Sharpening hard wood profile

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Hey Adam! I’m from Perth WA :) I just take off as much steel as necessary to bring the edge back to sharp, sometimes it’s a few strokes, but if the tooth isn’t shaped correctly, damaged, If i re profile it, or need to remove the gullet, that will take more strokes, sometimes 30-40! it’s also worth mentioning that someone that has done hand filing longer than I have will likely achieve the same result in a quicker manner too with less passes as they will be more accurate and achieve the desire results more efficiently. Though I can’t be certain, I’m just guessing :)

I caught your post about your strimmer and noticed @trains has replied a few times there, all I can say is, without his (and a few others on here too of course) guidance I wouldn’t have the knowledge or experience on engines / saws / rebuilds / tuning I do. 12 or so full chainsaw rebuilds in the last year, everyone successful :) You’re In very good hands with his advice and guidance!

Re your chains, if it’s new or undamaged and you don’t need to do any of the above, a few strokes is normally all that’s needed, but don’t hesitate to do as many as you need to raise a burr and get the tooth sharp rather than have a set number of strokes in mind and repeating it for every tooth.

Warmest regards Tom.
So I've just put al the pieces together and realised that you're Spoon Carving with Tom - I'm familiar with your wood work - you do great stuff! I lurk on instagram and a few of the facebook groups and dabble myself. Thanks heaps for starting this thread and for your videos, and to everyone else for their comments/thoughts.

and yes, @trains has been a massive help (and prevented me from throwing the machine away!)

As mentioned above, i generally run the file over the chain after every 2 tanks, so the chain probably isn't that blunt, but i can feel the difference.

I run an MS391 with a 20" bar and 3/8 063 stihl chain and an MS170 with a 14" bar and 3/8P 043 chain from chainsawspares.com - both chains are full chisel.
I sharpen them both with stihl 2 in 1 files (5.2mm and 4.0mm)

I find that if i can keep the angles about the same and stopp wobbling my hands then i get pretty good results, although it doesn't auto feed well in super hard/dry stuff.

I recently learnt about taking out the gullets, so I have given that a go.

Here's the 3/8 063 after 18 months of hand filing
2021-02-23 12.32.45.jpg

and the same chain after an attempt at removing the gullet

2021-02-24 13.38.28.jpg

I'm aware (after reading this thread) that it may have been a waste of time when cutting hard australian woods.

Oh, and i should mention that i sharpen with the file at 90/0deg and I always assumed the 10deg down was the tip down not the handle down, so i'm glad i never tried it!

I'm not 100% sure i understand what you guys mean by hook, and keen to hear how going up a file size helps. Any feedback on my filing is more than welcome.

edited to add that i don't worry about keeping the teeth even, but i spent a lot of time making sure i can file both sides about the same..

Thanks,

Adam
 
So I've just put al the pieces together and realised that you're Spoon Carving with Tom - I'm familiar with your wood work - you do great stuff! I lurk on instagram and a few of the facebook groups and dabble myself. Thanks heaps for starting this thread and for your videos, and to everyone else for their comments/thoughts.

and yes, @trains has been a massive help (and prevented me from throwing the machine away!)

As mentioned above, i generally run the file over the chain after every 2 tanks, so the chain probably isn't that blunt, but i can feel the difference.

I run an MS391 with a 20" bar and 3/8 063 stihl chain and an MS170 with a 14" bar and 3/8P 043 chain from chainsawspares.com - both chains are full chisel.
I sharpen them both with stihl 2 in 1 files (5.2mm and 4.0mm)

I find that if i can keep the angles about the same and stopp wobbling my hands then i get pretty good results, although it doesn't auto feed well in super hard/dry stuff.

I recently learnt about taking out the gullets, so I have given that a go.

Here's the 3/8 063 after 18 months of hand filing
View attachment 891725

and the same chain after an attempt at removing the gullet

View attachment 891726

I'm aware (after reading this thread) that it may have been a waste of time when cutting hard australian woods.

Oh, and i should mention that i sharpen with the file at 90/0deg and I always assumed the 10deg down was the tip down not the handle down, so i'm glad i never tried it!

I'm not 100% sure i understand what you guys mean by hook, and keen to hear how going up a file size helps. Any feedback on my filing is more than welcome.

edited to add that i don't worry about keeping the teeth even, but i spent a lot of time making sure i can file both sides about the same..

Thanks,

Adam
That’s me :) it’s a pleasure mate and thank you !

I too found the 2 in 1 wouldn’t self feed either, it would take too much hook out of the tooth. Finally decided to learn freehand and didn’t look back!

i came here thinking that engine rebuilds would be the hardest thing to learn, but I was wrong, chain sharpening is far and away harder. Lots to learn and get obsessive over.

warm regards Tom
 
In the end, you have to remove the damage, or dull edge and make it sharp.
some teeth will take a few light wipes, others if they hit something and are badly rounded over will take a lunch break :).

So when cutting, keep it sharp, you take off less when you keep it sharp, and cut more wood in less time.

The 2 in 1 is a good start, and develops good muscle memory, but as you can see, you can take it much further if you want to develop a mental illness :laughing:
In some ways I wish I never started this mental illness all together :laughing:
 
Here's a basic vid of how I hand file. For the hardwood I cut personally the stock gullet the file leaves is more than enough.
All making a massive gullet does is make room for chips yes good in softer timbers that pack fast with chips.
For a given cutter the chips don't curl down into it's gullet they go straight back under the top plate of the cutter packing in gullets of cutters down stream as such.
Sure on a play chain I'll mess with making more room for chips with more gullet but on normal work chain cutting hardwood that doesn't make enough chips to over pack the chain I don't wast my time making the gullet bigger.
Now this is just with the types of timber I personally cut not a this is how it's done across the board, technic and variations in timber are endless worldwide when it comes to sharping chainsaw chain for the task at hand.
 
File cutters aggressively, then use round file by laying it on bar or chain. Drag file in reverse motion/ backwards to remove burs. Then repeat those steps with light pressure. Next use straight edge of file to check raker depth. If high file all uniformly. Last remove any missed burs and touch up cutters. This method has never failed me. Cuts awesome. Doesn't vibrate or buck. But it does take some practice and finesse.
 
This is my typical hand file profile for hardwood.
I don't bother to measure angles, and eyeball the top plate angle in the field, and simply take enough material off to get the edge "ok".
This is not perfect, but functional.
I have not had an issue with the saw cutting crooked, or cutting slow, or needing pressure to cut this way.
I don't tend to "retrue" cutters on a grinder or jig for the life of the chain, if I keep the rakers good to the individual teeth the cutter leangtj can be out by 0.2" to each other and still cut faster than a factory chain.
 

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This is my typical hand file profile for hardwood.
I don't bother to measure angles, and eyeball the top plate angle in the field, and simply take enough material off to get the edge "ok".
This is not perfect, but functional.
I have not had an issue with the saw cutting crooked, or cutting slow, or needing pressure to cut this way.
I don't tend to "retrue" cutters on a grinder or jig for the life of the chain, if I keep the rakers good to the individual teeth the cutter leangtj can be out by 0.2" to each other and still cut faster than a factory chain.
Can you take a pic right from the side? Just to see the profile
 
Decided to fire up the 076 super
I havent done so in a year and idle is a little low but just held throttle a little. That sound :baba: Though, I actually think the 07 sounds much nicer.

I don't want to turn this into a thread about old saws, but I had the TS760av running today to cut some concrete down to size. Man is it a heavy and hard to control saw! But it sounds great and seems to cut through anything! I had a mate make a frame for it, so I can use it like a drop saw for doing bricks and tiles etc.
 
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