Advice on chainsaw sharpener

[Philbert]

File Card

The brush that hornet22 mentioned for cleaning files is called a 'file card'; it has short, stiff bristles on one side and short, stiff wires on the other. They are available at good hardware stores and many home centers with the files. Nicholson is one brand. They clean out between the teeth of the files, so that they cut better, but do not sharpen the files.

You are right that a sharp file is important. When people cuss out files or hacksaws, they often are trying to use one that is dull or worn out, or trying to cut on the pull stroke.

 

[logbutcher]

Luddite !

Er,

So what is a Luddite doing with a highly engineered, gasoline consuming, internal combustion, magnesium housed, areospace plastic and alloy, safety featured chainsaw? Why not a stone axe, or at least a cross cut saw?

I'm outed again
Hey, it's a little bit of big word stuff. :spam:
Then again, being a luddite without a cell phone :monkey: , no digital camera :deadhorse: ; BUT, how do you know that its "magnesium housed" ?
Being of the modern strain of luddism, as kind of like being almost pregnant .
Where do you get the G2 need to know about the H.E. , aerospace, magnesium stuff knowledge ? :greenchainsaw:
Oh, "luddite" is or was one who destroys modern tools or rejects them. It's America , I pick and choose. PPE forever !

 

[Nanuq]

I stumbled across this long-dead thread, and I'm gonna whinge it back to life!

I personally *like* the way a sharp handsaw feels working in wood. My grandfather worked with Stickley building furniture and believe me, he taught a nice sharpening technique.

Same with hand filing a saw or a chain to get it right. A sharp file working a steel tooth just feels right.

Luddites unite!

 

[Oldbuck]

Words of wisdom

The most common sense response I have heard about the subject

What really matters is that you find a method that works for YOU.

I do disaster response, where the trees are filled with dirt, and metal, and all kinds of stuff. On a bad day, we can go through a dozen chains in a half hour, and run up to 17 saws, so we keep an Oregon 511 clone in our equipment trailer and run it off of a generator.

Some people own just one chain that never leaves their saw, and cut firewood with it for years.

I recommend that operators carry 3 chains per saw, so that they can swap out for a sharp chain and get back to work if they hit a rock or just get dull. They can concentrate on sharpening back in the shop, instead of in the woods, and there is less temptation to cut 'just one more log' with a dull chain.

For field 'touch-ups', a file with a guide works fine.

For regular sharpening, a good electric grinder has many advantages over a using only a file:
- it is much faster if you have many chains to sharpen;
- it is better for grinding back a chipped or damaged chain;
- it is consistent: all the teeth are ground at the same angles, which means that the chain runs and cuts smoother;
- (ibid): all of the teeth are ground to the same length;
- the wheel constantly exposes sharp grit as it wears - that is, you never find yourself sharpening with a dull file that someone should have replaced;
- the fine grit leaves a very smooth finish and sharp edge on the cutter;
- there is no chance of 'rounding over' the cutting edge at the last instant by moving the file imperceptably.

It is possible to grind the life out of a chain by hogging off lots of metal, or by jamming the wheel into the cutters until they turn blue, however, it is also possible to just 'kiss' the dull edges with a feather touch and hone them to a razor's edge that is a pleasure to use.

The 'on-the-bar' guides or grinders can be OK if you are a 'one-chain' kind of guy (male or female), but you have to stop work each time. Also, don't forget to flip your bar over each time you sharpen, regardless if the same chain remains on the saw, or your bar will wear unevenly.

The Dremel tool, and it's 12-volt cousins can also work for you, if you feel comfortable with them. I get a little concerned that the diameter of the stones change as they wear, which affects the size and shape of the gullet on the cutting tooth.

If you do file by hand, or use one of the Dremel-type tools, I recommend that you have it ground on an electric wheel-type grinder every 3rd or 4th sharpening to get all of the teeth back to the same size and angles.

 

[BlueRidgeMark]

... the greatest tool for sharpening since sliced bananas is the Pferd.

:agree2:


Works for me!


If I ever hit the lottery, I'll buy a Silvey. Til then, I'll make do with the Pferd and clean up when needed with my (yech) Harbor Fright grinder. That's a very slow process because of the imprecision of the HF grinder, but it does manage to keep the angles right.