Stihl FG2 Bench Mount Filing Guide

[parrisw]

Did you get any pics of that fancy contraption Will?

Just posted a new thread. Here it is.

http://www.arboristsite.com/chainsaw/208057.htm#post3835022

 

[Tzed250]

Wondered what Tzed was shooting with...
If all that gear on the flicker stream is his, I see why the file marks show up so nicely.
Shame that flicker kills the exif data,
would love to see what was used & the settings on some of those deep DOF shots in buildings, dam, bar and such.

Just finding a nice Manfrotto w/ball head on C'list was a budget push for me.
Damn Canon sx130 just won't get the shots, for me, that the sx120 did.

Actually I killed the Exif as my copyright info in the Exif has my address and such in it. Ask away and I would be glad to share gear, settings, etc. I shoot with a Nikon D2Xs and my go to lens is the 24-120 f/4VR. The close up work was done with a 60mm f/2.8D micro-Nikkor. Some of the shots in this thread were made with Kenko extension tubes to allow closer focusing.

Nice! That guide looks very nice.

I've been thinking a long time to make a simple set of jaws that go in my vise to clamp down the chain so I can freehand file chains, mainly square, this has givin me a kickstart, so tonight I made up the jaws, now just have to finish them off by bolting together and welding in a seat for the jaws to sit in the vise. I quickly tested it just holding it all together with the chain and it holds it very solid!! Better then doing it on the saw, it helps allot to have it held solid when square filing. I'll post it up when I'm done.

Having the tooth sit rock steady makes all the difference in the world !

 

[cmsmoke]

I have one and love it. I didn't find one for $50 though...nice find.
BTW...I sharpen my chains flat and I thought that was the way they are to be done. What are the benefits of the 10 degree incline?

 

[Tzed250]

I have one and love it. I didn't find one for $50 though...nice find.
BTW...I sharpen my chains flat and I thought that was the way they are to be done. What are the benefits of the 10 degree incline?

Oregon calls for 10, Stihl used to call for 10 but now call for 0. I like 10 because it makes a more acute top plate cutting angle.

 

[rullywowr]

Beautiful pics! Makes me want to find one myself.

 

[carhartt]

I have the Granberg file n joint. I would strongly reccomened to anyone that wants to save some money. It works great. I just throw the saw in the vise n clamp on bar or i have spare bars laying around and put it in vise and put chain on it and then clamp granberg on. Now this is a feature i love about the Granberg. When you are done filing to the left you just loosen and swivel around 180 with slight adjustment and your off and sharpening.
I also own the Stihl bench mounted filing guide. For the money I am not sure id say it is flawless. Mine has plenty of left to right slop in it to make me feel like it shouldnt have that much. (Does anyone know if Stihl will stand behind the quality or lack of quality of that problem?)The fact that I have to take the file out and flip it around after every left and right transfer still bothers me. I do feel the clamping feature is great. You do have more options to make the accurate chain exactly. I use the 3 sided file in mine to take rakers down. I think that is the part of sharpening I hate most and the most time consuming. I have been thinking of buying an electric just to do rakers. I do like the file sharpened tooth and see so many badly electric sharpened teeth come to me. Some have been gotten so hot the file wont even cut the metal tooth.
Id encourage the Stihl to the guy that can afford it and the Granbeg to the guy that cant. I feel any firewood cutter should have the Granberg.
Does anyone feel they sharpen better left to right or vice versa better? I am left handed and I fell I sharpen better left to right.

 

[parrisw]

Having the tooth sit rock steady makes all the difference in the world !

Yes sir it does!

 

[LegDeLimber]

Tzed250, I'll take Ya up on the camera gear info, just need to get past some migraine triggering stuff here and crawl through your acct again.

 

[Tzed250]

I like to share about photography, as well as saws!

 

[Joe Kidd]

I like to share about photography, as well as saws!

I still shoot a D2H with a compliment of AF-D lenses. SB400 & SB900. Nothing else like the D2xx pro bodies!

 

[Tzed250]

I still shoot a D2H with a compliment of AF-D lenses. SB400 & SB900. Nothing else like the D2xx pro bodies!

Yep, the D2's are great. They feel almost as good as an F5, which to me is the best feeling SLR ever made.

 

[Jess562xp]

Tzed, have you ever seen this file guide, or used it? LINK

It looks pretty good just from the pics and the price is'nt bad.

I was planning on buying that exact file guide as it says it holds flat files also. I'm skeptical but am willing to give it a shot before I break down and buy an ATOP file guide for square filing.

Unless somebody wants to sell a used ATOP I would gladly entertain that

Jesse

 

[cutforfun]

It will not file square tooth chains, the flat file is for doing the rakers

 

[Majorpayne]

After a long wait I finally obtained a tool that I have wanted for quite a while. What kept me from making this happen sooner was the near $200 price tag. Perserverence paid off and I scored one off of the bay for $50 LNIB. I have owned an older metal and plastic Stihl bar mount filing guide for many years, but I have been mostly disapointed with the results obtained from it. I have hand filed for years and I'm OK at it, but maintaining angles and lengths is tedious. I know a grinder will fix all of that, but they bring there own set of issues. I had hoped that the FG2 would be a solution. It is.

The instructions and setup are fairly straightforward. It took me just a short while to get the jig mounted and ready to file. For the first time I believe I can make chain that has sharpness as good or better than the factory edge. Stihl RS comes out of the package very sharp, and it is hard to improve on. Oregon Chisel chain less so. I have long believed that the reason that RS was difficult to copy the factory edge on was because of the toughness of the steel and the chrome thickness. The FG2 provides the needed stiffness to keep the file from chattering. A smooth cut will provide a keen edge. I now feel that after passing over the FG2 my chains are "blueprinted." It is easy to hold +/-.003" on the cutter length. With the clamp it is fairly quick to sharpen one side. To sharpen the other side the whole setup must be flopped, but after a few instances the becomes fiarly easy. This is no flimsy gadget. It is a precision piece of machinery that will produce excellent results with the propper technique. The one disappointment is that it will not adjust to allow square filing. I will probably make the required parts to make that happen. It would have been difficult to part with the $200 retail for this tool, but the results obtained come exremely close to justifying the price. My chains are happy!!!

The tool:


FG2 by zweitakt250, on Flickr

Consistent file indexing:


F1 by zweitakt250, on Flickr

Easy to read adjustments:


A1 by zweitakt250, on Flickr


A2 by zweitakt250, on Flickr

The result:


T1 by zweitakt250, on Flickr

Removing the file holder will allow you to use the clamping mechanism to hold the chain while square filing by hand:


SQ1 by zweitakt250, on Flickr


.

I ordered one today and some save edge files.

 

[tlandrum]

this filing jig was revamped by adam clarke to be able to use a double bevel square file. he is one hell of a good machinist and comes up with some really awsome stuff. i wish i was half as talented a machinist as he is.

View attachment 254126View attachment 254127View attachment 254128

 

[Tzed250]

Thank you for posting that Terry! Adam is one heck of a machinist, that's for sure!

 

[MS390]

What's the main differences between this set up and the old Granberg file-n-joint? 10 degree angle adjustment?
And of course you can file a chain that's NOT on the bar... Which is nice...

10 deg. yes it can,every click is 5 deg. Just cheked, mine came today

 

[Majorpayne]

10 deg. yes it can,every click is 5 deg. Just cheked, mine came today

I have one ordered. Do any files come with it?

 

[Joe Kidd]

No

 

[MS390]

I have one ordered. Do any files come with it?

No