Dif. Between Round frile & Chizels

[Preston]

Just wrondering some of your opions on both and there advantages! Me myself been in the prof. for awhile just curious about!

[Tillaway]

I prefer square ground with a very good grinder, I won't handfile square ground.  Too easy for me to mess it up. : ;D

[Rocky_J]

I prefer the chisel chain and I sharpen it with a round file. I've gotten pretty good at filing over the years but have never tried square filing. Heck, I never heard of square filing until I got my computer and read about it in the forums. I guess I'm afraid to try square filing because I've heard it is not easy to touch up in the field. I like being able to tickle the chain with the file whenever it starts to dull just a tiny bit. I guess I'd rather run a razor-sharp round filed chain than a semi-sharp square filed chain.

[Preston]

The way it was explained to me is round file chain is like a rip affect and chizel is like a knife cut affect! It is interesting the dif. in both and my father told me if I was going to start hand filing with a chizel bit file that I would learn with my left hand as well as my right hand and no if ans or buts about it! You are right Rocky it is very easy to mess up a chizel chain in a big hurry! It took me some time before I got it down! Now round file just learned how to file with it about 2 years ago and works great on dirty wood and easy to touch up! Anyways interesting subject I think and wanted some feedback!

[Rocky_J]

I'm confused by your post, Preston. Chisel chain can be (and usually is) round filed. You refer to round filing and chisel chain like they are opposites.  When you refer to 'chizel', do you mean 'square filed'? Chisel refers to the design of the tooth, not the type of file used to sharpen it.

[Rocky_J]

Or are you referring to the difference between chipper chain and chisel chain? Chisel chain has a hard corner and is shaped kinda like a '7' and chipper chain has a round profile sort of like a '?' question mark.

[incognitive]

Hey Brian, he said he was using a "chisel bit file", so that should mean square-filed.

Preston, look at the end of a cut log using the three types of cutters:  round-{filed,ground} semi-chisel, round-{filed,ground} chisel, and square-{filed,ground} chisel.

You'll note with the first that there are dished grooves from the round tooth-edge profile, with no "whiskers" evident.  With the second, it'll be a flatter surface, but there'll be "whiskers".  With the last, it'll be relatively flat and whisker-free.

The round-filed chisel tooth is like a "rip effect" (hence the "whiskers") since the working corner of the tooth (relatively) greatly leads the way with the top plate lifting fiber before it's been severed along the end grain.

With the square-filed chisel tooth, the end-grains get cut in time to freely lift with the top plate (unless there's too much lead [vertical] angle on the side plate).

Is that what you're talking about?

I've picked up a good chisel bit file but haven't started using it yet.  I'm confident I can do it well enough but have a hunch that doing it on a bench in a good chain vice would be much more sure and productive than doing it with the chain on the saw.  It's pretty much a mindless thing to field-file a chain on the saw with a round file so I haven't felt the need to try the chisel bit yet.

But thanks for reminding me...

[beenthere]

Interesting thread here, and I am 'trying' to follow it. In time, I may get it.  

While poking around for chisel chain filing, I came across this slide show (by Stihl, so a bit slanted) that has some very good pics of procedures and filing round and chisel chain. In general, good information of chain saw maintenance and procedures.

http://www.cdcstihl.net/stihlpost/spring2001/chain/sld001.htm

May be helpful to some and just interesting to others.

[Preston]

Interesting link beenthere! Yes I was refering to the square chisel verses the round chisel! I guess I got a few things confused here!! I guess I explain it on how I have heard it on the job and never really learned the right names for them! But very interesting in what everone has to say about it and love to hear the feedback!!

[incognitive]

Preston,

The consensus is that by going from a semi-chisel profile to a chisel profile, both round ground, you'll get 15% faster cutting.  Then from round ground to square ground chisel profile, you'll pick up another 15%.

[Preston]

Thank You incognitive
Very interesting when it comes to figures!