Hand filing

[bump_r]

Thanks, guys. Until recently, I was one of those "change the chain when it dulls, have it sharpened at the shop before next weekend" kind of guys. I finally broke down and got one of those bar-mount file guides (mixed success, there...) and one of those file-mounted flat-steel guides. When I "lost" a chain, instead of changing it out, I gave each tooth just enough swipes to reveal fresh metal tooth-tip-to-gullet (normally two or three light, or one good one.)

MAN, I tell ya! You guys were right on the money. A light touch-up here and there will do wonders. My approach saved time, will definitely save money, extend service life of my chains, AND I actually cleaned up some poor contours from the last grind-job. Sure, I'll have to take 'em in (or figger that other thing out) to get my angle back up to snuff over time, but I'm just thrilled with my results so far. I'm thinking that a sharp chain with slightly off angles is a much, much better thing than a dull chain with correct angles.

So, I'd like to encourage my fellow weekend warriors to give it a shot - you may impress yourselves.

What really got my attention about this newfound capability was last weekend - my new wood cutting buddy had to stop after a few hours cutting to take his chains back to his shop and 511A them back into shape. Lost productivity, man. A lot of lost productivity. Me? I was back in "bidniss" in a few minutes. Cool, very cool.

Put me in the hand-file team!

 

[JUDGE1162]

I have both the bar mount guide and the little steel plate that husky sells for $5 and I agree the little stell plat is much easier and I tend to get a better sharpening job out of it compared to the bar mounted guide.

 

[Urbicide]

It sure is nice making chips instead of dust! Feel like a samurai with a saw after sharpening the chain. I use the Granberg guide and file from outside in.

 

[scottr]

File-mounted flat-steel guide

Bump_r , are you talking about the Oregon guide that clips on the file ?

 

[dustytools]

Could someone post a link that shows the steel plate file guide? Thanks.

 

[ciscoguy01]

Guide

Could someone post a link that shows the steel plate file guide? Thanks.

I use this one from Baileys, link below. Works awesome for me. I also do it by hand/eye, but I prefer the file-o-plate to by hand, seems to get a better edge that lasts longer. I've never had a single chain of mine sharpened in a shop and have always had good luck. But it's just like anything else, the more you practice, the better you'll get at it...

http://store.baileys-online.com/cgi-bin/baileys/1533?mv_session_id=qSRfx6JP&product_sku=65993

 

[Firewoodster]

Inside Out

I use the "Freehand" style with magnifying glasses and file from the inside out. I can get a really good file job with the glasses.
It depends on what type wood I'm cuttin' as to whether I fully file or just "dress up" the chain.

Jus my .02 cents..................

Two HUSKY 36's that are twins and lookin' for a 262XP in the mail tomorrow.

 

[bump_r]

Bump_r , are you talking about the Oregon guide that clips on the file ?

Could someone post a link that shows the steel plate file guide? Thanks.

"File Guide" just above the data dable...


http://www.stihl.us/chainsaws/acc_filing.html#guides

 

[AJLOGGER]

I bought a kit that someone had posted a link to on here. The kit was made by oregon and contained a file, two handles, file guide, and a depth gauge. I was like some who had only taken my chains to get them ground down at the shop. I had tried filing before but thought it sucked. However I was using the wrong size file and was not using proper technique. After I got the kit and picked up a few pointers on here I tried it again. Man! the first time I went to the woods and cut after filing, I was amazed. I was throwing BIG chips. Put me in the filing crowd.

 

[SawTroll]

I normally file freehand for touch up filing, but the combined Roller/Raker guide from Husky etc works great for more extensive filing - provided you have the right one.....

It adjusts the rakers to the individual tooth, unlike some other raker guides.

 

[ASEMASTER]

I normally file freehand for touch up filing, but the combined Roller/Raker guide from Husky etc works great for more extensive filing - provided you have the right one.....

