If you decide to sell some I'd be real interested in some 20" loops.
Hand filing chain
- Thread starter Boomer 87
- Start date
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Back filing has to be the # 1 single quickest way to destroy a good file. If that's in fact what you mean?
Not wiping them or taping them out every 3-4 strokes or filing in water is just about as bad. I agree with the importance of maintaining the gullet depth although I can't claim to be aware of it every time I sharpen. it's two different actions to me when I free hand. One is filing strokes until the file drops into the more familiar home then I direct the preasure forward to the cutting edge and then I sharpen.
at this time I will target all the ones that seem to be creeping up. I am not often around new filers these days but if I run into any I think I'll send them here for lessons.
Yeah I remember a lot of back sloping or I would see the worst of both worlds due to a lower gullet on one side of most 'pre-ground' . Unfortunately right out of the gate people would go below the cutter on chisel chain.
Tenderfoot
ArboristSite Guru
Not going deep into the gullet is the hardest part of learning to file, for me, which is why I like the husky roller guide so much. It also helps keep the file level too, which is nice. It also provides a handy angle guide.
To me it looks like you are not properly holding the file at its correct height, therefor the top plate, cutting corner and the side plate are not filed correctly. The file should ride the top plate of the cutter with 1/3 of the file's height being above the top plate as you file.
If you have to but upward pressure then you set the path (channel) to low which was obvious in the first pic. In other words you 'past the point of no return' your depth is to low. Think of it as two activities; filing then sharpening. Be familiar with a depth in fractions in relation to the amount of file that is above the top plate and reconize how that feels even more so than it looks. Your starting depth may not be achievable as the chain cutters reduce without dropping a file size. Chains like some Oregon pre-ground chain have a pretty deep hook right out of the box, probably 3/4 under the top plate.
*note
Factory depths are often at different hights from side to side.
At 3/4 under the top plate you would want to file just enough to channel into the cutter and then sharpen. The other side will need more gullet work.
If you get under the cutter you can use your raker file to knock the tooth back and then reset your depth again. Having a few 1/4" files around are best for that
SawTroll
Information Collector
It mostly is, unless the chain is a Stihl one - but there are other exceptions as well.
SawTroll
Information Collector
1/3 is too much, it should be more like 20% of the file diameter over the top plate.
Boomer 87
Addicted to ArboristSite
I tried my files with the flat guides, I thought it was too high but at the time I didn't realize that I couldn't really sharpen one tooth properly with one motion. Next chain I do will be with the file guide, then as some others said go back under the top plates and clean out the gullet. I guess that's what I was mimicking when I put upward pressure on the tooth. I wound up ok in the end just had to go back and hit the tops again with the guide. I was trying to get everything done in one fell swoop and you can't really do that properly
SawTroll
Information Collector
The Stihl cutters are a little lower up front than most other 3/8" chain - at least when fairly new.
NC Cutter
ArboristSite Operative
Meow...I think they work great and so does everyone else apparently. Check the reviews, it earned a 4.8 out of 5 every where I've looked.
I guess we're all clueless...or...you're a grumpy old man that likes to shitpost.
Junk, scrap chains are good to practice a lot of things on. Try different things on different teeth. Then compare them to a link of new chain for reference. Once you understand what each part of the cutter does, and what you want it to look like, you can use a lot of different methods to get there. If you do not know what you are trying to achieve, you might as well hand the file to a monkey, or sharpen blindfolded.
When you cut with your newly sharpened chains, pay attention to the wood chips you are getting, and try to correlate those with how you last sharpened that chain. You want BIG chips (like corn flakes), not powder (like corn meal)! (Hope that example is not too 'corny'!)
(This example is from PowerSharp chain, but shows what big, fat chips look like!)
I mostly grind.
1. I sharpen all the Left cutters.
2. Then I sharpen all the Right cutters.
3. Then I clean the gullets (if needed) - since, by sharpening, I have increased the length of the gullet slightly.
4. Lastly, I adjust the depth gauges (if needed), and round them back to their original profile - since, by sharpening, I have lowered the height of the cutting edges slightly, and want to gauge the depth gauge height off of the new cutter height.
4 steps.
Philbert
I believe 13/64 is the correct file for 3/8 Stihl chain but most use 7/32 either or works I guess. Keep practicing. That flat guide you are using is intended to be tilted to ride the raker and not the cutter I believe as well.
Chris-PA
Where the Wild Things Are
You're doing it all wrong - everyone knows you must sharpen the right cutters first!
thefarmboy21
ArboristSite Operative
Yea I always sharpen the passenger side first. BUT I also suck at it lol
On my grinder, the Left side cutters tend to come out a bit shorter than the Right side cutters, unless very carefully centered (changes with wheel wear). So it is easier to do the Left side cutters first, then take off a little more on the Right side, then it is to do the Right side cutters first, and try to add a bit more back on to the Left side. Just me maybe.
When filing, I am right-handed, and tend to have more power when filing the Left side cutters. So I do those first, and compensate when filing the Right side cutters (e.g. taking extras strokes, whatever) so that they match in length and angles.
Whatever works for you!
Philbert
