Identify grind on the chain in this photo

[7oaks]

As long as the wood is clean it will work fine. If it's dirty square or round chisel isn't really going to hold up very good. I've used square on 4 year old standing dead chestnut, red oak that's been down a year and a half and it held up fine. You might want to try a loop or two before getting a grinder and see how they hold up before they lose their edge. Some people love it and others think it's not that much faster than round. If you have some .063 bars I have some chains here you could try.

Thanks for the offer. I've got quite a few .063s in the 20, 32 & 36 range. I've got the one 36 incher that came with the Contra S and liked it when we used it but I think the rakers are too high on it as the chips were quite small. I'd love to try a properly sharpened and trued chain.

 

[dieselsmoke]

Buy a couple of shorter square gr. loops from Baileys. you can play around with a file to keep them sharp. two filings, three max. Then if you really like the square look for a grinder, or a shop that can grind them for you. If you DON'T like the square, you can always grind them to round profile.

 

[MacLaren]

I have virtually zero experience but from what Ive saw its hard to beat hand filed round. I know Mike's hand filed round will out cut his silvey ground square chain. I really like the hand filed round. You could also get one of those speed star grinders for the round. I hear they are very nice. I checked out the video of it on balieys web site and it looked good. (the speed sharp?)

 

[mdavlee]

The square is a smoother cutting chain all around. I've been using it for almost a year now with only a couple round chains thrown in every now and then. I filed it for a while and finally got a grinder in dec. I can get round to keep up with the square most of the time.

 

[7oaks]

Thanks for the offer. I've got quite a few .063s in the 20, 32 & 36 range. I've got the one 36 incher that came with the Contra S and liked it when we used it but I think the rakers are too high on it as the chips were quite small. I'd love to try a properly sharpened and trued chain.

I'm going to put up a video of this combination in my Contra S thread ie "This is the Last Chainsaw I'll ever add to my collection" if you want to see it run in some black locust.

 

[wyk]

Here I am with a quick and sloppy sharpening for the weekend:

<iframe title="YouTube video player" width="480" height="390" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/h2wQJNiDdEM" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

 

[7oaks]

Interesting sharpening technique. Chain cuts real nice!

 

[MS460WOODCHUCK]

Here I am with a quick and sloppy sharpening for the weekend:

<iframe title="YouTube video player" width="480" height="390" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/h2wQJNiDdEM" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

Square or round either way I decide to file my already round chain filed chain, I never stroke the file back and forth and I've never seen it done by anyone til I watched your video.

 

[wyk]

Square or round either way I decide to file my already round chain filed chain, I never stroke the file back and forth and I've never seen it done by anyone til I watched your video.

On a round grind, you want to only grind it inside to out unless you are re-profiling the grind by hand. With a square chain, it is far more forgiving if you go back and forth, and the tip seems to be stronger and less likely to chip due to the angle and the amount of meat in the steel compared to round. In fact, some people actually grind it IN to the cutter - the exact opposite way most people are taught to do round. Even so, you have to have a steady hand and be consistent, and I still finish the grinding with an in-to-out motion on each tooth. Even with the bar moving a bit, I am holding the link in my other hand, so it's basically staying still for the grinding. I've sharpened hundreds of Bowie knives by hand - chain sharpening is a dawdle by comparison. And as you can see, it flies through the maple even with the dogs getting in the way. If this were my first sharpening, I would only go inside to out.

 

[ECsaws]

That's an awful good-looking chain you have there. I see most of the proven race tricks in effect, and it leads me to a question: why not smooth the rivets more?

Also, with the links as doggy-boned as they are, do you have stretching or breakage issues ever? I'm half-tempted to grind one like that myself, but I'm sort of nervous about having it come apart under load.

I have knocked the rivets down more but "I" have neaver found any more gains in doing it. I do the rivets on a surface grinder so there all the same no need to go anymore...
I have busted many chains, as with motors if you dont push it you'll neaver know what the limits are:biggrin:.

 

[madhatte]

I have knocked the rivets down more but "I" have neaver found any more gains in doing it. I do the rivets on a surface grinder so there all the same no need to go anymore...
I have busted many chains, as with motors if you dont push it you'll neaver know what the limits are:biggrin:.

Ah. Makes sense. Great post, thanks!

 

[wyk]

I've seen a few guys take a round grinder and grind on those rakers on squares either during the first sharpening, or when they go and grind it round. It's the same idea Oregon Chain use with their 404 'micro chisel' lines, they make the raker a tad smaller as well. Makes it cut faster. I was considering it myself.

 

[wyk]

OK, I posted this vid in my 'new saw vid' thread. But, I thought it would be pertinent here. The 372 in this video has a square ground chain with the rakers thinned up just a tad and taken down to at least .045 - basically the perfect combination for softer wood. Even with a 28" bar it has no trouble keeping up with an 066 with a 24" bar and a semi chisel chain. This is the exact same chain you see me grinding on in the previous video. The 385 in the video is sharing the B&C combo with the 372. The chain easily kept it's edge for a 5 hour session.

YouTube - ‪Saw-O-Rama‬&rlm;

 

[7oaks]

OK, I posted this vid in my 'new saw vid' thread. But, I thought it would be pertinent here. The 372 in this video has a square ground chain with the rakers thinned up just a tad and taken down to at least .045 - basically the perfect combination for softer wood. Even with a 28" bar it has no trouble keeping up with an 066 with a 24" bar and a semi chisel chain. This is the exact same chain you see me grinding on in the previous video. The 385 in the video is sharing the B&C combo with the 372. The chain easily kept it's edge for a 5 hour session.