I adjusts the rakers to the individual tooth, unlike some other raker guides.

right with you SawTroll jot lucky the other day and touched up the cs346 in the woods , i could only get curly fries out of the cross cuts
The more you practice on your own chains the better you will get if you go the wrong way stop and adjust your tech. I will stop and change the angle when I go from hard to soft wood it pays off. Also will ever so slightly touch up when I refill (before dumping gas into saw this lets it cool down a bit )it keeps the chain in good shape. if its in the wood cutting less chance of it cutting you as you try and force it with a dull chain. (seen signiture)

 

[Butch(OH)]

Thanks, guys. Until recently, I was one of those "change the chain when it dulls, have it sharpened at the shop before next weekend" kind of guys. I finally broke down and got one of those bar-mount file guides (mixed success, there...) and one of those file-mounted flat-steel guides. When I "lost" a chain, instead of changing it out, I gave each tooth just enough swipes to reveal fresh metal tooth-tip-to-gullet (normally two or three light, or one good one.)

MAN, I tell ya! You guys were right on the money. A light touch-up here and there will do wonders. My approach saved time, will definitely save money, extend service life of my chains, AND I actually cleaned up some poor contours from the last grind-job. Sure, I'll have to take 'em in (or figger that other thing out) to get my angle back up to snuff over time, but I'm just thrilled with my results so far. I'm thinking that a sharp chain with slightly off angles is a much, much better thing than a dull chain with correct angles.

So, I'd like to encourage my fellow weekend warriors to give it a shot - you may impress yourselves.

What really got my attention about this newfound capability was last weekend - my new wood cutting buddy had to stop after a few hours cutting to take his chains back to his shop and 511A them back into shape. Lost productivity, man. A lot of lost productivity. Me? I was back in "bidniss" in a few minutes. Cool, very cool.

Put me in the hand-file team!

Great!
Your are figuring things out nicely. I figured out years ago that it took about the same time to touch up with a file as it took to remove the bar, clean the mountings and replace chain. I have one spare chain for each saw we own.

More wood will get cut with a sharp chain that is off a degree or two than a half dull perfect angled machine cut job and you also save on bars for not running a dull chain half the time, win/win. Now gitya one of them .025 raker guage kits. Throwaway the kit file and replace with a good Nicholson flat file and get them raker's all the same height for some smooooooth cutting. The flat plate guide is all you realy need. Just pay attention to the refferance marks.

In the shop I leave the chain mounted and clamp the entire saw in the big vise. In the field a stump vise is much better than the tailgate of a truck.

A trick for the flat file guides that will help you cut more wood in a day is to lay the guide flat on the top of the tooth like the instructions say for harder wood. But for softer wood tip the front of the guide down to the raker. The guide will then be resting on the tip of the tooth and the top of the raker. This changes the angle enough to make a noticeable difference in speed in soft wood but makes the point is a little frail for hard wood, chisel type chain assumed.

 

[bump_r]

Great!
it took about the same time to touch up with a file as it took to remove the bar, clean the mountings and replace chain.

Yup - I'll have to take special care when I DO change chains to inspect the bar for burrs, sprocket(s) for wear and other stuff, since the B/C will stay on more now.

More wood will get cut with a sharp chain that is off a degree or two than a half dull perfect angled machine cut job

'ZACTLY!

you also save on bars for not running a dull chain half the time

Good point. Since I now have some degree of confidence, I don't see myself "hang on, let me finish this log THEN I'll change my chain" - which should, indeed, save on bar abuse.

win/win.

Agreed! I kick myself for waiting so long. Afraid of the black magic, I suppose.

Now gitya one of them .025 raker guage kits.

I got the gaige from Stihl, just need a good flat file - perhaps Bailey's has some such - I may as well get another batch of round files, too. And a hat.

Throwaway the kit file and replace with a good Nicholson flat file and get them raker's all the same height for some smooooooth cutting.

In the plan!

The flat plate guide is all you realy need. Just pay attention to the refferance marks.

So far, I'm happy. When I saw tha tI was actually CORRECTING the cutter profile, I knew I was on to something good. Seems I'm more discriminating about my cutter profile than whomever ground this chain last... Perhaps the "set and forget" aspect of machine grinding has taken hold of the grinder operator (which, for the record was NOT my ma and pa Stihl dealer, whom normally did my chains)

In the shop I leave the chain mounted and clamp the entire saw in the big vise. In the field a stump vise is much better than the tailgate of a truck.

Stump vise really worthwhile? Seemed a little gimmicky to me.

