how man here free hand sharpen theyre chains

[J.W Younger]

yup good clean wood keep the tip outa the dirt and i can buck all day long without feeln the need to sharpn.

im becomeing fond of the oregon lgx chain thats on the 026, i think i may use this chain to replace the stihl rsc lgx is very good cutting chain is easy to sharpen and cost alot less then the rsc.

i think ill pick up a 91 and 84 drive link chains to go along with the rsc and rslk's that i have and see wich is best. i do like sharpening full skip it goes alot faster . i think thats the only benifit of full skip. at least for me and my saws

the lgx is my favorite, but I got a deal on a partial roll of lpx. made 10 loops of 72 with a few links left over 80 bucks out the door. who in ther right mind would pass that up. 2 loops of 66 lgx just cost me allmost 30 bucks with tax. the lp bores just about as well

 

[Evan]

ive got lpx on my 359 and it cuts very fast.

 

[rngrchad]

i see many post and threads and questions on chain grinders fileing angles and so on. i have never fed into this. ive takn my own road.

i seem to have the touch with a hand a file or dremel both free hand. my chains are always super sharp cut straight and throw big chips, they also stay sharp for along time if i keep them out of the dirt.

maybe im seeing good results because im cutting strickly soft woods?

so am i missing on the benifits of chain grinder. they are exspensive 300 plus for a good one. the way i see it 300 is another 70cc project saw from start to finish with a few bars thrown in to reach the 300 dollar price.

it just doesnt seem worth it. are the grinders very fast. maybe if i were a tree bizz with fleet of saws and i had 30 chains to sharpen on the weekend to get ready for mondays tree schedule? but i bet the grinders are much slowere than free hand sharpening.

one benifet ive seen is they can grind square ground. but i havent seen the benifit of running square ground. i realy dont think a new out of box square ground will out cut my round ground chains i even think they might cut faster after being round ground.

so what am i missing?

do you free hand your chains?

thanks
Evan

No I don't think your missing any benefits of a chain grinder. I won't let any of my chains touch a grinder unless in extreme circumstances....ie. severly damaged cutters that would need taken down over an 1/8".

I just sharpened 123(full comp!) .404 gauge cutters as well as a few swipes on the rakers and it took me about 25 minutes. If I would have had the time I would have spent over 30 minutes hand filing that chain. My experiance with hand filing seems to be the exact same as yours Evan. Interestingly I still get the question at jobs from time to time:
"Hey man, do you own a chain grinder? and can you sharpen my saw some time? I'll pay ya"....I always offer to hand sharpen h.o's saws when their job is done but unfortunately they "only want it sharpened with a chain grinder". I wish I knew why folks who "aren't in the know" are so caught up on chain grinders.

LGX is IMO the easiest and fastest chain to hand sharpen on the job, and I really like how it cuts, but I like how it file-sharpens really quickly.

 

[BarkBuster20]

hm iv never used a grinder or dremel i do all my sharpening free hand, if i got damaged cutters i will use a guide over the file. been free handin since i was 16

 

[stinkbait]

yup good clean wood keep the tip outa the dirt and i can buck all day long without feeln the need to sharpn.

im becomeing fond of the oregon lgx chain thats on the 026, i think i may use this chain to replace the stihl rsc lgx is very good cutting chain is easy to sharpen and cost alot less then the rsc.

i think ill pick up a 91 and 84 drive link chains to go along with the rsc and rslk's that i have and see wich is best. i do like sharpening full skip it goes alot faster . i think thats the only benifit of full skip. at least for me and my saws

You should try carlton. I think that it is very sharp, but grabby, out of the box. After the first sharpening is smooths out and still cuts very good. I think that it is the same as the woodland pro from baileys.

 

[teacherman]

I like to keep them sharp with a file. Works pretty well. I do wear my glasses, though, Gary. Just thot ya'd like to know.....

 

[dgfitz]

No hands??

All you free filers are very lucky indeed, I have to carry spares with me
all the time, and SHARPEN, not grind them on a umm, chain grinder. A
tornado wrecked my head and I just can't do the hand filing thing. A guy
works with me sometimes and can free file a chain to where it is like new.
He sometimes uses a guide plate, but mostly free files. He has brought me a lot of chains to clean up from other users, say to me they love the way
I don't burn the cutters, and I have to remind him time and again that I
don't grind, I sharpen, but I sure have been in a spot now and then when
I was alone and had used up my supply of spares and really wished I could
hand file, even with a Granberg.

 

[MCW]

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.

I'm gonna cop some flak for these comments but here goes ...

I've seen a number of chains from guys who "think" they are good at filing a chain and the truth is they're not.
Because its blunt, they file it, it cuts better than it did before, so they think they've got this filing thing "fully sorted". Bad filing also really becomes evident on longer bars too with crooked cuts. Even the worst filer can be convinced they're doing a good job on a 16" bar in 12" wood. On a 42" bar in 4 foot wood they wouldn't stand a chance. I believe there is a big difference between "touching" up a chain and actually "filing" one. Anybody can touch up a chain that is only slightly dull - filing a damaged chain back is a different ballgame.

