Alternative to sharpening your chain

[THALL10326]

I was and you still sound like any old Steal dealer out there. I can already see that I've learned more in 5 years than you have in 20, that funny ****!

Sent from my XT881

You ought to learn math while your at it, I said cut another 35. 5yrs, ha, your still a green horn but thats alright, keep at it,

 

[mdavlee]

I think I've got some videos showing square ground around 25% faster than round filed and brand new RS. I've done a filed chain 30% faster than new. There's some out there that can make chain better than new.

I'll take all those chains for $4 you want to send to me

 

[THALL10326]

Thall, that chain looks thoroughly used up. But it also looks like the raker is too high for the almost gone tooth. At least they got all the use out of it.

I don't sharpen new chain. But I can pretty easily get them to cut better than new after a couple sharpenings. Not a lot better than new, but noticeably better when ripping (cross cut not much difference from new). I think the faster cutting is because of the larger gap between raker and tooth leaves more room for the cut chip without loading up the tooth.

Oh, I'm another Iowa guy who'd gladly buy those 1 use chains (either .050 or .058 gauge).

Well thats what I'm driving at. You say it "feels faster" and it may well be. I've just never noticed a sharpened chain cutting any better than a new one. If they do great, got no problem with that. I just can't see taking a new chain out the box and filing it. Hell that would raise the price of that chain to my customer alot, 8.50 on the grinder, hand filing, gonna get me 10.00 for that,LOL

 

[THALL10326]

I think I've got some videos showing square ground around 25% faster than round filed and brand new RS. I've done a filed chain 30% faster than new. There's some out there that can make chain better than new.

I'll take all those chains for $4 you want to send to me

Awesome, put em up. Now we talking, cheers!!!

 

[Hedgerow]

While you was screwing around with the rakers I've sawed up the tree, you can load the truck now, I'll be in the house drinking ta ta's,:hmm3grin2orange::hmm3grin2orange:

That's what I was looking for!!!
Did you borrow my 372 while I was fixing your chain????
Cause Stihl don't make a saw fast enough to cut up a tree in 10 minutes...
Just sayin...:msp_sneaky:

 

[Hedgerow]

Awesome, put em up. Now we talking, cheers!!!

Whiskey's too rough...
Champaign costs too much...
Vodka puts my mouth in gear....
But this little refrain...
Should help me explain...
As a matter of fact...
I like beer....

A Tom T. Hall classic....
:msp_biggrin:

Have some rep Tommy...

 

[ancy]

You ought to learn math while your at it, I said cut another 35. 5yrs, ha, your still a green horn but thats alright, keep at it,

I'm fine staying a green horn if experience means this!! How do you sleep at night knowing your screwing costumers out of a perfectly good chain and selling them a new one because the profit is higher? It's no wonder why I do my own! Where is your shop BTW?

 

[Gologit]

I'm fine staying a green horn if experience means this!! How do you sleep at night knowing your screwing costumers out of a perfectly good chain and selling them a new one because the profit is higher? It's no wonder why I do my own! Where is your shop BTW?

Easy there.

 

[ancy]

Easy there.

Sorry just got caught up:yoyo:

with this

True but I make more than 8.50 on a new one and I can make it in seconds. Space I'll have to check but I'm quite positive I send 25-30 grand worth of chain out the door a year so 8 grand in sharpening to me is more less a pain in my azz. Sharpening holds me up from doing more productive things, like making some money, 8 grand may sound like alot but its not..

 

[BDM53ENT]

This has been an interesting read for sure. If any of you guys have a slightly used .404 / 63guage / 78 DL chain they don't have time to sharpen please send it to me. :hmm3grin2orange:

 

[stubnail67]

do my own

i do my own with a dremel at the house and touch up any time it feels dull in the field with a hand file.......

 

[gcdible1]

Farmerdoug

I very much have considered the option you choose. I just dont cut enough wood to justify it, nor can afford to buy it a roll at a time. I really have wondered how everyone says they can get em better than new by filing. Seems crazy for the average user, maybe for a specialty use like racing or cutting softwoods.

I have been learning to file better since I got tired of paying the local stihl dealer and others to sharpen them and only have them cut like crap after paying them to make em sharp. I have been using the husky roller guide. I have yet to figure out the raker guide as i must not be placing it over the chain right.

