WHats your chain preference?? LGX LPX JGX for HARD maple & beech

[SawTroll]

It would be next to impossible to start off with a 5/32" file today on the new Oregon LPX/LGX and Stihl RS1 chains with their full agressive side plate angles.

But lumberjack 48 is correct, back in the day all chains we're rough factory ground and it took a lot of strokes with a 7/32" file to get them to cut properly. A 5/32" would fit real nice in those old factory grinds saving a lot of wasted time and cutter tooth.
I tried a 5/32 file on a LGX chain last spring and it cut pretty darn good, you just have to file the ledge back on the bottom of the gullet , just as you would when you file square ground chain with a chisel bit file.
Mind you my experiment was with a 20" b/c but I found it cut just as fast and easier to file then a 7/32".  Just don't put too much pressure as those 5/32" break in half easy.

Using files that really are too small is of course doable, if you know what you do, and why.
It obviously isn't advisable for newbees though, very far from so....

[ehp]

nothing is impossible , the 5/32 will give more hook and a thinner top plate so yes it will cut faster than a chain filed with 7/32 but your going to have to clean the glutes out . First time I ever saw a chain filed different was my Uncle and this is a long time ago, He filed his chain with a 3 sided flat file so the chain was not truely square filed but was a sure lot better than round filed . Its up to the guy running the saw and how you file your chain , any timber faller around here would never put a new chain on and go cutting unless they filed it first

[WV Mountaineer]

It would be next to impossible to start off with a 5/32" file today on the new Oregon LPX/LGX and Stihl RS1 chains with their full agressive side plate angles.

But lumberjack 48 is correct, back in the day all chains we're rough factory ground and it took a lot of strokes with a 7/32" file to get them to cut properly. A 5/32" would fit real nice in those old factory grinds saving a lot of wasted time and cutter tooth.
I tried a 5/32 file on a LGX chain last spring and it cut pretty darn good, you just have to file the ledge back on the bottom of the gullet , just as you would when you file square ground chain with a chisel bit file.
Mind you my experiment was with a 20" b/c but I found it cut just as fast and easier to file then a 7/32".  Just don't put too much pressure as those 5/32" break in half easy.

Thank you my friend.  This is the reason I joined this site. to learn from those that know because they do it.

Using files that really are too small is of course doable, if you know what you do, and why.
It obviously isn't advisable for newbees though, very far from so....

I have been filing chains for 30 years.  There is a reason the loggers that cut for me ask me to hit their chains when I'm on the job.  I can and do make a factory chain run dull in comparison.  Only problem is, with the bigger files, it requires a lot of initial filing to get the tooth under cut enough to achieve this.  It also makes the tip prone to chipping if the saw hits something besides wood.  But, it will flat out pull.  I was interested in seeing if the 5/32 would do that, without all the initial filing.  I still may try it for the giggles, with less expectations after being told by a professional it isn't practical.  But, I'll never know until I try it.   God Bless

[weimedog]

It would be next to impossible to start off with a 5/32" file today on the new Oregon LPX/LGX and Stihl RS1 chains with their full agressive side plate angles.

But lumberjack 48 is correct, back in the day all chains we're rough factory ground and it took a lot of strokes with a 7/32" file to get them to cut properly. A 5/32" would fit real nice in those old factory grinds saving a lot of wasted time and cutter tooth.
I tried a 5/32 file on a LGX chain last spring and it cut pretty darn good, you just have to file the ledge back on the bottom of the gullet , just as you would when you file square ground chain with a chisel bit file.
Mind you my experiment was with a 20" b/c but I found it cut just as fast and easier to file then a 7/32".  Just don't put too much pressure as those 5/32" break in half easy.

Thank you my friend.  This is the reason I joined this site. to learn from those that know because they do it.

Using files that really are too small is of course doable, if you know what you do, and why.
It obviously isn't advisable for newbees though, very far from so....

I have been filing chains for 30 years.  There is a reason the loggers that cut for me ask me to hit their chains when I'm on the job.  I can and do make a factory chain run dull in comparison.  Only problem is, with the bigger files, it requires a lot of initial filing to get the tooth under cut enough to achieve this.  It also makes the tip prone to chipping if the saw hits something besides wood.  But, it will flat out pull.  I was interested in seeing if the 5/32 would do that, without all the initial filing.  I still may try it for the giggles, with less expectations after being told by a professional it isn't practical.  But, I'll never know until I try it.   God Bless

Wish you could either post pics or a video of your results and opinions... I appreciate the spirit of adventure to try things out side the box of conventional wisdom....

