The Oregon File Guide modded for square filing

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I have access to a waterjet at about $55/hr.

Well that seems to be the way to go then... Unless Josh (the guy with the waterjet here) has dropped his price, but I doubt he has.

He has treated me good in the past though.

So can you make a run of these then?
 
I passed it around to some of the members, contacted Stihl and Oregon with E mails pictures and phone calls. Everyone really likes it, it works very well, but so far no one is doing anything about it. I gave this one to one of my friends and when time permits I will convert this Stihl bench mounted guide pretty much the same way.

They really should come like this but o well.

Later,
 
Just found this thread while doing some searches and wow did this project end up going anywhere I would think this would make square ground chisel more popular if joe public would have a easier time filing on it. I use it sporadically and usually not on fires just because of the filing time and the carbon/charcoaled wood just does a number on these chains I have found so I just stick with round ground chisel instead and save the square stuff for the hazard tree work in unburned wood.
 
Inspired by Larry (24d), here is my almost fully hand made attempt at a square file guide mod.

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I simplified the shaped of the verticals compared to the standard oregon design so that they are basically a straight vertical with a hoop at one end. I used 1/2" ally plate cut out roughly using a bandsaw then sander to final shape using an upturned belt sander. The large (3/4") hoop hole in each of the verticals was drilled using a 3/4" Forstner ww bit - they are so much fun to use on Ally.

The file clamping collars were turned up using the metal work lathe at work from 7/8" ally rod. As well as the square file, as per Larry's idea, these collars also have a hole drilled through them to accept a standard round file. The hardest part was cutting the slot in the collars for the square ground sharpening file to pass thru. I did this by drilling out as much as I could and then by hand using a combination of fine square and round needle files. This took 90% of the 2 hours or so it took to make the whole unit. I like making or modding tools so 2 hours in the shed is just cheap therapy for me after dealing with my day job.

I also used two grub screws instead of a single screw on each vertical to lock the crosswise square and round rods in place to suit the file length. It's dead easy cutting threads in ally using a battery powered drill, thread tap and cutting lube, so cutting an extra thread is no big deal . I think it looks pretty tidy and it works really well. I did use grub screws on all of the other screws but the hex head bolts makes it easier to adjust the file angles etc without needing to find the hex key.

Thanks again for the idea Larry.
how did you make the square hole for the cross bar?
 
Here's what my setup looks like mounted on the bar. Top plate angle is about 22*, down angle is about 40*. I say "about" because the increments are marked off pretty roughly, and I'm hitting them as close as I can without a protractor.

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Here's how the file is aligned to the tooth. Note that the wide side of the hex file is pointed up into the underside of the top plate, and the small side down into the corner.

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It's pretty easy to avoid beaks with this setup by realigning slightly with the swinging arm for each cutter. Two or three swipes usually does it.

Also note that the jig is un-modified. I'm just using the little hex files in place of the double bevel file.
 
Could you maybe post some measurements? Like size of the round stock needed? I'll have to see if I still have one of those guides, I may have given it away.

You don't need measurements, just take your guide and make it fit your sq file, it's a lot simpler than it sounds.
 
Most of you can go to your local machine shop, explain what you are doing and ask for their help. Quite often if you get one of the boys interested in a tiny project like this, they will do it for free. Especially if they like saws and sharp chains and lets face it, every body does LOL!
 
Most of you can go to your local machine shop, explain what you are doing and ask for their help. Quite often if you get one of the boys interested in a tiny project like this, they will do it for free. Especially if they like saws and sharp chains and lets face it, every body does LOL!

That would be cool. But not around here. I asked a place to machine a piston for one of my saws, they said no its too small to fit in my lathe?????????WTF?. Hence why I now have a metal lathe.
 
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