Chaninsaw sharpening question.... Crooked cut

[TFPace]

A little background on my sharpening procedure.

I am hooked on using a Dremel and the Moeb (sic) grinding stone the Baileys sells. I have used this method for years with excellent results. Up until now:msp_sad:

The saw in question is a 371XP with a 28" bar. I hit some rocks while prepping for a stump grind and as usual took the Dremel to it to dress the teeth and get her cutting again.

This saw is cutting very crooked now. I'm talking VERY BAD. I have always tried to evenly balance my grind on both the left & right teeth. Am I correct in betting that I have ground too much off of one side and not the other?

What stinks is that I have very few hours on this chain and hope I can resurrect this chain and get some more time out of it. I don't own a chain grinder but see that Baileys has one on sale. Will this solve my problem?

Thanks guys!

Tom

 

[Ductape]

Few things to check. Cutters need to be fairly even in length from right to left. Check to ensure you are sharpening at the same angle from right to left. Flip the bar over and try it. Your rails may be worn unevenly, and the bar may need to be dressed. I'm confident one of these is your problem.

 

[TFPace]

Ductape,

Thanks for the quick reply! I"ll let you know what I find.

Tom

 

[madhatte]

+1 on the "check the bar". If you dragged any rock between the chain and the rails it could very well affect cutting.

 

[CJ8Ted]

look at the top of both left and right cutters. When I rock a chain one side almost always has more dammage then the other. I then find the tooth on that side with the most dammage and try to take all the cutters to that length, after All the dammage is cleaned up.

Ted

 

[galde]

Stumping is usually harder on the right-hand teeth's side plates. Carefully gauge the sharpness of the upper part of both left and right side plates. The saw will curve in the cut toward the sharper side.

 

[Chud]

Have you filed down the rakers?

 

[pdqdl]

Causes of crooked cut:

1. Unequal tooth size or sharpening, right vs left.
2. Unequal depth gauges (often called "rakers"), right vs left.
3. Unequal bar rails. See if you can balance the bar vertically (on the cutting edge) on a perfectly flat surface. If it leans or falls over, file it equally or replace the bar. This will also cause #4, #5, & #6, even starting from a new chain.
4. Chain groove worn too wide or the rails are bent outward, allowing the chain to rock sideways in the groove. This will also cause #5 & #6.
5. Tie straps on the chain are worn more on one side than the other. Get a new chain.
6. Drag links on the chain are worn too thin, allowing the chain to cock sideways in the groove. Get a new chain.
7. Chain gauge does not match the bar. Example: .050 gauge 3/8ths pitch chain is run on a bar that is intended for .058 gauge chain. All parts can be new, yet it cuts very poorly, 'cause the chain can rock sideways in the groove. This is usually not a problem until you get into the more powerful saws that need heavier-duty chain.

8. Poor operator skills: applying unbalanced force on the saw will make the saw cut crooked, particularly on bigger chainsaws & bars. This is always a bigger problem when the height of the bar is a smaller proportion of the bar length, pitch of the chain, and the size of the log. Example: I can take my 50" bar with .404 pitch chain and make a nice straight stump cut. However, one of my employees can attempt the same cut, only pulling from the top side of the saw, and they invariably curve down into the ground. The drag of the engine case against the ground will compound this problem on stump cuts. The same saw attached to a 24" bar working on smaller stumps never seems to be a problem.

2nd example: cheap homeowner saws with long skinny bars tend to cut crooked, too.

 

[DG2244]

I've never had much luck hand filing a rocked chain. Usually it has to go on a machine to get all the teeth even. Really pisses you off when you rock a fairly new chain. :bang:

 

[AlanJ]

Invest in a chain grinder.

 

[TFPace]

Have you filed down the rakers?

Yes

 

[Sagetown]

Have you filed down the rakers?

Chud Wins !
Most every time I strike the dirt with the sawbar tip I'll mess up one side of the chain. That makes the saw cut big moons in the log. So, if it cuts left, then the right rakers need to come down a bit. It's most generally the problem. The side where the rakers that are too high will hide the cutter tooth from cutting into the wood, therefore, the other side is creating its own channel as it cuts through the log. Kinda like two mules pulling a plow, if they're not equally yoked, then you have one doing all the work, and the other is just walking along side doing nothing at all.

 

[Fish]

Likely one side still has some damage that is not filed out and removed, a pic or two would verify that.

 

[pdqdl]

Chud Wins !
Most every time I strike the dirt with the sawbar tip I'll mess up one side of the chain. That makes the saw cut big moons in the log. So, if it cuts left, then the right rakers need to come down a bit. It's most generally the problem. The side where the rakers that are too high will hide the cutter tooth from cutting into the wood, therefore, the other side is creating its own channel as it cuts through the log. Kinda like two mules pulling a plow, if they're not equally yoked, then you have one doing all the work, and the other is just walking along side doing nothing at all.

Setting the rakers to match the tooth is not sufficient. You would still have 1/2 the teeth on one side cutting more than the other.

+++All the teeth need to be sharpened to the same height, along with the "rakers". +++

Set all rakers the same, grind/file all the teeth the same.

 

[serial feller]

I've never had much luck hand filing a rocked chain.

It does suck. When either hand filing or grinding a rocked chain you have to remove ALL of the damaged steel. Then you have to make all of the teeth even. A rock will generally hit one side harder than the other. It's aggravating to have to take down good teeth to make them match the ones which were damaged. You can achieve perfect results hand filing a rocked chain, just be prepared to spend a little time and to remove a lot of metal. After removing that much tooth you'll generally have to take down the rakers too.

 

[WDG]

I use the Dremel, also. It's not hard for the teeth to get to be different sizes with it, especially when trying to grind out damage. As others have said, the teeth need to be checked for uniformity. When I hit a rock in the stump I was cutting this spring, I wound up having to use a caliper and make sure each tooth was ground to the same size. Then I filed the rakers, and the chain cut straight again.