Consider buying a timberline chain sharpener, theres a thread here on it. I plan to in the near future. If you dont have time teach your kids employees or whomever to sharpen them for you atleast a few times, then sell em off for $4.

BTW, I bought a RSFK? square ground chain off ebay and it cut awesome in oak. Threw thick chips so hard they were stinging my hands and arms. When dull I round filed it up and still have it. Ill buy a few of them 84dl loops as well!

 

[Trx250r180]

Sems like a how to sharpen chains thread is in order

 

[2dogs]

Okay. I have yet to see a video of someone trying to cut with a dull chain, stop their saw, sharpen it and go back to cutting, so that we can see how sharp one of these 5 minute sharpenings are.

Many people can talk about how they can sharpen a chain within 5-10 minutes, but no one can manage to do a video illustrating a dull chain that can't cut, and then a hand sharpened chain that can cut like new. It is possible that the people who remain on this earth with this skill do not know how to run a video camera and can't upload the video. This would be a very reasonable explanation. There is nothing wrong with not being up to date on technology.

Some people just like talking. When I see this, I think they are just talking. I could be wrong. I have yet to see it in the form of a video.

We can't talk about sources, so I can't discuss any details about where I get my chain. Obviously there are good deals on Stihl chain on the west coast. You do need to purchase an entire spool to get a good deal.

Ok I will keep reminding myself this is primarily a homeowner/firewood cutter forum. Fdoug as a chain dulls which it will do even in clean wood the cutting speed and efficiency goes down. In addition the load on the saw, bar, chain etc goes up. A dull chain means the saw heats up and works harder. It also means since the cutting speed goes down the time spent in the danger area around the stump is longer. Many if not most trees need a fast efficient backcut. You may have to time your backcut with wind gusts as the tree rocks backand forth. Reaming large bucking cuts with a dull chain is rediculously slow. In addition working far from the truck still means you need a sharp chain.

The dulling of the chain occurs over time, unless of course you hit a rock on the ground or stuckin the bark.
As the chain dulls many operators don't notice. This appears to be the way you operate. So be it. More experienced men will stop and sharpen the chain to remain efficient and to lessen the wear on the saw. Their air filters will remain clean longer, their bars will last longer, they will use less fuel. They will not throw away (or sell at a loss) a chain used for ten minutes but that hit a rock embedded in the bark of a fir.

You don't know how to sharpen a chain well...so ask for help. Ask your dealer, ask a logger from town. Use a file guide like the Husqvarna roller guide or a Granberg. Try a File-O-Plate. Use a guide on the rakers too. Being able to sharpen a dull chain may save your bacon some windy day.

 

[Anthony_Va.]

Sems like a how to sharpen chains thread is in order

Theres plenty of those here already.

I very much have considered the option you choose. I just dont cut enough wood to justify it, nor can afford to buy it a roll at a time. I really have wondered how everyone says they can get em better than new by filing. Seems crazy for the average user, maybe for a specialty use like racing or cutting softwoods.

I have been learning to file better since I got tired of paying the local stihl dealer and others to sharpen them and only have them cut like crap after paying them to make em sharp. I have been using the husky roller guide. I have yet to figure out the raker guide as i must not be placing it over the chain right.

Consider buying a timberline chain sharpener, theres a thread here on it. I plan to in the near future. If you dont have time teach your kids employees or whomever to sharpen them for you atleast a few times, then sell em off for $4.

BTW, I bought a RSFK? square ground chain off ebay and it cut awesome in oak. Threw thick chips so hard they were stinging my hands and arms. When dull I round filed it up and still have it. Ill buy a few of them 84dl loops as well!

Anyone that can halfway sharpen a chain can take new chain out of the box, hit it about two or three strokes and make it cut better than it would have stright from the box.

This thread has amazed me. I can't believe that the OP ditches chains without even filing them. Man, you need to learn to file a chain. Heck man, you could get at least two or three filings out of them without even having to hit the rakers. It's just a matter of hitting the right angles. It's not too hard once your taught.

P.S.: put me down for some of those 4 buck chains too.

