Damaged tooth(teeth)

[zinc oxide]

It is easy to get a jaundiced view of... Everything.

Sites like this restore some of my faith in humanity. The knowledge freely shared is beyond description, as well as the skills and efforts ....

Lurking (I think it's called) off and on here and everywhere else I could find in search of answers and information for all things wood over the years'. Did I mention the word incredible?

 Besides my screen name (long story), I was looking for opinion on "the best" chainsaw grinder for me. Looking back, it's been a few years of false starts and stops. The gentleman who has sharpened my chains exclusively for years has been suffering from health issues which are only getting worse. Wouldn't sell his equipment because his brother uses it. Perfectly understandable.

Long story short, I got the Maxx, primarily for the 'burr' logic which I am not even certain of but sounds good to my uneducated ear based on general sharpening skills (or lack thereof) that I have acquired over time, mostly before the days of the Internet.

 Of course, money is always tight, so I looked for the cheapest price for the maxx grinder. Sharpchain.com was $10 cheaper than eBay. I didn't want to beat up a lot of vendors as it relates to the technical aspects of the machine only to go with the low cost provider whom I could never receive an email response from. The phone number listed was disconnected when I tried to call the first time... And then a little old lady answered the last time. (All within the last 4 months)

 I finally contacted AMA garden, I believe that they are the importer/distributor, and spoke to a gentleman named Giuliano.

I was somewhat concerned that the maxx was slightly cheaper than the competitors nearly equal versions, which didn't have the ability to grind the chain the "right" way on both sides. He assured me that I would love the machine and the lower price was due to minimal advertising.. Only time will tell.  I would have probably bought the Oregon 620-120 ( even though it is produced by Tecomec as I understand) at the Paul Bunyan days this year as an impulse item but they did not even bring one to the show according to the representative I spoke to there.  That is when I ordered the Maxx, the mechanical clamping action not subject to hydraulic leaks being beneficial in my mind.  I was unwilling to spin up the motor on the others' as seen on the Internet to get bidirectional rotation, or install a switch to reverse the starting leads?  

I didn't open the box for a month and 1/2, it's not fair to open your Christmas presents early... Regardless of who bought them for whom.

The chain stop adjustment screw was severely bent and a chip had been taken out of the factory installed wheel. (This precipitated another flurry of emails and the final call where I talked to the little old lady)

Giuliano (spelling?) Came to the rescue once again with new parts.

As a brief aside, I would suggest to anyone that encounters the same problem to de-Mount the grinder and turn it upside down before  removing/replacing the large Phillips head screw. There is a little three sided recess that holds the nut captive. But not when it's right side up! I learned this AFTER the nut fell into the guts of the base. Comparatively easy to disassemble and fix, and everything else seems perfectly fine.

   Holy cow! Talk about long-winded!

My actual question if anyone has the time/inclination to answer:

Why is it necessary to file the shortest tooth first? I believe that I understand that the height lowers over time with sharpening, but grinding away perfectly good teeth to accommodate the one or two that were nicked by hidden barbwire?  it would seem that at the very least all the other teeth would be ground too heavily? may be just knock off any serious burrs and the then reset for minimal metal removal/equal tooth length?  How would one, two, or three relatively shorter cutters affect a firewood operation?  

I have barely learned how to read "machinist decimals", what kind of tolerances are acceptable for cutter length?

 I'll save my depth gauge concerns for a more concise, less long-winded post if I may... This is my first one.

Thank you.

[doc henderson]

the reason is so that all cutters end up being the same length, and therefor height.  the chain cuts more effectively if all the same.  to what degree is open for interpretation, but I have had chains when I first started sharpening, that put a curve on the end of a log, and did not pull well through the wood.  a 6 inch log is one thing, but if you are cutting a 30 inch hardwood, having everything just right, really makes your day better.  without damage, then all cutters will just need a touch.  I have had a single cutter that was heavily damaged and sharpened it more, and got away with it.  I keep a few well used chains for when I know I am being abusive due to foreign material in the wood.  welcome and good luck.  as you feel comfortable, you might complete you profile so we know from where you hail, and more info will help us help you.

[lxskllr]

I hand file my chains. If I only have one or two bad cutters(hit something), I take the average amount of strokes off the tooth, and just leave it dullish. Eventually, the rest of the teeth will catch up to it, and it'll be sharp again.

[Al_Smith]

Perfection is one thing and practicality is another .One or a couple of short cutters doesn't make that much difference .4 or 5  in a row does .Just file it and forget because it's not like you are filing a race chain to compete in the Stihl motor sports series . 8)--mumble grumble ---

[JohnW]

If I have a couple short cutters, I make sure the depth gauges are adjusted right.  I don't know why the log would care about short cutters if the depth gauges are right.  Maybe short cutters would be a little narrower.

[Al_Smith]

It's a big to do over basically nothing .It has about as much merit as running aviation gasoline or oil ratios of 50 to 1 .Means very little in the over all scheme of things other than provide talking points for those who like to think they are perfectionists .I've never been accused of that myself . ;)

[Air Lad]

I just enjoyed your whole description of the situation you are facing zinc
I agree with all the advise the blokes have given you here
Personally I am on the fence with.. do I cut them all to match the shortest ? or do I 
leave some longer and let the longer ones get worn down to eventually match 
the shorter ones? If you cut the longer ones down too hard to match shorter ones they get V hot and mabye loose some of their hardness. It's quite a bind ???

[Cruiser_79]

I usually leave the longer cutters long. And the damaged shorter ones just file a little by hand to recondition them. When they are damaged too much I try to grind them as little as possible. Don't know or this is really professional, but it works for me. Off course depends on the type of wood, in soft wood it won't be a problem I guess. When you cut all the long to the shortest you probably burn your chain and they will get dull sooner. But as said above, 5 ore more longer cutters at one side will make it noticeable probably.