Chain Sharpening

What have you found to be the most effective method of sharpening chains? Chain left on the saw with hand files, small grinder? Do you like the mechanisms that hold the files at angles (or the small grinder)? Which brand has worked best for you? Thanks

Tom

Hand files with the 99 cent wooden handle available from any dealer (usually in a cardboard box by the register). Took me 3 years to learn how to hand file, though. And another 5 to get really good. Now I feel I can fix just about any messed up chain by hand as good or better than any machine/grinder. Touch-ups only take about 2-3 minutes, faster than putting on a new chain. I can also get brand new chains to cut better after a couple sharpenings.

It just takes practice. Lots of practice.

Gotta agree with Brian on the files. Used properly, they will give you the sharpest chain. I guess the answer to your question depends to a certain extent on how many chains you will be sharpening. Chances are that if a guy were only sharpening for himself on a saw only used to trim the trees on his lawn, he might never get enough practice to become proficient with a file, and the proper grinder would not be economically feasible. The best option then is to find someone else to sharpen for him. On the rare occasion, you can still find an old timer who will hand file a chain for money, rather than grinding it. If this person is good with a file it is worth a little more than a grinding would cost, and in the long run your chain will last longer,making up for the difference in sharpening costs. Grinders have a learning curve just like files do. You might initially get somewhat better results using a grinder, if you understand how to acheive uniformity with it and how to profile the wheel to get the right amount of hook and cutting angle on the bottom of the top plate. I think it`s important to get a grinder that either has the tilting chain vise or has a 10° tilt built in for proper results. The cheaper grinders won`t do this. You also want to be careful about too high an rpm which makes burning more likely, and generally those cheap grinders have a smaller diameter wheel which compounds side to side tooth length errors unless the wheel is perfectly centered, which is actually impossible on some grinders. I think you are better off grinding the worst side first, the readjusting everything to duplicate the lengths and angles on the other side, you can`t just swing the head the other way and go to it. I`ve had a Tecomec Mini Jolly, got rid of it, have two Oregon 511As, an Efco which is identical to the Oregons but is reversable, a big Foley, model # unknown from where I`m sitting at the computer, and I just bought a Silvey 510 for round ground and a Razur Sharp for square. I`ve had some experience with grinders, and I still prefer to hand file MY chains for what that`s worth. One of the Oregon style filing jigs, with all the adjustments, can work exceptionally well if used properly. I don`t see any advantage in using a Dremel or any of the other hand held rotary grinders. Like Brian said, with practice you will be able to file your chain as quickly as you could change it out. Russ

hey jokers,

Wish i had a Razur sharp!! I'm learning to square file, and it sure is touchy and tricky. plus i gotta put on these lousy reading glasses, as age has crept up on the ole seeing tools.


Obsessed with my second hand 346XP-G!!


...the saw junkie

I am an intermediate novice, if that makes any sense, I have cut 30-35 cords of wood and other clearing projects. Anyway, one suggestion that has worked for me, is to file your own chain 3-4 times, then take it to a shop… and have it ground to correct what you messed up. Do this a few times and you really start to get the feel.
By filing a chain that has the correct angle on it, you can lay the file in and get a feel for the proper angles and watch the surface as you run the file over it. It takes a while to do, because you are scrutinizing each cut, but it works for me.

i took a couple o days experimenting with some old chains. sure paid off.
i can do a better job than any shop aroud here. which is the reason i took the time to start with. also it aint really bragging. if u get my drift.

Hand filing vs. electric grinder

As a novice I took a couple of chains into the local shop and they grinded 1/2 of the chain away with an electric grinder! If you have the time and are proficient a hand file is the way to go! Great ! This means I have to cut more wood to get the chain dull enough so I can sharpen allot of them to get proficient! Not a bad idea, huh?

Round File vs. Square file

I have always used a round file to sharpen a chain 3/8 and 404's.
Now I see you guys using these square file sharpening techniques. Is this better or is it a matter of preference? Is there a procedure somewhere to demonstrate how to convert a round filed chain to a square file? Would you recommend to have both types of "filing patterns" on a chain in some type of sequential pattern?

I like the hand files they do a better gob. More preciese & more deteled cutting edge. I think it stays sharper longer too. Randy

I've been doing the same thing as Oregon Rob and filing 2or 3 times myself then taking it to a shop then starting all over again. I saw somthing that someone wrote the other day ( I think it was on this site but not positive) Their suggestion was to go to your saw shop and get a new cutting link and keep it on hand so you have something to refer to when sharpening. I like this idea and am going to give it a try. I'm still learning but have definately improved with some practice.

sharpening

I don't see the big deal I cleared 16 acres by hand with three chain saws and I used a dremel tool with a saw sharpening bit. I get longer cutting times on the chains I sharpen then the new ones, so I must be doing something right and each chain lasts long enough to get sharpened many times.

In grinding heat is the enemy, it changes the temper of the chain, not letting it hold its edge. Lubricate with soap, or granberg lubricant crayon or something perhaps. Intermittent, non-constant contact so heat doesn't build up, if real dull, might go around circle and hit each tooth again, just to avoid the enemy!

Grinders like in shops, come down and make a new line through tooth from the top generally, so will take more steel. Granberg/Stihl/Oregon/Dremel grinders can come up under tooth point and start by dressing edge back rather than draw a new line through like a handfile. So you can take less off. Though if nose of teeth are scooped down from intense damage, whoever sharpens them with whatever must take the teeth back beyond that damage; that can get pretty extreme and not worth my time on long non-skip chains by hand!

