hand filing

[Gypo Logger]

Thanks Larry,
The lens I bought for the Nikon D70 is incredible. It's a 105mm closeup lens, but also takes unbelievable portrait shots from 50 ft. away.
The pictures have been downsized by 60% just so they will fit on the screen.
It works best like all other lenses in natural light.
The images start out as 3008 x 2000 and I down size to at least 800 x 600.
A 2Gig card hold about 600 images in that size or about 7500 images in the smallest format.
I can't recommend this camera enough. Even with the 18-70mm zoom lens that it comes with, it is extremely versatile.
The D50 is just as good. Both are very easy to operate.
It's so much fun!

 

[wradman]

under cut

Thanks Larry,
The lens I bought for the Nikon D70 is incredible. It's a 105mm closeup lens, but also takes unbelievable portrait shots from 50 ft. away.
The pictures have been downsized by 60% just so they will fit on the screen.
It works best like all other lenses in natural light.
The images start out as 3008 x 2000 and I down size to at least 800 x 600.
A 2Gig card hold about 600 images in that size or about 7500 images in the smallest format.
I can't recommend this camera enough. Even with the 18-70mm zoom lens that it comes with, it is extremely versatile.
The D50 is just as good. Both are very easy to operate.
It's so much fun!

sorry about the jibbersish i had just got home after pool night and i had a few beers.
thats a pretty small undercut do you cut like that all the time and did you have to wedge that tree?

 

[Gypo Logger]

Yes, it does look small, but it was actually big enough to fit the 385 right in the undercut that I was using to fell it.The tree was about 32" DBH.
No wedges.
John

 

[wradman]

pics

here's a few pics for ya
one is just a pic with a stump with a humbolt cut
the other is a spruce i fell yesterday nice stick for interior wood
40inches on the but and still 15 inches at 100 feet.

 

[rdbee]

I use an angle grinder on the rakers .

Jeezus, Man! What do you shave with, a brushsaw?

And on another note, to all you vice sharpeners, a vice is a beautiful thing if ya got one handy. In my opinion a guy should be able to get his saw sharp to the point of pulling his weight and/or making money with just a cutter file and raker file- no other gizmos whatsoever. This applies on the landing, on a tailgate, a steep-a$$ mountainside, showin off at the relatives in the city- anyplace,anytime. I have seen a guy file his saw in the back of a helicopter in flight!
No offense to anyone but I think this is something a guy should work towards.

 

[diltree]

This is an old thread......

Rdbee,

I agree my brother made me learn how to sharpen a saw on the job site without a vice first. His point being; if your on the job with no sharp saws, you will best serve yourself if you can sharpen a saw on your knee and get back to work.

 

[Tree Machine]

If you can sharpen in a vise, it's pretty much a given you can do so without, you just have to use one hand on the bar to hold the saw from tipping and the other on the file, it's slower and less accurate and good way to send your wrist into early retirement, but yea, you can do it.

As far as the angle grinder thing, I do have to agree with your entire post, rd. As far as the angle grinder on the rakers, though, I usually only do that on the 395's 24 or 36" chains, and generally once during the life of the chain. Everything else would be as you mentioned.

When using just a flat file, if you file both left and right rakers from the same side you get that horrible squealing of file on raker, every other raker. Grinder, you can do them all from the same side withhout having to flip the saw around. With the grinder, you just use a light touch and each raker gets the same touch and for the same amount of time, usually ~1 second. If I file the rakers down with a flat file it takes me around 6 seconds per raker. Grinder is then 600% more time-efficient (and easier on the wrists) to acheive the same result. Angle grinder, a minute and a half, flat file around 10 minutes. Filing rakers is possibly the most boring chore in all of arboriculture. Putting a razor's edge on the teeth themselves, one of the most satisfying.

I would rather put my time into the teeth themselves. The rakers simply have to be all knocked down to the same height and the same surface contour, whether by file or grinder. In a practical sense, there is no difference except the method.

Now the chains for the smaller saw, it's almost just as fast to do the rakers by hand, and the teeth being close together makes it more 'surgical' with a grinder. Therefore, I just do the smaller chains by hand (but always in a vise).

