I have a stihl 261 that I used all fall to cut my firewood and also clear a trail on my woodlot . A few times I hit the ground trying to cut low stumps . Weird how my chain teeth got smaller and duller on one side than the other . Whats the best way to bring back a chain like that . I hate to get rid of it its still has some ways to go to be all used up .
Chain sharpening question .
- Thread starter richardg40
- Start date
-
Active since 1995, Hearth.com is THE place on the internet for free information and advice about wood stoves, pellet stoves and other energy saving equipment.
We strive to provide opinions, articles, discussions and history related to Hearth Products and in a more general sense, energy issues.
We promote the EFFICIENT, RESPONSIBLE, CLEAN and SAFE use of all fuels, whether renewable or fossil. -
Super Cedar firestarters 30% discount Use code Hearth2024 Click here
Grind it or a lot of file work. Most places here charge $4 I believe to grind. I got a northern tool chain grinder for such situations. It has proved handy over the years.
EbS-P
Minister of Fire
EbS-P
Minister of Fire
The issue is getting both side equally sharp and the depths gages set for each cutter so each one takes the same depth of cut. My inexperience has shown me once something gets rocked I have a hard time get the rocked side back to the same geometry as the the other side and therefore it doesn’t get as sharp without a guide like the file n joint.
That's why the depth gauge that buckin uses is the only worthwhile tool to set rakers.
if I have a bad tooth or three on a chain for a few filings as I get it all straightened out that's no big deal to me.
Idk, but I've hit wire, nails, pieces of steel and rocks and have yet to badly damage more than a half a dozen teeth on a chain. I might damage a whole side, but only a few bad ones. I've always been able to feel something not right. I very rarely push on my saw. It self feeds almost always because I sharpen it when it doesn't. I am more apt to be holding it back a little. Maybe that helps to minimize major damage, idk.
shouldn't have said that....
I think a lot of folks tend to wait far too long to sharpen and generally run a dull chain a lot.
how do you learn to sharpen? You sharpen and sharpen again and again and again.
I haven't tried a 2 in 1 or whatever they are called. I tried a regular round file guide that came with my ms362 and I took that contraption off my file after about 4 teeth. It just got seriously in the way...
if I have a bad tooth or three on a chain for a few filings as I get it all straightened out that's no big deal to me.
Idk, but I've hit wire, nails, pieces of steel and rocks and have yet to badly damage more than a half a dozen teeth on a chain. I might damage a whole side, but only a few bad ones. I've always been able to feel something not right. I very rarely push on my saw. It self feeds almost always because I sharpen it when it doesn't. I am more apt to be holding it back a little. Maybe that helps to minimize major damage, idk.
shouldn't have said that....
I think a lot of folks tend to wait far too long to sharpen and generally run a dull chain a lot.
how do you learn to sharpen? You sharpen and sharpen again and again and again.
I haven't tried a 2 in 1 or whatever they are called. I tried a regular round file guide that came with my ms362 and I took that contraption off my file after about 4 teeth. It just got seriously in the way...
Last edited:
Sean McGillicuddy
Minister of Fire
Isaac Carlson
Minister of Fire
But is it $4.00 well spent?
Someone who doesn't know how to grind chains can wreck a chain for $4.00.
Most shops that grind chains probably put the guy on the bottom of the totem pole on the grinder.
That's the case in my shop...
But i am the only person working there
Isaac Carlson
Minister of Fire
Exactly. Chain sharpening is an art and you can't plop someone in front of a grinder and say "here ya go kid" and expect good results.
I have seen "professionally sharpened chain" that had one side ground back to nothing and the other side had full cutters while the rakers were never touched.
People have a fit when I tell them that I charge $10 or more to charpen a chain. It takes time and I charge for my time. It is a piece of my life I can't get back. I have had quite a few people tell me they would rather buy new chain for 2-3x the price, and that's fine. If they want to buy marginally sharp chain for 3x what it would cost to sharpen, I'm not going to argue with them.
I have seen "professionally sharpened chain" that had one side ground back to nothing and the other side had full cutters while the rakers were never touched.
