NO! Mail them to Philbert's
'No Kill' Chain Shelter!
http://www.arboristsite.com/community/threads/philberts-chain-salvage-challenge.245369/
Disagree.
Agree.
As the chain wears, the cutters get shorter,
BUT, as they get shorter, they also get
lower and
narrower. Getting all the teeth the same height ('jointing') and width ('setting') are basic tasks in sharpening any saw. If they are not the same, some teeth will participate in the cut more than others. If the LEFT cutters are different than the RIGHT cutters (common in hand-filed chains), the chain may pull to one side. The cutters should all be the same length, and filed/ground to the same angles (e.g. 30°/60°/0°), as close as possible. Uneven depth gauges, as noted, can also affect how the cutters on each side cut.
View attachment 507090 View attachment 507091
It's also possible to have a bar with worn or uneven rails, than causes a cut to curve. Or a worn groove that lets the chain move from side-to-side.
View attachment 507094
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. Some guys would take it to a shop, and have it ground, to even things up again. Lots of file guides out there - you might like the Granberg type file guides, which take a little time to learn, but provide consistent, accurate, repeatable angles.
http://www.arboristsite.com/community/threads/granberg-file-n-joint-revisited.193630/
Philbert