 

[diltree]

Note: It also helps to learn how to file with both hands, learn to be ambidextrous

 

[DoubleNickel]

diltree--WOW-Your Site is Kool!!!!:rockn:

 

[diltree]

Thanks bro....I checked out your link man....Thats some powerful stuff, I agree we must never forget....I added to your reputation!


oh...and hand filing is good!

 

[M.D. Vaden]

I do one or two by hand, and have the third one done by a service using a machine.

Then I do the 4th or 5th.

 

[Ryan Willock]

D@mn right I do!!! I NEVER use a guide or grinder, I do it all by hand and get them RAZOR sharp. Just ask Blinky, he's run my saws.

 

[treevet]

Can t help, leafing thru this thread, thinking about Mike Maas. Hope he is well and would like to see him back here more often. Have thought about him often over the last few weeks.

 

[matty f]

Always by hand without a guide and you dont need a vice...just do two teeth either side of the dogs and keep turning the chain...so you dont get bar flex..some times in the past i have used a guide but I can get it spot on with out,think i gave my lsat guide to a customer.
As long as you have good eye sight cant really see how you can go wrong as most chains have the pitch depth and cutter angles marked on them.
I like about 1/2 mm more out the pitch and you cant do that with a file guide any way.

 

[M.D. Vaden]

There is one service in Beaverton, Oregon, that can probably match any "RAZOR" sharp hand sharpening.

It's DCP Sharpening.

They used to do surgical instruments, as well as knives and chain - and whatever else.

When I got my professional pruning handsaw blades back from them, the sharpened ones were sharper than the new saws. For a fact - I started using a brand new saw when I dropped some blades off, and when I got them back, I used on of the sharpened ones and it was even better.

 

[AlpineJesus]

True Pros Handfile all there saws for optimal performance

 

[treevet]

I see no advantage not taking rakers down w a machine. I have a Stihl grinder for 30 years and only do rakers w it. I feel it takes the temper out of the steel on the tooth among other reasons. I can do a 44 inch chain in a couple of minutes for the rakers and don t care about the temper in their case.

 

[mtvigilante]

I hand file all the chains at work with no guide, just like my old-school boss taught me. I sit down in the shade with a jug of water and watch my groundman clean up. Its easy, just cross your legs, set the saw in your lap and go. If you have good vision, you can see how much hook you have, and the angle is stamped right there. I sharpen backwards of everyone i know, i push from the front to the back, like honing a knife, make 1 backwards pull across the top just before the last 1 or 2 strokes depending on if its stihl chain. I also twist the file as I sharpen, to strenghten my wrist. If you charge by the hour, its just 1 more way to cover your expenses. Those 32 and 36 inch bars take forever if you are doing rakers too, 3 rotations!

p.s. always tap your file on the side of the bar after each tooth to keep it clean and make it last-we use some files for 4 or 5 long bar sharpenings.

 

[DoubleNickel]

mtvigilanet: Hmm, so you reverse your file and pull? Angle is stamped? I do have a hard time sharping! I got to get the technique down.

 

[mtvigilante]

mtvigilanet: Hmm, so you reverse your file and pull? Angle is stamped? I do have a hard time sharping! I got to get the technique down.

no, i push the file into the tooth, from the corner in, if you push to hard or get the wrong angle, it will chatter. I do this so it doesn't curl up.

a good technique is to sit on the ground with your legs crossed. put the saw powerhead by your feet, lay the bar on your left thigh. this forms a good angle with your natural arm motion of your right arm. you will be sharpening the muffler side of the chain. push the file into the cutter. you can hold the powerhead by putting your right calf over the handle and starter.

after you do that side, flip the saw so you have the powerhead handle under your left thigh and knee, with the bar tip resting on your right knee and file the barnut side of the chain.

this diagram should show what i mean by pushing from the leading corner of the cutter towards the back.

I give the rakers 5 strokes or so when the chain is about half worn out, and again when it's almost gone, but dont pass the small stamped line on the raker, or you can break cutters or chain. always file the rakers before you file the cutters when it's time.

that's just a combination of my boss' and my techniques, it works well