Alternative to sharpening your chain

[Joe Kidd]

Seems like a hair would pop off faster than that...

Do you teach at a piedmont or coastal plains college? No pun intended, only making conversation.

 

[Zombiechopper]

You are in fact insane.

I sharpen chain new out of the box and give the rakers a touch. In my opinion new chain isn't even any good until it's part way used up - then you hit a sweet spot where it really starts cutting nice.

I would hate to see how dull square ground is after 4 cords. Frick, in dirty wood sometimes I might need to file a chain after one or two cuts....never mind trying to push it through 4 cords so I 'only' spend 11 bucks on it.

 

[edisto]

He was talking about a whole arm, I think..................

I think he has already set off a few FBI internet alarms already, there are probably a few serial killers out there shaving arms..........

My arms get a little less hairy when I'm sharpening knives too (and plane blades and chisels...) The dog heads for the bedroom whenever he sees the water stones come out.

The trick is to buy good enough steel so that the hair can grow back between sharpenings.

 

[edisto]

Oh hell, you gonna make him star in another video??????

I will if he is sharpening in said video!

 

[Gologit]

Question is how many cord of wood can you get out of a chain if you do choose to sharpen the chain? Are we talking 20 cord? Or 10 cord?

Just curious as to how much you expect out of a chain. I know there are variables, but many of you get in a groove and know what to expect out of a chain.

I think a lot of guys use up too many chains because they file with a heavy hand. If you haven't rocked a chain and if you haven't let it get too dull it doesn't take much to bring it back. A light touch with a file is generally all that's needed.

I don't keep track of the exact numbers but I probably get at least 15 filings, light filings with a light touch, out of good chain. If I'm working I carry spares with me, change them out as needed, and do my sharpening on days off.

 

[CentaurG2]

Seems like a hair would pop off faster than that...

Tough crowd tonight.

 

[edisto]

Do you teach at a piedmont or coastal plains college?

Closer to the piedmont.

 

[CentaurG2]

He was talking about a whole arm, I think..................

I think he has already set off a few FBI internet alarms already, there are probably a few serial killers out there shaving arms..........

Ouch, I think I got a little razor burn on that one. Nope, it was only posion ivy. Serves me right for running a dull ms200t.

 

[Gologit]

Tough crowd tonight.

Winter time. Cabin fever. Too much time to sit around and think. Happens every year.

 

[Joe Kidd]

Closer to the piedmont.

Lower sandhills boundary perhaps. Cool!

 

[edisto]

Lower sandhills boundary perhaps. Cool!

I have a 30 minute commute just so we could get some soil that wasn't sand, and trees that weren't pines!

 

[Joe Kidd]

I have a 30 minute commute just so we could get some soil that wasn't sand, and trees that weren't pines!

I completely understand. I'm just north of all that....mainly clay and mixed timber.

 

[edisto]

I completely understand. I'm just north of all that....mainly clay and mixed timber.

I used to live in the NC piedmont...that clay is something else!










Oh..and learn to sharpen your chains farmerdoug!

 

[nstueve]

Welp it good to know it can be done. I only use Stihl chain, find the rest sorta soft and don't hold a edge quite as long as Stihl does. However I've yet to see a sharpened chain outcut a new one out the box. I've heard it for years but never seen it. I know many are real good sharpening by hand but sadly there are more than aren't. I get chains in here that you would have to see to believe, the very worst ones coming from arborists..

Not to bash arborists at all... But... remember that it is their day job and probably not their equipment. They see saws, chains, etc. as an expendable cost of business.

They don't cuddle with their saws at night and read them bed time stories like some of us do... :hmm3grin2orange:

The majority of us love going out to cut, and take care of our equipment b/c it's not a tax write off or used to pay the bills... If I was an arborists i would doubt that my saws would see a high level of care b/c at the end of the day I wouldn't want to think about or care about what i did the previous 8hrs... maybe it's just me though...

Okay. I have yet to see a video of someone trying to cut with a dull chain, stop their saw, sharpen it and go back to cutting, so that we can see how sharp one of these 5 minute sharpenings are.

Many people can talk about how they can sharpen a chain within 5-10 minutes, but no one can manage to do a video illustrating a dull chain that can't cut, and then a hand sharpened chain that can cut like new. It is possible that the people who remain on this earth with this skill do not know how to run a video camera and can't upload the video. This would be a very reasonable explanation. There is nothing wrong with not being up to date on technology.