A trick for the flat file guides that will help you cut more wood in a day is to lay the guide flat on the top of the tooth like the instructions say for harder wood. But for softer wood tip the front of the guide down to the raker. The guide will then be resting on the tip of the tooth and the top of the raker. This changes the angle enough to make a noticeable difference in speed in soft wood but makes the point is a little frail for hard wood, chisel type chain assumed.

Resting the flat plate on the cutter AND the "raker" is how my instructions said to do it in the first place. It worked well cutting 22" diameter down-2-years-oak with my 18" bar on my friggin 290. A fully buried bar on a lowly 290 throwing chips like no tomorrow was immensely gratifying. That saw has not cut like that for some time (or else my expectations tanked after reading about the "shatty" 290 here and runnng the MS460 for awhile). Either way, it more than held it's own running side by side with a Rancher 55 with 20" 3/8 setup. (yeah, who needs a 036 to run a 55?!!)

 

[Canyon Angler]

I wrestled with my miserable Granberg File-n-Joint bar-mounted filing jig for the last time today. I can see using it if you have, say, six hours to sharpen a chain but I lose interest a lot faster than that! So, it's back to hand-filing for me.

Maybe one rainy day I'll make up a simple little jig to hold the 30° angle on the teeth out of a piece of high-density polyethylene...seems to me that's a far simpler way to go than that Granberg kludge. :censored: Then again, some people seem to like them...

Anybody want my Granberg File-n-Joint jig? If so, PM me...

Jeff

 

[HEAVY FUEL]

Jonsereds has a swedish roller type that comes with some of their file kits takes a while to figure it out if you haven't done it before leave the chain on the bar and this just slips over your cutter tooth they run around $12. Make sure you get the right size 3/8 or .325. Fits in your pocket and you can sharpen your chain in 5 min in the woods. I won't go back to using anything else.

 

[THALL10326]

I normally file freehand for touch up filing, but the combined Roller/Raker guide from Husky etc works great for more extensive filing - provided you have the right one.....

I adjusts the rakers to the individual tooth, unlike some other raker guides.

Listen at you, who you fooling, your wife sharpens your chains!! Heck I even seen her doing your 372 in a picture over on another thread. Shames on you Sawtroll, making the little lady do all the work while you snap pictures of her,:hmm3grin2orange: :hmm3grin2orange:

 

[timberrat]

file

i generally only hand file every other tank of fuel too maintain the cutter edge. then after quitin time i take the bar chain off the saw and do daily clean up. when i have the chain off i use a grinder and sharpen the chain up for the cuttin day.
i find the grinder also allows me to modifie chain angles to my own weird ideas.:hmm3grin2orange:

 

[Big Woody]

Heck I even seen her doing your 372 in a picture over on another thread

Sounds pretty desperate to me.:rockn:

 

[wdchuck]

University of Hand Filing, AS style

http://www.arboristsite.com/showthread.php?t=20869&highlight=hand+filing

A GREAT read.


.

 

[ozarkjeep]

IM learning this too, hand filing works well so far for me.

But more importantly.

point me to a link about that 715 in your avatar!!

come on!!!!

cool truck.

Thanks, guys. Until recently, I was one of those "change the chain when it dulls, have it sharpened at the shop before next weekend" kind of guys. I finally broke down and got one of those bar-mount file guides (mixed success, there...) and one of those file-mounted flat-steel guides. When I "lost" a chain, instead of changing it out, I gave each tooth just enough swipes to reveal fresh metal tooth-tip-to-gullet (normally two or three light, or one good one.)

MAN, I tell ya! You guys were right on the money. A light touch-up here and there will do wonders. My approach saved time, will definitely save money, extend service life of my chains, AND I actually cleaned up some poor contours from the last grind-job. Sure, I'll have to take 'em in (or figger that other thing out) to get my angle back up to snuff over time, but I'm just thrilled with my results so far. I'm thinking that a sharp chain with slightly off angles is a much, much better thing than a dull chain with correct angles.

So, I'd like to encourage my fellow weekend warriors to give it a shot - you may impress yourselves.

What really got my attention about this newfound capability was last weekend - my new wood cutting buddy had to stop after a few hours cutting to take his chains back to his shop and 511A them back into shape. Lost productivity, man. A lot of lost productivity. Me? I was back in "bidniss" in a few minutes. Cool, very cool.

Put me in the hand-file team!