You might look at hand filling to dress, hand grinder to take back more material (hit stone etc. and a lot of tooth woud have to be filed by hand to get back to good metal), longer chains (which is another good reason to use skip chain) or other 'bulk activity'.

Then maybe when they are real boogered up by sand, concrete etc. let a pro take back all that material if your busy etc.

As a tooth is sharpened it gets shorter because the teeth slope back, so the depth gauge would be dropped to allow the same amount of tooth to be exposed. Too much, and it could stall the saw, because it is too much 'bite' or load on machine for type of wood and amound of contact etc. Too'lil tooth exposed and it might not cut efficiently or at all! Diffrent densities, sizes, frozen wood, dryness etc. can all effect how much tooth can be exposed who's increased load is to be carried by such a size of powerhead, over such a length of bar, width of chain, oiling so much etc.

We have an excellent chain man that we send chains to, he cleans, shaprens, lubricates, sets depth gauges also lets me know if he sees something odd etc. Kinda like rebuilding the tool, to beyond factory spec. he does! So we give our bizness to this small local bizness, live and let live!

I am new to this cutting, I took the chains to a shop and they chopped the crap out of them. All different legenths and everything else. It is taking me longer to straighten this thing out than that was worth. Round files are not the same shape as a grinding wheel so I will never bring another one back to a shop.

I paid $19 for a clamp on hand filer and then clamp the bar (attached to powerhead) in a vise so I can watch it closely and not have it jiggle around. I am planning on getting the hand held file now that I have learned more about this. I can see how that would be faster and easier.

I am getting better. They are right about it being a slow process especially for someone who does not cut much.

I went to an auction, and picked up a box of various used chains, along with an old P-61. I too have gone the "new tooth" as a guide method, and am trying to improve my hand filing skills. The old chains come in handy, as I have less at stake ($$$) and can afford my learning curve. A guide is definitely the way to go, and clamping everything down makes a big difference for the beginner like myself. Once I have finished a link, I compare it to it's single link cousin, and try to read my stroke marks to see where I may (& usually do) differ.

Treespyder brought up an excellent point about cutting lube, and clenliness. I dropped 2 chains in a sonic parts washer, cleaned them off, and used cutting oil with my file. MUCH smoother finish on the tooth. While not completely practical in field touch-ups to thoroughly clean the chain each time, I will certainly continue the process when redressing a chain back at home.

Interesting thought, using cutting oil. What do you think the smoother surface finish on the filed surface does for you? Would it make a difference in how long a chain stays sharp?
If it was just for the sake of being smooth, but did not extend the life of the sharpening, I wouldn’t be very interested. If however, I got an extra couple of logs out of it, I would be all for it.
Could one run some kind of test like file half the cutters with oil and run the other half without????????

Rob,

Here is my problem: I am not good enough yet to sharpen 2 identical chains (one with oil, one without) to run a fair comparison.
Basing the theory that a fine edge on a knife stays sharp longer than a rougher edge, the same should apply to saw chains. My own personal perception is yes, the chain does SEEM to last longer between sharpenings.
I do like the idea of mixing the method on one chain to run a comparison though. I would be able to set up once, and just alternate without changing anything. I'll try it, and see what happens.

Stay tuned...

I am thinking of running ½ the teeth on a single chain one way and the other half the other way. Maybe the half you sharpen with oil, put a small scratch on the top surface with the file….
This way, all the teeth are run for the same amount of time through the same wood at the same speed…

Fair enough. I'll take some PICS & post them if I there are visable differences.

Thanks for the idea.

Cutting lubes, whether they are liquid or wax, are for cooling the bit/wheel and the material being cut. If you are truly getting a noticably smoother cut with a lube, I would have to say that you need to bear down more when you are filing dry. Are you using a good sharp file? Even when grinding there is an optimal feed rate which equates to the pressure you would exert on a file. I am by no means considering myself an expert but I know that if you feed too fast and hog off the cutter, you burn it, but if you feed to slow you can also burn it. I`m a little skeptical that you will gain anything by using a lube for filing, but I am curious. Have you ever seen anyone use a file on a metalworking lathe, I have never seen anyone use a lube when doing this although I do wonder why they use a file on a lathe in the first place. I do believe that the smoother your edge, the better your initial and secondary sharpness will be. I think this is why files give a sharper tooth than grinding. Even if you file one side of a chain dry, and the other wet, how are you going to determine which side was sharper, and had better stay sharp? Russ

Russ,

You are right on with the comparison problems. Add to that my chain sharpening skill level, and the results would be dubious at best. Files are brand new Snap-On. Cutting oil is from Wurth, and is marketed as being for use on power & hand tools. We had a demo of the stuff back when I worked at Malmberg Truck Trailer doing mechanics, & metal fabrication. The result on the drill press, using a 1 3/4" bit on a 1/4" pilot hole through 2" plate was impressive. It cut very quickly, and did not burn the bit, even with a 230 pound man hanging from the handle. When used on hand tools, it was promoted as a finishing lube, as it would leave a finish of a much finer file than the one being used, without damaging the tool. It was not rated for use on a stone type material (diamond coated being the exception) as the stone would absorb it, and it could change the effectiveness of the stone. I was the local purchaser, and was given 2 gallons of the stuff. Never had much use for it once I left, but ran into the Wurth salesman who suggested I try it on the saw. Cutting oil works very similar, but not quite as well.

The comparison would be "draw your own conclusions" with before & after pics of each of the sharpened teeth. I will use a new file for wet, and another new file for dry. This doesn't really equalize much, but for arguement's sake, I'll give it a try.