[teakwood]

another thing , if your pretty good at round filing you should be able to square file , lots of people make it out like its hard and its not . I first started square filing back in the early 80's for my worksaws many because in the real cold winter weather cutting big hardwood you broke alot of chains , the chain drivers just donot like that weather and the frozen wood , square filed chain broke alot less cause it cuts so much smoother , The more timber I put on the ground the more money I made so it was pretty simple to me I had to learn how to square file , I had to order in the files as no one up there ever heard of square filing and I had to figure it out on my own but it was not hard

I round filing my chains for about 18 years now and i consider myself pretty good at it. Never hear of square filing, do you have some fotos of the files and chain of this technique? I am very interested in this

[Maine logger88]

nothing is impossible , the 5/32 will give more hook and a thinner top plate so yes it will cut faster than a chain filed with 7/32 but your going to have to clean the glutes out . First time I ever saw a chain filed different was my Uncle and this is a long time ago, He filed his chain with a 3 sided flat file so the chain was not truely square filed but was a sure lot better than round filed . Its up to the guy running the saw and how you file your chain , any timber faller around here would never put a new chain on and go cutting unless they filed it first

Yes I agree I haven't put a new chain and ran it without fileing for years they just don't cut very well out of the box. As to the original question I much prefer the LGX over the LPX For all species of wood that we have in maine

[lumberjack48]

  Just because a book says, this file is for this chain and this file is for that chain means nothing to a Gypo like me. I liked trying different methods and use the one that worked the best, fastest and easiest.
  I personally would have no trouble starting a 5/32 file on any chain. It takes a lot of muscle control to be able to hold the file where you want it until it gets started. The main thing is to have enough of the file above the cutter so you don't get to much hook. Holding it to much above the cutter you'll get a dray runner. A guy has to have a good eye and a feel for what your doing.
Using a 5/32 file will not give you more hook. You can make any size hook you want, by filing deeper for more hook or filing higher for less hook. No different then when using a 7/32 file. When running my rakers at 40 thou. [ which i did all the time ] using a 7/32 file the chain pulls hard slowing the chain speed. AND THE SAW GETS VERY DANGEROUS. The same chain filed with a 5/32 file, rakers at 40 thou, the chain speed is faster, its cuts smoother and not near as graby or jumpy. In softwood it did cut like a hot knife threw butter and not much different in hardwood. But guys to get it where i had mine, theres a lot of issues, bar length, rakers, hook in cutter, saw rpm and ect, i had both feet out of the box. There was one time when i was running a crew, i had 9 saws. The only saw that was set up like this was mine.

[WV Mountaineer]

Don't know about the pics as I have never tried.  The video is definitely OUT. ;D  Something is up with my browser interfacing with --Photos MUST be in the Forestry Forum gallery!!!!!--.  I'm a wood guy.  Not a computer guru.   :-[ But, I'll definitely give it a go sometime this week when I get my 372 back.  I'll just put one of my new chains on and see.  Still waiting on additional 385 chains to get here.  But, it will be this week. Which ever one gets here first.   At the very least, I can tell you about it.  Stay tuned and God Bless

[lumberjack48]

  This is a new Carlton chain i found on eb a few days ago



 

This is a Oregon i found for sale today, look close, the factory grind was not done for a 7/32 file.



  

  A 5/32 or a 3/16 file fits the factory grind on this chain. This is why the guys learning how to file, say, i can never get it to cut as good as it did new out of the box. The reason for this is, they have never been showed what the top plate and gullet of a sharp cutter looks like after being filed with a 7/32 file. It changes the whole appearance of the cutter, compared to what it looked like out of the box.

For the guys that haven't learned how to free hand yet, try this. Take a new 3/8 LGX, get yourself a file guide [pictured below] for a 325 chain, 3/16 file. Take a 3/8, LGX out of the box, give each cutter one stroke with the 3/16 file guide. Now take your raker file, make a very lite stroke on each raker. Now the back of the raker, the side facing the next cutter[ see the hump] file the hump at a 45 degree angle with out touching the top of the raker. It takes a couple strokes with a flat file. After a few sharpings with the 3/16 file the gullet will need cleaning out. I touched the gullet up every time i sharped, using the same file. Doing it this way the gulled on the cutters were always clean and open.
Give it a try, i promise it won't hurt. If it doesn't work your for you, no harm done.



