Hey guys, I got the HF chainsaw grinder that Mac recommended - still haven't used it, but I got it :-) (and I got a 30 ton logsplitter yesterday).
Question: How are you grinding the flats?
I recently saw a Dremel with proprietary attachment but I don't have a Dremel. I do have a Foredom carving kit.
I got a fantastic chain info site from an earlier post and I'm sure this has been covered before so be patient. My computer crashed two weeks ago and I lost everything (please, that's another story).
Is their really an advantage to using the Dremel or other power sharpener on a chain? Can someone explain what it is?
It strikes me that it is REAL easy to remove too much metal, when all you need is a light touch. And I prefer not to buy new chains until I have to.
I use a hand file on mine--takes about 3-5 minutes, and I'm back in business. Seldom do I need to do more than 6 strokes per tooth to get it sharp again.
Heck, I usually need a longer break from sawing than 3-5 minutes, so I have a cup of coffee too.
The main advantage to using the non-Dremel (Large wheel with jig) type of power sharpener (whether from Oregon or from HF) is that the jig helps to even out tooth length - which helps things to cut straight when you've munged 3-4 teeth on one side by clipping a rock or nail. It's what the pro saw shop here uses to sharpen chains.
If you're patient, there's no reason you could not do the same with a file and gauge of some sort. The jig/grinder setup makes it easier and faster.
In the field, I use a file with every tank of gas, or sooner if it seems to be needed. I swap chains if one gets munged too badly.
Power sharpening also has an advantage with carbide chains and diamond sharpeners, but that's a whole 'nother level of spending.
I assume that you mean depth gages when you say "flats". As you know, the cutters on the chain are angled up, so each time you sharpen the cutters, they end up a tiny bit lower than they were before. The non-cutting link between each cutter is there to keep the cutter from biting deeper than the saw can handle. Each chain size,style has a recommended depth for the depth gages to be below the cutting teeth. It's gonna be somewhere between about 20 and 35 thousanths of an inch. When needed, I file the teeth with a double cut (real fine) flat file. There are gages for this distance. You should buy one from a place that sells lots of chain saws so they will know what you are talking about when you ask for one. If I don't have a depth gage, I simply find the flatest part of the chain's bar and lay a flat piece of anything on top of two adjacent cutters. I look (or measure with an appropriate feeler gage) to see how far the depth gage is below the flat piece. if the depth gages need filing down. Try this in a few spots on the chain and you'll see how much you need to take off. I then file one or two depth gages to see how many file strokes it will take and file the rest the same amount. I think that the competitive guys probably run the depth gages a lot lower than most of us do. They get bigger chips that way but have to have a real light touch on the saw to keep it from slowing down/ stalling.
Note that the "flats" on the depth gages shouldn't be flat. You should round off their leading edges.
Having said all that: The only time my chains get power-sharpened is when I take the saw in for service. In the woods I hit the cutters with 4 file strokes each whenever I start to see that I'm getting a little "dust" instead of "noodles" coming out of the cut. Then, about every third cutter sharpening I do the depth gages, or if I feel that the saw is requiring me to push it into the wood.
Heated with wood for 25 years, made maple syrup with wood for 10, Pete Stanaitis
There's a neat outfit I've been using for years with a file to answer that problem. I still hate to take all the others down to compensate, but it's the right thing to do.
"George" wrote: (clip) I still hate to take all the others down to compensate, but it's the right thing to do. ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ I don't see any reason to do it. If all the teeth are sharp, and properly angled, the only effect of having a few teeth filed back farther is in their timing, as they reach the wood. I doubt that you could detect it in any way outside a laboratory. The chain has to be retired when ANY of the teeth become so narrow they are ready to break, but it doesn't matter whether a few teeth get there first, or they all get used up at the same time.
If you hit another rock, you will have to file back some teeth again--probably some diffeerent ones. If you file them ALL back each time there is damage, your chain life is likely to be shorter.
Just my 2 cents worth. If you follow this reasoning and agree with it, it could save you more that 2 cents. :-)
Sadly your advice is worth the price. It's not so much the absolute length of the damaged teeth, it's the fact they have no sharp corner to scoop shavings. Until you get that back the chain will drift, heat, stretch, drift some more, etc. The big if in the first paragraph is indeed a big one.
"George" wrote: Sadly your advice is worth the price. It's not so much the absolute length of the damaged teeth, it's the fact they have no sharp corner to scoop shavings. (clip) ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ George, sadly, I think you missed my point. I was not advocating leaving the damaged teeth alone. I was saying that it is not necessary to file all the OTHER teeth back to the same width as the repaired damaged teeth. Running a chain where the tops of the teeth are not all the same will not produce any of the difficulties you list.
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