rep sent for sharing the idea!

Thanks.

philbert

This is gonna be stupid, but what is "on side " filing mean? I fear it means on one side and then the other with the saw laying on a stump/bench.

Never did that..

In the woods where there is no vice i cut a slot in a stump/log and use that as a vise. This us harder as you need to lift the saw to move the chain.

 

[grandpatractor]

In the woods where there is no vice i cut a slot in a stump/log and use that as a vise. This us harder as you need to lift the saw to move the chain.

I do that also, but I jam a scrench in along side the bar to wedge it in the stump and hold it still and elevated a bit.

 

[Philbert]

This is gonna be stupid, but what is "on side " filing mean?

Some of us are better at filing right hand cutters, some are better at left hand cutters. I used the term 'on-side' to refer to the side that we are better at (whether right or left), and 'off-side' as the other side.

Kind of like trying to brush your teeth with the other hand.

Philbert

 

[Mac_Muz]

I do that also, but I jam a scrench in along side the bar to wedge it in the stump and hold it still and elevated a bit.

Good Idea!

 

[Mac_Muz]

Some of us are better at filing right hand cutters, some are better at left hand cutters. I used the term 'on-side' to refer to the side that we are better at (whether right or left), and 'off-side' as the other side.

Kind of like trying to brush your teeth with the other hand.

Philbert

I don't feel as stupid now

This method I mentioned is exactly for the off side cutters, and doing these first. I was born lefty, but forced on pain of death to be righty as a wee lad..

Part of that worked and part of it didn't, but I am not ambidexterous either.

So I file things as a right handed person would.

By flipping the saw upside down, which I can do in a stump, I file all the cutters that would be harder first. When tese are all nice, I flip the saw over and do the easy cutters last.

Doing this makes it easy to match the cutters on both sides of the chain, and eliminates the too long cutters on the 'off side'.

I am pretty good at filing things... I use files commonly almost every day, but not on saws all that much. Mostly other metals on other items.

I work part time for a machinist, and do most of his deburring. I also am into early American history as a re-enactor and make many items by hand , with hand tools, such as knives, parts of knives, Trade Silver, which is wearable money or it was once anyway, and about anything else made in metals from the past where filing things matters.

But this tip I was shown, has made a world of difference in my saw chain filing just the same. It allows me to use chains other guys don't want anymore, as I can match the long cutters to the short cutters quickly, and once a nearly ruined chain is filed right, it tends to stay right, untill I get into rocks

Last week I was using my land lords saw, at his request. It is a brand new Echo of some sort, and never used in years of time, and he wanted a few hours on it to sort of wake it up..

I was in pine slab wood, stacked by the Devil, and it had been in place for years worth of time, but I don't know how many.

Evidently during snow removal, rocks with snow was dumped on this stack, and I found one real fast :greenchainsaw: Then I found 2 more almost as fast

Filing quickly ment some thing that day.

 

[miking]

Filing with that 10% lift from the side seems to help my chain feed itself in. In many instances when my chain doesn't seem to cut right that's the thing that improves it most often.

 

[ApexTreeService]

Get a Stihl stump vise, weld two pencil size legs on either side and sharpen, so you can drive it into sod on the job site. Clamp nose end of bar into said vise to minimize nose end deflection. Take out your Stilh file guide which keeps the correct height/position of the file, and shows you correct angle to follow, and make even pressure/angle strokes of same number on every cutter of the chain. File should drag and feel gritty, if not replace. Example, 4 strokes per tooth, both sides, same pressure, same angle as dictated by the guide (30 degrees typically). 4 strokes is a tune up, maybe even 2. If you have hit dirt, maybe 8 strokes. Rock or metal, 20-30 strokes or more. I use full chisel chain. I file the worst tooth first (count the strokes and do the same to all others), until the leading and top edge are again square and not round, the cutter should be literally razor sharp and require gloves to handle. Then, file off depth gauges with a Stihl depth gauge filing tool. Comes as a kit. This is how we did it, and taught, in the firefighter crew.

We used to file all the way down to nubs.

I have never replaced a bar on any of my saws. My MS390 I bought for tree service back in 2003 has seen many many chains, and only one bar.

If you want to take more time, measure with a micrometer the length ( distance from back of cutter to cutting edge ) of the shortest tooth after sharpened, then make all others this length, then file/adjust depth strap/gauge.

 

[JoeMcDaniel]

When stuck with those stupid "safety chains", the FIRST thing I do is remove a fair portion of the "bumpers".

 

[garyischofield]

pictures help diagnose the problem

As a 57 year old production cutter and saw racer,there are many fine points to have a chain feed smoothly,cut fast and straight. Alot of the guess work would be avoided with a closeup picture.Hell,send me the chain,I'll hand file it and send it back with what I did.It's an ongoing challenge to see how small a saw I can use without sacrificing production.I have a habit of trying to rehabilitate discarded chains by others.Some have been sharpened so poorly that the chain is worn unevenly and will never cut right..Put up a picture,I'm sure we'd get you back in shape.Practice,practice.