A hand sharpened chain should be run thru a machine on a regular basis, its very easy to take one side of the cutters back more than the other side even if you count file strokes, once one side is shorter than the other, then it will start banana cutting and also start wearing the inside of the bar groove and also the drive links till the point the banana cutting cant be fixed, then its a new bar and chain.
skin1235,
Apr 26, 7:49am
all of that, my comment was aimed at the backyard pussy's, slam the hooks in and lean on it until the engine bogs down type, then rip chains to bits in regular fashion, in 45 years I've had one broken chain - and I still claim it was not from my use ( the saw had been used by another for a few days prior to me reclaiming it ) Yes a new chain will stretch as it settles into the rivets and link drillings - a brand new chain will need re-tensioning after only a few minutes of running/cutting, and again a few minutes later, but once settled will not need re-tensioning at all for the time it is on the bar - if the saw is being used properly I know of a few who will almost remove the depth guides the day they get the new chain - and those chains don't even last a fortnight, wonder why On a larger bar the rakes are there to alleviate bar lift and chatter, not a leverage pivot, using them as a leverage pivot and 'leaning' on them will overheat, overwork, a chain and cause stretch, doesn't actually speed up the cut nor make it an easier day for the operator
skin1235,
Apr 26, 8:12am
today you can buy an electric sharpener for $59, on here, can buy a 12V bar clamp sharpener for just over $100 ( have seen them used, and seen the bar turn blue too - cos they won't remove the chain from the bar and clean the oil ports in it - how thick can they get, the first tank of fuel and they add half a tank of oil, after that the ports are clogged and it uses less and less oil each tank of fuel, until eventually it stops using oil, and they still keep using the saw - the bar ends up with judder bars along the bottom edge, the chip is not chip, its fine dust, so they have another go at sharpening the chain, and lean harder on the rakes) cowboys, clowns, and pricks to work alongside they cannot pick a saw up without doing the whole orchestra act on the throttle, the bar is smoking before they get it into the wood, by 10 am they're 15 mts behind on the cut run and covered in crap, having a prick of a day ( and doing 5 times the work just to get left further behind )
smallwoods,
Apr 26, 8:25am
Lol, 3 or 4 chains just so you sharpen at home? I scrub cut and did sivi as a lad, carried one spare chain for breakage. Learn to file in the scrub, touch up after every tank (have a break) and maybe true the chain at night or back at the landrover.
skin1235,
Apr 26, 3:31pm
if you need to take a break you're not fit for the job son, I don't even carry lunch on my 10 hr of cutting days, plus I can change chains a lot faster than you can touch them up, I get paid for acres cut, not sunbathing for nothing lol
sharpening chains in the bush is non productive, carry a few spares and do that when you get back home, usually after the second beer and while the steaks are sizzling
maclad,
Apr 26, 4:09pm
Ha, ha, ha. LOL
maclad,
Apr 26, 4:11pm
Learning here. When you talk about rakers do you mean depth guides. How far below teeth should they be.
ianab,
Apr 26, 8:57pm
About .025" Ideal numbers depend on what you are cutting and the saws power. Softer wood and a bit more saw power means you can take the rakers down slightly more. But if you aim for that, the chain will cut OK in pretty much any scenario.
The rakers control how aggressively the cutters dig into the wood. Rakers too low means the teeth dive in to deep, and you keep bogging the saw. Rakers left too high means you end up just skimming dust out of the cut. Lots of heat and chain wear, not much cutting. 25 thou is in the "Goldilocks" range, not to hot, not too cold.
ianab,
Apr 26, 9:04pm
While that can happen, I've worn chains down to the witness marks at the back of the cutter, with only hand filing.
You do have to keep an eye on the cutters to make sure you aren't filing down one side more than the other. If you can see the difference, then you can correct it. If you can't see the difference, it wont matter.
