Chain Sharp at a Glance

Arborist Forum

Help Support Arborist Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.
Are we talking about shiny files or cutters? Sharpened chains are shiny on the "ground" surfaces...
Neither, it's about hurting some dude's feellins....whasn't it? But since you asked, what's the difference? Wouldn't 'shiny files not make for siny'r cutters. Polishing is the missing word in the thread.
 
So here is the situation. I'm at a friends house down the street.A friend of his stops buy for a minute saying that he has a tree he needs cutting.Says that he just had his chain sharpened.Casually I ask if I could see the chain. Sure and he hands it to me.I asked, What did he charge you? $15 was the reply.Told him that this chain isn't going to cut very well. I will add that this was a Oregon 91 series safety chain.His saw was a Poulan. Told him that the person who supposedly sharpened it did not know what he was doing. The gullett was shiny and the tooth was hardly touched. He is getting pissed now.He asked me what was wrong. One,is the man needs to trim his stone.Two,he needs to set the head to the right angles.He asks if I could do better. My reply,"Hell Yes". If you are not happy bring it over. I tried to explain that a sharp cutter has a dull finish.His were all shiny.Anyway,he spun his wheels. Was I wrong? He asked my opinion, and I gave it to him.I have been sharpening chains for the past 20+ years.Anyway I would like to hear your reply, Ken
I will add that the rakers had never been touched.
Doesn't $15 see a bit high?
 
I sharpen my chains on the back of the cutters so my saw actually adds wood to the log vs cutting it.

And then when you travel to a parallel universe and use your saw it actually sharpens your chain when you “cut wood”. Just make sure you buy left-handed saw and put your chain on backwards before you travel.




There

That should clear things up.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
To the Op perhaps you were a little to abrupt to the guy & he was somewhat peeved realising he"d shelled $15 for perhaps a "bum " job maybe a better approach would have been look at the chain "tut" a bit & shake your head & say to him if this chain doesn't cut well bring it around & I'll see if ican't do a better job but every one's different
 
I could sharpen a 45dl-55dl low pro chain in the time it would take to explain to him what was wrong with it. I'd have just started up the grinder & sharpened the darn thing. As for the dull sharp cutters & shiny blunt ones, well I won't get into that, I believe the OP knows how to sharpen chains.
 
'Shiny' ..is another one of those subjective things.
If your bar and chain are 'firing on all cylinders' apart from a needed brushing up then it can be hard to tell between the coarse gullet cuts of yesterday and the ones you are sharpening the following. ( if you happened to get disorientated while sharpening)
I have to look for the file shavings from the side where i'm positioned from.
Hence: "a rolling stone will gather no moss"
If things aren't so perfect then it will be catching and burning pitch oil and dust.....

Post continued...
 
....Continued

making the fresh cut 'shiny'.

Another scenerio's...
The metal is polished from the wood or snow and ice and the new coarse cuts are easilly reconnized as dull looking.
Usually hard to break the crust of the hard pollished surface.
 
"chain sharp at a glance".
From a round filers veiw.
I can't speak intelligentlly on round grinding as I've only done a few chains at a buddies saw shop years ago for his customers.
No washing or dressing was involved just setting depth for the far side.

I've been around square grinders more and that's where I see dish soap hot soaks and stone dressing.
I actually thought that the dressing was ONLY to keep the 'square' in the stone as that's the whole dynamics of the cut.( Learn somthing new.)
It hits the back of the square and forces the chip forward opossed to peeling it up into the gullet (Carlton's explanation)


A polished gullet could be an indicator that it was worked with a dead file. Top plate chips that are close to the cutting edge is certainly a red flag if someone was to get a chain back like that. On your own chain you can touch them up between full sharpings like with chain throws where its random.
As it has been mentioned in the thread a few times, I lift the bar and look down the bar to the cutter and back spin the chain to see the flat spots from the light after a chain throw then I may touch up broken plating ones, again
If I happend to have them. I always check my work into the light. I few years ago I was on route to a falling job and needed to doctor up a few new 36" chains in the hotel on a night over.
The light was so bad to bother sharpening so I just did all my filing and stoped where I was getting really close to the cutter. 5 min in the parking lot in the morning I was good to go.
Now the true test on somone else's chain is (or my own if the saw file may be in quetion and all else looks good) run your thumb nail over a few cutters. It should be a continuious peal of your nail.
 
Crap chain anyway, not worth paying 15 to buy it, much less sharpen it.

If the guy can't learn to take some criticism not your problem.

Too many thin skinned kids around these days get feelings hurt when they don't get a trophy for taking a dump
 
Redoakneck, Criticism can be a very useful tool if used properly.You mentioned the word "Crap" referring to the Arbor Pro chain, "made by Carlton I might add". Is this your professional opinion or do you have some sort of evidence to back up this statement?Criticism can work on both sides of a discussion. Bailey's had a special on this particular chain.325 pitch, 58 gage. I bought 10 of them.For the cost, it has been a great buy. I speak this from personal experience, not someone hearsay.Are there better chains? Yes. Anyway I will agree with you about thin skinned kids getting their feelings hurt.I myself can take criticism with the best of them.Anyway the chain is now very sharp and the saw runs great.What more could a man ask for? (within reason)
 
I was referring to the Oregon 91 safety chain. I prefer non-safety chain, RS, RM, LGX, etc.

I don't see anything unusual with the arbor pro chain. Looks sharp.

If I offended anyone I don't care.
 
Did you happen to notice all the orange pieces of plastic on the cutters from the scabbard?This is how well sharpened my chains are.The cutters are cutting into the plastic.BTW, the original post with the 91 chain was for an 18 bar. Yes it was a lot of monies for a small amount of work. My friend texted me. Said the owner of the chain is pizzed. Gee, I wonder why!
 

Latest posts

Back
Top