Some people just like talking. When I see this, I think they are just talking. I could be wrong. I have yet to see it in the form of a video.

We can't talk about sources, so I can't discuss any details about where I get my chain. Obviously there are good deals on Stihl chain on the west coast. You do need to purchase an entire spool to get a good deal.

I'll take that challenge... Rules? Do I get to use a vise for the saw? IF so can I subtract the walking time from log to vice?

I would say the average guy could sharpen a 20in 72DL 3/8 chain in 10mins or less with a file. All it takes is a little practice and a good set of guides/files... This is the kit I use and costs $15-$20 anywhere you go. Hell, even Greg (grandedog sp?) from Bailey's said he'd make mixed packages on the little clam style guides so you get a better price if you want to buy 2-4 of them so you can sharpen all the chain you have.

http://www.baileysonline.com/itemdetail.asp?item=HVA+505+69+81+91&catID=

5mins for a 72DL chain = about 4.2sec / DL Make it 10mins and thats enough to hit the rakers too!

 

[Trx250r180]

You are in fact insane.

I sharpen chain new out of the box and give the rakers a touch. In my opinion new chain isn't even any good until it's part way used up - then you hit a sweet spot where it really starts cutting nice.

I would hate to see how dull square ground is after 4 cords. Frick, in dirty wood sometimes I might need to file a chain after one or two cuts....never mind trying to push it through 4 cords so I 'only' spend 11 bucks on it.

i do that also ,spin up a loop ,throw it on the silvey right off the roll then 2 file swipes off the rakers,as soon as it starts slowing down at all usually at a tank ,just swap out for a fresh one .i probly take about 5 or so minutes with the grinder resharpening a chain

 

[Zombiechopper]

to touch up a chain takes me 2-3 seconds per cutter. Double that to touch rakers too.

Literally, swipe, swipe - onto next one.

A rocked chain might be ten or fifteen passes but still doesn't take all that long.

 

[Typhke]

Maybe he gets the chain so cheap cuz he buys a lot of them Chains in Europe are expensive, 25" Stihl chain is €33.90!

18" (what I use on my 362) is at €27.50 so I don't use Stihl chains myself. I use a brand that is made in the Oregon factory but has another name on it . They come around €11 and are better price/quality. I don't sell them but I did buy 10 chains at once so I got them cheaper and when it's dull, I just take another one and start sawing again. When I'm in the mood, I'll use my grinder and file to bring them back to a razor sharp condition. I probably change a chain way too quick but I do like a razor sharp chain a lot!

I can understand your way of thinking though. If you can get the chain pretty cheap and you don't want to spend money on a grinder and/or want to spend the time to learn to file a chain, selling is not a bad thing I guess. The time spend also costs you money and you don't have to do the annoying sharpening. For me it's more a goal to file a bit better every time. If you do sell them, I would sell them at a higher price . Think there are enough guys over here that would like to buy the chains from you

Edit: btw, still have 4 or 5 chains in the box unopened.

I do get over 10 sharpenings of a chain and that was while cutting very dirty wood with A LOT of nails. But need to clean up the mess.

 

[srcarr52]

I can do a light touch up on the Silvey in under 10 minutes for a 24", but I still like to hit the drags and gullets every time if I can which adds about 5 minutes for each operation on the round grinder. Since I'm only doing 1-2 chains at a time it seems that setting up the grinders takes the longest time. Sometimes that takes 45 minutes and a full glass of bourbon.

I got a 2 28" full comps and a 37" half skip to do one of the nights this week and they were ran in dirty wood so that will take a large bite to straighten out. I might have to pick up another bottle of sharpening fuel.

 

[SteveH]

I am anxious to see if anyone else shares my point of view.

Nope.

 

[Fish]

So far I am the only one with my perspective. I am anxious to see if anyone else shares my point of view.

Can you put up a pic of a chain that you are ready to part with?

The ruckus here is either you are cutting way too long on a chain that should have been touched up a long time ago, vs the camp that thinks that you are trashing a chain that is barely "dull", which is quite subjective.

If you said that you would touch up the slightly dull, but sell the rocked out ones, there wouldn't be any problem here, but to keep using a
mildly dull chain until it gets obvious that it is time to trash it, you have lost a lot of time/energy/money running that partially dull chain to get
to your "trash" point, and that is why these guys think your thinking is flawed.

You would be better served to learn how to touch up, and yes even sharpen up a rocked out chain, money wise...........