Is thie Pferd ChainSharp a good investment? I'm not an expert at sharpening and am looking for something one notch better than a simple file guide.
Thanks very much.
Thanks very much.
Pferd ChainSharp: Yay or Nay?
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Tim Ard is a chainsaw wizard. I got about 40 hrs of instruction from him in forestry school.
I use the Pferd files. Very aggressive. They ROCK! Best bang for the buck.
I use the Pferd files. Very aggressive. They ROCK! Best bang for the buck.
I've used one for about 4 years on my .0375 chain. Very satisfied, works well. Bought it after a prof logger recommended it, saying that's all he ever used. Baileys has them, as I am sure others do as well. Get extra files, boxes of 10 are good. I generally do a quick touch-up after each 1-2 tanks of gas, 3-5 strokes per cutter, depending on what I've been sawing.
If you also use a different chain, like .0325, you need one for the different size.
I cut 10-20 cords of firewood per year, plus logs for the sawmill. A sharp chain is a must for safety and makes the work easy - saw does the cutting with little effort.
If you also use a different chain, like .0325, you need one for the different size.
I cut 10-20 cords of firewood per year, plus logs for the sawmill. A sharp chain is a must for safety and makes the work easy - saw does the cutting with little effort.
Got one from my stihl dealer when I got my 290(he recommended it). I've only sharpened about 4-5 times since then, but I find it easy to use and seems to sharpen very well.
Bigg_Redd said:
Exactly. It's on order from Bailey's.
Although, I must add that I recently got a stump vice and used it this morning when I filed my chain (in a Stihl hand file guide). What a terrific little invention that vice is. It's a lot easier to file a chain when the rest of the saw isn't moving.
I have the pferd set up from baileys. I like it a lot but sometimes I still use the Stihl file guide for quick touch up.
Sounds like a cool tool. I'll have to give one a try. I like the idea being able to do both at once. Filing the rakers has always been a pain for me.
Billy
Billy
Mass. Wine Guy said:
With longer bars, a full comp chain has alot of cutters in the cut. That equals drag. Semi skip or full skip allows LESS cutters in the cut so you can keep the RPMs high. I have a 28" bar for my MS390 for slicing big stiff (one cut). Using a full comp chain, the weight of the saw alone into the cut causes it to stall. With a full skip chain, it feeds fine without me having to keep the saw lifted in the cut.
Of course, if I had an 880...
Mass. Wine Guy said:
Having run full comp and skip tooth chains on my 290 I can't see/feel/notice any difference in performance between the two. The only difference I notice is that I'm filing half the teeth with a skip tooth.
Bigg_Redd said:
its will not be much differnce on a 290 saw unless you use a 22-24in. bar on that saw. When your in large trunk wood where the diffrance will really show up.
Contrary to what others say, it's not so much about the horsepower. Doesn't really matter how many horses you have if you run out of space for the chips.Mass. Wine Guy said:
With a long bar in big wood, a single cutter builds up a lot of chips that need to be carried the length of the cut. There is only so much space between the cutters for all those chips before it packs and lifts the cutters up out of contact with the wood. Fewer cutters means fewer chips per cutter and more space between cutters for chips.
Well, I'll tell ya. I got this and it looks great. I used it today, reversing the files to do both right and left teeth. For the life of me I don't understand the little Left and Right arrow indicators on the handle. The device won't fit into the cutter and on top of the raker unless the files are arranged in the proper position (at least I'm hoping this is the case). If I'm wrong about this, I sure did mess up my chain. But the teeth do seem sharper now.
LLigetfa said:
I don't know much about chain design, but what you are saying is certainly true for band saws. The deeper the cut (the thicker the wood), the less teeth per inch and the deeper the gullets (necessitating a wider blade) need to be. Packed chips in the gullets leads to heat buildup and metal fatigue, besides the obvious poor cutting that occurs.
This is true no matter how big or small the motor is on the band saw, so I think what you are saying about horsepower in a chainsaw is correct as well. In fact, some guys get bigger and more powerful band saws and make even worse cuts with the same improper blades because they end up being able to push the wood harder into the blade teeth without stalling the motor. This just bows the blade in the kerf in a way you can't see until the cut is finished. With a band saw, you can compensate for this a bit by using less pressure (slower feed rate), but with a chain you have the weight of the saw and the height of the raker teeth that dictate feed rate and cutting depth, as least that's the way I understand it.
BTW, skip tooth designs are also the preferred tooth configuration for re-sawing thick wood on a band saw. They look like they'd make a rougher cut, but since they cut so efficiently, the cut is smoother (and much faster) than with a regular tooth design.
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