I got a similar answer when one of their charts said to grind a chain at 30 and 60 degrees, and another to grind the same chain 35 and 55 (or something like that). She said that it is more important for the cutters to be sharp and the same, than exactly at a specific angle.
I am sure that the different angles make a difference under specific circumstances. But either Oregon doesn't think that it is that big of a deal, or figures that if we are not at a level where we already understand and appreciate the differences it is not worth their time on the phone to try and explain it?
Philbert
Philbert
I would have to agree with our service tech that gave you an answer on the phone. Work on getting a sharp and consistent chain, with the correct depth gauge setting, first. Worry about the nuances of the specific angles, and getting them dead nuts on target, second. We hope that ALL of our users reach the point where they can file a chain to the optimum performance for their working conditions. It is impossible for one overwhelmed service tech to educate every caller, for every work situation, over the phone. But they do an amazingly good job of talking people through their problems when they call.
Most chain that I see returned from the field is not well filed, some is filed very well though. The typical faults are inconsistent angles, backslope instead of hook and depth gauges taken down too far.
We have recently gone through a couple of iterations of our filing/grinding instructions to make them more useful, in more circumstances. During that effort the angles did get rewritten a couple of different ways, but that should not be a great concern. We seperated the filing and grinding instructions into two seperate pages to be less confusing to the users. If you have specific comments regarding the filing instructions we would be happy to hear them and would consider them in the next revision cycle of the filing instructions.
Given that, please understand the filing instructions are an example of a good average filing for an average situation. Different wood, tree size, bar length, saw size, type of cutting, environment, sand, etc. all can influence what the best angles for you are.
If someone is new to the filing game the file holders will help them achieve a good set of consistent angles. If you hand file with just a file there are some extra tweaks you can apply to the chain, such as down angle or cleaning out the gullet. I like putting in down angle when I hand file my chain. I cut my own firewood, work with a saw in the local park and at friends farms. I normally use different medium size saws (50cc) that I check out from work for the job. I personally use 95VPX which I hand file aggressively and don't take the DG's down too low. I count my strokes to keep the top plates equal in length, touch-up the edge frequently and keep the chain out of the dirt.
Maybe some of this helps.
Oregon Engineer