Vallorbe Racing Cut System

[SWE#Kipp]

The Atops are in stock at Bailey's, I ordered mine today!

Remember to clean out the gullets before sharpening, it's better to clean them out to much then to little, it will save the life of square file !!!!
Good luck with your guide

 

[scotclayshooter]

Ok, due to the overwhelming lack of response................I guess school is out.

Andy

If you wernt 5000 or so miles away i would take you up on your offer!:greenchainsaw:

 

[Haywire Haywood]

Gregg's "test" sharpener arrived today. If it's a test unit, I'm the first one to test it. If anyone wants a different photo of another angle, let me know. I left them a tad big to retain some detail.

It's 3-1/2" long, 1-3/16" deep and 2-7/16" tall. It has 3 allen head set screws on one side and one with a knob on the other to center and secure it to your bar.

The chain is Oregon 72CL as it is from the box. This weekend when I sharpen it, I'll take some after pictures and let you know what I think.

It's wet mucky weather at the moment, so I won't be able to do any cut tests for a bit.

 

[Haywire Haywood]

more pics.

 

[Andyshine77]

It looks well made, as it should for the price. The chain also looks top notch, much better than I can do by hand. Let us know how it cuts, videos are always nice.lol

 

[mdavlee]

Looks like it works good by the tooth pictured.

 

[Haywire Haywood]

The chain is the factory grind, before being sharpened by the atop. I will do that this weekend.

It's definitely well built. The side walls are .385 thick, the top strap is .270. The notch in the middle is 2.06 long x .520 deep if that matters.

Ian

 

[SWE#Kipp]

Ian remember to clear the gullets real well before you start to file !!
If that is done it gets allot easier to file and you save the "expensive" chisel bit file
(I know i said this before but i don't think it hurts to mention it again)

 

[rmihalek]

I'd like to know how steady the file guide holds the tooth when tightened down. One of the problems I've had over the decades with these "on-bar" filing jigs is that it is difficult to hold the tooth steady when filing.

 

[SWE#Kipp]

I'd like to know how steady the file guide holds the tooth when tightened down. One of the problems I've had over the decades with these "on-bar" filing jigs is that it is difficult to hold the tooth steady when filing.

You have to tighten the chain until it's really tight and i recommend that you push a scrench or something similar between the bar and chain on the underside of the bar if you do that and set the guide near the tip of the bar the cutters wont shatter when filing.
(at least that's my experience)

 

[Carlyle]

Wish I had pictures and i will some day(not much time). I am having trouble getting enough angle on the cutter. I am hitting the jig and shoulder of roller trying to get the line in the tooth to go from outside corner to inside corner. I will have pictures to further explain this. It seems as if i need to index the tooth further out or file into the jig. On a different note, I did cut my thumb pretty good the other day on a tooth. Wife is a Doc and said I should have got sewn up, ("Nothing Duck Tape won't fix!). That was FUN!!!

I will have pictures

 

[mdavlee]

Maybe in a few days there will be enough people to give a good review of them to say if they are really worth buying or not.

 

[J.W Younger]

Ok, due to the overwhelming lack of response................I guess school is out.

Andy

I hear you
wood like to try the jig but my chains are cutting pretty good and the more practise I get the faster and easier it gets.
Ani't rocked one yet and if I do it may get round filed,being more careful helps but its bound too happen so we'll see.
none of my saws have round chisel on them now, its just square or semi chisel.

 

[Haywire Haywood]

I did cut my thumb pretty good the other day on a tooth. Wife is a Doc and said I should have got sewn up

Note to self: Wear gloves.

Ian

 

[Haywire Haywood]

Here ya go. I played around with it this evening for 30 minutes or so. It does work as advertised and if I were wanting to run square chain and not wanting to shell out the bucks for a grinder, this would be a good alternative.

First thing I did was put the chain in my NT round grinder and used a 325 CBN wheel to take the gullet out. Then I mounted it on the bar, got it tight and mounted the sharpener near the nose like Kipp suggested. The saw was trying to move around on me so I corralled it in with some nails in the bench. It took me about 15 minutes and a couple teeth to get the hang of it but after that it went well. It was a little difficult in the beginning because it changes the angles of the teeth from the factory grind, but after the new angle was established it was smooth filing. I figured out it was easier to keep the file flat on the roller if I pinned it there with my finger while filing. You are supposed to keep the file 90 deg to the roller and if you don't, it knurls it. You can see that in the photos. Keep in mind that this is the first time I have ever tried to file square chain. No experience whatsoever.

Carlyle, look at the photo of the sharpener from the top. I think this is how it should be indexed. It's possible for the index pins to go between the raker and the tooth instead of behind the tooth. If you do this, you will get the file into the body of the sharpener like you describe.

Is it worth it for a firewood cutter to run square and buy this from a practical standpoint? I guess that's up to the individual.

If anyone wants pictures from a different angle, just let me know. I'm going to finish sharpening the chain and will do a couple short videos as soon as I am able. It will probably be a few weeks.

Ian

 

[mdavlee]

Looks good. I would like to try one before I buy one. I can do alright freehand, but it isn't very consistent. I'm going to try one more time with a square chain against a round before I give up.

 

[Andyshine77]

Looks good Ian. I never had much trouble with the corner or the top plate. The problem I ha was always with the side plate. The side plate should be vertical, or the corner should be sloped slightly forward. How does the side plate look?

BTW thanks for the review and pics.

 

[Haywire Haywood]

How does the side plate look?

I dunno... what do you think? From this angle, it looks like the corner is off, but I think it's an illusion.

Ian

 

[John Ellison]

It looks like a well made jig and will be interesting to see what your take is on it. Is it fully adjustable for all of the angles?

 

[Haywire Haywood]

Nope, it's not adjustable at all. The rollers set the angles and they are fixed. I understand that they are offering another set of rollers of a different diameter that offer a steeper, more durable top plate angle. The angle this set of rollers imparts looks very knife like and fragile to me, but having never run square before, I really don't know.

I'll take another pic tomorrow that shows the top plate angle if I can.

Ian