I have been filing my chains by hand and they don't seem to get nearly as sharp as the new Sthil chains.
Is it possible to resharpen the chain and it be as sharp as the new ones?
If so can someone please give me some advise on how to accomplish this.
Thanks Todd
I have used an Oregon filling guide that clamps onto your guide bar for a lot of years. I even free hand sharpened my chains. A few years ago I bought a Tecomec grinding machine that mounts on a work bench. You will never sell me a round file again. You can't beat those grinding machines. With one of them, you will get your chain closer to being original sharpened than any other method of sharpening. It also takes a lot longer to dull as well, if you happen to hit the ground, while cutting.. When you sharpen your chain with a grinding machine, every tooth is the exact same. Just like a new chain. Free handed, you will have one side of the chain a different pitch than the other side, because your arm, and hand never cuts straight from one side of the chain to the other, and will cause your chain to ware the rails of your Gide bar to what ever side is your strongest. If you are right handed, the right side of the bar will ware more than the left side. If your are left handed, vise verse. I also have had problems with sharpening with a filling guide, where the chain tended to dish while cutting. With the grinding machine, I've never had this problem. I usually cut 24 to 50 bush cords of fire wood. White Ash , and Sugar Maple for my home heating, 18 bush cords, and the rest to sell. Keeping your guide bar rails even, on both sides, top and bottom, is also half the battle as well. When ever you sharpen your chain, remove the guide bar, and use a broken hacksaw blade to clean out the gully of your guide bar, so oil will travel easier. Also turn over your bar every time, so it will ware the same on the top, and bottom. I am using sprocket nosed guide bars that are 35, and 40 years old. I have had to replace the sprocket nose on both bars in those 35, to 40 years, by using this procedure. My Great Uncle bought a McCulloch Mac 10 10 Automatic in 1968 with a 16" sprocket nosed guide bar. In 1973, he then bought a McCulloch Pro Mac 60, with a 16" sprocket nosed guide bar. My Father bought the Mac 10 10, 1974 from him to cut fire wood for the farm house that I live in now. In I bought the Pro Mac 60 in 1984 from my Great Uncle to go and cut fire wood for a logging company, that bought the whole tree, logs and tops. I quit after 2 weeks, because of money, and I at the age of 18, cut fire wood for farmers that didn't have time to cut their fire wood, or for people that couldn't cut any more, but refused to leave their farms, and their kids didnt know how to cut fire wood. The could split, load it, haul it, and pile it. They were too scared to cut it.
That is my opinion, if you want to achieve a close to factory sharp chain. With a grinding machine, I can sharpen 8 chains in an hour. With a filling guide, I could sharpen 4 chains in an hour, and cut 1/2 of the wood as I can after using a grinding machine.
Hope this helps.
Bruce.
