Hand filed over machine ground

[thecfarm]

Lumberjack I will have to try a 5/32 file.
drobertson,I sure would not call it seat of my pants. I can do a pretty good job at making that saw bite into the wood,even after I hit a rock with it. Lots of practice.  :  I know nothing of a gauge or using anything as a guide. Took me many chains and alot of time to get it right. I would have to re learn how to sharpen a chain all over again.  :D  I did a good  job but it would cut sideways. I took a log and kept sawing and kept filing and kept failing. I have no idea really how long it took, an hour or 2 but I got it.I stuck with it and can file a chain right sharp. I file down the rakers just by guess too. Sometimes I get it a little too much,but most times is just right. I watched my Father do it for years. I always mark the cutter so I know where I started. I have tried to tell others it is quite easy to do. Just have to sit down and do it. I do cheat on the rakers with an angle grinder as NWP.

[drobertson]

thanks guys, thought, well have been told I am kinda a dummy ;D  but the ole man showed me his technique, not a big deal, just follow the angle with a slightly down angle, just fuzz the carrier link keeping the gullet clean and smooth and that is it, works for me, now a rock can be a pain, and a grinder is nice for this, but a good file is sweet and pretty quick.  and the angle etchings now used on chains is pretty handy too.  I never quite got my 460 broke in before it was stolen, but this 362 is pretty handy. I mostly use it for butting off logs, and some nubbs and firewood, but have had many comments on the ease of cranking and the speed of cuts. It does seem to be a winter time saw more so than a summer time saw, but this could be the operator too.

[Slab Slicer]

I've always hand filed my chains. Kinda came natural once shown how. I use the standard Stihl set for whatever chain I'm sharpening. The only time they see a grinder is when I've nearly destroyed them on a piece of metal, or a hard hit on a rock. That's when I take them to the local dealer for sharpening. The last time I took some chains in, they had a deal where if you were having 3 chains sharpened, you get a new one for free. My wife picked them up for me, and I couldn't figure out why I had an extra chain in the bag. ;D

[drobertson]

Nice! that makes it worth it for sure, my dad bought one of the 30 buck harbor freight grinders, and as cheap as they are, not to shabby, I still like the good ole file, and a few strokes on the drags, and thats' about it.

[lumberjack48]

When it come to cutting rakers, a new chain out of the box, i'd give them one light stroke. After that i liked to hit the rakers once a day using a Carlton file-o-plate. It puts the right angle on the rakers and keeps the chain cutting a lot smother then filing by eye. Cutting them by eye works, i did it many yrs. When using the file-o-plate your cutters are all taking the same bite, making the chain much smother and faster.

:new_year:  To All You Gents, always stay safe ad be careful.

[drobertson]

I really need to start doing the rakers, I call them drags, don't know why, with a gage, I have filed so many things by sight and feel, I guess this is why, but I can appreciate a smooth running saw for sure.  thanks and happy new year too!   It is upon us now, snow, sleet, cold weather and a fire, kitchen making good smells and some good college football for entertainment. 

[Al_Smith]

Filing a chain is one of those things which everybody has their favorite method .It's whatever seems to work .

I know some prefer to start out with say a 7/32" then after it's about half worn back  switch to a 3/16" or maybe a 5/32" .Some file the drags every go -round and some maybe only three four times during the life of the chain .

I'm not so sure there is a right way or a wrong way as long as it's sharp and doesn't cut in a circle .

[Migal]

 ;) Im not telling my wife to send (Christmas) my new electric machine (saw chain sharpener) back to oregon Now if you want to I watch a file for the field a grinder for the shop on rainy days. By the way I'm very pleased with it watched several youtube posts and went with full chisel tooth angles as well. I run stihl chains.

[cuterz]

Filing a chain is one of those things which everybody has their favorite method .It's whatever seems to work .

I know some prefer to start out with say a 7/32" then after it's about half worn back  switch to a 3/16" or maybe a 5/32" .Some file the drags every go -round and some maybe only three four times during the life of the chain .

I'm not so sure there is a right way or a wrong way as long as it's sharp and doesn't cut in a circle .

Well said I couldn't agree more ;D

[lumberjack48]

I'm the kind of guy always looking for the fastest, easiest way to get something done with better results.

