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Filing tips

Started by blue_eyed_devil, September 14, 2003, 10:02:33 PM

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blue_eyed_devil

Sorry about the trivial questions  but ......., I've got the EM file guides that come in the Husqvarna filing kit. My skills seem to have improved but I'm wondering if there is a certain brand of file I should try, that will last longest. I bought one today at HomeHardware (Benchmark 5/32) which is swiss made.Also have a Nicholson.
How many sharpenings should I expect out of one file.
Will a chainsaw file get plugged with filings if they are not wire brushed??
262 xp,395 xp,built my own chainsaw mill

IndyIan

You may have already noticed this but you can rotate the guide around the round file to use all of it.  Also don't drag the file back on the chain on your back stroke.  

As for files, I can't say I've used anything other than oregon and they seem to hold up ok for me.  I saw some round files at home depot that seemed to be really coarse, like twice as coarse as the oregon ones.  Finer files leave a better edge on the cutters and which helps them cut more efficiently and stay sharp longer.

Ian


burlman

store your files seperatly if you are carting them around in your tool box. when they bang around into each other they seem to wearout pretty quick. Us chipchewers who are filing steady day in and out usually don't use a file guide, so were more apt to use all the sides of the file more evenly. Yes they must be cleaned frequently, you are getting filings and chain oil residue mixing together. I usually give it a quick wipe on my sleeve after each tooth is complete. I also like to buy my files by the dozen, it is cheaper, and then I'm not trying my patience using a file that has passed it's life span, pitch it and enjoy a new one...burlman...

Oregon_Rob

Under the premise of general filing tips. (Seems obvious, but for a long time I never thought about this one)
One of the things that improved my filing the most was putting the saw in a good, solid, bench vise. I used to wrestle around with the saw, but once I clamped the bar in nice and tight, at a good height, I got a whole lot better. The stump vise is good for the field, but at home, only the bench vise will do.
Chainsaw Nerd

Gus

Pferd files is the best I've ever used. Baily's carries them buy the dozen or singles I believe.
Gus
"How do I know what I think unless I have seen what I say?"

Captain

This comment is probably obvious, but I did not learn it when I was younger.

Saw chain is chrome plated on the top, and the plating is very hard.  When filing, file TOWARD the tip, from the "inside" of the cutter.  Also, as mentioned already, do not drag the file back.  If you file "backwards", the file will not last one trip around the chain without being noteably dull.

Invest in a good depth guage guide and flat file to keep those depth guages at .025 as you file away the tooth.

Captain

blue_eyed_devil

Thanks to all, .....great advice!
262 xp,395 xp,built my own chainsaw mill

Slofr8

I havn't cut profesonaly for a dozen years but I still like Pferd files.  I slide it into a piece of rubber gas line to keep it from rubbing on other tools when not in use.  
Get that file down into that tooth so the top of the tooth is sticking out over the groove. WAY out.  When I started cutting over 20 years  ago I had an old Canadian logger watch me file and said I should learn to file with  both hands.  Right hand for one side, left hand for the other.  I took the time to make this feel comfortable for me and have to say it makes a difference.  Even if He and I are the only ones I've seen do this!  :D
Good luck. Dan.

Kevin

Dan;
I'm not sure I agree with your filing method.  :D
Are you saying ... keep the file below the top plate?


Slofr8

Hi Kevin,
rereading my post it looks like I ment that but,no.
What I do is first is apply light pressure right on the cutting edge, letting the file ride high on the tooth untill I see the angle and shape I want, maybe 3 or 4 strokes depending on the condition.  Then I focus the presure down into the tooth, getting that "hook".  When I see a thin, paper like piece forming on the cutting edge I know that's as sharp as this puppy is going to get. I don't know exact angles or any thing but I know what works for me on the type of wood I cut.  
That old Canadian I mentioned had a reputation in camp as being a great filer.  He knew how to minamize (sp?) effort to maxamize production.
I don't think I do it any different than anyone that does it every day.  It becomes second nature and the tooth just seems to end up looking right.
What I usually notice when I see somebodys chain that has not done a lot of fileing  is a tooth that slopes back from bottom to top with very little "hook".  Thats what I ment about getting the file down into the tooth. Take care. Dan.

ohsoloco

Okay, why start a new thread when I have a filing question as well.  Today I filed my chain with the file guide set to the manufacturer's specs...the biggest change was setting the angle of the file from "level" to ten degrees.  Now when I run the file across the tooth, the file also puts a little groove in the link...I'm a little concered about this, whuddaya think  ???

