Bench grinder sharpening dilema

[dboyd351]

FWIW, I keep two bench grinders, one for 3/8 LP and one for 3/8 both right by the saw "bench".

^^^This is what I do too^^^

 

[BerkshirePaws]

Interesting question, to me not so much as how to sharpen using the grinder but more in the “make all uniform, make all sharp or leave short teeth dull”. I hand file. Number of chains I sharpen a year can’t justify the money and shop space. Did buy a cheap HF grinder for a badly rocked chain and ended up mostly hand filing it anyway. In any event I am in the “make all sharp” camp though I generally file long teeth more than short. The main thing I believe is to keep depth gauges uniform in height. Having said that the idea that a short tooth won’t cut because the height is less is an interesting one. Sounds like YouTube video comparing uniform sharp, sharp of varying length and the effect of leaving a few short dull teeth would be interesting. What would really be cool if someone could take slow motion video of the teeth cutting. Just cut the tooth’s width of log.

 

[leaf]

Sorry about the Harbor grinder (those things are pretty "plasticy" not very "fluent.") Beranek in his "Bible" specifically addresses the question of exact sameness of tooth length, and says (basically, interpreting here) that, within reason, it doesn't matter. That , in essence, each tooth will cut if sharp. There are those - who do have a point - who say that to have that lovely sensation of "smoothness" of cutting in the wood, one wants very equal teeth. (But there are a lot of us who are mostly trying to get work done capably, comfortably and efficiently, and gratefully accept a chain that just cuts well.)
I don't think anybody advocates leaving "dull teeth." (Most of us, I believe, will cut back to somewhere near the little angle marks on top of the cutter as necessary, and then toss the chain when it is "done.") I'm not sure that the high speed video you describe would be especially helpful resolving the issue of exact cutter length, because all sharp cutters would (do) each cut a small "chip", and the question, I believe, would be about the uniformity of the chip size -- which varies anyway with changing saw angle and differences in the wood.

 

[BerkshirePaws]

Beranek in his "Bible" specifically addresses the question of exact sameness of tooth length, and says (basically, interpreting here) that, within reason, it doesn't matter.

So that begs the question, what is "within reason"?

 

[leaf]

It does beg the question. I try to stay within five percent and will accept fifteen, or even twenty -- but somebody else, or a chain intended for use in "dirty" cutting, might go above that. ( The typical "hit metal in the wood" chain injury / result that I experience has about a three to five percent effect.)