Chainsaws

[jeepinmatt]

Do y'all not believe in files? I just touch mine up every couple runs, they do great. Lets me examine condition and gauge chain health.

I do file mine until the leading corner gets chewed away too much, then it's time for the grinder.

FWIW, 20+ of my 30ish chains needing sharpening are from Helene work, and when you're cutting trees literally in mud and rocks, you can go from fresh chain to trashed chain in about a half a second.

 

[ghost]

More pictures because who doesn't love pictures!

 

[WARRIORWELDING]

I do file mine until the leading corner gets chewed away too much, then it's time for the grinder.

FWIW, 20+ of my 30ish chains needing sharpening are from Helene work, and when you're cutting trees literally in mud and rocks, you can go from fresh chain to trashed chain in about a half a second.

What he said. Most nonprofessional folk bring em in way past file touch ups. When she cut a banana so hard a 16-24 inch bars binds a file isn't gonna fix it efficiently.

 

[jeepinmatt]

What he said. Most nonprofessional folk bring em in way past file touch ups. When she cut a banana so hard a 16-24 inch bars binds a file isn't gonna fix it efficiently.

Yep, and its almost always just one side, which would pain me even more to file away a sixteenth on the good side just so it cut straight and even.

 

[lbyota85]

Just watch some buckin’ Billy ray on YouTube. He’ll teach you how to hand file. Get the gullet!

I too just touch up every couple jobs. I clean dirt off logs and never let anyone borrow a good saw. I have a loaner I will lend out if necessary.
Oh and on the longer bars I run full skip too. It cuts down on file time some.

 

[shawn]

FWIW, 20+ of my 30ish chains needing sharpening are from Helene work, and when you're cutting trees literally in mud and rocks, you can go from fresh chain to trashed chain in about a half a second.

Similarly, I have a pile from doing dumb stuff like hacking on stumps or cutting dirty wood. They're fixable, but it would be a lot of time to figure out what's wrong with each one and spend enough time getting them cutting again. Or just throw a new chain on and get to it "one day"

 

[WARRIORWELDING]

Similarly, I have a pile from doing dumb stuff like hacking on stumps or cutting dirty wood. They're fixable, but it would be a lot of time to figure out what's wrong with each one and spend enough time getting them cutting again. Or just throw a new chain on and get to it "one day"

Right person and chain grinder is when they shine. I treat it like a machining job. Precision, equal angles, equal tooth lengths. When they get really bad hand files are darn tedious to accomplish what a machine with machined guides and limits set points. Grinder get the bad rap because of poor operators and cheap grinders of Chinese quality control. I have one chain I've probably ground numerous times and it's not close to half worn out. Take me longer then the hardware kid who sells verbal fertilizer, so it really why I asked about going rates.

Edit: short answer...doesn't take time to figure out what wrong. Just sharpen it right.

 

[jeepinmatt]

Grinder get the bad rap because of poor operators and cheap grinders of Chinese quality control.

This. Mine works great until I change angle, then I have to dial everything back in because it doesn't pivot on center. Which means i have to set up every chain twice. I got a "free" Oregon one with some broken parts a few weeks ago, so I plan to scavenge some parts off the China grinder and enjoy the benefits of the quality clamping and alignment system of the Oregon grinder. But all of this takes time. If I could find a guy who would think and work like me for $25 an hour, I'd go broke paying him to get things done for me.

 

[justjeepin86]

This. Mine works great until I change angle, then I have to dial everything back in because it doesn't pivot on center. Which means i have to set up every chain twice. I got a "free" Oregon one with some broken parts a few weeks ago, so I plan to scavenge some parts off the China grinder and enjoy the benefits of the quality clamping and alignment system of the Oregon grinder. But all of this takes time. If I could find a guy who would think and work like me for $25 an hour, I'd go broke paying him to get things done for me.

I have an oregon grinder that doesn't hold the chain well. I got it second hand, and it most likely needs some new parts.

 

[WARRIORWELDING]

This. Mine works great until I change angle, then I have to dial everything back in because it doesn't pivot on center. Which means i have to set up every chain twice. I got a "free" Oregon one with some broken parts a few weeks ago, so I plan to scavenge some parts off the China grinder and enjoy the benefits of the quality clamping and alignment system of the Oregon grinder. But all of this takes time. If I could find a guy who would think and work like me for $25 an hour, I'd go broke paying him to get things done for me.

Specs on mine

Really decent sharpening supply house. I want some of the grinding stuff they offer for knives and wood working chisels. I like sharp objects almost as much as sparky metal things.