Chain sharpening

[CobyRupert]

Good suggestions here. Especially: "Mind the Rakers!"

OP is most likely finding dirt somehow. It doesn't take much to dull a chain. Usually, if one is cutting the same type of wood, one just has to watch the size of the chips / saw dust coming off the chain to know how sharp it is or isn't.
I find hand filling (with a clip on guide on hand file) is quickest and easiest.

Unscientific / untested statement to follow: Sure, I could spend 80% more time setting up and using an electric sharpener, but I have a feeling I would only get a 10% better chain, that's going to get just as dull anyways when I find some dirt in the first 10 minutes, or if lucky, 2 gas tanks later.

 

[milligan36]

I have logged for 20 years and always use a file to sharpen my saw. Pine shouldnt be dulling chain like that so i bet the quality of chain is issue.

 

[wimpy525]

Does the OP have one of those Green Safety chains (low kick back) on his saw? I got one by accident once and hated it.

 

[EddieWalker]

I have 3 Stihl and one Echo chain saw that are all different sizes, and obviously, use different sized chains. Originally I would take the chain to the dealer and have him sharpen them for $5 each. In a week, I'd pick them up and have a super sharp chain. This meant that I had to have another chain while the dull one was being sharpened. Then over time, the chain would need replacing, and then I would need another. Sometimes, I'd have three or four chains for just one saw. So then I bought a cheap chain sharpener from Northern Tool that worked find, but it took awhile to get it all set up, and then going from tooth to tooth. I didn't care for it, and went back to paying to have it done.

Then one day I was watching one of the logging shows on TV that used to be on, and I realized that all those guys carried around a file, and would do it themselves while working, or about to head out for the day. It looked quick and easy on TV, so I bought an Oregon chainsaw file from Lowes and gave it a try. It worked great!!!!! Now that's all I do, I just run the file over the teeth before using it if it was getting dull the last time I used it, and I'm ready to go. My chains seem to last longer, and I currently do not have any extra chains laying around. I just use the one on the saw until it's beyond sharpening, and then replace it, which I've only had to do once in years.

 

[ericm979]

I don't see a big difference in cutting speed with low kickback chain vs regular chain of the same brand and cutter style. I prefer low kickback semi chisel chain for brush and limbing, where you're more likely to get kickback and pure cutting speed is not so important, and regular kickback full chisel chain for felling and bucking larger stuff. The low kickback chain is also less apt to catch on twigs than regular chain. It'll even do bore cuts, just not as fast.

Of course preventing kickback is mostly down to handing the saw and paying attention to what you're doing. But I'm fine with safety features that may help if I have a lapse if they don't impact performance much.

 

[arrow]

I have logged for 20 years and always use a file to sharpen my saw. Pine shouldnt be dulling chain like that so i bet the quality of chain is issue.

I tend to agree with this. Nothing I ever tried was faster than a file but the more you do it, the better and more efficient you get. Out in the field, it is all one had.
There is a marked difference in chainsaw chain hardness. I find Husqvarna chains very soft and dull more easily. Stihl makes a good chain and I like them the best. Carlton (Oregon) and such make a pretty decent chain as well as far as hardness is concerned.

As /pine alluded to and he is exactly right, a thing to remember about pine is that they are "sappy". This stickiness can absorb a lot of dust and floating air debris. I recall one job of clear cutting for a mall next to a highway. Some pines had so much debris embedded in their sap streaks, it could be used as sand paper. Cheap, soft chain would suffer in this environment.

 

[ddbackhoe]

We've cut up a little over 400 cord this season so, just my opinion......I'm the one that has 6 chains for each of my two saws. When it's dull I swap them out and press on. I used to take them for sharpening, but now have an old automatic bench sharpener. Hand filing is ok to get by but if there's a real trick to it, don't know what it is.

 

[arrow]

We've cut up a little over 400 cord this season so, just my opinion......I'm the one that has 6 chains for each of my two saws. When it's dull I swap them out and press on. I used to take them for sharpening, but now have an old automatic bench sharpener. Hand filing is ok to get by but if there's a real trick to it, don't know what it is.

I think it just comes with doing it dd. If you do it 7 million times, you're not even thinking about it. If it took me 3 minutes, it took me too long. A file is for "touch up". 3 to 4 strokes...done. What I've noticed is that effective filing is only accomplished with effective files. Many people use them for way too long and buy cheap files from the box stores.

What I never spent time doing in the woods was attempting to fix a dinged cutter with a hand file. I had/still have a professional bench grinder that when I went home, I would fix up the dings on the machine.

 

[CMV]

Wow. Lots of good information.

I'm not out cutting down a forest or using firewood for home heating. Just whenever a tree falls, I drag it out & cut it up. My wife actually enjoys splitting wood and I think it's good exercise occasionally as well. So I cut up the occasional tree, split & stack the wood, and just let it accumulate. A little goes for small fires on the property or to keep the burn barrels going for a long time, but otherwise I'm cutting trees just because they are there. I even tried giving some away a few times but apparently people who burn wood in their homes only want hard woods - even if it's already split, dry, and free.

I use a chainsaw maybe few hrs every other month and am not relying on it to make a living or provide heating fuel. So with that light use, I kind of like the dremel tool attachment idea as a starting point. That looks like the fastest and simplest for a novice like me and i already have a couple dremel tools lying about.

If Oregon makes several grades of chain, how do I know if I'm getting a long-lasting one? Is what they sell in Lowe's/HD good or the crappy version?

 

[Ford850]

I just have a basic big box store chainsaw. Ryobi 16 in. 37cc - nothing fancy and probably a toy compared to 'real' one. But for all I need one for, it's acceptable. I mostly use it for dealing with downed pine trees or getting low hanging branches clipped to mow under easier.

With a sharp blade it cuts really well for its size/power. But it seems the blade doesn't stay sharp for very long. Limbing and cutting two medium-sized pine into logs seems to be enough that by the end I notice it isn't cutting nearly as well. No idea if that's normal or how long a chain should feel like it's cutting best. I don't run it into the dirt or anything 'bad'. I try to let the saw do the work and not force it into the cut. The chain oil spitter seems like it's right and working - the oil tank empties about the same time as gas tank. But into tree #2 I really noticed it taking a lot longer to make a cut and by the end felt like it was taking twice as long to get through the same diameter of tree.

Anyway, how is the HF electric chainsaw sharpener? Looks like that would be a lot faster/easier than a file. But before messing with it figured I'd see if it's worthwhile or a waste of time & $$$. Also, just using the chain that came with it. Would a different brand stay sharper longer or are they all pretty much the same?

You're still using the original chain that came with it, so how are you sharpening that when it gets dull? If you aren't sharpening to the proper angle it will dull quickly.