Okay, I give up. What am I doing wrong with my chain sharpening.

[SilverKing]

that shiny edge needs to come off

 

[Chris-PA]

View attachment 249097

Look at your picture and the one I edited...

There is no such thing as 3-8 strokes per tooth...you stroke till its sharp, not a stroke less...

and there is no feeling a sharp chain..you have to see a sharp chain...if that makes sense...

I agree - you can see the leading edge in most of the pictures is not straight and sharp, it still has damage and curls down.

I try to roll the chain around until I find the worst looking cutter, and then I file it until it's fixed, however many strokes that takes. Then if the others are pretty similar I do that to all of them. But counting strokes is only marginally effective - the pressure can vary, there can be a bit more bar oil on one, the file can load up, etc.

 

[Mpbowyer]

Okay, after reading the replies, and looking at my second round of iphone pictures, I think I just have a dull chain.

RAMROD, PM me a street address, and I'll PM a 6-pack.

 

[RAMROD48]

Okay, after reading the replies, and looking at my second round of iphone pictures, I think I just have a dull chain.

RAMROD, PM me a street address, and I'll PM a 6-pack.

No need, just want to see you happy while cutting...

 

[deerjackie]

It looks to me like you just didn't file it enough to get it sharp. You might try a new file too, as that can make a big difference. I use one of the Granberg file-n-joint rigs to hold the cutters still and keep all of the angles right as well. Bailey's sells them, and they also have a box of a dozen files for about $16. A good investment in my view. Woodsman pro is decent, Pferd is a finer file so it takes a little longer but seems to last a little longer too before it gets dull. I have just tried Save Edge and so far its doing a great job for me. With that setup, all you really have to do is get the rakers set correctly and file until you have a good sharp edge all the way across the tooth. It makes the job a lot easier.

What degree do you have yours set at 25,30,35? what about top plate angle 0 ? just got thru dong one up, sharp as ever but taking more off one side than the other,could see iit plain as day when i was done, 10 strokes every tooth both sides is what it took to get r done just got to get them even. practice ,practice,practice..

 

[rymancm]

Buy a new chain. Then file your old chain until the cutters look EXACTLY like the new one, except shorter since they've had some material removed. Then address the rakers. Don't wait for your file to get dull...replace it as soon as it doesn't remove material aggressively. Don't be afraid to bear down on the SOB; you need to remove material (like others have suggested) and not just go through the motions. Good luck, and happy cutting!

 

[Mpbowyer]

No need, just want to see you happy while cutting...

Here's my happy face.

 

[RAMROD48]

Here's my happy face.

Is your Unhappy face any different?

 

[Tzed250]

You must make the edge razor sharp. No light reflection. File until that is obtained. Get it to look like this:


RS33 by zweitakt250, on Flickr

 

[SilverKing]

Buy a new chain. Then file your old chain until the cutters look EXACTLY like the new one, except shorter since they've had some material removed. Then address the rakers. Don't wait for your file to get dull...replace it as soon as it doesn't remove material aggressively. Don't be afraid to bear down on the SOB; you need to remove material (like others have suggested) and not just go through the motions. Good luck, and happy cutting!

Thats good advice,but unfortunately most chains come out of the box dull anymore.But the angles are right.

 

[deerjackie]

Go ahead and give up, you could be just a few strokes from perfectly sharp,dont give up,we got faith in you,you will win this race,even 2 laps down!

 

[Mpbowyer]

You must make the edge razor sharp. No light reflection. File until that is obtained. Get it to look like this:


RS33 by zweitakt250, on Flickr

Well THERE'S my PROBLEM

 

[RAMROD48]

You must make the edge razor sharp. No light reflection. File until that is obtained. Get it to look like this:


RS33 by zweitakt250, on Flickr

got any from the top, down? I think thats more important to start with...

 

[Tzed250]

got any from the top, down? I think thats more important to start with...

Did you miss my sigpic?

 

[jus2fat]

I honestly haven't read through all the replies..

I appears to me you're running RSC chain in quite dirty wood.

I would recommend that you change to RMC chain..which doesn't dull as quickly..

Just my visual observation..maybe wrong...!!

J2F

 

[Mpbowyer]

While we're on the subject, I have to ask; should I be filing inside-to-outside on the tooth? I sharpen a LOT of knives, and this is against all of my understanding of blade sharpening via material removal.

 

[Tzed250]

Much easier to round file inside out.

 

[hkusp9]

not to insult you in any way, because thats not my intention at all, but are you sure that you're pushing the file in the right direction?

I ask this after spending a week working on a chainsaw only to figure out that i had the wrong friggin gasket in it.

 

[NPKenny]

If you look at the top of the tooth, there is a hardened coating on it that gets damaged when a chain is severely dulled. You can see it in your pictures where it looks like the shiny part of the chain is peeling back on the top of the cutter. When you were bearing down on the cut, making it smoke, you were cooking off the hardening. You have to file back past the point where this material was worn off and it may take 30 strokes per tooth if you let your chain get that bad. This can also happen when you rock a chain (strike the dirt, etc.).

In normal conditions, it is good practice put 2-5 file strokes on a chain at each fueling just to hone the chain and make sure it is in optimal conditions. Here you are not really trying to remove much material. Once the damage is done, however, you need to address it by taking off all of the damage.

As far as filing effectiveness, it looks like you are not holding the file high enough in the tooth. Your goal is to make the front edge of the tooth razor sharp and have the top and side come together in a perfect corner. You can only get this result if you keep the file high enough in the tooth that there is no daylight between the front edge and the file during sharpening.

 

[7sleeper]

If I may ad there is some major filing damage done to this chain. First of as many have diagnosed you haven't filed enough off the edge. If you sharpen your knives like your chains, I am sorry, but they won't cut anything! As long as you see reflection at the edge it ain't sharp! You can see the problem on every photo you posted.
View attachment 249121

Second: it is obvious that you are hand free filing with out a guide. That is also a reason for your insufficient results. Simply put you are filing everywhere just not where you should! You can see the problem on every photo you posted.
View attachment 249120

Do yourself a favor and get a filing guide like the Husqvarna model. That should help you out for the first few years.

You can get a kit like this Bailey's - Husqvarna Filing Kit for .325" Pitch Chainsaw Chain. They have them for all chain sizes.


no offense meant.

Good luck,
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