chain saw sharpening

[turnkey4099]

I have the HF grinder. Not all that enthused about it so I use it to even up the teeth every 2 or 3 hand sharps. Of course there are the lazy periods when I use because I don't want to hand file .

RE grinders in general: Be careful not to overheat the tooth. It is extremely easy to make it harden to the point a file will just skid instead of bite. Just a quick touch and if you are doing a 'rocked out' chain (hit something with it) and need to take off a goodly amount, do it in stages - go around the bar 2 or 3 times instead of taking it all at once.

HIt something and only have a few bad teeth? No problem, just sharp them with the rest and don't worry about them being shorter (provided they are not all on th same side of the chain). If you use a grinder, in two or three re-sharps, the rest of the teeth will have caught up.

Problem filing equally left and right handed? My trick: Mount the saw upside down the the vice. I can then file all right handed. One side I am standing at the end of the bar and facing the saw, the other side I stand alongside the bar facing the tip.

When to sharp? I do it as soon as the saw quits 'self feeding', i.e., notice that I am putting down pressure on it. I carry spare chains for both saws (used to be 3 but my big one died this year) so just change them out and do all sharping in the shop.

Harry K

 

[workinallthetime]

guess i did ok big chumgs flying out from the saw, cut the wood like butter, and only spent 3 hours in the ER getting face stiched back up, lol
but thats in another thread. tomorrow ill be dragging and cutting very little.

 

[zzvyb6]

I bought a 12v high speed portable saw sharpener. Use it with 4 wheeler, tractor, car or truck nearby. Sharpen several times per tree (whatever). Only takes 5 minutes or less. I use a paint stick to mark starting tooth so I only make 1 pass. Buzz, buzz, buzz, buzz, done. Hit dirt, stone, fence wire, nail, no matter, tune it up and get on with it. Only need to replace the rotary stone every 10 years or so.

No need for extra chains, files, guides, so what if your angle is off by .0000001 degree, good grief. Its either sharp or it isn't. The difference is very noticable in cut rate, rpm, gas 'mileage', and throughput.

 

[Egon]

Mount the saw upside down the the vice.

I've never seen this before but my world is pretty small. I'm gona try it!

 

[Skyco]

I guess I'm lucky- my favorite most used saw has a double same side tooth at I suppose the joining point- makes it easy, always start there and end there, no marking needed. The teeth also have a scribed line to use a reference to keep the proper angle-
I've tried the Dremel and the 12v thing Northern Tool sells...didn't much care for either one, I prefer a good file. For a guide I use a little gadget that Husqvarna sells with two plastic coated rollers- makes it easy to get both angles just right as it sort of clips onto the chain in one orientation only.
Here is a link to it- Husqvarna Outdoor Power Equipment - Filing Equipment - Combination File Guide
and here is a little video about halfway down the page of how it works-Husqvarna Outdoor Power Equipment - How to Videos

 

[kenmac]

Using this Oregon Bench Mount Chain Sharpener — 1/2in. Chain Size, 110 Volt, Model# 511A | Chain Saw Sharpeners, Maintenance + Repair | Northern Tool + Equipment has been the best way for me to sharpen a chainsaw chain. They also have a less expensive mod.

 

[Richard]

I agree with "don't forget the rakers"

I always paid to have my chains "professionally sharpened".

We had a blight on pine trees so I had a bunch of dead pine trees that were near enough my house that they made me very uncomfortable.

Over time, I cut them down.

Came to one... went to cut it and it sat back, pinching my blade. I was dead in the water.

Not to worry!! I've thought ahead and I a spare bar and my "professionally sharpened" chain ... went to house, got parts, returned to saw sitting in tree. Removed head from bar/blade... installed new ones and started to finish cutting tree down.

This "professionally sharpened" blade wouldn't cut melted butter

Words can't describe how angry I was with the prediciment "they" had left me in by this unexpected happening.

Long story short... got some wedges and gave the tree a wedgie to drop it.

Found out they "forgot" to file down the rakers and by doing that, rendered the chain just about useless.

I soon after, bought a 100' spool and had it cut into lengths for me so now I've got a box of something like 30 new chains and that will never happen to me again.

I know the box of 30 chains is overkill but I'm in woods, new construction and there was a TON of cutting to do. There was no way I wasn't going to hit my blade into the dirt since many trees were on the ground that I was cleaning up from our lot clearing.

anyway... long way to say, don't forget the rakers. The next box of chains I get might not have them!

 

[wushaw]

I agree with "don't forget the rakers"

I always paid to have my chains "professionally sharpened".

We had a blight on pine trees so I had a bunch of dead pine trees that were near enough my house that they made me very uncomfortable.

Over time, I cut them down.

Came to one... went to cut it and it sat back, pinching my blade. I was dead in the water.

Not to worry!! I've thought ahead and I a spare bar and my "professionally sharpened" chain ... went to house, got parts, returned to saw sitting in tree. Removed head from bar/blade... installed new ones and started to finish cutting tree down.

This "professionally sharpened" blade wouldn't cut melted butter

Words can't describe how angry I was with the prediciment "they" had left me in by this unexpected happening.

Long story short... got some wedges and gave the tree a wedgie to drop it.

Found out they "forgot" to file down the rakers and by doing that, rendered the chain just about useless.

I soon after, bought a 100' spool and had it cut into lengths for me so now I've got a box of something like 30 new chains and that will never happen to me again.

I know the box of 30 chains is overkill but I'm in woods, new construction and there was a TON of cutting to do. There was no way I wasn't going to hit my blade into the dirt since many trees were on the ground that I was cleaning up from our lot clearing.

anyway... long way to say, don't forget the rakers. The next box of chains I get might not have them!

I wouldn't call it overkill since you live in the woods and there will always be a need for a chainsaw.

I bought the Orgeon grinder and make my own chains, I learned how to sharpen since it is such a pain to get it done "professionally" and end up with a chain ground down to almost nothing.

 

[czechsonofagun]

+1 for HF grinder.

Works for me well enough on cross cutting and also ripping chain. When I need to buy new blade - soon, since the original is going - I am gonna order new grinding wheels from Baileys. On Baileys web page they recommend their top grinding wheels for all their cheap grinders and I figured it wont hurt to try them.

 

[turnkey4099]

I've never seen this before but my world is pretty small. I'm gona try it!

I had fought the 'left vs right' for years until I saw that somewhere about 15 years ago. Makes an amazing difference! I can't even sit in my chair and picture why it works where 'right side up' doesn't, have to adjourn to the shop and mount the saw before it comes clear

Harry K