RAKERS, what are they good for?????

[farmboss45]

I've been on this site for a while now, caught CAD, FAD, and a few other things I have to see a doctor for. I've chimed in on a thread or three, and started a few,but I still have a question. What are rakers on a chain for, do you grind em' down, file em' or leave them alone? I use a dremmel on my chains before going out to cut, usually to a semi, or full chisel, but don't do anything to my rakers, should I?:msp_confused:

 

[sgt7546]

Yes rackers need lowered as you sharpen the chain down. The many guys brighter with me will be along to tell ya exactly how much.

 

[KenJax Tree]

The height of the rakers determine how deep the tooth cuts into the wood so the lower the raker the deeper it cuts and if it cuts too deep it will rip the saw right out of your hands.

Every other sharpening use a depth gauge to see if the rakers need to be lowered just lay the gauge on the chain with the little slot over the rakers and anything sticking out is to be filed off then after its flush with the gauge move the gauge and round off the raker.

 

[joesmith]

I've been on this site for a while now, caught CAD, FAD, and a few other things I have to see a doctor for. I've chimed in on a thread or three, and started a few,but I still have a question. What are rakers on a chain for, do you grind em' down, file em' or leave them alone? I use a dremmel on my chains before going out to cut, usually to a semi, or full chisel, but don't do anything to my rakers, should I?:msp_confused:

Rakers help clean out the cut while you cut and they set the amout of wood taken out of the cut by their height...I hit em with two to three strokes every time I file.

 

[farmboss45]

The height of the rakers determine how deep the tooth cuts into the wood so the lower the raker the deeper it cuts and if it cuts too deep it will rip the saw right out of your hands.

Every other sharpening use a depth gauge to see if the rakers need to be lowered just lay the gauge on the chain with the little slot over the rakers and anything sticking out is to be filed off then after its flush with the gauge move the gauge and round off the raker.

Glad to see a fellow Michigander respond Ken, so what do you use to do this, just a flat file? Can I get this gauge at my local saw shop? Wow, I've been cutting for years and did not know this, just goes to show what a great tool this site is!

 

[KenJax Tree]

Glad to see a fellow Michigander respond Ken, so what do you use to do this, just a flat file? Can I get this gauge at my local saw shop? Wow, I've been cutting for years and did not know this, just goes to show what a great tool this site is!

Yup use a flat file. PM me your address and i will send you a depth gauge free i have a few

 

[Guido Salvage]

See the image below:

Note how the top of the tooth is angled and drops in height the farther back you go. If you fail to take down the rakers you are left with less and less of available tooth to remove material. No matter how sharp the chain is it will not cut if it can't get a "bite" in the wood. As others have said, taking them down too much allows the saw to grab and create a dangerous situation.

 

[farmboss45]

See the image below:

Note how the top of the tooth is angled and drops in height the farther back you go. If you fail to take down the rakers you are left with less and less of available tooth to remove material. No matter how sharp the chain is it will not cut if it can't get a "bite" in the wood. As others have said, taking them down too much allows the saw to grab and create a dangerous situation.

This answers a question I have wondered about as to why my saws do not seem to cut as fast as I think it should. You are another reason this site works, I someone cannot get a question answered here, it can't be answered. I looked around the site for a thread on this before asking, and could not find much, Thank-you!

 

[Gologit]

When you file your rakers it helps if you get them all the same height. It's not super critical but the more uniformity in the raker height the smoother your chain will cut.

 

[dl5205]

I've always "eyeballed" my "drags", as they're called locally. Been cutting a lot of dead, dry oak, elm, cherry, and hickory lately, and have left the rakers a little high on purpose.

This has caused me to doubt my eyeball, so I did some searching on this site, resulting in hours of re-reading some posts I had previously ignored.

Search for "FOP" first, and read BobL's (overthunk) thoughts on rakers, then just search "rakers", "file-o-plate", "depth gauge", "gaugit", "progressive", etc.

Enjoy a weeks worth of reading.

You're Welcome.

 

[pops21]

I've alwayse had good luck with the file-o-plate. But some seem to think they lower the raker a little more then they like. The file-o-plate can be found at baileys.com and some are on ebay also.

 

[ford832]

Aka,depth gauges-oddly enough:msp_smile: They say if you cut them down too much ,as some do,that the material in saw pants won't bind the chain up before it hacks into your leg.Hopefully,no one has tested this.

Btw,lower for softwood,higher for hardwood.Most gauges have this marked on them.

 

[BloodOnTheIce]

Rakers just slow down the chain real cutters grind em all off.

 

[deye223]

how many times do sharpen a chain before it stops cutting, i'd think about 5 or 6 times and it would stop
cutting all together or throw dust ?????

 

[Anthony_Va.]

Theres a fine line between too much and not enough. Just a couple strokes with a good, sharp file will take alot of metal off. If you don't have a gauge, just hit them about two good strokes and make a cut. If you need more, just go one stroke at a time. There's nothing worse than a grabby chain IMO, and it's rough on your clutch.

 

[procarbine2k1]

I thought the thread topic was a parody of "War" by Edwin Starr. In that case... "Rakers, what are they good for? Absolutely nothin." haha

 

[Philbert]

The term 'raker' is part of the problem. On older style cross-cut saws, straight cutters on the right and left side of the saw scored through the wood fibers, followed by sharp, flat teeth which 'raked' out the chips, like a chisel cleaning out a mortise.

On modern chains, the side edges on each cutter cut the wood fibers and the top edges do the raker job. The earliest versions were called 'chipper chain', because they chipped out the wood as they cut.

So these are really 'depth gauges' - not rakers. As a couple of guys noted, they control how deep the cutters dig. Just like on a hand plane: too high and a sharp cutter will slip across the wood without cutting. Too low and the cutter will dig in without really cutting. Only problem is that you can't adjust them like on a plane. Use a gauge tool; start with the recommended amount; take off a little more if the chain is not cutting aggressively enough. Find your sweet spot.

Philbert

 

[lambs]

Do a search on file a plate and progressive filing of depth gauges. A member named BobL did a lot of work on this for us a few years ago.

I've tried .025 up to .030 depth gauges, and find I am generally filing them down more than that. Nothing quite like a chain that will pull itself into the wood, on a saw that can handle it.

I use a digital angle finder and set the "drop" at around 6 degrees.........

 

[Uncle John]

Rakers just slow down the chain real cutters grind em all off.

So thats how you got your name.............................:msp_biggrin:


Just jokin. Don't get all poopy.

 

[whatscooking]

I have a short straight piece of metal that i set on top of two cutters and then take a .025 feeler guage to check where the depth guage needs to be. Started using a Dremal to get a uniform rounded look. There is a trick to everything we do but a good way of seeing what you are doing is the best thing i have found so go get a good pair of glasses or better yet get something hand held.