Why can't I sharpen my chain!?

[jr27236]

Im dieing[emoji23] Crank seals! Russian collusion, Hillary, red armor oil . Come on guys lets be serious here.......its the EPA colluding with forestry management agents and they are dulling everyones chain. The new rule soon to be passed is no more then 10 cutters per chain.

 

[Bobby Kirbos]

@DPDISXR4Ti

I'm going to apologize for the room. Sometimes we get a bit silly.

All joking aside, if you read through the thread and filter out the stupid (I know that I'm responsible for some of it too), you have a number of good possible solutions to work with.

 

[capetrees]

damn Trump!

 

[Tree Feller]

Im dieing[emoji23] Crank seals! Russian collusion, Hillary, red armor oil . Come on guys lets be serious here.......its the EPA colluding with forestry management agents and they are dulling everyones chain. The new rule soon to be passed is no more then 10 cutters per chain.

I think its the wrong pre mix! Try 32:1 !

 

[Gypo Logger]

A properly filed chain should look like this.

 

[Ted Jenkins]

If you demand the Russians to stay away mix your ethanol 32:1 tell the EPA to stay out of your life and tell the feds to give you back all the misplaced cutters life is good. As far as sharpening your chain Philbert will not call you a dumb A$$ so ask him. However we all know you are a Dumb A$$ so we do not need to go over that again. When I got my first saw well over 50 years ago I got a rat tail file and headed out to my tree job at 14 YO. My father did not have a saw or did I know any body with a chain saw so it was all new to me, but I needed money period. After a few struggles I got a real chain saw file which was the wrong size, but it worked better than the rat tail file. After using my saw all summer I got better at the sharpen thing. So in other words any body can sharpen a chain well. Some choose to buy an electric sharpener some choose to use a file. I am a file guy. If you put out some effort out you can cause the chips to fly as well as anybody. Hand filing is the fastest cheapest and trouble free, but takes more effort of learning. At AS there are hundreds of sharpening threads directing attention at different aspects of the process. BTW a few months ago I got a new roll of 404 semi. It has more chrome on the cutters than most chains I have ever tried and it can go through two cords with out touching the chain so quality does matter. Thanks

 

[DPDISXR4Ti]

Sorry for the delayed reply - I was expecting an e-mail notification when anyone replied - and that never showed up. Good thing I checked in here today regardless. I've attached a couple pics of my chain after yesterday's brief sawdust creation. Seeing as how I've never touched the rakers, I'm guessing that's the problem! Is my amateur chainsaw status showing???

 

[HarleyT]

Yeah, you need to take out that damage.

 

[DPDISXR4Ti]

View attachment 640528 A properly filed chain should look like this.

Looking at this pic, it would appear that the raker should be about 2/3rds the height of the cutter. Is that a good eyeball value to shoot for if I'min the field?

It appears that you've taken a couple angled passes at the raker after shortening it. Is that the "more correct" way to file them rather than just taking a single pass at the top?

 

[HarleyT]

Take some gas and wipe off the cooked on tar, and look at the damaged metal, that has to be removed before the chain can be sharpened.

 

[HarleyT]

Gypo is just showing off the method that Walt Galer taught him on making a race chain.

 

[HarleyT]

He did that on the back of the chisel, in case he puts the chain on backwards.

 

[Deleted member 149229]

Get a gauge for rakers, should be .025”-.030” below top of the cutter AFTER you sharpen the cutters. You may have put some burrs on the bar also which will need dressed. Just in case you didn’t know, flip your bar every time you change chains or sharpen it. Just my opinion.

 

[KiwiBro]

He did that on the back of the chisel, in case he puts the chain on backwards.

He never puts the chain on backwards unintentionally. He's just dressing the drive links.

 

[Philbert]

I've attached a couple pics of my chain after yesterday's brief sawdust creation.

Sorry; from just the photos all I see a dull chain. The cutting edges look dull. The corners look dull. The depth gauges look high. The chain looks pretty dirty.
I don't want to sound dismissive or condescending, as it looks like you have been on A.S. for a while, but it looks like just sharpening 101 is needed.

So today I got the Grandberg out and did a rather thorough sharpening. . . . Should I just try a new chain?

Electric Granberg rotary grinder, or Granberg file guide that clamps on the bar?
Trying a new chain is a good way to diagnose a problem: if the saw still cuts poorly with a new chain, then you look at the bar, drive sprocket, etc. If the new chain solves the problem, you go back and look at the old chain to see what was 'wrong'. If you can fix it, you will just have a spare chain.

****EXCLUSIVE WEB OFFER**** Cover postage both ways and send the chain to me (padded envelopes usually cheaper for 1 chain than flat rate boxes). I will recondition it and guarantee that it will cut better that it does now.
https://www.arboristsite.com/community/threads/philberts-chain-salvage-challenge.245369/

Looking at this pic, it would appear that the raker should be about 2/3rds the height of the cutter. Is that a good eyeball value to shoot for if I'min the field?

No. Depth gauges should be closely measured to be consistent, not eye-balled, especially if that is not working out for you. Typical value for that (.325?) narrow kerf chain is 0.025", which can be measured with a basic, $4 gauge.

(Note that @Gypo Logger got distracted, or fell asleep while sharpening, and filed away the entire chain, rivets and all: this was all that was left when he came to. Might be OK to clamp in a hand scraper, but not much of a loop to mount on a powersaw).

Philbert

 

[Marshy]

@DPDISXR4Ti, this cutter speaks volumes. Your chain is not sharp. You need to keep filing until the damage is removed from the cutter. The edge of the cutting tooth that looks like it's been sand blasted needs to be filed off. I drew a green line where I think you should file to.

Also, what size file are you using? This is 3/8 pitch chain right?

 

[DPDISXR4Ti]

Get a gauge for rakers, should be .025”-.030” below top of the cutter AFTER you sharpen the cutters. You may have put some burrs on the bar also which will need dressed. Just in case you didn’t know, flip your bar every time you change chains or sharpen it. Just my opinion.

Yes, I do know to flip the bar, but certainly not with EVERY chain sharpening. I will pick up a raker gauge.

 

[Philbert]

This is 3/8 pitch chain right?

I run .325 narrow kerf chain (Oregon and Carlton/WoodlandPro) on my Husqvarna 353, and it cuts really well when sharpened.

Yes, I do know to flip the bar, but certainly not with EVERY chain sharpening.

I clean the grooves and flip the bar each time that I remove it. Might be more often than you, as I change chains frequently. If you only have one chain and sharpen on the bar, you might want to do this more frequently to clean and inspect; easier to file any burrs down when small.

Philbert

 

[old guy]

As others have said, that chain is just plain dull it needs a lot more fileing. Never let a chain get that dull.

 

[Marshy]

Let's make sure he's using the right size file. He's in the gullet good but the tooth doesn't look like it has the proper hook to me...