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Sharpen saw chain

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Dick

11-02-2002 05:51:19




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How to determine chain type and what size file to use.
Thanks




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Nolan

11-06-2002 07:12:42




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 Re: Sharpen saw chain in reply to Dick, 11-02-2002 05:51:19  
I learned all kinds of stuff at the attached link. From how to read the numbers on the side of the chain to what different types of chains do, etc. Might be helpful for you to.



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farmered

11-02-2002 20:11:41




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 Re: Sharpen saw chain in reply to Dick, 11-02-2002 05:51:19  
Dick, I took a chain to a "shop" once to be sharpened. The first time I used it I had to stop to see if I had the chain on backwards. Since then I have filed them myself. I have a 12V rotary
grinder which does an accurate job but it is slower than hand filing and the stones don't last long. The best job is done with a wheel type grinder with a very fine grit. I have a neighbor who races chainsaws. He trues up his grinder wheel with a diamond dresser after every sharpening. His cutters are like razors and he can
cut a 12in pine log in 3 1/2 seconds with a stock engine. Ed

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buck

11-02-2002 09:15:23




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 Re: Sharpen saw chain in reply to Dick, 11-02-2002 05:51:19  

may moons ago there was an outfit out of the north west that sold all types of loogers equipment and they had tips it their catalogs. One of the tips was on Hotroddin your chain for max. performance and speed sawing. I no longer have the article and don't know where it would be avalable but the onepart that is still use is to sharpen the chain with the normal size file and then with the next size larger file give the chain one more pass with one file stroke per tooth.I still sharpen my own chains and it takes about 10 min on a 20"bar.

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VaTom

11-02-2002 09:56:13




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 Re: Re: Sharpen saw chain in reply to buck, 11-02-2002 09:15:23  
Dick,
you should also be getting a better sharpening than a grinder can do, at least with the stone most use, plus 4-6 times more sharpenings/chain than a grinder will. I'm a little faster than 10 min/20" bar but even that's a whole lot quicker than taking it off the saw and taking it somewhere for an inferior job with a too coarse stone.

The problem with Ludwig's method, other than the wheel grit and shortened chain life, is you never learn how to do it. Like any other skill, it takes practice. Something anybody can learn if they know what angle to go for and what the shavings should look like. I file mine so that the shavings are much longer than a new chain gives. Oregon would probably say it's too aggressive, but the cut is great.

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ferrell freeman

11-02-2002 08:52:03




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 Re: Sharpen saw chain in reply to Dick, 11-02-2002 05:51:19  
Saw files come in sizes from 5/32,3/16,13/64,7/32,1/4 the two most common sizes are
5/32 for most small saws 7/32 for larger saws



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Jim in UK

11-02-2002 07:17:10




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 Re: Sharpen saw chain in reply to Dick, 11-02-2002 05:51:19  
I don't recall the size of the file. But when you go to the hardware or parts store store (Walmart also sells them) they sell a "set" and it comes with the file that you need to use. This takes a while to sharpen, and can be done on the saw and on the spot. Taking the chain to the shop is a good idea to do. Be sure that you check around for a good place to take it to. We took a brand new 20 in. chain off of our Poulan to a shop, paid premium price for sharpening, and should have just left him the chain. I don't know what he did to it, but we ended up buying another chain (from a different place).

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Ludwig

11-02-2002 08:26:48




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 Re: Re: Sharpen saw chain in reply to Jim in UK, 11-02-2002 07:17:10  
Oh yeah, if you paid a premium price that was your first problem right there...
You need the guy who has a dirty little shop out behind his house. They're always the best. Unfortunately the guy I used to go to died. I need to find another guy...



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Ludwig

11-02-2002 06:13:13




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 Re: Sharpen saw chain in reply to Dick, 11-02-2002 05:51:19  
Sure, easy.
Find somebody with a little dingy shop that sharpens chainsaws. Give it to him for awhile, get it back and be amazed...
Seriously I've never had good luck sharpening chains, except that I'm right handed and my dad is left, so together we can get one pretty decent. However in the time it takes we're still better off to have taken it to somebody...



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Thomas Rodgers

11-05-2002 19:49:22




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 Re: Re: Sharpen saw chain in reply to Ludwig, 11-02-2002 06:13:13  
Ive found two type of chains, one common steel and another a harder steel. I sharpen mine so that when I site down the chain I can just barely NOT see the inside of the cutting blade due to the height of the guiding blade.If I can see the inside I have reduced the height of the guide blade so much that I will have a chain that grabs hardwood and is tough on the saw motor. If the guide hides the cutting blade more than that I have a chain that is not cutting as much as it can on a pass through the wood. As I recall I use a 30 degree angle on the cutting blade. A small flat mill file is as important to me as the round one that I use for the inside of the cutting blade. I use it for reducing the guide blade size. I get the angle from this rattail file holder that has the angles marked on it. The flat file has a guide also but is restrictive in that the guide height is set. If I want to get all I can out of a chain, I end up sighting down the chain or creating a flat file guide thinning it on a grinder as the chain gets used up.

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