I've been teaching myself how to hand file and made a couple mistakes. Suffice to say the chain is grabby now and obviously needs to be corrected.
I've been using a different chain now and through touch ups I can see an improvement so now I want to fix the other one
The teeth need go be equalized, im not saying I don't want to sit here for hours with a micrometer and a 5x glass trying to get everything perfect, im just asking what my tolerance is.
Can't find this information anywhere. Same with tge drags, 0.025. Ok ±what though?
Does everyone just use a guide? Do you only balance pairs instead of the whole chain and if so what s the threshold for that?
Attached pica for reference, it's not fubar'd, just has an inconsistent jerky pull to it
Thanks in advance
"Grabby" is not only due to a depth gauge (raker) being too low, it can also be your round file is too low and the angle of the cutting edge on the tooth is too small (too sharp). About 1/5 of the file should be above the tooth. You can often fix a link that's grabby by raising the file 1/3 above the tooth and taking one full low-pressure swipe, which changes the cutting angle and makes the link "more mild."
0.025" below the cutter is the standard depth gauge (raker) distance on
new chain, except for really big-toothed chains on big powerheads where 0.030" is OEM. As the cutting tooth gets shorter the distance (gauge/raker depth) increases as to maintain the cutter angle, which also allows different length teeth on the same chain to cut consistently. I'll note it's called a "depth gauge" because it determines (gauges) the depth of cut the individual cutter behind it takes.
On chain meant to have 0.025" depth gauge (raker) depth,
0.030" "cuts noticeably faster," and puts "a little" more stress on the powerhead.
0.035" is the limit and will be grabby in certain wood, and can be tough on clutches and powerheads, depending on what you're cutting. DO NOT use for small stuff like brush cutting, it'll snag.
Variance: +/-0.002" on depth gauges (rakers) is what I shoot for to balance keeping chain vibration minimal with not spending all day sharpening a chain, and it's "pretty easy" to hit.
Note on recent Oregon chain: On some links the hardening is non-uniform, usually too hard and occasionally really soft (like they missed hardening it). If I had to guess I'd say it's probably due to an inconsistent steel mix (a common cost-cutting measure). Oregon (brand) recently switched to Chinese-grade steel
from what I hear, which is lower-grade (softer and less consistent) than AISI or ASTM spec. Note the chain is typically "pretty affordable" so I'm not knocking the brand. Anyway, on "affordable" chain you should be able to feel an unusually hard or soft link when hand filing and adjust how you're filing accordingly, IF you're paying attention (not
zoning out on YouTube or
smoking Mary Jane).
Regarding variance, if I set a 0.025" chain for 0.030" and am off by +/-0.002" that's almost the difference between the stock depth of 0.025" and the "fast cutting speed" of 0.030" given the depth gauges vary from:
0.030 +0.002 = 0.032"
0.030 -0.002 = 0.028"
0.032" - 0.028" = 0.004" variance, maybe 0.005" since the digital depth mic I use for chains only measures within 0.0005" (which is quite sufficient for measuring depth gauges as the
surface finish and especially
filing flatness won't be accurate to within one-half a thousandth of an inch).
For reference, the
average human hair is about 0.005", ranging from a naturally fat curly-hair at 0.009" to thin straight skinny flyaway hair at 0.002". (Note there are a lot of opinions on the thickness of human hair, most pure speculation without any evidence to back it up, and quite frankly some people aren't that smart when it comes to measuring stuff, even in the scientific community--if them thair "smart people" were that smart the "
no-spill gas can" wouldn't exist.)