Absolutely disgusted with my sharpening

[JeffRH]

I can't seem to sharpen worth a damn. I have a newly sharpened chain on my saw and had to basically lean on it to get it to go through a 5" limb. Brand new bar recently after 8 years, new file on my granberg jig (also have one of those HF grinders but I've given up on that and an back to hand filing), and the teeth feel sharp... Assuming my rakers are the issue. I have a new flat file I've been trying to use to lower them but it seems like I'm having to put a whole lot of muscle and weight behind it to even make a dent in one. That seems ridiculous when I see people post about only having to take one or two swipes with a file to lower them correctly. See photos below for what's basically a newly sharpened chain as done above. I only made a few small cuts with it over the course of about 2 minutes, never got in the dirt or anything, and then got mad and quit because it shouldn't be near this hard.

Advice please?

 

[Del_]

Looks like you been cutting cement with that chain.

The one tooth looks like it almost has to have 1/8" removed before getting to clean, uneroded metal.

The part of the chain that contacts the bar is heavily worn from your bearing down on it so hard.

 

[Tobystihl]

Hi Jeff , the teeth have come into contact with mud or grit and are rounded off, the only way to get that to cut proper will be to file the teeth right back past the rounded edges till the teeth are straight again and then you will need to reduce the rakers to compensate.

 

[Tobystihl]

On a second look at the chain, I would probably bin it and buy a new one!

 

[JeffRH]

That makes sense as I do a lot of stumps down to a couple of inches to get them ready for grinding. I just got 3 new chains today, but I'd imagine they're going to just head in the same direction. Any advice on how to file them as I start using the new ones? Shouldn't have to throw chains away every time you hit some dirt.

 

[old guy]

Do not ever let a chain get that bad. The raker you filed is angled the wrong way.
It looks like you are fileing to deep in the cutter, get you a new chain then study it & try to file your old one to look like it, as Dell said a lot has to come off that chain before it will be good.
I recomend the husqvarna roller file guide, it will keep your file from getting too low in the tooth.

 

[daddy]

NEVER hit the dirt. Dirt has rocks in it. Rocks ruin chains in moments.

 

[rumatt]

Some of the rakers look really high too. Nearly flat with the cutting edge.

I'm new to sharpening but my experience so far is that raker hight is super important, particularly after you've done a lot of filing. When they're too high the saw won't self feed. And if you randomly hack them down too far then the chain become grabby AF.

Use a progressive raker height tool (such as Husqvarna's) to get the right height on chains that are well worn or have cutters that aren't perfectly equal in length.

 

[lone wolf]

Looks like you been cutting cement with that chain.

The one tooth looks like it almost has to have 1/8" removed before getting to clean, uneroded metal.

The part of the chain that contacts the bar is heavily worn from your bearing down on on it so hard.

I cant fix them either when they hit rocks like that!!!!! Toss it!

 

[JeffRH]

Some of the rakers look really high too. Nearly flat with the cutting edge.

I'm new to sharpening but my experience so far is that raker hight is super important, particularly after you've done a lot of filing. When they're too high the saw won't self feed. And if you randomly hack them down too far then the chain become grabby AF.

Use a progressive raker height tool (such as Husqvarna's) to get the right height on chains that are well worn or have cutters that aren't perfectly equal in length.

Any thoughts as to why I'm having so much trouble being able to file my rakers down with a new flat file?

 

[JeffRH]

Do not ever let a chain get that bad. The raker you filed is angled the wrong way.
It looks like you are fileing to deep in the cutter, get you a new chain then study it & try to file your old one to look like it, as Dell said a lot has to come off that chain before it will be good.
I recomend the husqvarna roller file guide, it will keep your file from getting too low in the tooth.

Got 3 new ones in the mail today but I want to play with this one a bit to try to learn from it in the way I shape them. My biggest complaint with that harbour freight grinder was that it seemed to almost file the tooth flat without any kind of curve. Maybe I'm expecting too much of a curve though. I might sharpen another old chain with that grinder tonight and post pictures here to get some feedback.

With that granberg jig I thought it would be almost impossible to file too deeply once you set it. Everything's done at the same angle with that jig though, but I do find myself putting an awful lot of pressure toward the back of the tooth as I'm filing.

I've read a lot of guys saying that the teeth really only need the slightest touch to resharpen. I can almost guarantee that I'm probably being too aggressive with it.

I'll look into that Husqvarna sharpener, thanks!

 

[JeffRH]

Looks like you been cutting cement with that chain.

The one tooth looks like it almost has to have 1/8" removed before getting to clean, uneroded metal.

The part of the chain that contacts the bar is heavily worn from your bearing down on on it so hard.

I see the wear on the bearings that you're talking about, but can you elaborate on the tooth or teeth you're talking about with the 1/8" thing so I can see what you're referring to? Or anyone else if they know?

 

[Del_]

I see the wear on the bearings that you're talking about, but can you elaborate on the tooth or teeth you're talking about with the 1/8" thing so I can see what you're referring to? Or anyone else if they know?

See the small white arrow I added?

That is about how far you have to go back to get to where metal from the tooth is whole. This likely isn't the worst tooth. The tips others have mentioned apply.

