Chainsaw sharpening, hand or grind?!

[ovrszd]

Ovrszd, take a look at this entire video from Stihl, once they get into the actual filing it's got lots of useful tips and techniques....

How to Sharpen Your STIHL Chainsaw Chain - YouTube

NOTE: at 6min/15 seconds into the video it shows and states ALWAYS file from the inside OUT, and again at 6min/38seconds.
Inside out means from the inside, (center of the bar), to the outside of the tooth's extended edge beyond the confines of the actual chain and bar.

Filing the opposite way is INcorrect, period.

Oh, I've forgotten to mention the importance of adjusting the depth gauges as well as the teeth. This video also shows exactly how to do this correctly. If not done, or done incorrectly everything else being done right won't matter much because the chain still won't cut properly....

CM

I've got a dull chain. I'm going to sharpen it from the outside in. Opposite of what I've always done. I'm going to the timber tomorrow. I'll post results.

Let me make my legal statement here. I'm not trying to argue. I'm simply trying to figure out the best way to hand file. So let's not get pi**y over this. Let's just learn.

I'm not going to post a video!!!!! I got myself into an ugly situation doing that!!!!

The depth gauges are something that I've never addressed. I know as the cutting teeth get shorter the chain becomes less effective. I'll dig out an old chain and experiment with shortening the depth gauges.

Thanks for all the info guys!!!

 

[Coyote machine]

When I started filing, I would file "into" the teeth, meaning from the outer edge to the center. Watching a few online videos, including the Stihl one, made me second guess myself, as they show to file from the center to the outside. All other things that I have sharpened in my life contradict this, (knives, mower blades, drill bits, etc...) so I really don't know which is best. This is an interesting conversation.

Trust me when I say this: there may be two ways to pull/push the file, but there is ONLY one correct way, and it's what the Stihl video shows, from the centerline of the bar pushing the file to the outermost edge of the tooth. Think about how the wood is cut by the teeth. The wood catches the highest and furthest out portions of each tooth and rides back to the center of the bar, inside tooth edge, so it is in effect riding and being cut in the opposite direction of the filing motion.

Microscopic barbs are cut into the surface of the cutter when filed, ground correctly. These barbs are what rip the wood fibers and make the wood chips when a chain is sharp. When the chain dulls is when one starts to see sawdust instead of chips. If one files toward the inside the barbs in the cutters would not grab hold of the wood, since they would face in the same direction of the wood flow into the cutters.

 

[ovrszd]

My hope here is that this discussion can be continued to resolution without bitter feelings. There's a lot to be learned here if we can all just be open minded!!!! :thumbsup:

 

[Coyote machine]

I've got a dull chain. I'm going to sharpen it from the outside in. Opposite of what I've always done. I'm going to the timber tomorrow. I'll post results.

Let me make my legal statement here. I'm not trying to argue. I'm simply trying to figure out the best way to hand file. So let's not get pi**y over this. Let's just learn.

I'm not going to post a video!!!!! I got myself into an ugly situation doing that!!!!

The depth gauges are something that I've never addressed. I know as the cutting teeth get shorter the chain becomes less effective. I'll dig out an old chain and experiment with shortening the depth gauges.

Thanks for all the info guys!!!

Don't worry, Mike, I'm not going to allow this thread to turn into what the previous one did, and you won't have to worry about mandatory videos like before.:confused2:
I will say if you cut you depth gauges EXACTLY how the Stihl video showed AND file from in to out you will get the best cut. And if you've never addressed the depth gauges you're in for a big surprise too. Tell the truth, I did not know about sharpening/ rounding them off either for the longest time, either, so my chains had to have been only as good as the relationship to the depth gauge's height. :confused3:
Once I found out how to get the depth gauges where they needed to be it made a big jump in the quality of my chain's ability to cut as designed.

No one here is looking to get into a contest either, I for one am here to hone my own skills, learning process too. I know nothing about ripping chain for instance, and many other facets of why pros and amateurs alike may choose something other than a round file picco type chain.

Carry on, and let us know if sharpening backwards has any benefit for you?!

 

[Coyote machine]

My hope here is that this discussion can be continued to resolution without bitter feelings. There's a lot to be learned here if we can all just be open minded!!!! :thumbsup:

No worries, mate; I control the horizontal/ vertical in my own thread, if it starts to tip, I'll close it faster than a clamshell.:thumbsup:

 

[mikehaugen]

No one here is looking to get into a contest either, I for one am here to hone my own skills, learning process too. I know nothing about ripping chain for instance, and many other facets of why pros and amateurs alike may choose something other than a round file picco type chain.

I agree, I love hearing different viewpoints as long as they stay civil.

CM and Ovrszd, I believe you two are in agreement as to which direction to file. I filed my last chain that way as well because of the different videos I had seen a while ago, but I haven't tried it yet.

 

[mikehaugen]

I have a 361 now as well as a top handle. I would kind of like one smaller and one bigger someday. Probably a 261, but would going up to a 441 be worth it, or it be better to go 660? Maybe a 461?

 

[ovrszd]

No worries, mate; I control the horizontal/ vertical in my own thread, if it starts to tip, I'll close it faster than a clamshell.:thumbsup:

I'm really interested in the depth gauge discussion. I've always thought they should be shortened as the chain wears because the "top" of the cutting tooth is tapered, getting shorter as it wears. Logically the depth gauge has to be shortened to compensate. I'm gonna experiment with that.Thanks for your support Coyote Machine.

 

[ovrszd]

I have a 361 now as well as a top handle. I would kind of like one smaller and one bigger someday. Probably a 261, but would going up to a 441 be worth it, or it be better to go 660? Maybe a 461?

I had a 029 and an 021. My shop burned with my saws in it. I replaced with a 361 and a 250. When I was shopping I told my dealer I loved my Farm Boss 029 but sometimes I would get a little tired of leaning on the handle waiting for it to cut. He said, buy this 361 and you won't have to wait. He was right. Great saw. With a fast cut chain it is amazing. Not saying it's the best. Just saying it fits me needs perfectly!!! I actually use the 250 more than the 361. But when you need to fall a large tree or block up a large log, the 361 rules. I'm a Stihl freak. Very little maintenance. Easy to run/start. Easy to find parts/accessories.

 

[Coyote machine]

I'm really interested in the depth gauge discussion. I've always thought they should be shortened as the chain wears because the "top" of the cutting tooth is tapered, getting shorter as it wears. Logically the depth gauge has to be shortened to compensate. I'm gonna experiment with that.Thanks for your support Coyote Machine.

No problem, you're among friends here! Discussion and comparison, and what works is what these threads should be about, and to take away what works for different people, as well as learning the basics/ correct way to do certain key elements.