Manual chain sharpening

[ChoppingAccountant]

As seems to be the intro line to many posts lately, I am new at this. I did a search and got a lot hits for electric chain sharpeners but can I get opinions and recommendations on a hand file / guide.

I saw one online (can’t find anymore) where it both sharpened and took down the rake in the same stroke, it was free hand and did not clamp to the bar. Is something I want? I do not do a lot of cutting now and I am not sure how much I will do in the future. I would guess a few cords a year.

Thank you for the help, this site has been very informative.

 

[Bigg_Redd]

As seems to be the intro line to many posts lately, I am new at this. I did a search and got a lot hits for electric chain sharpeners but can I get opinions and recommendations on a hand file / guide.

I saw one online (can’t find anymore) where it both sharpened and took down the rake in the same stroke, it was free hand and did not clamp to the bar. Is something I want? I do not do a lot of cutting now and I am not sure how much I will do in the future. I would guess a few cords a year.

Thank you for the help, this site has been very informative.

Just buy Stihl chains that have the hash marks on them - run your file parallel to the hash mark and viola!

 

[EatenByLimestone]

I do it all freehand also. I take down the rakers when a sharp chain just doesn't have the bight it used to. When you are learning to sharpen, don't worry about the rakers.

Matt

 

[Nic36]

I sharpen freehand as well. Most of the chains have the guide marks on each tooth Just try and stay parallel to the mark on the tooth and level to the bar and you should do OK. After a few sharpenings, you should be used to it.


It's also much easier to sharpen your chain before it becomes noticeably dull.

 

[Valhalla]

+1 Agree, a touch up prevents a severely dull and even overheated chain.
Never let them get very bad.

 

[Corey]

IMHO, electric 'grinders' are pretty aggressive and only need be used in case of serious chain damage. A few swipes with hand file every tank of gas or two will keep the chain in top condition. I've become fond of my dremmel sharpening stone. You can control how aggressive the cut is - from a light touch-up to a moderate grinding to quickly restore damage from rocks or barbed wire.

 

[Kong]

I sort of disagree that the power grinders are too agressive; they take off just as much metal as the operator makes them take off, or just as little. That's really sort of a moot point when you consider than they alone have the ability to return the chain to exactly the same sharpness it had when it came out of the box. That said I still sharpen by hand.

I am in the habit of sharpening all the chains that have been used in a day in the evening. I do not touch up chains in the field, I just change them for later sharpening. We (my son and I generally cut together with my saws) are able to do that for a couple of reasons. First off all of my chains are of the same guage/pitch and my guidebars interchangable so what works in one saw works in the other(s). This is mighty handy when a saw gets stuck in a tree because if you're alone you can simply unbolt the bar/chain from the saw, put another set on it and get on with your cutting (freeing the stuck bar/chain). Of course if both of us are cutting one cuts the other out of trouble. Anyway it allows me to take several extra chains into the woods and that allows us to take a chain off as soon as it begins to dull.

I sharpen by hand and I clamp the saw's bar in a large vice when I do it. The vice swivels and I have marks on its base at 30-degrees, swinging both ways. So I turn the bar and to keep at the right angle all I have to do is stand there and file parallel with the front of the bench the vice is bolted to. All I have to concentrate on is holding the file level and not letting it wobble as I push it forward. I count strokes keeping the number the same for both left and right cutters.

Got that? Hold the file at the correct angle, which is etched on the file guide. Hold the file level (90-degrees to the guide bar) while you sharpen. Push the file in one direction only (lift it from the cut on the return stroke). Count your strokes (5 will easily do it for a chain that has not been abused, 10 if the chain is dull) and do the same number to every cutter on both sides. Its that easy.

On the depth guages I can tell you a way to deal with them that is not scientific or based on measurement but will get you by very well in my experience. First off the advice to leave them alone is good advice. If you never did anything to them it wouldn't be the end of the world but there will be one definite result. If you don't lower them sooner or later you're going to convice yourself that you alone on the face of the earth are unable to get a chain sharp. For some reason they will just never cut like you want or expect them to. They may be good, but they will never be real good.

OK, here's a sort of mindless way to deal with them. Don't touch them until the chain is about half worn out, which is to say you've sharpened it about a dozen times and the cutters are half the length they used to be. Take an 8" fine Bastard File and pusing away from you only make exactly 3 firm strokes across the top of each depth guage - every one. Don't take any more than 3 strokes. Then sharpen your chain as usual. Go see the difference. Repeat this procedure when the chain looks like its got about a half a dozen sharpenings left in it.

How long to I keep my chains? How far down do I sharpen them? I keep sharpening until 1 cutter breaks off, then they go in the trash can.

 

[ChoppingAccountant]

Thanks for the help. Now i need to go out and buy some files.

 

[Valhalla]

Thanks for the help. Now i need to go out and buy some files.

Good choice. Select by the chain you have. "Oregon" chain markets them in sets for the repective
chain tooth type and size.

I keep a handy stump vice with me. Bailey's sells them. It helps me to stabilize the saw better in the field.

Good sharpening and a warm stove!

 

[Gooserider]

I found that when I was completely freehand sharpening, I had a tendency for the file to go down to far into the gullet of the chain, making for a top cutter plate that was very sharp, but too long, and therefore easily dulled. I got one of the Oregon guides that indexes on the top plate and the raker so that the depth the file cuts at is controlled - these are sized per the file, so you need to get the right one... This keeps the file at the right depth to give a nicely shaped cutter that stays sharp longer.

I disagree on the rakers - I say get a raker depth gage, and check a couple of the rakers every time you sharpen - when you find 2-3 that need to be taken down, do them all, I find that I need to take them down 2-3 strokes about every 4-5 sharpenings on the cutters.

Gooserider

 

[kevin j]

SaveEdge files are awesome. Baileys, about $15 per dozen.

I use the Oregon file depth gauge goose refers to for same reasons.

Rakers, use a gauge. I use the Oregon, but bought some Carlton FileO Plates to try. Have not used the husky roller type. By the time you can feel it not cutting so well, you will have spent a few tanks not cutting so well......... I don't file with it in place. If soft metal, the file wears it down and it affects the gauge very slightly. If hard metal, it dulls the file. I put in on the tooth then slide the flat end of the flat file across the gauge. If it snags on the protruding raker, it needs to be filed. Then I remove the gauge, stand it on end in the gullet to protect the freshly sharpened tooth from an errant file stroke, and file the top of the raker. Blend the slightly flattened top of the raker into the curved front, so it doesn't tend to chatter or snag as much.

easy once you get the hang of it and you will appreciate a sharp chain instead of a generally almost pretty good chain.

k

 

[Valhalla]

All this chat about sharpening... I am just back
from touching up all my saws. The spare chains
were sharpened last week.

Back to our now 80 degree stove room. House in the
high 60s.

Winter storm... bring it on!