Oregon bar mount filing guide

[buttercup]

I just thought I'd share some fresh experience with this tool if anyone else should have problems with it.
It did give me some frustrations in the beginning, but I have learned that you actually need to learn how to use it before it gets useful or convenient.

First off I made some minor improvements to mine;

I made a small brass plate clamp so that the bar fastening screw doesn't screw itself directly in to the bar, not really necessary but it prevents ugly markings from the screw in to your chain bar;


Second I rounded the chain clamp/support corners at the end so that the chain doesn't get caught up in them when you pull the chain forwards to the next tooth (the corners in the center of the picture).



Notes to self;

My first mistake was to consider the adjustable chain clamp/support a clamp instead of just a support, if you tightens these to the chain they will twist and curl and generally make a mess out of any fine adjustments you have made.
Adjust it to support the chain - not to fasten it. The edges of the clamps should be at the upper end of the chain bolts - gently supporting the chain at the same time as it gently holds it down to the bar.
The chain should be able to move so that when you pull forwards the next tooth you don't have to make any adjustments to the clamp fastening screw.


Before adjusting the feather steel chain stop plate to rest at the back of the tooth - make sure the fine adjustment end stop nut (rounded nut that is in contact with the file guide handle square steel rod) is screwed as far in to the threads as possible to make it as stable as possible, if it's too far out on the threads it gets wobbly making the end stop inaccurate.


Make fine adjustments with the rounded end stop nut, double check the file height adjustment, and don't start out with your most precious chain...

 

[Slackjaw]

I'm currently using the stihl guide
But for a rocked chain it's not ideal.
A jig would definitely be a better choice for removing rock damage.
This might be the ticket for repairing damaged chain.
For a simple touch up, I like the stihl guide just fine.

 

[buttercup]

Yeah well, I've had a lot of fun with this now...

It can produce reasonable good results with a little practice, and it's cheap. You can also get an identical unit (probably with the exact same quality but without the name tag) from aliexpress at half prize.
If I was to have a proper file guide like this based on my experience now I would buy the Granberg one, it's all metal and proper quality - at twice the cost but it would definitely be worth it.
Granberg also has one with a small 12v electric grinder on it and the benefit from this is that you are not using any force or movement at all compared to using a file so it might produce even more accurate results.
With the electric version I would recommend try using a simple ON/OFF foot switch if it is used in the workshop, it makes it even more convenient and with less risk of accidentally damaging the chain.

However, it's not a bar mounted sharpener I really want - it's a proper workshop sharpener so I have ordered one (weighs 6kg, should be some metal in there). The cheap bar mount file guide have done it's job and is hereby retired.