Ground chain wont cut

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oilstinks

Minister of Fire
Hearth Supporter
Jan 25, 2008
588
western NC
Took my factory husky chain off my 55 to have it ground to true it up after letting my neighbor borrow the saw. Put it on tried to cut some hard yellow locust and it would not cut without putting serious pressure with the dogs. So i had to use my MS210 which cut great which I filed. Stuff was too small for my 460 to cut. Whats the deal. The chain looked good and had good edges on the teeth just looking at it. ????????
 
Rakers need lowered
 
yeah, what he said. if the teeth look good then take the rakers down a hair. Sharpening places around here don't even touch the rakers, I asked once and the kid at the counter looked like I asked him to give me the square root of 30 in fraction form.
 
Every 3-4 filings I knock the rakers down a scoch.Couple strokes with a small flat file does the trick.Dont hurt to check it with depth gauge either.
 
I remember one time when I put on a new chain and it would not cut. I though, "What in Sam Hill..." Then I almost fell over when I saw that I put the chain on backwards! lol Guess it doesn't pay to be talking while working. I'd heard of that happening to others and laughed but that day the joke was on me.

Seriously, if not the rakers then perhaps someone set the wrong angle?
 
Backwoods Savage said:
I remember one time when I put on a new chain and it would not cut. I though, "What in Sam Hill..." Then I almost fell over when I saw that I put the chain on backwards! lol Guess it doesn't pay to be talking while working. I'd heard of that happening to others and laughed but that day the joke was on me.

Seriously, if not the rakers then perhaps someone set the wrong angle?

That was going to be my guess!! I've had emplyee's do that, good for a laugh for a week or so!
 
Unless the person who grinds your chain is extremely careful and only takes a LITTLE off, you will almost always need to take down the rakers.
 
Well the husky chain has the wide rakers so for giggles I asked the small engine shop how to corrrectly file them. Laeve them alone is what he said no joke. Then i told him i filed them on my 460. He said doesnt it vibrate and grab. I said no last time i checked my saw had enough power to pull a twenty inch chain. Again I got leave them alone. Seriously Im starting to think i need to find a new small engine shop. He also told me there is no such thing as a chain that stays sharp longer but cuts slower when i asked. Dude needs some chain info. I guess hes never used nothing but square tooth chisel. NOw I probably know the least on this forum about chains and angles but Im starting to think i Know more than him.I need my own grinder an quit paying him $5 bucks a chain to straighten it up.
 
nrford said:
Backwoods Savage said:
I remember one time when I put on a new chain and it would not cut. I though, "What in Sam Hill..." Then I almost fell over when I saw that I put the chain on backwards! lol Guess it doesn't pay to be talking while working. I'd heard of that happening to others and laughed but that day the joke was on me.

Seriously, if not the rakers then perhaps someone set the wrong angle?

That was going to be my guess!! I've had emplyee's do that, good for a laugh for a week or so!

You can still cut good at 0 degree and up to 40 degrees or more if there all the same. No Bite is high rakers. Bigger the angle bigger the bigger the chips but quicker it dulls. I run with stihl specks 30 degree and 60 tilt. Raker depth is what I am cutting and what saw is the main saw for the day. Milling whole different game.
 
I've got the Harbor Freight saw grinder, and it works great for what it is ($20?). Once you get used to it it's fast and consistent, then touch them up by hand - but I hit the rakers as I slide the chain forward in the grinder. I experimented a couple weeks ago with an old chain, and really dropped the rakers, it was fast as heck in softwood but can really kick badly. My saw shop actually said not to drop them too far, since then the saw can bog and you have to spend energy holding it up in the cut. Did you ask the kid at the shop what the raker guide is for then? THey're a couple bucks and help you get the right height.
 
Guy is in his 50s. I think Im going for the Northern tool grinder. Wish I had the dough for a Oregon but a hip replacement was expensive. I need to sling that factory anti kickback husky chain into the countys metal recycle bin and start fresh.
 
oilstinks said:
Guy is in his 50s. I think Im going for the Northern tool grinder. Wish I had the dough for a Oregon but a hip replacement was expensive. I need to sling that factory anti kickback husky chain into the countys metal recycle bin and start fresh.

Pick my 511a up use one ebay with a 250.00 cyclone wheel on it for 180.00 bucks. Whole thing new would have been over 600.00
 
it on ebay? How much life left on cyclone?
 
oilstinks said:
it on ebay? How much life left on cyclone?

Not sure but milling alot customer chains and the guys who cut with me....Going on 3 years now! Heavy use no signs of wear that I can tell.
 
The Pferd hand filer has a flat file with depth control that touches up the rakers each time you sharpen the cutters. A very good hand filer.
 
jebatty said:
The Pferd hand filer has a flat file with depth control that touches up the rakers each time you sharpen the cutters. A very good hand filer.

And a plane ticket to a tropical Island just before the blizzard!
 
The new Pferd says it only works with full comp only what is up with that, not sure what a full comp is.
 
smokinjay said:
jebatty said:
The Pferd hand filer has a flat file with depth control that touches up the rakers each time you sharpen the cutters. A very good hand filer.

And a plane ticket to a tropical Island just before the blizzard!

LOL
 
Yea and then we could cut palm trees.
 
oldspark said:
The new Pferd says it only works with full comp only what is up with that, not sure what a full comp is.

Full comp means full chisel.....If your running a bigger saw and flat rakers it gets a lot of vibrating!
 
Full comp means a full complement of cutting links. The Pferd/Husky Sharpforce jig rides on both the tooth you are sharpening and the next tooth, so it won't work properly on skip chain where the next tooth is missing.
 
DiscoInferno said:
Full comp means a full complement of cutting links. The Pferd/Husky Sharpforce jig rides on both the tooth you are sharpening and the next tooth, so it won't work properly on skip chain where the next tooth is missing.

forgot the skipper thing!
 
It's the new double-sided one that's $40. Bailey's still has the original (where you manually flip the files between filing the right and left cutters) for $20. It's very easy to do, can't see any reason to essentially buy two copies glued together.
 
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