I'm sort of ambidextrous, with hand tools, maybe that helps. If you are strictly right handed, you may have to pay more attention to the different sides.
mrcat1,
Apr 26, 9:53pm
The rakes skin was referring to are actually the bucking spikes on the front of the saw, some people call the depth guides rakers as well.
mrcat1,
Apr 26, 9:58pm
Anyone can file a chain right back to the guide marks, its the damage that can be done to the bar grooves and rails doing it that is the problem, you may be fine at hand filing, a lot aren't and they think they are saving money by hand filing when actually its costing them a new bar, and a lot don't know what they are doing as well.
cantabman1,
May 4, 5:01pm
Well folks, my blade arrived today with a huge surprise in the packing. They sent TWO instead of one; WAHOO. All fitted up and out there doing it today, no problems.
ianab,
May 4, 8:40pm
Great, but seriously get a simple sharpening kit. If you mess up one of your cheap chains, it's no big deal. But a simple file and guide will let you keep that chain razor sharp for 20+ sharpens. That's worth 20 chains, for a $5 file. The files wear out too and you have to buy a new one, but that $5 file saves you ~$400 of new chains or shop sharpens.
Not to mention the frustration of a saw that's not "quite" sharp.
cantabman1,
May 4, 9:08pm
I hear what you are saying, but if you read my earlier post, I have arthritis and doing that sort of thing is just out of the question now as my hands are very sore.
ianab,
May 4, 9:33pm
Still I'd look look for neighbour / relation that can use a file. A couple of spare chains and a pair of younger hands.
smallwoods,
May 5, 8:31pm
LOL, times have changed Granddad. We had those sort of blokes working beside us back then. Not fit, lol. Used to only lose running laps at rugby practice to 2 marathon runners. Hated running, never went to a gym back then.
How we ran our work schedule is now common practice in the forestry sector. 40 years ago, we would pay off a chainsaw in a week, even in 3 days when my brother started with us at Tolaga Bay.
Why work 10 hrs/day, isn't $150 for 6 hrs enough? (40 yrs ago)
10hrs with no break, hmm. I wonder why we have Work Safe now?
geoff_m,
May 5, 10:30pm
I have a couple of electric sharpeners. One is like a dremel tool with a depth and angle guide. The other is a cheaply like a small dropsaw. If you can’t hold a file then one of these might work for you, especially the dropsaw type. Try one and see
skin1235,
May 6, 3:53am
lol when I bought the 560ht (1380 acre) bush farm it was 'bush', every square metre of it, paid $5620 for it, and that was a high price for 'bush' in those days 3 years later, and a couple of good saws later, it was all grass except for southern faces Its on the market at the moment, actually on tender, there are 4 tenders in so far, closes 16th this month, none are under 1.8M, I have always worked sunup to sundown, even retired now I still work sunup to sundown, just not all paid work now, 10 hr days at work are winter hrs,
skin1235,
May 6, 4:05am
have to laugh too, spent a lot of sweat and time clearing that farm, turned it into a productive unit, its steep in places, has some nice high flats and valley floors too - has been running 1600 stock units easy care, and all the tenders so far are from 'Bee' crews, they want to replant Manuka on it 3 other blocks of smaller size in the same area have changed hands in the last 4 years for similar coin per ht
smallwoods,
May 6, 12:38pm
So all that effort for sweet bugger all. You get 1.8 in the bank and then what. The kids and grands will be happy.
I help/worked on a number of farms over the years. One in Ahu ahu valley, Wanganui was a break in block. Yep now in scrub with bee farmers. Same with the Nitschke's next door. Worked some long days, but can't say we ever didn't stop for lunch/smoko's.
skin1235,
May 6, 2:14pm
perhaps working on your own block, may have been motivation enough to get it finished as soon as possible,? ya think? Standing in the dark on the side of a hill waiting for the sunlight to get strong enough to see the stump in the morning, and finally quitting because its too dark to see the stump that night was my life for 3 years, that sweet bugga all managed to buy two other farms, and is still providing 65K plus per ann. ( edit) gross, nett is more like 21k The other two are dairy units, still producing, but far more than 100k ann nett to me not too bad bag of bugga all as far as I can see
smallwoods,
Nov 14, 6:16pm
Not knocking you for your work ethics. But work smarter, not harder. Not getting into a "mine is bigger than yours", by the way it is.
When it comes to sharp chains, sharpen them before they REALLY need it. Is easier to lightly sharpen a chain accurately, than to do heavy strokes. Seen a few cut themselves sharpening chains from heavy strokes. "Little and often" is the term.
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