Got my Granberg today!!!

[MOA]

:biggrinbounce2:
Got my granburg today!!! Now I can do my own chains! Any advice or special tricks to getting the sharpest, most life out of my chain? Also got 1 dozen Pferd 7/32 files. Any better for the money??? Good for Stihl RM Chain?

 

[Adkpk]

Might want to try moving this thread to the milling and sawmills for some better advise. In the meantime this will help you on chain advise.
http://www.arboristsite.com/showthread.php?t=42077

 

[CaseyForrest]

I think hes talking about a file guide.

Take your time...dont rush and dont use to much pressure or it will move on the bar and youll fudge up all your angles.

 

[Adkpk]

Sorry, thanks Casey.

 

[Canyon Angler]

:biggrinbounce2:
Any advice or special tricks to getting the sharpest, most life out of my chain?

Uhhhhh...throw it in the trash and go back to hand-filing?

Sorry, just kidding, but I bought a Granberg and hated it. Here's hoping you like yours better than I did mine! :biggrinbounce2:

 

[Urbicide]

Keep the round guide bar on the Granberg well lubricated. The guide bushings will wear prematurely if you don't. Loosen the file thumb screws and rotate the file in the guide about 1/3 of a turn so you are using the entire file surface to cut with. Do this periodically. Keep the chain tension tight while filing. Tighten the 2 side support brackets against each cutter as you file them. You don't want any movement of the cutter at all. I prefer to file from the outside of the cutter to the inside. This places the burr away from the cutting surface. Use a bench vise or stump vise to hold your saw while sharpening. Makes the job much easier. Clean the crap off of the cutters before you file them. This keeps the file from getting clogged up with goo. Do not slide the tooth against the cutter on the back stroke. You will dull the file quickly. Wear gloves or keep Band-Aids handy. A good light source is important so you can see what you are doing. Check your depth guages every couple of filings and lower as necessary. The guide will be a bit awkward the first couple of times you use it. It gets easier with repetition. Think of all the money you will save by sharpening your chains yourself. opcorn:

 

[wdchuck]

The chains will last longer too, if you keep them touched up right away, get more out of the files as well. I have found that keeping a little lube on the file helps as well, bottles of tapping/cutting fluid laying around, gotta use them up some how.

 

[MOA]

Thanks guys. Man, I didnt relieve how bad the shop did on my chain. I have some cutters that are WAY shorter that the others, and I just had it sharpened last week. Some of the cutters are trashed from rocks, but this is my saftey chain anyway, so I use it for the ditrty stuff. My RM is still sharp and I will take care of it.

 

[Jim Mesthene]

Watch the cutter length, don't rely on the "stop". It's a guide to good filing, not a guaranty.

 

[RaisedByWolves]

Keep the round guide bar on the Granberg well lubricated. The guide bushings will wear prematurely if you don't. Loosen the file thumb screws and rotate the file in the guide about 1/3 of a turn so you are using the entire file surface to cut with. Do this periodically. Keep the chain tension tight while filing. Tighten the 2 side support brackets against each cutter as you file them. You don't want any movement of the cutter at all. I prefer to file from the outside of the cutter to the inside. This places the burr away from the cutting surface. Use a bench vise or stump vise to hold your saw while sharpening. Makes the job much easier. Clean the crap off of the cutters before you file them. This keeps the file from getting clogged up with goo. Do not slide the tooth against the cutter on the back stroke. You will dull the file quickly. Wear gloves or keep Band-Aids handy. A good light source is important so you can see what you are doing. Check your depth guages every couple of filings and lower as necessary. The guide will be a bit awkward the first couple of times you use it. It gets easier with repetition. Think of all the money you will save by sharpening your chains yourself. opcorn:

Damn, not much more to be said but to add to jims post....


Count your strokes rather than relying on the stop.




Hey urb, how bout leaving something for the rest of us next time.

 

[IchWarriorMkII]

Enjoy your Granberg!

I bought mine as my first entry into the filing world... and I love it! I had previously botched some chans attempting to grind them... then took them to a local saw shop... had better luck with them cutting but still kind of pricey...

I've sharpened them to what I think is a better sharp than what the local saw shop could do, and with every sharpening I do it gets paid off and then some.

 

[bcmktg]

Consistency

Urb said it all extremely well.

The only thing I might add is to reinforce what has been said about the filing jig being a guide and not an absolute thing. My best results in filing chains has always been brought about by consistency. By that, I mean keep an even speed, pressure, and angle on the file and try your best to move the file across the cutter as straight as possible on each stroke. Like he said, tighten the clamp securely on the cutter each time, count the strokes, measure the cutter length, and try to file each cutter exactly the same whenever possible. Consistency is the key. Sometimes it's a tough job getting each cutter the same length on badly rocked out chains, but try your best. I have even used one of the flat surfaces of a small triangular file to take the cutters back to a uniform length to start with on severely rocked out chains and then vary the height of the round file to get the edge sharp. It will be slow going at first until you get accomplished at it, but eventually you will get fairly quick at it.

I also occasionally take the Granberg and shake it around in a gallon or so of naptha I got in the paint section at Home Depot. This removes any grit and filings that accumulate in the 3-in-1 oil I use on the slide bar and the naptha evaporates quickly.

Now go file some chains.

Al