 

For you firewood cutters or loggers with dirty landings sawing up can get to be a nightmare. I used Carbide impregnated chain. Theres noway a landing man can keep up when he has to sharpen up 4-5 times a drag. I sharpened it with the same files that i used on my other chain with no issues. Back in the day when i worked a muddy landing, i used up a chain everyday. It would have saved a lot of time if i would have know about a impregnated carbide chain.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/16-Carbide-coated-Impregnated-Custom-Made-Chainsaw-Chain-Any-pitch-and-gauge-/121685143790?hash=item1c54fff0ee

[John Mc]

This is a Oregon i found for sale today, look close, the factory grind was not done for a 7/32 file.



  

  A 5/32 or a 3/16 file fits the factory grind on this chain. This is why the guys learning how to file, say, i can never get it to cut as good as it did new out of the box. The reason for this is, they have never been showed what the top plate and gullet of a sharp cutter looks like after being filed with a 7/32 file. It changes the whole appearance of the cutter, compared to what it looked like out of the box.

It's not hard to beat the performance of a factory grind on a chain, even using the 7/32 file. It just takes a bit of practice.

Your photo of the Oregon chain nicely illustrates a pet peeve of mine. Several years ago, they started marketing it a "sharp right out of the box" or some similar catch phrase. All they had changed was that the teeth now have an exaggerated hook or beak on them. You can see it in the lower left of your Oregon photo. That beak just does make the chain more aggressive than their old grind geometry - but it also makes it more "grabby" (if you are bore cutting, that grabbiness makes it want to chatter or skip around in the bore - a real pain).  I've also found a number of recent Oregon chains have their rakers set significantly higher than spec (possibly in an attempt to make up for the grabby chain?)  In addition, that hook or beak does not seem to hold up as well as their old geometry, so while it might cut better out of th ebox than their old chain, I have to sharpen the chain sooner.

Once it has a couple of sharpenings on it, I like the way it cuts much better, and it holds up longer.

[HolmenTree]

I have a 100 ft roll of that  grabby  Oregon  72 LGX on my shelf and lumberjack48 has me thinking that he's  right those cutters are ground so a smaller file can fit in there nice.
I've been filing that same chain on my 562 XP with a 5mm file when the cutters are down to 1/2 or less. A 5mm is the size in between the 13/64 and 3/16".
 
BTW I did a muffler mod on my 562 recently and it seems to have helped cure the hot start issues. I drilled two 5/16" holes one on opposite sides of the outlet.  The spark arrestor screen still can be retained and it covers the 3 holes.

To do take the muffler off the saw, put muffler in bench vise, with vise grip pliers bend the outlet deflector cover up enough to get a drill bit in there. Drill the 2 holes ( holes will have to be drilled at a slight angle to clear the deflector so a 1/8" pilot hole started with center punch dimple will initially be needed), shake out what filings or metal pieces are heard inside. Finish with lots of high compressed air through exhaust port hole. Bend deflector cover back in original position with small hammer. Re install spark arrestor screen.
Saw is not  much louder then stock.

[WV Mountaineer]

My chains just got here today.  I'll try to give it a go tomorrow evening.  God Bless

[Al_Smith]

No doubt square will cut faster than round.It's just so much of a nuisance to file .

Of course being a flatlander in the hard woods I never really got the hang of it although I can do it.It takes me 5 minutes to file a 20" loop of round chisel .Add about a half hour for square .Then again most of it is standing dead and square really doesn't like that .

Oh BTW I found it amusing the comment that only 1% of loggers and less of others know how to file correctly .Wonder where that came from  :D

[HolmenTree]

Oh BTW I found it amusing the comment that only 1% of loggers and less of others know how to file correctly .Wonder where that came from  :D

Al, I thought that was amusing too, he never did reply to my questioning of his reasoning.
But from my experience fellas from Nova Scotia have a unique sense of humor  :D

[Al_Smith]

Aw geeze don't you know .Here a conversation arises with square chisel chain in the mix and danged if I didn't end up with a 36" loop of the stuff .--100 cc Mac PM 1000 .

I had ordered it off of flea bay on the cheap but didn't pay attention  to what I was buying .I'll deal with until it annoys me then out comes the file and it will be round when I'm through with it by George . ;)