What degrees I should sharpen my chain.

[alsayyed]

I have tried to find the thread which was discussing about the degree of sharpening the chain. Yesterday I have tried to mill some wood using the chainsaw, I tried to slice one slab then suddenly the chain got dull immediately because it is hard wood I am milling. Know the question when it comes to sharpen the chain shall sharpen on 10 degrees or I sharpen according to what was sharpened before. I thing 050 x 38 was sharpened on 30 to 35 degrees. Need some help?

[Dan_Shade]

give 10^o a try, the 35^o is probably too much.  for softer wood, 0^o is supposed to work better.

[Nate Surveyor]

I used around 10°. But, on some wood 15° seemed to go faster. I really don't remember the kind of wood it was that 15° worked better on. It seems that the 15° helped the sideways cut, to clean out the kerf.

Don't forget to trim the rakers down. They control the size of bite a tooth takes.

Make sure that BOTH sides are trimmed evenly, and consistently.

I kind of played with it, and found a sweet spot for the kind of wood I was cutting. I kind of think the 15° went good with elm, from my memory, but I could be wrong.

I really like chain saw mills, except having to sharpen them, any time I hit a little dirt!

What is the BEST mill?

Dunno. But getting the one you have working at it's optimal performance is gratifying.

Just don't forget to tune the rakers.

Just from memory, if I used 15° the cut was not as smooth.

As an all around, I think 10° was about the best.

Nate

[alsayyed]

Thank you very much for your reply. I have purchased the chain from Baileys. I do not know what degree they are sharpened. I already sharpened this on 35 degrees yesterday. The question can I change and sharpen again using the 10 degrees. Beside you have talked about the rockers I normally tune the rockers after 5 times of sharping. I like the Stihl chain especially the .050 x 38 very good cuts smooth.

[Nate Surveyor]

Beside you have talked about the rockers I normally tune the rockers after 5 times of sharping.

Tune the rockers. OK, I call them rakers, but it is the same thing.

I feel that trimming down the rockers is a often neglected, but very important item, that often is overlooked.

I can take a nearly worn out chain, sharpen it, tune the rockers, and OUTCUT a brand new chain.

IF you cut them down too much, it will take too big of a bite per tooth, not enough, and it will cut slow, and you will have to PUSH it through the log. I like them tuned so that the saw PULLS itself through the log. But, kickback can be a little more aggressive.

If you know what you are doing, it really makes wood cutting more fun.

Nate

[rebocardo]

You will find using a top plate angle of 10 degrees vs 35 degrees will greatly reduce heat while cutting. Have not really thought about why, just that it does.

[beenthere]

.............. will greatly reduce heat while cutting. ......................

Heat where?  and how can one tell what the temp is? 
Or is it the 'heat' in the saw operator?

[DKinWA]

I was in a local saw shop yesterday picking up a few things and asked about used power heads for milling larger logs.  While we were looking at a used MS660, the discussion turned to chains.  Since I'm mostly looking to break down softwoods, they recommend using full comp chisel ground at 5 degrees.  It's a lot cheaper and he said other customers say it works pretty well if you grind the cutters carefully and keep them the same length.

[fuzzybear]

   For soft woods I have mine set at 0. The real trick is to keep them all the same length. You should use a micrometer but in a pinch you can use an adjustable wrench.
   The rakers all need to be set at the same height. for this you should use a depth gauge but you can also use feeler gauges and a ruler.
   I have used this method for years milling dense northern spruce. I have found that if you take the time to tune the chain properly it takes much less effort in milling. You have to remember that you are creating a large flexable saw blade. 
   Another thing I always stress is make sure and add and aux. oiler, and don't use cheep bar oil.  It really does extend the life of your chain and bar, along with making a back breaking job a tiny little bit easier.

[mudburn]

At what hook angle do you sharpen the chain? I'm still trying to nail down the best options for my 3120xp with 36" bar on my Procut.

Darryl

[leweee]

At what hook angle do you sharpen the chain? I'm still trying to nail down the best options for my 3120xp with 36" bar on my Procut.

Darryl

Wil Malloff recommends 55° in his book " Chainsaw Lumbermaking"

[Tom]

What direction is used for 0°?

[Dan_Shade]

I've always had a hard time figuring out how to check that the hook angle is correct while filing a chain, how do you guys do it?

[Tom]

I thought that "hook" was determined by the size of the file.  :-\

[leweee]

What direction is used for 0°?

Across the top plate.(or 90°to the sides of the Bar)

I thought that "hook" was determined by the size of the file.  Not sure about dat one..

The hook angle of the side plate is set by the angle of the Grinding wheel as it comes down to the tooth.

Hand filing is tough to get a consistent hook angle as the file "sinks" into the tooth.

[Dan_Shade]

it is, sorta, but it can be impacted by how high in the gullet you place the file.  

[beenthere]

I thought that "hook" was determined by the size of the file.  :-\

I agree, and how deep (or high, as Dan mentioned) on the tooth one files..stop before getting into the side straps of the connecting links..

There are good side profile pics shown on the chain sharpening tutorials that might help.

[Dan_Shade]

I don't think I ever quite mastered sharpening for ripping purposes.  I can do a pretty good job and get nice big chips with a crosscut chain, but i was never satisfied with the speed a chainsaw would cut while milling.

[rebocardo]

> Heat where?

The bar, I noticed the bar stays much cooler with a ripping chain when splitting firewood or making boards.