Rain, rain go away - I'm bored...... time to learn how to sharpen a chain.

[cat10ken]

I have been hand filing with a guide and the bar clamped in a vise for over 40 years. I bought a chain grinder a couple years ago but don't use it much because it is too easy to burn the tooth and then a file will never work on that tooth again.

As for counting strokes; I've never done it. I file until the tooth is sharp.

As for marking your starting tooth; I've never done that either. You have to be able to tell a sharp tooth from a dull one by looking at them. If you can't tell them apart how do you know if it's sharp?

As SlowP mentioned, the top of the file should be higher than the tooth when you are filing. I try for 10% of the file above the tooth.

Come on; use a caliper to measure your tooth length? You must be kidding me. If you've got them sharp a few thousandths difference isn't going to matter.

I don't want to sound like a know-it-all but the 50 cords I have cut,split and stacked for my personal use and what little I sell is testamont that it works for me.

Shari: like they say "It's not rocket science". I'd like to come to Milw. and give you lessons but if you've watched the videos you know what has to be done.

Good luck.

 

[wendell]

Shari, you've got a bunch of good advice. If you've already got the Granberg, you might as well try it ans see if you like it. If you want to try free hand, I really like the Husqvarna guide.

The one thing I haven't seen mentioned is to make sure you have a nice, smooth stroke. Just a little wobble or a little flip at the end of your stroke can undo any progress you have made.

 

[timbrjackrussel]

I use a 14" solid nose bar (of the same gauge as the chain to be sharpened) mounted level in my workbench vise so that the nose is to the rear of the bench and tang end toward me. I sharpen only on this with an Oregon jig. I use 4 power reading glasses and have a 150 watt projector spot lamp shining right on the tooth edge, when the silver light reflecting edge disappears it is sharp. A "C" clamp can be clamped on the bar under the jig to make certain the jig doesn't move. The chain is washed and oiled after sharpening. This keeps metal filings out of the sprocket nosed wood cutting bar. I take at least 10 sharp chains with me. (20" for 066 Stihl just doing tops.
http://www.oregonchain.com/pro/pdf/maintenance_manual/ms_02.pdf

 

[Wife'nHubby]

If filing freehand, you can use that spiral to your advantage by spinning it into the cutter. This is different than letting the tooth spin the file.

Ah, that's the difference. Thanks for pointing this out.

... use a push stroke only with the file, don't try to file pulling the file back toward you, you'll dull the file in a quick hurry this way.

Yup, I did know that but thanks for reminding me.

Shari, you've got a bunch of good advice. If you've already got the Granberg, you might as well try it ans see if you like it. If you want to try free hand, I really like the Husqvarna guide.

The one thing I haven't seen mentioned is to make sure you have a nice, smooth stroke. Just a little wobble or a little flip at the end of your stroke can undo any progress you have made.

I've got a Stihl guide that I think I will try first. I'm not too sure if the Granberg is very 'true' anymore as it is very old and looks a little abused.

Didn't get to the filing today. Forecast was for high winds so we had to make a quick trip out of town to secure some property for the upcoming storm. Humpf! Torrential downpours & 1-1/2" of hail where we had to go. I'm really not liking all this rain (I always worry about basement flooding)... but at least it was rain and not snow.

Shari

 

[GrizzlyAdams86]

A stump vise would also be a good thing to have with out in the field for sharpening. Makes holding the saw steady a whole lot easier. I got mine from Northern tool for about $5.

 

[s219]

Whenever I have a new chain made I make sure that they put two cutters facing the same direction together, that way I can start either in front of or behind those two and I know when I'm done. They come that way out of the box for my 16" Stihl chains for my 290.

Yep, that's the cue I use as well.

 

[Steve NW WI]

edited for length
Come on; use a caliper to measure your tooth length? You must be kidding me. If you've got them sharp a few thousandths difference isn't going to matter.

I don't want to sound like a know-it-all but the 50 cords I have cut,split and stacked for my personal use and what little I sell is testamont that it works for me.

Shari: like they say "It's not rocket science". I'd like to come to Milw. and give you lessons but if you've watched the videos you know what has to be done.

Good luck.

Was not intended to be a full time tool, just a guide for a beginner to use when trying to find out how "lopsided" they are when filing. It might not be apparent to untrained eyes till the chain is already not cutting well.

Sounds like you have plenty of experience. Think back, waaay back to when you didn't have any experience. How did you learn, and what did you goof on? These are the "teaching points" to get the rookies off to a good start.

Nice of ya to offer lessons. Rep sent.

 

[Nosmo]

Filing Chain on the Jobsite

A stump vise would also be a good thing to have with out in the field for sharpening. Makes holding the saw steady a whole lot easier. I got mine from Northern tool for about $5.

A stump vise is handy to have with your cutting tools you take to the woods. I keep a pair of C Clamps in my truck for the same purpose. I can set the saw on my tailgate and put the clamps on the bar and begin filing.

Nosmo

 

[Whitespider]

Come on; use a caliper to measure your tooth length? You must be kidding me. If you've got them sharp a few thousandths difference isn't going to matter.

That's correct, a few thousandths won't make a hoots worth of difference. But, if all the cutters on one side are, say o.020 shorter than the other side, it will cut in a curve... and that's a fact. I check every dozen sharpenings or so... not all the teeth, just a random sampling to make sure I'm not getting one side shorter than the other. I usually find that I need to give one side a couple extra swipes with the file after that many filings. I like to keep all the cutters within o.020 and I never have a curving cut that way. It's a common mistake for a "rookie" to file one side much, much shorter than the other after just a handful of sharpenings... nothing wrong with using a tool to keep an eye on that... and it only adds a few seconds to the job. Ain't much that's more irritating than a saw that won't cut straight, especially in bigger wood.

I've hit metal or rock with just one side of the chain, where those cutters needed 15, maybe more strokes of the file to repair. To keep it cutting straight I needed to also give the other side that many strokes... and there ain't no way your cutters will be close to the same length after that kind of damage and repair. The only possible way to repair the chain properly with a hand file is to measure the cutters as you work. The "eyeball", or stoke counting methods just ain't gonna' work.

 

[wdchuck]

There is such a thing as ---Raingear. We really don't melt.

Shari will.