Chain sharpening woes.

ROUSTABOUT · Feb 7, 2022

When I came home from Gulf war in Dec 91, my brother and I bought us some pulp wood trucks. So far, the rest of life has been easy after that.

DJ54 · Feb 8, 2022

Skeans1 said:
No need to pull a chain? How about flip the bar once in a blue, clean the rails, clean the oiling hole, and clean out the clutch cover are a few good reasons.

Yes, plus clean the air filter, that was a daily ritual after cutting for the day, to be ready for the next day, or next time to be used. Sharpening the chain was the last step, when put back on the bar, and adjusted. But, when in the field, and happen to hit something, and dull the chain, so simple to clamp in a vise, clamp the sharpening tool on, and dress it up.

gstrom99 · Feb 8, 2022

ROUSTABOUT said:
When I came home from Gulf war in Dec 91, my brother and I bought us some pulp wood trucks. So far, the rest of life has been easy after that.

Thank you for your service.

What's a "pulp wood truck"?

stephenh · Feb 8, 2022

For some years I would sharpen with a file, then every few months take the chains to a shop and have them done, particularly if I'd hit a rock or nail. Guy would sharpen as I waited, we chatted and he smoked and did the job and I'd be on my way home. Then he got to smoking and chatting and would keep the chains a week and I'd have to go back. 30 mile drive and time out of my day. So, I took a nearly brand-new chain to a hardware store about five miles away, guy there told me he had started a sharpening service in the back, so I gave him a chance. Picked up the chain a couple days later and there was maybe one more sharpening left, not much left of my new chain used only once. He said, well, he was training a guy to sharpen and the guy had had a big learning curve. He refused to do anything for me, like sell me a discounted chain. I ordered me a Maxx grinder from Bailey's and never looked back. I kept a record on the wall of how many sharpenings I did on the Maxx, "charged" myself the same $$ either shop would have, and after about two years I had broken even on the cost of the grinder. Plus no more hours lost driving and the driving back to pick up chains. Plus, I could quickly touch-up any chain that needed it at the end of a cutting task. Grinders look like a lot of money, but my life is better with one.

RandyT · Feb 8, 2022

@stephenh And you just highlighted the main reason that people have an bad taste in their mouth about dealers sharpening chains. The running joke around my shop is "you only get three sharpening out of a chain when using an electric sharpener" In reality there is no reason to remove more metal with an electric chain sharpener than you would with a file.

ROUSTABOUT · Feb 8, 2022

gstrom99 said:
Thank you for your service.

What's a "pulp wood truck"?

That was called short wood. If it was going on a train had to be about 5' long. Could be 8' if they were hauling to a mill on a big truck. If we cut cross ties, well, we never got caught. They were 9'9". Trucks were usually old two tons with a cable loader and a wood rack on them. We hauled 36,000 pounds regularly. Truck had a front axle welded on the rear as a tag axle. Springs and all. Long logs only these days.

Skeans1 · Feb 9, 2022

DJ54 said:
Yes, plus clean the air filter, that was a daily ritual after cutting for the day, to be ready for the next day, or next time to be used. Sharpening the chain was the last step, when put back on the bar, and adjusted. But, when in the field, and happen to hit something, and dull the chain, so simple to clamp in a vise, clamp the sharpening tool on, and dress it up.

I timed it one day when I was falling timber to swap out a 36” full comp square chisel chain and clean out the clutch cover was under 4 minutes. It’s faster, easier, and more productive to swap a chain out vs file in the brush especially when production falling. I’ll be honest with you round chisel is for dirt work, semi chisel is harvester chain, and square is for making a dollar it’s faster as well as smoother for the operator. One downside to square is it’s harder to file can it be done yes, but it’s far quicker to swap the chain out for a grind in the evening when servicing for the next day.

DJ54 · Feb 9, 2022

For me, this was 30 years ago when cutting firewood, a part time job to make extra money in the evening, and weekends. Far from being a professional timber cutter. 60-75 cords per year was doing good for a one man operation in my spare time. Cutting blocks of over matured apple trees at a local orchard, fence rows for farmer's, and downed trees from weather related storms in a neighbors 40 acre woods, mostly yellow locust, and wild cherry. A low budget operation, but did invest in a decent saw, and had a decent truck to haul with.

Now, it's just cutting trees from fence rows here at the home place, or tree tops that have fell in the hay field from the neighbors. I assumed more in line with the original poster.

WranglerX · Feb 9, 2022

RandyT said:
@stephenh And you just highlighted the main reason that people have an bad taste in their mouth about dealers sharpening chains. The running joke around my shop is "you only get three sharpening out of a chain when using an electric sharpener" In reality there is no reason to remove more metal with an electric chain sharpener than you would with a file.

See post #22....