People have a fit when I tell them that I charge $10 or more to charpen a chain. It takes time and I charge for my time. It is a piece of my life I can't get back. I have had quite a few people tell me they would rather buy new chain for 2-3x the price, and that's fine. If they want to buy marginally sharp chain for 3x what it would cost to sharpen, I'm not going to argue with them.
Do a deal...
Bring me 5 dull chaines and i will give you 1 sharp one back...
Then sell them the rest back as they need them at almost new price.
SpaceBus
Minister of Fire
I've gotten lazy on making my rakers match my cutters. The raker guide and a file is the best tool. Most of the time my saws cut crooked because of the bar rails being uneven, which doesn't happen to me now that I dress the bar every few flips.
I used to own a tree service and filed chains every day. I got good at it, free-hand without a guide. But it's been 30 years-plus since I sold the business and it's amazing how hard it is for me to file accurately when I need to do it far less often. It's not only a learned art, it is best done as a continuous one. Now that I'm heating almost solely with wood I picked up an Oregon grinder. There is still a learning curve, but angles, depths, raker heights, will all be more accurate and consistent once you master it. You can get good with a file, with or without a guide, but a quality grinder, used properly, will always give more consistent results than any human hand. You are, after all, only human.
Poindexter
Minister of Fire
One thing I found, right hand dominant, was when I stood in one place relative to the saw to sharpen all the teeth my cuts would inevitably drift to the left as I cut through a log.
What worked for me, YMMV, was to sharpen all the "easy" teeth with the motor head to my left, then spin the saw 180 and sharpen the newly presented easy teeth.
As a new process there was some time invested, but results were quick. In much of life I find it time efficient to learn to do a thing perfectly, no matter how long it takes; and then let speed come. I cannot think of a time I have set out to do a thing quickly and then had perfection follow as a natural outcome of doing whatever thing quickly.
What worked for me, YMMV, was to sharpen all the "easy" teeth with the motor head to my left, then spin the saw 180 and sharpen the newly presented easy teeth.
As a new process there was some time invested, but results were quick. In much of life I find it time efficient to learn to do a thing perfectly, no matter how long it takes; and then let speed come. I cannot think of a time I have set out to do a thing quickly and then had perfection follow as a natural outcome of doing whatever thing quickly.
I've found that I apply different pressure to the left and right cutters when sharpening them, so I vary the strokes, typically I'll do one more stroke on each right cutter. Say 3 on the left cutters and 4 on the right, keeps the cutters even.
I flip the saw upside down when i file the right side cutters by hand
then you are basically fileing all the cutters the same.
then you are basically fileing all the cutters the same.
I'm similar, I worked for the Forest Service in the '80s and did a lot of chainsaw work. Doing it every day for weeks on end, I got good at sharpening freehand.
Now I live on acreage that needs a lot of trees cut. We we moved here I bought a saw and it took me a while to remember how to sharpen chains.
The biggest factor for me now is seeing the chain! I have to use reading glasses and even then I can't see like I could in my 20s. I should probably get a magnifying glass. I can still get the chain as sharp with the file as with a grinder even though its not as consistent. I "true up" the chains on the grinder periodically.
Sean McGillicuddy
Minister of Fire
This guy may be just a little bit crazy. Definitely entertaining, unique - might describe him at a minimum as 'a character'
nah just get stronger readers. get a pair of 3.0's for more detailed work. Helps alot.
SpaceBus
Minister of Fire
highanddryinco
Burning Hunk
Absolutely the same boat here and have been for a while now.
I just keep a lighted magnifier with an articulating arm clamped to the workbench. Always there when I need it and OMG it's getting ridiculous how many times I need it. The fine print on product instruction labels is probably #1 use anymore.
oh he spruced up his editing in future videos. He has a good number of subscribers now. I think sometimes his editing style is a bit chaotic, intentionally.
Isaac Carlson
Minister of Fire
Yea its probably time for that at least for chain sharpening. Also even better lighting. I added a bunch of light in the garage/shop a few years back but I could use even more over the workbench.