I'm not a guy with a favorite method, i was always looking for a better method, if it worked i'd do it that way.

In 1960 i had a round file in my dads drill sharping the saw, my dad just shook his head at me. It didn't work like a stone would have.
If i had a sawing contest coming up i'd sharpen with a new file. Then i'd take a old file and hone each cutter out, this made it razor sharp.

My father was a type a guy who didn't want to try something different. I have to tell boy is it hard to log with somebody like that. When we were peeling pulp, he had me using a spud to make the mark down the poplar trees to be able to get the peeling iron under the bark, i was 10 at the time. I told him why don't you use the chainsaw to make the mark down the tree. He wouldn't do it, not even try it, so i did if he left the saw setting. Then he'd say how did you finish that bunch of trees so quick. So i'd tell him while he was gone i used the saw to break the bark with in stead of the spud. After that he used the saw, then he told me he was paying me to use the spud, but he'd help me out. :D

[thecfarm]

Lumberjack,I logged with my Father too. He was the same way. He would not rick up the pulp with the tractor. He would get off the tractor and I would do it. He came from the old school. Pulp HAD to be 4 foot. We was cutting 8 foot,some long,some short. We marked the lenght on every log too.Probably the best time I remember we was into a bunch of scrub white pine,the ones that grow up about 6 feet and grow out 2-4 trunks. We had one of those right by the landing,only had one crotch on that one. The trucker saw it and said they will buy that for pallet pine. My Father just about called him a Big Dumber. I listened to him and while my Father was telling him no way will they buy that I jumped onto the tractor and brought it over and onto the truck it went. It was the only 8 footer on that load.All the way home and the next week that's all I heard about until he got the slips. He could not believe they took it AND they paid us for it. Just the way he said it made me laugh and still does. Have to remember he was very fussy with what he sold.That got my Dad going and we chased all them down and sent the crotches to the mill. They did get kinda upset with us when we sent 3 crotches out a few times. But one crotch was fine. These were big pine too. Most of these was over 3 feet easy and most would not go through the debarker,42 inches.They was paying high school kids to peel them.

[lumberjack48]

I've cut W Pine like that, if the first cut wasn't long enough for a 8' saw bolt it went in the pulpwood pile. Sometimes we'd peel-em, it was what ever we could sell at the time. I ran into a lot of them when we were logging by the 707 CCC Camp on the Third River Landing road. [ 1959 ]

Looking back now, i could have made some nice tables, already had the legs.

[thecfarm]

We got rid of alot of our big pine selling it for so called pallet grade. They would saw it and than saw all the defeats out of it and dove tail it for windows and door frame. There would be alot of clear wood is some of them logs,maybe only 6 feet long,but it would be clear. I tried to split some with my saw.  :  The paper would only take it 26 inches. I gave that up real fast. When we first started we was doing real good with pallet pine,money wise,seem like more than twice what pulp was bringing. Than they kept dropping the price and in about 3 years it was not much more than plup prices,but we was getting rid of it,without having to split it. We cut most of them down as quick as we could. As my Father said,you can sell good logs anytime.

[Bandmill Bandit]

I received my Timberline sharpener yesterday in the mail.Just finished a sharpening my saw wit hit but haven't tried to cut  with it yet. took a bit of fiddling to get it setup right but this was my first time too. I do like the way it sharpens and I was surprised that my tooth angles were so close to spec as I do my filling by hand most of the time.

I am thinking I will likely use a file in the field most of the time and use the timber line to tune up the saw when I have it at the shop. BUT I probably need to go do a bit of cutting with it before i say that.   

[Bandmill Bandit]

Filing a chain is one of those things which everybody has their favorite method .It's whatever seems to work .

I know some prefer to start out with say a 7/32" then after it's about half worn back  switch to a 3/16" or maybe a 5/32" .Some file the drags every go -round and some maybe only three four times during the life of the chain .

I'm not so sure there is a right way or a wrong way as long as it's sharp and doesn't cut in a circle .

Well said I couldn't agree more ;D

yes very well said AND I think your particular cutting environment, type of wood and other sundry conditions will have a significant affect on how you learn to sharpen your saw too