How often do you file (sharpen) a chain

[sean donato]

I've only seen 0.025 gages - for the Oregon 72 chains I've been using. What does the lighter bite get you - faster chain speed?

I found my Oregon sharpener (w/ factory wheel) can overheat the chain's cutting edge leading to a chain that dulls more quickly than a factory sharp new chain that is touched up w/ a file. I've tried spraying w/ WD40 to cool the tooth before grinding and also after, it doesn't seem to make much difference. In another post, I asked if others have seen the same effect (from machine grinding) and got a chorus of 'file it by hand' or 'learn to sharpen it w/ a file'. I usually machine sharpen after half to a dozen file sharpenings (depends if I'm doing a lot of sawing).

You're taking too much off too quickly if you're burning cutters.

 

[Sidecarflip]

You're taking too much off too quickly if you're burning cutters.

Conversely, if the wheel is loaded with material from grinding, it will not grind efficiently and will cause the cutters to get hot to the point of actually getting too hard and brittle as they cool off. That especially holds true for vitreous wheels. Much like you have to do with a bench grinder. You have to dress the bench grinder wheels or they burn whatever you are attempting to grind.

Same applies to a surface grinder. In fact mine (surface grinder) has a built into the wheel head, a diamond sliding dresser I use to dress the wheels when I use it. If the wheel (vitreous) isn't kept clear of buildup from whatever I'm grinding, it too will overheat and discolor the workpiece and possibly alter the chemical makeup of that being dimensionally ground.

Of course it has flood coolant unlike a cutter grinder for saw chain.

Most people think that if you overheat a cutter on a chain loop, it becomes soft. The truth of the matter is it becomes harder, not softer as the teeth are high carbon steel and when you heat high carbon steel to the point of dull red, it becomes hardened and loses it's temper (becomes brittle) at the same time

 

[Chainsaw Pete]

I do pre clean ALL the chains in a heated ultrasonic cleaner with a Lye and water solution prior to grinding and after grinding, they go in a bucket of cheap motor oil for a soak and drain.

I've been thinking about this. Why lye? I soak my chain loops in straight Simple Green to clean them. What does not just fall off yields to a very quick pass with an old toothbrush or fingernail brush (whatever is at hand). If these were put into an u-sonic cleaner w/ simple green I'm sure the result would be the same as your lye solution - but it would be a lot safer and less toxic.

I admit I don't cut much in the way of evergreens with resinous sap - mostly oak, maple, cottonwood, etc.

I hit them with WD40 after the bath for storage, and oil them when I put them on the saw.

 

[Sidecarflip]

I've been thinking about this. Why lye? I soak my chain loops in straight Simple Green to clean them. What does not just fall off yields to a very quick pass with an old toothbrush or fingernail brush (whatever is at hand). If these were put into an u-sonic cleaner w/ simple green I'm sure the result would be the same as your lye solution - but it would be a lot safer and less toxic.

I admit I don't cut much in the way of evergreens with resinous sap - mostly oak, maple, cottonwood, etc.

I hit them with WD40 after the bath for storage, and oil them when I put them on the saw.

The lye and hot water solution on the ultrasonic cleaner removes ALL the swarf from the loops and cleans the drivers as well, no need for a tooth brush or anything else actually. The sware drops to the bottom of the cleaner tank, remember, the cleaner tank is being constantly agitated by the ultrasonic transducers that impart the vibrations in the solution itself). I certainly don't stand over the cleaner and breath in any fumes (if there is any because there isn't). I run the cleaner at about 120 degrees. I'm only cutting soft wood and hardwood as in no pine trees, aren't any on the property anyway. Of course that don't hold true for the loops I sharpen for my customers, they can have anything on the loops but the lye solution cleans them all, no issue. I leave them in the solution for about 10 minutes tops and I have a large ultrasonic cleaner (I believe it's a 4 gallon capacity).

When a loop starts getting dull, whatever 'pitch' I do get, starts building up on the heel of the cutters which tells me it's time to switch to a sharp loop. I always carry a spare loop with me, always.. How I tell a chain is getting dull, the teeth start building getting a buildup on the heel. I never push them simply because if I switch them out right away, I don't have to aggressively grind them, I just have to 'clean up the cutting edge' and the loops last a lot longer as I don't remove much in the way of cutter tooth metal.

