James Sawyer
ArboristSite Operative
Lately I’ve been seeing some chain sharpening post on social media, and it's got me thinking about how I sharpen… do I really know/don’t know, what can I do better, or if it worth the extra effort? A fresh sharpened chain perspective is always going to cut the best grand hand filed or grind. Unless someone sharpens your chains, and you switch out mid-day I’m not sure if we would know. For the most part I grind my chains touch up sometimes in field or switch out the chain. Its all about time and I hate spending that much time hand filing on a long bar.
I found running square ground chain…. Maybe I’m not the best hand filer keeping that corner where it’s consistent. My opinion if you can hand file sq. ground chain your pretty good and I admittedly am not that guy just. I have to spend too much time on sq. chain for what I cut… it’s not worth the extra effort. So, round chain for me is where it’s at and I run both semi chisel and chisel round chain, full comp, or full skip… depending on which saw I'm running and the bar length, the ground I'm on and the log size. Realistically how would I know… I don’t!
My question is for those with more experience, those who cut more than I do, who work on their round chain grinders setups, run that chain and see the effects on their setup... switch their chains more than I do. Is it worth the extra effort to minimize the flaws on repeatability on grinder setup with wheel runout, match the runout different between the right and left cutter, in addition to the burr difference on the left side cutter because of the wheel rotation. I’m the guy who setup up the grinder, dress the wheel and just grinds my chains then places them in Ammo box so it ready to go with that saw. I always take a couple saws and I may not even change out the chain that day so how would I know what’s better. I sure there are a lot of people like me out there that never give this a second thought. But again, we all like running fast, sharp saws and for me that’s the pleasure in cutting.
So, my question I run Aluminum Oxide wheels, and they don’t always run true, but I do take the time to rotate a new wheel and try find the best runout then dress the wheel free hand. I just assume that that’s good enough on new a wheel. I assume the wheel run out get better with use and especially when I dress it every time, I switch chains or the cutter side on that loop. In general, I sharp several chains on one side then switch the vise and go thru the string on the other side. In effect every chain the wheel is dressed between cutter sides. That grinder motor is spinning at 3400rpm and if the wheel has slight wobble, then it all works out in the wash with use… never thought about it again. So, is there a better way. The accuracy on a round grinder just doesn’t seem like its that big deal like it is on sq. grinders.
The other question is regarding switching the vise to sharpen the left side, the vise isn’t prefect and I assume it's good enough and never gave it a second thought after adjusting the stop. I just assume one side compared to the other is close enough. If I hand filed that chain in the field, then… that the reason for the runout different and flaws in grinder geometry. I never worry about matching the cutters that much, I just prefer to keep the material and extend the life of the chain. I don’t worry about matching the cutters geometry from one side to the other I just trust the grinder design scales. I assume the riders just do what they do if they are always consistence with cutter height cross the length of the chain… good enough. Yes, the chain run smoother if the cutters are all the same height & length, but does it really matter?
I ask these questions because I don’t know if it’s worth worrying about, can I produce a sharper chain with some advice from those on this board with more experience and perspective. What your thoughts? Where can I improve?
I found running square ground chain…. Maybe I’m not the best hand filer keeping that corner where it’s consistent. My opinion if you can hand file sq. ground chain your pretty good and I admittedly am not that guy just. I have to spend too much time on sq. chain for what I cut… it’s not worth the extra effort. So, round chain for me is where it’s at and I run both semi chisel and chisel round chain, full comp, or full skip… depending on which saw I'm running and the bar length, the ground I'm on and the log size. Realistically how would I know… I don’t!
My question is for those with more experience, those who cut more than I do, who work on their round chain grinders setups, run that chain and see the effects on their setup... switch their chains more than I do. Is it worth the extra effort to minimize the flaws on repeatability on grinder setup with wheel runout, match the runout different between the right and left cutter, in addition to the burr difference on the left side cutter because of the wheel rotation. I’m the guy who setup up the grinder, dress the wheel and just grinds my chains then places them in Ammo box so it ready to go with that saw. I always take a couple saws and I may not even change out the chain that day so how would I know what’s better. I sure there are a lot of people like me out there that never give this a second thought. But again, we all like running fast, sharp saws and for me that’s the pleasure in cutting.
So, my question I run Aluminum Oxide wheels, and they don’t always run true, but I do take the time to rotate a new wheel and try find the best runout then dress the wheel free hand. I just assume that that’s good enough on new a wheel. I assume the wheel run out get better with use and especially when I dress it every time, I switch chains or the cutter side on that loop. In general, I sharp several chains on one side then switch the vise and go thru the string on the other side. In effect every chain the wheel is dressed between cutter sides. That grinder motor is spinning at 3400rpm and if the wheel has slight wobble, then it all works out in the wash with use… never thought about it again. So, is there a better way. The accuracy on a round grinder just doesn’t seem like its that big deal like it is on sq. grinders.
The other question is regarding switching the vise to sharpen the left side, the vise isn’t prefect and I assume it's good enough and never gave it a second thought after adjusting the stop. I just assume one side compared to the other is close enough. If I hand filed that chain in the field, then… that the reason for the runout different and flaws in grinder geometry. I never worry about matching the cutters that much, I just prefer to keep the material and extend the life of the chain. I don’t worry about matching the cutters geometry from one side to the other I just trust the grinder design scales. I assume the riders just do what they do if they are always consistence with cutter height cross the length of the chain… good enough. Yes, the chain run smoother if the cutters are all the same height & length, but does it really matter?
I ask these questions because I don’t know if it’s worth worrying about, can I produce a sharper chain with some advice from those on this board with more experience and perspective. What your thoughts? Where can I improve?