Kevin


Slofr8

 I never use a guide but when I get down to, say, the last 1/2 or 1/3 of the chain I seem to get into the link as well. Never enough to cause the link to brake but in order to keep the angles I like, this always happens.
Take care. Dan.

Kevin

Dan, you might consider stepping down one size in files as you near the back of the cutters.

ohsoloco

Well, I'm not at home, so I have limited information about the guide.  The name on the side of the guide says "File 'n Joint", it was a guide my father had, and I ran across it a few years ago in the shop.  It looks to be all aluminum, and it clamps onto the bar and allows you to adjust the angle of the file in two planes.  The file clamps in, and is guided by a rod on top of the guide.  Not sure if this is enough info.  :-/

Oregon_Rob

ohsoloco
I have run into the same thing and I just file pretty much close to 0° and have not seen a problem in the way the chain cuts. I would be interested to hear from others.

Rob
Chainsaw Nerd

Kevin

That's enough.
Could it be that you might need to raise it on the bar a bit?
I have had that happen as well and it's no big deal as long as you don't gouge the links too much.
One thing I did when I first bought mine was sharpen one side then take it off the bar, turn it and do the other side.
Then one day it dawned on me ... why are you taking it off the bar when it pivots!  :-/
I use a small stick with a pen mark on it so I can measure up from the bottom of the bar to the guide then check both ends of the guide with the stick.
It goes on the same every time and it takes some guess work out of mounting it to the bar.

Rob,
LG and some others require 10o side plate hook.

ohsoloco

Kevin, I would do the same thing with the guide...just realized I can pivot the file the other day  :D

I'll have to play around with it and see if I can get it to miss the link.  It has a screw to move the file up and down, so I always adjust it so it just "tucks into" the tooth. How crucial is this ten degrees?  I'm using some stihl chain right now, but the new ones I have are husky 73L-something (not home right now)....it's low vibration chain.  


Minnesota_boy

I wouldn't worry too much about filing a bit into that side link.  As you look at the link, where you file into it there is a fair amount of meat compared to around the rivet at the end of each link.  I've had them break at the rivet but not where I filed into them.
I eat a high-fiber diet.  Lots of sawdust!

blue_eyed_devil

Slofr8
I was at a log builders gathering this past weekend.I noticed atleast of of the guys participating in the notching competion files his chain the way you describe.A deeper gullet than normal.And he did have a thin edge that had to be removed. He said that it does cut a little more aggresively this way.
262 xp,395 xp,built my own chainsaw mill

Kevin

Side plate hook is important for controlling the bite of the tooth in the wood.
Like the raker settings, it's important to match the manufacturers recommendations.
Change the angle and you either aren't cutting or you could be creating a chain that's dangerous and too aggressive.

The top of the file should sit just above the top plate for proper depth...


Kevin


Corley5

I much prefer sharpening a chain with the saw clamped in a vice.  I've been using Timber Savage files for years I buy them by the dozen and they work fine.  To keep my angles etc. correct and the same on both sides I use a Carlton File-O-Plate.  Not only does it keep angles the same it keeps you from filing too deep into the link and creating too much hook.  I was having problems one winter cutting frozen maple with the chain being  "grabby".  The problem was I had too much hook filed in the teeth.  I could cut basswood like nothing but get into a frozen sugar maple especially falling, bucking and limbing wasn't so bad, and the chain would grab and catch and jerk.  Not good.  My saw dealer gave me one of the filing plates and it solved my problem.  I've used one ever since.  I may not use it every time I file.  If the chain just needs to be touched up I don't bother with the plate and will use it about every third time in these instances.  If I've hit something and the chain requires a lot of work I automatically grab it.
Burnt Gunpowder is the Smell Of Freedom

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