What is the best way to square off the bar rails?

[njforestfire]

I am looking for feedback on how everybody keeps there bar rails square. I know Baileys sells a hand-held tool to file the bars, but is there any other types of fixtures/jigs to do the same but with a grinder? If so, where do I find it?

John

:Eye: Always looking for a burning tree to cut.

 

[Pioneer]

I like using a fine grinding stone on my table saw. You can grind on the face or the side of the stone, as long as you have the bar square to it. Grinding it on the side of the stone has the advantage of not having to reface the stone every time you grind a bar- the bar will put grooves into it that have to be dressed out if you grind it on the face because of the much smaller contact point. A purpose made table out of wood for the grinding stone/motor is nice, I have seen a couple made up and they work great.

 

[TonyM]

I like a nice heavy duty 10-12" disc sander with a large, solid, and square mounted rest table.

 

[Al Smith]

I use a 6 by 48 belt sander.A 12 inch flat wheel works good too.

 

[crash/banger]

Pioneer, I like the idea of using the table saw that's pretty creative........Wade

 

[oldwild]

I haven't squared my bars, just ran the file down the sides and top to remove the burrs. But I am begining to think I need to square them and do a much better job on my bars than just cleaning the bottom of the rail and lubing the sprocket!

 

[Stumper]

Belt sanders and flat sides of a grinding wheel work very well. Drawfiling with the bar chucked in a vise will also work but drawfiling seems to be a lost art for most modern Americans. The Pferd file and holder bar dressing system works superbly.

 

[Tom Dunlap]

Using the sides of grinding wheels can be dangerous. Would you want to be around if the grenade went off in your face. I know, I know, side grinding has been done for a long time with no problems. So has one handed chainsaw use but I won't take that thread any further There are some that are made for side face grinding but most aren't.

Belt sanders work great! There are adequate ones for about $120 and they have lots of uses. the small belt/disk units from Ryobi or Sears will work OK for shop use and fine for cleaning up saw bars.

 

[ray benson]

Belt sanders and flat sides of a grinding wheel work very well. Drawfiling with the bar chucked in a vise will also work but drawfiling seems to be a lost art for most modern Americans. The Pferd file and holder bar dressing system works superbly.

Belt sander if much has to come off. Draw filing works pretty good, sometimes wrapping the file with a 200 to 400 grit emery cloth.

 

[Mange]

I have restored some bars using pferd files and 2 metal blocks (one each side put in a wise), and got a good result.

 

[ghitch75]

i use a good ol" 6" bench grinder with a little table a made for it.....works great

 

[glens]

I suppose it doesn't really <i>need</i> to be said, but it won't hurt.&nbsp; When using power equipment it should be taken slowly so as to not generate so much heat the rail-hardening gets undone.

 

[Lakeside53]

I use a 12 inch sanding disk with the talbe set to 90 degrees (on the side of a jet 6 inch belt sander). Works great and only take a couple of seconds per side. Never seen a problem with heat, but I only take a tiny swipe each pass. Make plenty of sparks, so cover that cleaner or gas can...

 

[Crofter]

Another little thought, though it should be fairly obvious; be carefull not to damage the teeth on the sprocket nose. Squareing up a bar shouldnt be very often necessary if you do not cut with a running (crooked ) chain condition. The bar does not get crooked unless you (or someone else ) is screwing up somehow.

 

[a_lopa]

raker file

 

[njforestfire]

Squaring isn't that necessary as you state Crofter...the bars need some 'tuning up' since they are a few years old.

Thanks for all of the replys. I have been using a belt sander myself, but i like the idea of the stone w/ the table saw.

 

[P_woozel]

Maybe old crofter dont get that much wood on the ground. Bars tend to stay in good shape if all the cutting you do is at the woodpile :blob5:

 

[Crofter]

Maybe old crofter dont get that much wood on the ground. Bars tend to stay in good shape if all the cutting you do is at the woodpile :blob5:

Lol! hey, thats a given that I do more bucking than fellin, but tell me what you do when you first notice your cut running. Granted you are going to have it happen to you more often if you are stump cutting or cutting trees with embedded junk, but what makes a bar out of square?

 

[njforestfire]

Not being square meaning the bar 'rails' are not even or parallel....one side is higher than the other.

 

[Crofter]

njforestfire; dang, now you are getting as bad a Glen for requiring exactitude in wording! Lol. What I was getting at is this; what is the CAUSE of the bar becoming out of square. I was taking the tack that it is some problem with the chain that causes it to start to run off and this puts uneven force on the bar rails resulting in them wearing unevenly. Stop and correct the problem immediately before you skew the bar! I think Woosel is getting at saying that felling will result in wear patterns because the weight of the saw on the bar and chain will tend to wear unevenly. Flipping the bar often though should even this out. Admittedly I haven't used a saw where the majority of the work was felling so I am open to correcting here. Fire away!