Making a race chain for gtg's. Help appreciated.
- Thread starter andydodgegeek
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andydodgegeek
The stool maker
I gotta get a square ground chain and play with it.
Trx250r180
Saw polisher
square is like adding 10cc to your saw
J.W Younger
ass kissing impaired
Andy you may wanna try a goofy file, much more forgiving than a double bevel or 6 sided.
You lose the hollow grind the round file or grinder gives you but have a sharper working corner. And it gives you practice on filing outside in and 2 of the 3 angles used for square filing.
Bailey's has em.
You lose the hollow grind the round file or grinder gives you but have a sharper working corner. And it gives you practice on filing outside in and 2 of the 3 angles used for square filing.
Bailey's has em.
craig71
ArboristSite Operative
Nice loooking chains, I would love to see a video of one of these chains being sharpened.
If you want one to try what dl you need? I might have an extra hanging up.
Here's what it looks like to chuck up a triangle file in a File-N-Joint:
Works pretty good but you gotta flip the saw over to get the lefthand cutters; otherwise, the angles don't line up and parts of the jig get in each others' way.
Works pretty good but you gotta flip the saw over to get the lefthand cutters; otherwise, the angles don't line up and parts of the jig get in each others' way.
andydodgegeek
The stool maker
I am running a 20 and 24" bar on my Stihls 72 and 84dl.
Note: these are NOT my chains! These belong to a hotsaw guy from coastal Oregon. You know who you are!
Up first: 1/2" pitch Stihl square chisel chain (I forget the number) that is extra-tall. Apparently these were never sold in the US. I have no idea where one could find such a thing. I'm guessing Cahoon knows something about this:
Up next: same builder, same pitch, different chain:
Up first: 1/2" pitch Stihl square chisel chain (I forget the number) that is extra-tall. Apparently these were never sold in the US. I have no idea where one could find such a thing. I'm guessing Cahoon knows something about this:
Up next: same builder, same pitch, different chain:
I bet that last chain cuts good. The 1/2" chain was used on a bike saw?
Andy I'll have my dad look around and see what's left at the house. I'm sure i have a 24" loop or 3. It might take a week or so to see if they're sharp or have some cutting time on it.
Andy I'll have my dad look around and see what's left at the house. I'm sure i have a 24" loop or 3. It might take a week or so to see if they're sharp or have some cutting time on it.
Yep. That's me running the bikesaw in the pic below. The same coastal Oregon hotsaw guy built and owns the saw, which is powered by a 500cc Honda bike engine, as I recall. That's a 32" Douglas-Fir log that it dropped through in what seemed like 5 seconds or so in my unskilled hands, wearing a "practice" chain. It's done better, by far, in other hands, wearing better chains.
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andydodgegeek
The stool maker
I just got in from the shop, filing some more on that same round ground chain in my firt posts. I didnt get a chance to run it on a saw yet. I also didnt take pics of it tonight. I will try to get some pics and cuts tommorrow. I have been busy cleaning and getting ready for my GTG on sept 22. I think I will run one of my other round ground chains over the grinder and do a few timed cuts and then try out this chain I have been grinding and filing on in the same piece of wood. I will use my Tree monkeyed Stihl 440. I am going to take the pontoon out in the morning for several hours but I will play with the saws when I get home. Thanks for all of the suggestions and links to reading material. I definately dont know much about chains, but we all start somewhere.
andydodgegeek
The stool maker
I am thinking I should just do it, I am going to order me a couple loops of square ground. My question is would you recomend full comp or semi skip. Thinking about a 24" 84dl bar. Also being new to these which file would be easier for me to learn with? There are 3 files listed on Baileys website for square ground chains, goofy, 3 corner, and double beveled. So what should I get? Thanks.
get full. its going to be faster. more cutters.
and i like 3 corner and double beveled. most like double beveled.
Justsaws
Addicted to ArboristSite
Full comp, the whole reason for square filing is it pulls easier so might as well go full comp.
Goofy file is probably the easiest as there is only four working sides to the file and it is big and easy to see. However while it can produce a square corner the side plate is not straight. I suppose one could say that it is not actually square filing. Works though and pretty good.
The 3 corner is the one that fits in the Granberd jigs so if that interests you that is what you want. It has 6 working edges and they are thin and in my opinion harder to see. However that is the file that I learned with and it was not all that hard. Biggest drawback for me was the thickness of the file tends to dig hard into the tie straps of the chain for the angles that I like to use on work chains.
The double bevel also has 6 working edges but two are nice and wide and easy to see. It also has a thinner profile than the 3 corner so when I use it I tend not to get into the straps as much.
If I was showing someone how to do it I would use the double bevel.
Get a good light, a magnifying glass, and truckload of patience. It is worth it.
Since we are spending your money I would recommend 2 loops of chain, the first one is practice. Two files if you work over a concrete floor and drop things, or are hammer fisted like myself. Biggest issue I had was limiting the pressure on the file, still struggle with the crossover for both sides of the chain. One side always looks better than the other over the length of the chain.
Get a file handle if you do not have one.
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tree monkey
Addicted to ArboristSite
you should beable to make a good gtg chain round filed.
try a 3/16 file, give it more hook, thin the inside of the tooth with a 1/8 file.
you want the chips to go through/ under the tooth. make as mutch room as you can without making the tooth to weak.
take about 1/3 of the tooth off front and back, leaving 1/3 of the tooth.
file the front of the racker straight up.leave the racker about 1/8 long
you want the recker to push chips forward, not over the racker
top of racker should angle upword tords the cutter with a slight round leading edge, just so it's not sharp
adjust racker hight to the power of the saw.
if you thin the tooth to mutch it can/will break.
have fun
try a 3/16 file, give it more hook, thin the inside of the tooth with a 1/8 file.
you want the chips to go through/ under the tooth. make as mutch room as you can without making the tooth to weak.
take about 1/3 of the tooth off front and back, leaving 1/3 of the tooth.
file the front of the racker straight up.leave the racker about 1/8 long
you want the recker to push chips forward, not over the racker
top of racker should angle upword tords the cutter with a slight round leading edge, just so it's not sharp
adjust racker hight to the power of the saw.
if you thin the tooth to mutch it can/will break.
have fun
parrisw
Tree Freak
You could start with a goofy file, so far that's what I've done, they work well, and are a little more forgiving for newbs like me.
