Chainsaw sharpening??????

[Doug Jones]

Is it necessary to hold a BA degree in engineering in order to sharpen a saw for the first time. Or can I do this? Keep in mind I have never seen this done, so doing it on my own for the first time is going to be a trip. Any help would be most beneficial for me. I have both the hand held sharpening kit that you buy at the home improvement stores and I also have the Dremel chainsaw sharpening kit. Which would you recommend for a first timer?
Thanks for your time.

[Carole Valentine]

Well, I must be doing something right because I brushed my hand against my newly sharpened chain yesterday and started painting my shop red!:) I have used both the dremel and just a file and I prefer the file because I feel like I have more control. I take maybe 3 or 4 strokes on each tooth (mark the first one with a marker so you'll know where you started) Rotate your file as you go so you don't keep using the same section of the file and every once in awhile wipe the filings out on your jeans.:D Use smooth strokes with light pressure...no need for heavy pressure. Most chains have a little line on the top of the tooth to help you keep the file at the right angle. If I can do it, anyone can!

[Ian Abraham]

I think that a round file and guide setup is probably the best, although it does take a bit of practice.

Common mistake is not sharpening soon enough. If you take 5 mins as soon as the edge goes off the chain it will only take a couple of strokes on each tooth and you will back in business. If you let teeth get really blunt it takes a lot more file work to get them back in shape.
The other mistake is not sharpening enough off the tooth, if it is badly blunted you have to file it back untill you have a good chrome edge on the point of each tooth. If you dont get a good chrome edge on the tooth it's not really sharp and will go blunt very quick.

With a bit of practice you can get the chain cutting like new again, with lots of practice you can actually get it better than new :)

Cheers

Ian

[Doug Jones]

Thanks, thats the kind of stuff I was looking for. I have all day tomorrow (Monday) to practice.

[Randy Meijer]

I like to clamp the bar in a vise. I find that makes the process a lot more controllable. Don't forget to file down the little "gizmo"(sorry, I've forgotten its technical name) that is located between each tooth to control the depth of the cut of the tooth.

[Shelley Bolster]

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Hey Doug......sorry, I don't know a darn thing about chainsaws. :confused: So, why am I answering........because Mike (hubby) does from years of working with a chainsaw logging. I am going to try to repeat what he is telling me. :rolleyes:

As soon as you put a new chain on your saw, place it on a bench or flat surface. Take a medium/fine small flat file and file the top of every raker (the piece of the raised chain in front of each tooth) by using 3 strokes away from yourself. Do one side of the chain and then turn and do the other. (you can purchase a raker gage) The purpose for "taking down the rakers" is to enable the chainsaw to be pulled into the wood which is how they are meant to be run. You should Not have to push on your saw to make a cut. If you are having - then your rakers are too high. When the chain is half worn out, you will have to repeat this. He stresses that no matter how sharp your chain seems, if the rakers are not taken down, you saw will not perform as it should.:(

There really is no pat answer to how many strokes to take with a round file when sharpening a tooth. Although you should try to do the same number of strokes to each tooth, the number of stokes strictly are determined by the condition of the tooth. You must sharpen the tooth until the chrome is showing. If not, it will get dull immediately. Also, try to replace your round files (7/32nds is the most common) regularly - a new file will do a far better job of sharpening your chain.

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[Mike Ramsey]

Shelly,
Thats good info! didn't know that i was supposed to do anything
with that tooth thingy! Didn't know what it was even called.
Doug, I found a couple of links with pics to see what Shelly is
saying. one of them is from Dremel.

http://www.backwoodshome.com/articles/brewer57.html

http://doityourself.com/gardentools/sharpenchainsaw.htm

[Jason Roehl]

Doug, I've spent several years cutting firewood now. For most of that time, I have sharpened my own chains. What was said about not pushing on the saw is right--that's dangerous. Almost as bad, is using a chain that is too aggressive for your saw, because then the saw will bog down unless you hold it back.

Files are fine for touch-up sharpenings, but there is no replacement for accuracy--and that you get with jigs and gauges. You've got a saw running at many thousands of rpm. The closer the teeth are to being exactly the same, the better it will cut. The more you sharpen freehand, the farther you will get from this ideal condition. I learned quite a bit from the following site:

http://www.madsens1.com/sub4.htm

One way to quickly get you sharpened accurately (mostly, it's cheap and from HF) is to get one of these:

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/Displayitem.taf?itemnumber=40208

I have one, and now my sharpening has gone to a whole new level.

Another thing is to make sure you are careful with your saw. Part of keeping it sharp is to not do things that dull it. Don't cut through a log into the dirt. Just "kissing" the dirt (gravel, concrete, etc.) will dull the chain noticeably. Don't cut straight through a rotten log--cut around the rotten center, for the same reason. I've gotten as much as 10 hours actual cutting time out of a single sharpening, and only had to touch it up. The rakers set your cut depth. You can get by with a couple sharpenings without touching them, but they will need attention once in a while. It's much easier to take a little off at a time, than to wait a long time and have to take a bunch off. Not to mention, your saw won't cut well in the meantime.

Hope that helps, Doug!

[Ian Abraham]

You shouldn't need to adjust the rakers on a new chain, although an expert sharpener may decide to take them down a little to make the chain more agressive in the cut. If you overdo it the teeth will bite too much, the cut will be rougher and / or the saw will bog down.
They will of course need attention after a few sharpens, as the tooth is filed back the cutting edge gets a bit lower. If you put a straight edge on top of the teeth you can use a feeler gauge to check the raker height. If I remember right it should be around 20 thou below the teeth?

Cheers

Ian

[Jason Roehl]

Ian, check the "madsens" site link in my post. They recommend 0.025" cut depth, which is what most chains and saws are designed for. They go into A LOT of detail about how chainsaws cut most efficiently, and how to properly sharpen them. One of their claims (with which I agree) is that hand sharpening will, over time, compound any errors you are making in your sharpening. As for the rakers, any time you sharpen a chain, the cutting tooth is shorter, and your cut depth will become less. The only time I don't do anything to the rakers is if I am in the field giving the chain a quick touch-up sharpening with a round file (a couple strokes per tooth). After the end of that cutting session, it's back to the grinder, and the rakers are filed with a depth gauge present to get them all to 0.025" below the cutters.

[Ian Abraham]

25 thou sounds about right - I think we were filing ours down when the 20 thou gauge didn't fit any more ;)

It's still worth learning to hand sharpen I believe.

Last tree removal I did, I managed to hit 4 different nails in a walnut tree, OK I had to spend some time with the file, but I got a good edge back on the chain... EACH TIME :mad:

You are correct that a grinder is quick, accurate and easy but you still have to be carefull, if you grind too fast you can overheat the teeth and they loose their hardness.

Another option for an occasional user is to hand sharpen a few times then take the saw back to your dealer and get the chain ground properly and the bar dressed etc. But thats a whole other subject of course :rolleyes:

Cheers

Ian

[Bob Johnson2]

I just picked up 3 chains that I had sharpened at what I consider very good sharpening service, cost me $5 each.

I found trying to learn hand filing on my own to be a waste of time, when an old timer spent an hour teaching me it clicked.

Have someone show you how to touch them up and just drop them off when you hit a slug or nail or some such. The $5 file and guide work fine. It's not hard, if someone can show you a good way. There's probably more then 1 good way.

[Jim Becker]

I gotta be honest...bought a few chains from Bailey's when they had a sale and pretty much just change the chain when it gets dull. I don't use my chainsaw enough to spend a lot of time sharpening, although I do have a proper file for a quick touchup. I guess I'm just lazy in that respect!