YouTube - ‪Saw-O-Rama‬&rlm;

Boy that looks like fun - standing in the water while cutting. :hmm3grin2orange:

More seriously that 372 sounds, runs and cuts beautifully!

 

[Bieber]

OK, I posted this vid in my 'new saw vid' thread. But, I thought it would be pertinent here. The 372 in this video has a square ground chain with the rakers thinned up just a tad and taken down to at least .045 - basically the perfect combination for softer wood. Even with a 28" bar it has no trouble keeping up with an 066 with a 24" bar and a semi chisel chain. This is the exact same chain you see me grinding on in the previous video. The 385 in the video is sharing the B&C combo with the 372. The chain easily kept it's edge for a 5 hour session.

YouTube - ‪Saw-O-Rama‬&rlm;

Jaja wyk,

deine 372 hört sich wirklich böse an!:biggrin:

 

[wyk]

Jaja wyk,

deine 372 hört sich wirklich böse an!:biggrin:

Übermäßig böse! I actually like the sound of the 385xp as well. I've always liked the sound of the bigger huskies.

The water is nothing, really. My boots have 8" of water proofing. And with 55" of rain a year here, ya get used to wet. This is just a tiny creek, the rushing sound you hear all the time in the last few vids is the YamHill River in the background. I have a 4-5' wide Fir down by that river with about 10' of trunk left that I have to buck in filthy wet conditions. We've just been too busy with the Alders and the Firs near the house lately. When I bucked the top of that Fir by the river, I slipped and fell into the river at one point. It was something like 38* out when it happened, too. That was, uh, refreshing... Rain doesn't bother me, nor does water. It's the slush and sleet when it sticks to you that's annoying.

 

[Bieber]

Übermäßig böse! I actually like the sound of the 385xp as well. I've always liked the sound of the bigger huskies.

The water is nothing, really. My boots have 8" of water proofing. And with 55" of rain a year here, ya get used to wet. This is just a tiny creek, the rushing sound you hear all the time in the last few vids is the YamHill River in the background. I have a 4-5' wide Fir down by that river with about 10' of trunk left that I have to buck in filthy wet conditions. We've just been too busy with the Alders and the Firs near the house lately. When I bucked the top of that Fir by the river, I slipped and fell into the river at one point. It was something like 38* out when it happened, too. That was, uh, refreshing... Rain doesn't bother me, nor does water. It's the slush and sleet when it sticks to you that's annoying.

5' firs... wow such big ones are pretty rare in germany. everthing over 40" is big for us I know you will have to laugh about that since you're from Oregon...
BTW did you have german at school or where is your knowledge about the language from?

 

[wyk]

5' firs... wow such big ones are pretty rare in germany. everthing over 40" is big for us I know you will have to laugh about that since you're from Oregon...
BTW did you have german at school or where is your knowledge about the language from?

We can't fall Fir that big here all the time, but they are about, for sure. Tree huggers and CAD-O-Files alike sometimes do not realize it only take about 60-70 years for a Fir to get around 3' in Diameter. At the entrance to the place where we were cutting are about half a dozen Firs about 4' in width. The one by the river fell on it's own due to erosion. That's always an issue by big rivers, and what's causing the Alders to start to fall as well. That and the occasional storm. Alder are very bouncy, so you really gotta pay attention when you are falling them. They also seem to enjoy barber chairing.

I have a minor in German from university, and my German family ties are originally from Bayern. So I do speak it with a southern dialect. Suits me fine, I am actually originally from Texas There it is mostly cutting 1-3' pecan, oak, etc for BBQ smoke.

Back on topic. I think now some folks can see why PNW'rs would use square grind and take their rakers way down, It simply works for most of the wood we fall here, even ash and big leaf maple. I also like to thin the raker a tad by grinding the back of it(the side that faces the tip of the cutter) with a round file 10-15 strokes to speed her up a bit. Square also seems to hold it's sharpness longer in this wood. Or, at the very least, it's utility. In that video it's a 25" bar and semi chisel on an 066mag for firewood duty VS a 28" bar with a square chain set up specifically for that job site on a saw with 20 less CC's. I think it really shows the difference a chain makes even if that 372xp is particularly strong. To get an idea how that 066mag woulda done, just watch the 385xp in that video - I have the exact same B&C swapped on to it from the 372 for that video.

We had an abrupt end to that day, though. I hit a nail in the fir I was bucking and it absolutely destroyed the points on the chain. I am off to reground the damaged chain to round today. Six hours of messing with 70-90cc saws is usually enough anyways, so we just called it a day. I can say that I do appreciate the AV on that 385xp. Smoothest saw I ever cut with. It is easier to work with for hours than my old 046 ever was. But I am starting to get old...

 

[madhatte]

Just a note: to my understanding, and in my experience, the reason to file square from the outside in is to put the waste metal under the cutter and out of the way of the working corner, so that the chain doesn't dull itself as soon as it starts working. Round is more forgiving as more of the cutting is done by the plates than the corner, so the waste can go outside and do less damage.

 

[ronT2]

The single most important thing for me when filing from the outside in is that I can see the corner of the file in the outside/working corner of the cutter much better. But then again I can’t see like I used to anyway.