You are going to be happy when you get the chain sharpening thing down.

 

[knockbill]

Good advice on chain filing and getting a new chain,,,, take a close look at that bar before you put a new chain on it,,, looks wavy to me from leaning on the saw,,, Bar will at least need to be filed square again... Is the oiler working? chain really looks dry...

 

[bayard]

a small angle grinder will take the raker down. use an old hacksaw blade to keep from hitting the tooth. after a few times you will get the hang of it.

 

[trains]

How fresh are your files, if you find your putting pressure on them to cut, they are no longer sharp, files are a consumable item, should just guide the file past the tooth for it to cut, your controlling the angle / position of the file, not pushing hard into where you want it to cut.

edited to add the husky roller guide pic.
You can see how this tooth is not correctly sharpened, the tip of the cutting tooth is a bit rounded, and the top angle is wrong, a few 4-5 passes with the file, and it was correct.
This chain was second hand to me, and it took a few sharpening sessions to bring it to where I was happy with it, I could have taken much more off the teeth right from the start, but cut quite a bit after each sharpen to get it to where I was happy with it.

 

[JeffRH]

See the small white arrow I added?

That is about how far you have to go back to get to where metal from the tooth is whole. This likely isn't the worst tooth. The tips others have mentioned apply.

You are going to be happy when you get the chain sharpening thing down.

View attachment 745744

Yeah I gotcha now. Going to get kind of aggressive with the grinder wheel and take a bit off just to see how it does. Trust me, I know how much I need to learn about sharpening. It wasn't bad when I was just cutting firewood but these stumps are killing me. I hate using my saw anymore because it's so tiring with how much effort has to go into actually using it because the chains are shot.

Good advice on chain filing and getting a new chain,,,, take a close look at that bar before you put a new chain on it,,, looks wavy to me from leaning on the saw,,, Bar will at least need to be filed square again... Is the oiler working? chain really looks dry...

Oiler works. I actually just checked that yesterday. With them being such poor cutters I get a lot dinner dust than chips so it tends to pack in under the cover, so as a result I have to pay attention to that oiler system. Bar is new. Probably has 20 mins on it from two different sessions.

How fresh are your files, if you find your putting pressure on them to cut, they are no longer sharp, files are a consumable item, should just guide the file past the tooth for it to cut, your controlling the angle / position of the file, not pushing hard into where you want it to cut.

edited to add the husky roller guide pic.
You can see how this tooth is not correctly sharpened, the tip of the cutting tooth is a bit rounded, and the top angle is wrong, a few 4-5 passes with the file, and it was correct.
This chain was second hand to me, and it took a few sharpening sessions to bring it to where I was happy with it, I could have taken much more off the teeth right from the start, but cut quite a bit after each sharpen to get it to where I was happy with it.

View attachment 745748

View attachment 745749

File I used for this is new save for one or two other sharpenings. I have a sleeve of probably 10 in the garage and I don't hesitate to porch them when they wear. How much pressure do you usually put on your file when you sharpen? And/or how many chains can you sharpen usually before your junk your file?

General question for anyone... It was mentioned earlier that I might be getting too deep with the file. Wouldn't the size of the file limit how deep it could cut the curve? After so deep it would just file the top down and the curve would go no deeper, right?

For the record that is a 6 on the depth gauge and I am using a 3/16" round file. That is correct, right?

 

[lone wolf]

Yeah I gotcha now. Going to get kind of aggressive with the grinder wheel and take a bit off just to see how it does. Trust me, I know how much I need to learn about sharpening. It wasn't bad when I was just cutting firewood but these stumps are killing me. I hate using my saw anymore because it's so tiring with how much effort has to go into actually using it because the chains are shot.



Oiler works. I actually just checked that yesterday. With them being such poor cutters I get a lot dinner dust than chips so it tends to pack in under the cover, so as a result I have to pay attention to that oiler system. Bar is new. Probably has 20 mins on it from two different sessions.



File I used for this is new save for one or two other sharpenings. I have a sleeve of probably 10 in the garage and I don't hesitate to porch them when they wear. How much pressure do you usually put on your file when you sharpen? And/or how many chains can you sharpen usually before your junk your file?

General question for anyone... It was mentioned earlier that I might be getting too deep with the file. Wouldn't the size of the file limit how deep it could cut the curve? After so deep it would just file the top down and the curve would go no deeper, right?

For the record that is a 6 on the depth gauge and I am using a 3/16" round file. That is correct, right?

But you have to make a conscious effort to file it at the top not go all the way to the bottom. You use a vice,where do you stand in front of the bar and chain or in line with the bar and chain?

 

[JeffRH]

Incidentally, I don't know how much you'll be able to tell from this, but this is the same chain and I'm seeing what happens with the grinder just to experiment a little. Can't mess it up any further, so...

Anyway, I upped the height a little on the wheel so I'm not going as far in, and am taking a good bit off. Seems sharper, but how does the curve and point look? Ignore the multiple depths if you will and look at the newest one.

 

[JeffRH]

But you have to make a conscious effort to file it at the top not go all the way to the bottom. You use a vice,where do you stand in front of the bar and chain or in line with the bar and chain?

saw is in the vice and I am adjacent to the body on the right if that makes sense.