A well sharpened chain?

[Xmaniac]

On a scale of 1 to 10 what's the call on this. Guys charging $5 a chain.

 

[Xmaniac]

View attachment 959521

This is what you're looking for. I'll take a brand new chain out of the box and touch it up with a few licks of round file and a solid one on the rakers,, it will smoke factory sharpness....

 

[Xmaniac]

This is what you're looking for. I'll take a brand new chain out of the box and touch it up with a few licks of round file and a solid one on the rakers,, it will smoke factory sharpness....

A bench grinder can't get that half moon C like a file, and they tend to over temper the metal if not done slowly....

 

[chipper1]

A bench grinder can't get that half moon C like a file

Not true, but the one in the picture certainly doesn't look proper.

 

[chipper1]

OP, send me a chain and I'll sharpen it with a raker file and it will cut circles around that chain, and I'll charge you 5 bucks, just for fun. I may even do a video showing what I did.

 

[michaeln]

Probably should look more like this

Got the gullet, eh?

 

[Hermio]

What do you expect for $5 a chain ?

Better photos would be helpful. It looks like the raker is far too low.

My Ace Hardware store charges $8, and does a pretty good job.

 

[Hermio]

On a scale of 1 to 10 what's the call on this. Guys charging $5 a chain.

It's a two-way chain. Cuts equally well regardless of which way it is mounted on the bar.

 

[ROME K/G]

Horrible! raker [depth gauge]is too low, will jump and catch all the time, no gullet in the tooth, ground to low into the link, no reason for that, the bottom of the tooth does not do the cutting. I file sharpen for five bucks [to cheap, i know] a chain and mine look a hell of allot better than that and cut longer too. When someone brings me a #$%^ up chain from someone that uses a grinder and doesn't know what the hell there doing I tell them to get new chain. Once the tooth is ground down into the link you cant file them anymore [cant file the top of the tooth] or the tooth has been overheated and so hardened that a file wont even cut it.

 

[chipper1]

Horrible! raker [depth gauge]is too low, will jump and catch all the time, no gullet in the tooth, ground to low into the link, no reason for that, the bottom of the tooth does not do the cutting. I file sharpen for five bucks [to cheap, i know] a chain and mine look a hell of allot better than that and cut longer too. When someone brings me a #$%^ up chain from someone that uses a grinder and doesn't know what the hell there doing I tell them to get new chain. Once the tooth is ground down into the link you cant file them anymore [cant file the top of the tooth] or the tooth has been overheated and so hardened that a file wont even cut it.

You need a husky roller guide, they work very well to hold the file up out of the gullet if you get one that's too low.
Hope you're doing well over there.

 

[Okie]

That is just another one of the several good examples of why you should knuckle down and learn how to sharpen your own chains.

 

[Hermio]

You need a husky roller guide, they work very well to hold the file up out of the gullet if you get one that's too low.
Hope you're doing well over there.

I like the Pferd 2 in 1 system, also marketed by Stihl.

 

[Mad Professor]

At least he didn't burn the cutters blue!

 

[link]

View attachment 959521

That picture is just like a barbie doll, manipulated till the day of dawn. Just so far away from real life you could ever get

 

[ROME K/G]

You need a husky roller guide, they work very well to hold the file up out of the gullet if you get one that's too low.
Hope you're doing well over there.

I use a Oregon clamp on file guide, I clamp the bar in the vise and set the guide on top. Works great. It's just those chains that are really F'ed up that are impossible.

 

[chipper1]

I use a Oregon clamp on file guide, I clamp the bar in the vise and set the guide on top. Works great. It's just those chains that are really F'ed up that are impossible.

The roller guide works wonders if the gullet is too deep as the rollers keep the file out. Sometimes you may have to use a flat file to take back some of the top plate if there is too much hook and the file wants to dive under(because the rollers are soft), otherwise it's just a normal drop the guide on and start filing. I usually prefer freehand as I can get the gullet at the same time without taking the extra steps of the guide, but the guide is a great tool to help guys learn what they should be looking to accomplish when filing. You still should remove the gullet every few sharpenings though too.

 

[Hermio]

That picture is just like a barbie doll, manipulated till the day of dawn. Just so far away from real life you could ever get

That video is absurd. It is taking far longer to sharpen each tooth than it would with ANY hand filing system I know of, even the Granberg system, which is slow but accurate. The Pferd system takes maybe 5 seconds per tooth.

 

[chipper1]

I like the Pferd 2 in 1 system, also marketed by Stihl.

While those are great for learning, they do not adjust the raker depth according to the individual cutter, but rather to an average of two cutters at a fixed depth. A progressive raker guide adjusts the raker to the depth of each individual cutter and rather than doing it at a fixed depth it increases the depth as the cutter gets shorter(both in height and length). What's needed for setting rakers is an angle in relation to the cutter, not a set depth.

 

[link]

That video is absurd. It is taking far longer to sharpen each tooth than it would with ANY hand filing system I know of, even the Granberg system, which is slow but accurate. The Pferd system takes maybe 5 seconds per tooth.

If you sharpen your own chain thats childs play, but if you do this for money for someone that is dependant on making money, you really dont want to overheat those edges - because it will snap right back at you like a brick in your face.
I use 15 minutes each side on a 13-16" chain, and 15-20 minutes adjusting the rakers, and then I wash the chain free from stone/metal dust, and then I give it an oil bath, and then I let it drip off the excess. Skip anyone of those and you dont graduate - mate. A harvester chain is twice that work.

 

[chipper1]

That video is absurd. It is taking far longer to sharpen each tooth than it would with ANY hand filing system I know of, even the Granberg system, which is slow but accurate. The Pferd system takes maybe 5 seconds per tooth.

I agree it's taking a long time, but I'm guessing you only cut clean soft wood if it only takes 5 seconds per cutter.

If you sharpen your own chain thats childs play, but if you do this for money for someone that is dependant on making money, you really dont want to overheat those edges - because it will snap right back at you like a brick in your face.

What snaps back at you? The person who paid you to sharpen?