 

[H 2 H]

opcorn:

That's alot of reading for a evening

I've never found RSLK that cheap and I'm in the PNW

Heck I most be crazy I use RSLHK and touch it up after a tank full (when I don't even have too)

 

[Deleted member 83629]

i think it is silly buying a chain every time the chain gets dull i usually touch up every 1-2 cords depending on the wood. I lost one chain to a railroad spike in a locust tree

but usually i get 15-20 sharpenings on chains before they are to worn to use or i break the teeth on the chain. do what you want doug im sure you are keeping the economy going buying new chains every time you turn around :jester:

 

[arborealbuffoon]

Probably the second thing I was taught in the woods (after learning where bar oil and gas go) was how to sit down on a stump and free file your chain. On a perfect day, I might only file at lunch time. Other days, after every tank or two.

Throwing out chain was never an option as a desperado logger. Heck, bar oil to us was the used motor oil out of the woods wagon. And, those chains got run 'til there were merely little triangular stubs left on 'em. And we were still nearly starving to death. Pure economic necessity more than anything else.

 

[MCW]

Okay. I have yet to see a video of someone trying to cut with a dull chain, stop their saw, sharpen it and go back to cutting, so that we can see how sharp one of these 5 minute sharpenings are.

Many people can talk about how they can sharpen a chain within 5-10 minutes, but no one can manage to do a video illustrating a dull chain that can't cut, and then a hand sharpened chain that can cut like new. It is possible that the people who remain on this earth with this skill do not know how to run a video camera and can't upload the video. This would be a very reasonable explanation. There is nothing wrong with not being up to date on technology.

I can understand why you swap chains out to new ones. It is not because of some economic reasoning but the fact that you don't know how to sharpen a chain and are trying to justify why you swap out to new ones. In the real world people who know what they are doing don't let their chains get blunt to the point where they don't cut.
If swapping out chains was a financially viable option then every single logger on earth would be doing it as it would make sense from an economic point of view. I am certainly not having a dig at you but with some of your replies I actually think that deep down you doubt it can be done. I'd get a video if I could but don't actually have a single chain in stock out of hundreds that is actually blunt...

However I've yet to see a sharpened chain outcut a new one out the box. I've heard it for years but never seen it. I know many are real good sharpening by hand but sadly there are more than aren't. I get chains in here that you would have to see to believe, the very worst ones coming from arborists..

Here you go Tommy. Hand filed semi chisel vs. out of the box chipper, semi, and full chisel

<iframe width="420" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/pZneA2f6how" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

There is more to it than just this video though. Chains from manufacturers come set to cover the average cutting siutations. As Jasha mentioned it is quite easy to make a chain faster out of the box for a single user's specific situation or to suit a specific saw or timber species. If you tried a bore cut in our hardwoods with the overly aggressive semi chisel chain in the video that has had it's rakers dropped significantly you'd probably wear it in the face! In softwoods it would probably be fine. If you were just lopping up logs for firewood the last chain on a gutsy saw would probably be the pick. Too many people think that a fast chain can be made just by dropping the rakers. Now try a whole heap of technical felling cuts with that same chain and get back to me

If you can't see it has a nice purple color to it. Put your new chains and grinder away and learn something!

Actually the person on that grinder needs to learn something.

You don't know how to sharpen a chain well...so ask for help. Ask your dealer, ask a logger from town.

Ask the logger, not the dealer. Most dealers don't actually spend enough time on a chainsaw to know how to even file a chain properly. I know there are exceptions to the rule but the vast majority wouldn't have a clue how to file properly. A lot can't even grind properly.

 

[B Harrison]

You're getting an 84 driver loop of RSLK for 15 bucks? And, getting 4 cord out of it before going dull?

The local Stihl dealer must have some sort of crush on you, and 4 cords of sterilized and washed Balsa, is hardly real world elsewhere.

If you can get away with it, and it works for you, congrats!

Around here loops of Stihl chain run about a buck a Bar inch, and at least touching up the cutters every tank fill is the rule, and often times touch ups are needed half through a single tank.

No way in hell would any production be possible, or financially feasable, using a new chain only once. Crap, folks would be wearing out bar nuts and screnches faster than Bars if we tried that around here.

I would be most interested in single use dull loops for 4 bucks though...:msp_w00t:


Stay safe!
Dingeryote

Yup, I just paid $25 for RSL ( I think), I would gladly buy 4 loops for $20 each right now wether I need them or not.

OP if you wanna make a little money send me a pm I will buy 4 or more chains, and am in no hurry.