Think he ment under cutting the top plate to much hook creating to thin of top plate cutting edge
A well sharpened chain?
- Thread starter Joseph W Santora
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Joel D'Angelo
ArboristSite Operative
Exactly
Gotcha
I rarely touch a cutter up freehand, though I've been doing it some lately, never a whole chain. I use a file-n-joint.
Sounds like you either need to switch to a larger file and/or hold the file up higher.
I was having an issue with the .043 micro chains that sounds similar. The recommended file was leaving these penguin-billled, thin top cutters. I stepped up the file size and haven't had the issue since.
A husky roller guide is a great tool to help in that circumstance. Every now and then I run into a cutter that is very hard across the cutting edge of the top plate and the file wants to go under like that, I typically will lower the side if the file closest to me and file up at that angle until the file is only under the cutter about 20%, then I level the file back out. Another thing you can do is take your raker file and just file the leading edge back a little to remove the hook, then try again.
Not sure if I'm doing mine right or not.
For the OP, if someone filed my chain like that, I'd demand that the replace my chain regardless of whether I had paid them or not.
As far as all the other discussion, I switched to a Timberline sharpener and LOVE it. I have different depth gauges that I use for different saws. The 024 and 026 get set at .025" which works well for them. They get used for limbing and bucking stuff that's not going to need to be split later. The 036 and 064 get set at .040". The 036 does the majority of my bucking. The 064 is mainly used for noodling hickory and locust rounds that are too heavy for me to lift onto the splitter, but I occasionally use it for felling as needed. I'll also run the 064 a few times a year just to knock the cobwebs off it it has been sitting for a while.
As far as all the other discussion, I switched to a Timberline sharpener and LOVE it. I have different depth gauges that I use for different saws. The 024 and 026 get set at .025" which works well for them. They get used for limbing and bucking stuff that's not going to need to be split later. The 036 and 064 get set at .040". The 036 does the majority of my bucking. The 064 is mainly used for noodling hickory and locust rounds that are too heavy for me to lift onto the splitter, but I occasionally use it for felling as needed. I'll also run the 064 a few times a year just to knock the cobwebs off it it has been sitting for a while.
Joseph W Santora
ArboristSite Operative
Have you noticed the flurry of Timberline knockoffs on ebay?
Yes, but I haven't tried them. Timberline did a good job of replicating the Arnold Precision Sharpener (which I also have) and making it into a more manufacturable product. It's not as good as the Arnold, but its still a great system. The few flaws that it has would be easy for them to fix, but I'm not sure they are willing to fix/improve on their design.
Get the Gullet !
I'm gonna have to watch a video or two on that, can you recommend anyGet the Gullet !
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Husky77
ArboristSite Operative
Yes its cutting yes the edge will last longer. But the rakers are far too low and your saw is working harder to get results. You'll soon be looking for a new saw
Probably , just get a front row seat @ the next Buckin stock Brett .Get the Gullet !
Like a sword fight with round files in here 
I got this saw/bar/chain at the pawn shop for dirt cheap some months back.
Started sharpening one day in December.
Took 50 licks to get that tooth (note the sharpie on the link rivets in both photos) in the shape it is without taking too much material off by grinding down the top plate. It was slow and laborious, and if the shop knew how to grind a chain the way I want it filed, I'd gladly not do anymore licks on it. It'd be nice if this had a little more hook at this stage, but it'll be good enough for a tank or two before another sharpening. Then I'll go in with a 13/64" to improve it. Haven't touched the depth gauges yet.
Probably could have sacrificed 1/4-1/3 the tooth either with a larger file or grinding away at the top plate, but instead I used a 7/32" and filed at 30°. I started in opening the gullet and getting back and down into the cutter, roughly 30 strokes to establish the gullet and open up the tooth. Then I raised the guide .010" or .020" and filed another 20 strokes to fix the top angle and further open up the cutting edge above the gullet.
I think they were filing at 35, and poorly. The chain is near new, and some of the cutters are already almost sloped back. No gullet on the two dull teeth. Note the small but present gullet on the sharpened one. Some hook, but not dramatic. Lots of room to work with and will be much easier to change the profile as needed. I'd prefer a slightly longer length from edge to edge of the cutting edge (not the leading edge), but I didn't feel like giving it another lick.
When cutting brush, the less hook you have, the longer the edge holds up, assuming it's sharpened properly. Inevitably you will hit something when you're doing that work, despite how careful you are.
Looks good, and looks like you're taking the tooth back very slowly. This is ground, not filed, right?
Just an example of dozens of right and wrong ways to sharpen!
The rakers are low, yes. I prefer a more aggressive chain to begin with.
I don't agree with your last statement. Brushing isn't as taxing to begin with on the saw. The saw the first chain photo is on is mostly for falling smaller stuff, limbing, and brushing.
If I was bucking 20" rounds with it all day, every day, MAYBE you would be right.
My crew boss runs his chains with little to no hook (again, for brushing) and gets lots of life out of his saws with little maintenance.
This is to answer Joel's question about what he is doing wrong. Pressure on your file should be straight back towards the motor. Pushing the file down towards the bar gets the file deeper, and creates a thinner, longer top cutting edge. One quarter of the file diameter should be ABOVE the top plate. Most guides will help keep the file from digging down deeper
Like a sword fight with round files in here
No, no fighting. Just showing different ways folks sharpen chains for various applications.
Haha, no doubt. I was hanging around the waste oil for bar oil thread and that was getting close to a bar room brawl
What you are actually talking about is the rake angle of the cutter. The rake angle is measured from an imaginary line that's perpendicular to the surface of the material being cut (or the Bar in this case). The larger the rake angle, the easier it is to pull the cutter into and through whatever its supposed to be cutting, but the less durable the cutting edge is. For wood, durability isn't an issue so increasing the rake angle (within reason) will result in a faster cut out of a given saw. I say that durability isn't an issue with wood because there shouldn't be any impact involved like you get when your milling or turning metals. Wood is very abrasive, but we sharpen so frequently that there's little to be gained (with regards to the lifespan of the cutting edge) by decreasing the rake angle of the cutter. Decreasing the rake angle makes it more difficult for the cutting edge to penetrate into the material, so it does make the chain less grabby when removing small limbs. I've found that if I take the limb off flush with the log, I can run a pretty grabby chain with no problems. If I'm trying to clear brush out of the way in order to fell a tree, that same grabby chain is prone to jump off the bar. So there's literally different strokes for different folks. But if you think that you're going to sharpen a saw with a round file, and not have a "hook" to the gullet, either you're going to use a lot more horse power (and man power) to do your cutting, or you're spending more time sharpening your chain with different size files to clear our the bottom of the gullet than you are spending actually cutting wood with it. Either way, the top plate NEEDS a fair amount of rake angle to cut efficiently. Easiest/fastest/simplest way to do that with a round file is to have about 1/4 of the file above the top plate.
Another thing I do differently:
I move the tooth forward from where the G-106B instructions say to file from. As opposed to the stopper at the back of the tooth you are filing, I have it resting in the depth gauge of the tooth behind it. Much more comfortable and changes nothing.
I move the tooth forward from where the G-106B instructions say to file from. As opposed to the stopper at the back of the tooth you are filing, I have it resting in the depth gauge of the tooth behind it. Much more comfortable and changes nothing.