I won't lie, I grind all my chains now. If one goes blunt, I swap it out with a freshly ground one. I can swap one quicker than I can file one. I can always grind a chain when I get home but I can't cut in the dark. I'm certainly not the best filer in the world but do know what needs to be done. Bare in mind though I rarely cut green, clean wood where I only have to sharpen a chain a couple of times a day.
In really bad conditions I might have to swap out 4-5 chains an hour (semi chisel too!). If I had to hand file this amount of chains I'd be filing more than I'd be cutting.
I also recently got hold of a heap of ex rental chains and if you think you could have hand filed this lot you must have a lot more spare time than me. You would have used a lot of files and had some awesome blisters

Grinders seem to cop a bit of flak on this site which I believe is from one or many of the below;

1) Idiot operators.

2) Guys that have never used or owned one.

3) Because daddy never ground a chain.

4) Because daddy said they take off too much metal.

5) Because daddy said you'll blue the cutters and take the tempering out of the steel.

6) Because people can't afford one.

7) Because they only own a couple of chains and don't have enough to make it through a day in the field.

or 8) (the disclaimer )Because you are one of the few that actually know what you're doing.

I have a real soft spot for the guys that say they hand file for a while but get the chain in to be ground to reset angles etc. At least they're looking outside the box. I'm not anti filing for one minute, so it surprises me that some people are so anti grinder.

I actually have to complete a large tree felling competency course soon so I can do work on a corporate farm (part of their safety regulations). Some of the course involves hand filing and saw maintenance. When I told the instructor over the phone that I don't file very often and grind most of my chains he asked "how many bloody chains have you got?". He didn't realise I have a business selling this stuff and have about 10-20 chains on the go for each of my 18", 20", and 32" bars. If I couldn't get chain so cheaply and have a sawchain/bar etc business you never know, I might be an avid filer as well I also always have spare files and guides in my toolbox "just in case". Pferd, Husky and Vallorbe are the best files I've used. Stihl good too which I believe are made by Vallorbe also? I have actually filed quite a bit in the past but mainly on Stihl 009's with 12" bars in 3/8"LP when I did citrus/almond pruning. Not a real test of filing skill...

Don't think I'm having a go at those guys who do know what they're doing when it comes to filing, but I bet many of the guys here that rave about filing over grinding have angles and cutter lengths all over the shop...

Apologies if it took you 2 hours to read my post as well

 

[porky616]

i dont freehand tried it but found for me i could do a far better job with the stihl file guide, like mcw i carry plenty of spare chains and just change out rather than file them. i find it much nicer doing the file work in the shed with a can in hand.as soon as i save enough cash i will be buying a grinder. it costs almost as much for the local chain butcher to do my chains as it does to buy a new one from sawchain.

 

[Kogafortwo]

My Dremel seems to work allright but I need more practice and would like to put my Dremel sharpened chains up against a new chain back-to-back.

I am always cutting dirty wood so it's hard to keep a chain good for very long.

 

[MCW]

i dont freehand tried it but found for me i could do a far better job with the stihl file guide, like mcw i carry plenty of spare chains and just change out rather than file them. i find it much nicer doing the file work in the shed with a can in hand.as soon as i save enough cash i will be buying a grinder. it costs almost as much for the local chain butcher to do my chains as it does to buy a new one from sawchain.

Yeah sharpening + depth guages costs a fortune from most shopfront dealers. Not to mention the apprentice normally does the work

 

[fredmc]

Well guys I was a Boy Scout and they taught us to "be prepared". I carry spares and I hand file in the field. I do all other filing with a granberg, you get good with the filing guide you don't need a grinder. Although I would like one.

 

[MCW]

Well guys I was a Boy Scout and they taught us to "be prepared". I carry spares and I hand file in the field. I do all other filing with a granberg, you get good with the filing guide you don't need a grinder. Although I would like one.

I should have clarified in my massive post that bar mounted file guides are one of the few filing exceptions to people getting bad angles
Although a bit cumbersome they do an excellent job.

 

[cmarti]

I should have clarified in my massive post that bar mounted file guides are one of the few filing exceptions to people getting bad angles
Although a bit cumbersome they do an excellent job.

I don't want to quote your massive post.....but why did you have to go and ruin all my fun You are probably right, but I was just starting to get cocky thinkin I had this handfiling thing down. As a nonprofessional, it takes some time to get the hang of it. I have a guide I used once and retired, too big a PIA.

I do grind/sharpen after every 4 or 5 times of handfiling, to get some order restored, However, if hand filing in the field gets you through a day of cutting, it is still a plus

 

[mile9socounty]

90% of the time I will free hand all of my chains. But if I find a decent rock while flushing stumps. I will just rotate chains and let someone back at the station grind it the next day. Cheating, I know.

 

[ty1220]

My dad taught me to hand sharpen when I was young and I have never learned any other way. I have nothing against any type of mechanical or other type of sharpening I just have never tried it or been around it to see how any of it worked.

I will have to try a grinder one of these days and see how it goes.

 

[the westspartan]

I hand sharpen with a simple guide that shows the cutter angle. I do a lot of milling and I touch up a chain after every other slab or when it starts feeling slow. The guide allows me to acuratly change angles for milling diffenet woods and for different applications.

 

[thomas72]

I hand sharpen my chain but use a die grinder to cut down the depth gauges. Sharpening chains by hand is a forever changing technique that always has room for improvement.

 

[Fastcast]

Freehand here too....I only take 'em back to the dealer if they really get trashed out on something unexpected.

 

[chopperfreak2k1]

my dad taught me free hand, never used a guide or grinder. if i did use a grinder i suspect my dad would want to know if my hands were broke. lol