how man here free hand sharpen theyre chains

[nmurph]

i grew up filing by hand, but recently i bought an oregon grinder to see what i was missing. i will say the i thought i was doing a good job, but many of my angles were off. i tend to put too much of a "point" on the chisel. i run rs/rsc and touch it up in the field. i put a couple on the grinder last night that had several days in the field and took them back to the factory specs. i don't doubt that some people can do better by hand, but i think many people would be suprised at how their hand-filed chains are "out-of-spec."

 

[Gologit]

i dont think you can consider yourself a proficient sawyer if you cant file by hand.

in fact i'll go a step further and say if you cant sharpen a saw freehand you shouldnt be running one.

Yup. Well said.

 

[woodyman]

The new ATOP square filing guide will be offered from Bailey's and another site sponsor(?) soon... Pricing has to be worked out.

I can tell you that the guide is very professionally made, and makes a really sharp chain.

I'll believe it when I see it.

 

[Justsaws]

File them unless they are stump chains or they have met with undesired foreign objects. Lately T-posts, wire fence and metal pipes are the culprits.

Abandoned fence lines and utility easements are the best.

 

[computeruser]

Freehand for touch-up in the field and grinder for everything else. Oregon chains I rarely put on the grinder unless rocked badly.

 

[cbolyard]

I don't have any luck touching up a chain by hand, but I've never had anyone show me the proper way to do it... I need to find someone locally one of these days that can give me a few pointers.

 

[enjoys cutting]

been sharpening by hand for awhile finally got the hang of it.always used a granburg guide before.

 

[outdoortype]

Freehand all the way.....

I like the fact that I don't have to take the chain off of the bar. I also take a spare chain with me in case I hit a rock or something like that. In that case I use a rotary tool on the rocked chain. I usually touch up at least once every time I go cutting. I strongly reccommend that you wear gloves. I also like Pferd files or Stihl files over Oregon. They seem to hold their edge longer.

 

[Metals406]

I'll believe it when I see it.

 

[logbutcher]

PFERD

 

[JohnL]

No free hand for me. Granberg file 'N joint. Works very well. Not good enough to free hand file yet. Most chains I work on are pretty thrashed.

 

[056kid]

I do...

 

[woodyman]

I see it but I don't see it in my hand

 

[clearance]

i dont think you can consider yourself a proficient sawyer if you cant file by hand.

in fact i'll go a step further and say if you cant sharpen a saw freehand you shouldnt be running one.

Agreed, but you have to run the saw into the dirt first, then you will learn to sharpen, been there.

 

[cjcocn]

I like the fact that I don't have to take the chain off of the bar. I also take a spare chain with me in case I hit a rock or something like that. In that case I use a rotary tool on the rocked chain. I usually touch up at least once every time I go cutting. I strongly reccommend that you wear gloves. I also like Pferd files or Stihl files over Oregon. They seem to hold their edge longer.

All I've ever used is freehand, and except for the fact that I have never used Pferd files, the above post describes almost exactly the way that I do it.

A buddy of mine was going to toss his chain and buy a new one even though the chain was practically new. He has never hand sharpened before so was not having much success. I got him to buy a new file and it only took 4-5 strokes to bring the chain back to spec and it cut like a bugger after that.

Now I have to teach him and another guy how to sharpen freehand and check their rakers, and as long as they keep practicing (that was the key for me) I'm sure they'll get the hang of it.

 

[rmihalek]

Grinders are nice to get the left and right cutters all back to the same angles, for cleaning out the gullets and nipping the depth gauges. But, if you've got too heavy of a hand on the grinder and "blue" the tooth, it'll soften up the metal and the edge will dull quickly.

If I need a fresh chain in the woods, I'll take off the clutch cover, clean out all the crap, put a fresh chain on from my pack, top off the fluids and get back at it. I was cutting in a really rocky area a few days ago, ran out of chains (3), so when I started to touch up my final chain with a file, the dang mosquitos were just murdering me.

I think my special "mosquito repellant" 25:1 pre-mix was keeping them away before I shut the saw off...

 

[tree md]

I see it but I don't see it in my hand

Don't feel like the lone ranger, I don't see the one I was supposed to get in mine either.

 

[TraditionalTool]

i dont think you can consider yourself a proficient sawyer if you cant file by hand.

in fact i'll go a step further and say if you cant sharpen a saw freehand you shouldnt be running one.

:agree2:

If you don't know how to sharpen by hand with a file, learn.

You can do wonders with a $2 file in the field. I paid $10 for 12 Bahco files recently.

OTOH, I hand sharpen my handsaws also, so hand sharpening my chain was a natural.

Regards,
TT

 

[Adirondack]

Are there any you tube videos showing the proper way to hand file?

 

[stihl sawing]

I've used those filing jigs before but by the time you get all the stuff lined up and the right angles i can about have it done by hand. The only thing i will use in the woods is a tree stump vise to hold the bar still while filing.