Chainsaw sharpening, hand or grind?!

[cqaigy2]

Good information. Now a question. If you hit a rock with a chain it is said that you "rocked" the chain. So if you hit a piece of steel does it mean you "stealed" the chain? Just thought I might throw a little humor in here after the bickering that was on the other mentioned thread.

I'd be upset if you rocked or stealed my chain.:laughing:

I've done both, not to mention dirted.

Nice info about your sharpening method!

I don't use a guide, but that's the way i was taught. I turn the file after each tooth and i hold the bar/chain with gloved hand. Either right or left hand, depending on my position relative to the saw. Knock the the file every once in a while on a chunk of wood to rid the metal.

File often, usually when i need to take a break while bucking up, with a couple strokes on each tooth.

When falling, it's important to start with a good sharp chain and everything in good working order. Have spares close by in case something needs replacing. It's uncomfortable to leave a tree partially cut.

 

[Treemonkey1000]

Thank you to the Admin for closing the last thread. It was getting to be a p$$$$g contest. I tried the hand file method 40 years ago and didn't do well at it. I am a lot better at it now that I have learned the proper technique. I change out the chains in the field if I hit something like rocks or metal in the tree rather than try to file it there. I carry spares for all the saws. I have about 10 saws with 14" up to 40" bars. After I get a bunch of dull chains saved up I soak them in a parts cleaner can or bucket with kerosene or diesel to clean them up a bit. If I need to get tar or pitch out I have a steel brush to scrub them with.
Then I turn on some good country music and fire up the MAXX grinder and grind away. There again it was a learning curve to not toast the tooth taking out too much. I have a small dial caliper that I will look for the average tooth length and try to grind them to that. If there is one tooth that is really short I don't worry about it. Again just tap the wheel let it cool and tap again until you hit the stop depth on the grinder.

 

[xyz123]

Well if I had anything posted in the closed thread. So be it. Not going to repost it in this thread, sorry. I hand file and grind just depends. Both have their place.

 

[murphy1244]

Well if I had anything posted in the closed thread. So be it. Not going to repost it in this thread, sorry. I hand file and grind just depends. Both have their place.

Don't believe its closed anymore. How bout a Video CM.

 

[Scotty Dive]

Personally I thought I wasn't hand sharpening well enough so I bought a HF grinder. What I didn't like is that it takes a lot off very fast - I suspect that is true with all grinders. Get the angle wrong and you have sharpened the whole chain and have to start again. I went back to hand sharpening and realized its not that hard, its does a great job, you take off only what you need to. I cut about 6 cords a year and have spares like everyone else. Hand sharpening doesn't take that long and I didn't think using the grinder saved me any time really - but it did make me throw a chain away because it was 1. Older and had been hand sharpened a million times so each tooth was slightly different in length. 2. To get the machine adjusted so it cuts all of the teeth took too much off of some teeth and just the right amount on others. just my two cents

 

[mountainlake]

Grinders only take off as much as the operator wants to, I set mine too just skim the longer teeth and when a shorter tooth comes along the machine has enoough give in it to pull it over and just touch the short tooth. Steve

 

[Coyote machine]

Great post Coyote & indicative of your many years of experience - nothing beats a hand filed chain !!:thumbsup:

Excellent post Coyote!!:thumbsup::thumbsup:

Thanks guys, appreciate your input, it makes wracking my brain to 'picture' the details worth all the smoke coming out of my ears...

Murph, It occurred to me, but I've never done one, (video) before so it'll be a while, if ever, what with family obligations now with the holidays. I will keep it in mind; I'd like to do some vids on basic tractor maintainence, etc. anyway. Thanks for asking.

In the meantime here's an excellent video on how to sharpen your chain:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cJUcCwzDgbw

And thanks to Mossroad for the Oregon video too.

 

[buickanddeere]

No problem. You're welcome. Hope it's helpful.



No. It means you stole the chain, now give it back.



