Those 2in1 filing guides are made by Pferd Germany and rebranded with the Stihl logo. Clever tool if your into guides.
Yeah you're right about the price there homeowner. I just wanted to find an example quickly. I'll shop around a bit. We could certainly get one from worldofpower.That price is nothing short of a theft!
Mine is like this, I would of got similar to one on your link, but my local shop did not have such, only these:
https://www.worldofpower.co.uk/husqvarna-5056981-09-combination-gauge-325-1-5mm-h25.html
I don't like that roller guide, not sure if it is my technique or what, but don't like it.
Do you have local shop that sells Husky stuff? I found these two, not sure about postage trough them though, but I think 2-3 pounds from local shop on such tool, tenner from it is quite steep, imo. even with the postage added.
https://www.worldofpower.co.uk/husqvarna-chainsaw-filing-equipment.html
http://www.buyamower.co.uk/product/husqvarna-depth-gauge.aspx
My old depth gauge is similar to this Stihl version, (Price of 1.75 FIM is written on the tool, that is 0.29€, inflation from 70's to these days );
https://www.worldofpower.co.uk/stihl-00008934008-325-depth-gauge.html
Problem with this kind of depth gauge is that it averages out cutters, I believe long part should be kept against the cutters, which leaves raker height high, holding it down so that tool will be on angle, might not be so easy to do consistently enough as 0.1mm is a lot of difference there I believe.
Husky tool clicks on place, slot at the edge of tool goes over chain, near rivet, while shaped slot goes over raker, it also results top of raker being filed to angle, that other type of tool, or then me too have not understood how to use that Stihl kind of dept tool properly, but that is how videos show it being used, so I guess I'm using it right.
Now with Husky tool I indeed filed the top of raker with the tool, then rounded it gently to fin profile, it takes only two or three light passes to get it reasonably fin like.
If your chain gets dull really fast, then it could be that you file it too deeply, or just the sand and dirt on wood you did cut. I doubt that with file guide one could do hawk's peak kind of cutter shape, which can happen if filing without the guide, but it is something to be aware of.
When you put pressure towards ground when filing, file eats itself into chain links and starts to make really sharp feeling beak of the hawk shape cutter, which will dull fast as cutters edge will fail when it touches wood, so when filing without guide one needs to kind of lift the file but at the same time push it gently towards the cutter, or that is what I have undestood.
So if chain runs 3 to 9 when horizontal, force you push file against the cutter might be something in 1 to 2 direction. That is very hard to do when trying to keep file on that 30 degree angle and handle 10 degrees down, while file is biting into cutter so that it stops moving!
With Oregon's filing guide I don't need to think about that aspect, I just keep file horizontal and 30 degrees angle with very mild pressure towards the power unit.
I'm not sure about this, but if chain feels really really sharp on thumb, like a really sharp knife, it might be that it has hawk's beak shape on cutters, I know when I use my cheap grinder, I don't get that sharp feeling chain, but it might be better now that I think about it.
I know that when sharpening axe, it is possible to get really sharp feeling edge, but it will not hold edge as there is so little material supporting the edge.
There is lot to learn for me too, but I guess slowly some understanding of how chain actually works is getting into my teflon coated thick head, until some pro tells that I have got it all wrong once again
Thanks PG, but I want to learn how to do it a bit more "old-school"A very good friend and I harvest firewood together, he has this type of filing tool and swears by it as being the best all around sharpening system out there. I feel it does an adequate job keeping his chains sharp, maybe not as good as a very experienced free hand filer but much better than any other filing guide I have used or seen used to date. Watch the videos in this add and then think about how this tool works,
http://www.stihlusa.com/products/chain-saws/accessories/filing-tools/2in1file/
Thanks PG, but I want to learn how to do it a bit more "old-school"
(You'll probably take me for a masochist!)
PS
I did just look at the tool and it probably is a good idea - I'll see how I get on.
Yeah, I bet. It's not a skill that comes overnight, I'm sure. And when it comes to sharpening I've got heaps to learn. What I have started to pay more attention to, is looking at each tooth after I think I'm done, and checking that I've touched all the cutting surface.Old school takes time to learn, I am happy you want to learn that way. I see so many haccked chains come my way from inexperienced filers that I first try to get the filer to get some feel and consistency in their sharpening first. I discovered that many filers were not even looking at the chain when stroking the file back n forth on a cutter, paying no attention to the file angle at all. As far as they were concerned they were making the chain/blade sharper but in a lot of cases this was not what was happening. The glint method is the best way to tell when a chain is really sharp, that corner angle where the top and side plate meet must not have any reflected light /glint, reflecting from it under very bright illumination.
That chain could be made to cut as good as new, or even better!!
If you have no grinder, lots of damaged cutter to remove, and a decently light touch, this makes quick work of chain rehab
just rev it up, and touch the log, and she should pull right into the wood like a Tasmanian Devil.
Old school takes time to learn, I am happy you want to learn that way.
OUCH! As noted, you need to file / grind past the damage and start again. Lots of life left in that chain, but you have to get back to clean, undamaged metal.
. . . .maybe. . . . .. . .can you use the little Husky sharpening guide (thing with rollers) on a Stihl chain?
A quick question. I had a quick play at filing the worst side, and noticed that one or two teeth are say ~0.5-1.0mm shorter than the bulk of the others (probably were worse rocked). I didn't want to grind all the others down to this length unless I have to. Basically, I just don't want to have to shorten by more than I need. So I wondered:Nothing wrong with a 1 - 2 punch: one method to coarsely shape, and another for final edges.
Philbert
Some guys don't care if their cutters are different lengths, as long as they are sharp. Their chains will still cutWhat kind of length difference can I get away with? say 0.25-0.5mm?
Thanks for this, Philbert. Do you mean file back as in remove? Or just as required to get them straight again?I may just file / grind those backPhilbert
Well said!!Some guys don't care if their cutters are different lengths, as long as they are sharp. Their chains will still cut
If all of the cutters (Right and Left sides) are the same length, the chain will cut smoother. Since the top plate of the cutter is angled, a shorter cutter (length) will also be lower in height, and narrower in width. Getting all of the cutters the same would be called 'jointing' (height) and 'seting' (width) with hand saws.
View attachment 511655 View attachment 511656
Taller and wider cutters will have to dig into wood that shorter and narrower cutters leave behind. In extreme cases, some shorter or narrower cutters may be 'bridged' by adjacent cutters and not participate in the cut.
So, ideally, you want each of the cutters on a loop to be as close as reasonably possible, but I would not make yourself crazy about this. Saw chain is semi-precision, compared to aircraft machining. I don't have a specific number that I use.
That said, if I have only 1 or 2 cutters that are severely damaged on a loop, I may just file / grind those back, and understand that they will not be used until the rest of the cutters 'catch up' later. It is not worth wasting the rest of the chain, in most cases. In a shop, damaged cutters can be replaced, and filed / ground back to match the others.
Philbert
I just asked because earlier in the thread people said if the lengths were uneven then cuts could end up being curved. I guess that's just in extreme cases...Well said!!
'File back' as in remove damaged areas of a cutter, or to shorten a replacement cutter to the same length as others on the loop.Do you mean file back as in remove? Or just as required to get them straight again?
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