In my situation, the bucket of cheap motor oil works well and I hang the loops above the bucket on a rod suspended above the bucket and let the excess oil drain off back into the bucket. Keep in mind that after the lye solution cooking, I do rinse them with clear water to remove and solution that may still be on them prior to sharpening.. Right after sharpening, they get the motor oil treatment as the cleaned loops will be prone to flash rusting because they have no oil on them at all and keep io mind I'm doing multiple loops at one time.

I've tried different solutions in the cleaner (Simple Green) included, but the lye solution works the best for me and it's cheap to boot. I buy the lye in a jar (it's in crystal form) and I only use a couple tablespoons on the cleaner.

Of course that rarely applies to customers loops because they always push them past the starting to get dull point and I get a number of really chewed up loops as well. but I want the all clean prior to grinding anyway. Clean loops don't foul the grinding wheels.

 

[sean donato]

Conversely, if the wheel is loaded with material from grinding, it will not grind efficiently and will cause the cutters to get hot to the point of actually getting too hard and brittle as they cool off. That especially holds true for vitreous wheels. Much like you have to do with a bench grinder. You have to dress the bench grinder wheels or they burn whatever you are attempting to grind.

Same applies to a surface grinder. In fact mine (surface grinder) has a built into the wheel head, a diamond sliding dresser I use to dress the wheels when I use it. If the wheel (vitreous) isn't kept clear of buildup from whatever I'm grinding, it too will overheat and discolor the workpiece and possibly alter the chemical makeup of that being dimensionally ground.

Of course it has flood coolant unlike a cutter grinder for saw chain.

Most people think that if you overheat a cutter on a chain loop, it becomes soft. The truth of the matter is it becomes harder, not softer as the teeth are high carbon steel and when you heat high carbon steel to the point of dull red, it becomes hardened and loses it's temper (becomes brittle) at the same time

Yes, I agree, improper use of equipment leads to unsatisfactory results. Dressing the wheels is something that needs done on a regular basis, something that few seem to actually do. Truthfully I'd go to a cbn or diamond stone on the grinder, but I don't do enough chains to justify the extra cost for how long the standard stone wheels last. Which is quite a long time when you get down to it.

 

[Hermio]

The lye and hot water solution on the ultrasonic cleaner removes ALL the swarf from the loops and cleans the drivers as well, no need for a tooth brush or anything else actually. The sware drops to the bottom of the cleaner tank, remember, the cleaner tank is being constantly agitated by the ultrasonic transducers that impart the vibrations in the solution itself). I certainly don't stand over the cleaner and breath in any fumes (if there is any because there isn't). I run the cleaner at about 120 degrees. I'm only cutting soft wood and hardwood as in no pine trees, aren't any on the property anyway. Of course that don't hold true for the loops I sharpen for my customers, they can have anything on the loops but the lye solution cleans them all, no issue. I leave them in the solution for about 10 minutes tops and I have a large ultrasonic cleaner (I believe it's a 4 gallon capacity).

When a loop starts getting dull, whatever 'pitch' I do get, starts building up on the heel of the cutters which tells me it's time to switch to a sharp loop. I always carry a spare loop with me, always.. How I tell a chain is getting dull, the teeth start building getting a buildup on the heel. I never push them simply because if I switch them out right away, I don't have to aggressively grind them, I just have to 'clean up the cutting edge' and the loops last a lot longer as I don't remove much in the way of cutter tooth metal.

In my situation, the bucket of cheap motor oil works well and I hang the loops above the bucket on a rod suspended above the bucket and let the excess oil drain off back into the bucket. Keep in mind that after the lye solution cooking, I do rinse them with clear water to remove and solution that may still be on them prior to sharpening.. Right after sharpening, they get the motor oil treatment as the cleaned loops will be prone to flash rusting because they have no oil on them at all and keep io mind I'm doing multiple loops at one time.

I've tried different solutions in the cleaner (Simple Green) included, but the lye solution works the best for me and it's cheap to boot. I buy the lye in a jar (it's in crystal form) and I only use a couple tablespoons on the cleaner.

Of course that rarely applies to customers loops because they always push them past the starting to get dull point and I get a number of really chewed up loops as well. but I want the all clean prior to grinding anyway. Clean loops don't foul the grinding wheels.

I am glad I rarely cut pine here in Ohio. I have never had any kind of resinous goo build up. So I have never had to clean the chain. I am still able to use chains with 75% of the tooth length filed off. I also don't have a rust problem, as I always run the saw at full throttle after I stop cutting for a few seconds to be sure the chain is well-coated with oil.