What's not humanly possible; accurate hand filing a chain? If so, I beg to differ. At it since 12 years old, now 61. It can be done, like anything else, with practice and patience. I'm not talking speed, but I am talking accuracy. To each his own, but don't try and tell me a grinder is a replacement for work that can be done by hand by someone with skill.

Sorry to burst your bubble about your superhuman prowess and the wisdom of ages that has been bestown upon you. A properly hand sharpened chain will work ok but there is no way it will perform like a factory fresh edge.
I suppose you can scrape babbit bearings and get a 80% surface too.

 

[Gale Hawkins]

After watching the video hear a year or two ago of a guy who free handed with a large Stihl making dimensional lumber all day long on site I expect there are a few that can do about anything by hand. I expect he did not run to town to get the very long chain sharpen. I do understand those without the ability may not understand it is a possibility.

My machine shop instructor said he once turned one rod journal on a crank shaft of a 30's something well drilling truck without pulling the engine. He rigged up a belt sander and glued up his on inverse sanding belts and use a micrometer until he got it down to the next size bearing.

Due to machines we are loosing hand skills in the USA every day.

 

[murphy1244]

I suppose you can scrape babbit bearings and get a 80% surface too?

Tradesman used to do that to rebuild machines on site. I've seen it.

 

[ovrszd]

Good information. Now a question. If you hit a rock with a chain it is said that you "rocked" the chain. So if you hit a piece of steel does it mean you "stealed" the chain? Just thought I might throw a little humor in here after the bickering that was on the other mentioned thread.

I guess you could say that!! Although they are not the same, I made the mistake of thinking that in the other thread. Was quickly corrected.

 

[sshaw]

Stihl has a new tool, the "FG4 roller filing tool," for hand filing chains. I have traditional file guides and a power grinder, but the FG4 seems to give the best results for me. It's small, fast, and easy to use. It works very well for getting the proper angle on the file. It also has guides for filing the depth gauges for cutting either hard or soft wood.

Product page is here:
STIHL FG4 roller filing tool | STIHL | Stihl, Viking, chain saws, brushcutters, hedge trimmers, clearing saws, high-pressure cleaners, lawn mowers, trimmers

Instructional video is here:
STIHL FG4 roller filing tool - YouTube

 

[Gale Hawkins]

That is an interesting looking filing tool.

Has anyone tried the Oregon bar and chain set up that you can sharpen in 15 seconds? I do not know the cost but sounds interesting if one needs a new bar and chain.

Amazon.com: Oregon PowerSharp Bar-Mount Chain Sharpening Kit for 18-Inch Saw Chain: Patio, Lawn & Garden

OK I found the price and the reviews on Amazon are more or less positive.

 

[tjkubota93]

I do everything myself and usually can get the right feel for any fine mechanical type activity. I had alot of trouble learning to hand file.

The local small engine shop messed up 3 of my chains.

So I bought a timberline sharpener. It works great, gets chains as sharp or sharper than new. It controls all the angles, and is manually powered, so you can use it anywhere.

 

[tjkubota93]

 

[mikehaugen]

I do everything myself and usually can get the right feel for any fine mechanical type activity. I had alot of trouble learning to hand file.

The local small engine shop messed up 3 of my chains.

So I bought a timberline sharpener. It works great, gets chains as sharp or sharper than new. It controls all the angles, and is manually powered, so you can use it anywhere.

That looks pretty neat

 

[tjkubota93]

I like it. It works really good.

 

[cqaigy2]

Looks pretty nice.

 

[sshaw]

That Timberline sharpener does look pretty slick. I might have to try that one.

 

[Gale Hawkins]

Timberline chainsaw sharpener review - The Garage Journal Board

This thread covered a lot of the pros and cons well I thought. The company video was impressive. I guess the price ($250 on Amazon with one of each of the four sizes of rotary files/cutters is OK. My son said try the $28 electric chainsaw sharpen first that is still in the box.

My machinist background makes me want to get by hands on a Timberline. No more than I use a saw these days a file would do I guess.