Chainsaw : Saw sharpening

[John HinkleyParticipant @johnhinkley26699]

MichaelG,

As you state that your saw will see little service, this will probably be of no use to you now, but I mention it for the edification of others.

When I lived in rural France, we used a lot of logs, so I made good use of my Stihl chainsaw.  I had a couple of chains, one of which was kept as a spare at all times.  There is a company in France called “Outiror” which, as well as supplying goods by mail order and on the Internet, had a fleet of large lorries which toured the country and parked in various town car parks, usually once a month or so, where you could purchase anything from their extensive catalogue.  Among the items I bought from said camion was a chainsaw sharpener like this:

 

Bench-mounted and mains powered, it made short work of sharpening the teeth to a precise depth and angle.  I would thoroughly recommend it for the lazy weak among us.  There is an example available on “the marketplace that shall not be named” for less than £30.

John

 

[mark costello 1Participant @markcostello1]

I have used a Dremel for probably around 30 years. Life is too short to use a file. I can probably sharpen a chain in around 5 minutes. A chain usually lasts 4-5 years. I have totally wore out 5 saws to where they could not be repaired anymore. Your filed edge is nowhere as sharp as a ground edge. A quick touch up removes very little, done around every 7-8 tanks of gas. I flip the bar around every now and then and usually wear out 1-2 bars per saw. We use only wood for heat. Not belittling Anyone’s method, just different courses for horses. As an aside I bought the Wife a small electric chain saw last Year and She loves it and thinks She is up there with the big boys.

[DalboyParticipant @dalboy]

A lot has already been mentioned.

A little guide use to be supplied with every new chainsaw this gives a gude to angle of tooth sharpening as well as the height of the leading depth guide to the teeth.

The little hok shape on the tool I just linked to is for cleaning out the chain slot on the bar this prevents the chain riding out due to build up. Sometiles you will need to run a file along the outer edge as a burr can be produced along ththe edges and yes it will give a nasty cut if you are to run any part of the hand  against it

it pays to turn the bar every so often so that it wears the botton edge evenly, the bars are designed to do this every time you use it it pays to make ssure all the oil holes on the bar are cleared out and the oil is reaching the chain also don’t forget the little roller guide assembly at the tip is freely rotating.

Never let the chain become too blunt as it will take a long time to file back to decent tooth profile.

All the stihl chainsaws I have worked on the normal thing is to fill both the fuel and oil at the same time as the oil is designed so that when the fuel tank is empty there is a little lubricating oil left that way the bar should never be short of lubrication.

When adjusting the chain hold the end of the bar andd lift u before adjusting and tightening up. Then check the  chain is not too tight or loose follow this with a short run on full throttle for a fewsecond turn off and double check the tension if needed re adjust but not too tight as the chain will be warm to the touch and expands due to heat

I brought a small electric chain sharpener for mine this involves removing the chain to sharpen it. Something like THIS

I spent over 25 years servicing and sharpening chainsaws so have seen some very nasty looking chains and bars through neglect

[Grindstone CowboyParticipant @grindstonecowboy]

A friend who uses his chainsaw a lot has an electric sharpener from either Lidl or Aldi – I guess they come up every now and then.

This Old Tony recently did a video about sharpening chainsaws also, may be worth a look?

Rob

[Michael Gilligan]

On Michael Gilligan Said

Edit: __ searching on Google, there is a surprisingly wide range of prices for the items you alone recommended [and all are high] … I will see what my local store is charging.

Here is an £11 one. It’s a good price. Ask Charlies if they can match it.

[Michael GilliganParticipant @michaelgilligan61133]

Thanks, Bill

… and it’s good-night from me

MichaelG.

[Kiwi BlokeParticipant @kiwibloke62605]

Late to the party, I’m afraid, because of time zones. However, since more-or-less everything has been said already, I’m spared the chore of writing a treatise on chain sharpening… so, just to dot the ‘Is” and cross the ‘Ts”, and to emphasise some points…

There are folk who claim to be able to sharpen twist drills perfectly well by hand. Perhaps they can also do chainsaws, but ordinary mortals need help and guides.

Bill Phinn’s link (post #705653) to Stihl’s kit is exactly what you need. His earlier link (post #705608) is to a strange plastic and metal Stihl gizmo which, in my opinion, is near hopeless. My neighbour has one, and can’t use it; neither can I, so I end up sharpening his saw… I run four chainsaws here, from a pole pruner with a picco chain to a 72 cc MS381, the latter to deal with hefty eucalyptus trees, with up to 36″ diameter butts. The all-metal sharpening kits really work, and de-skill the sharpening process. The plastic and metal ‘gizmo’ takes too much metal off the depth gauges, and it’s difficult to see what you’re doing. Sharpen little and often – typically every three tanks-fulls (for abrasive eucalyptus, softwoods will be easier on the chain). I find that the (Vallorbe) files don’t last very long – the saw teeth are hard enough to snap. The all-metal guide allows you rotate the file to even out wear.

Oil reaches the chain through a very small hole in the side of the bar. There is no proper sealing, and oil can leak between bar and saw body quite easily. Make sure mating surfaces are clean! If the saw produces dust, it will find its way into the oil hole and block it, particularly if the chain is slack. As has been said, look for oil being flung off the end of the chain. If no oil, stop and fix it!

A sharp chain will run cooler than a blunt one, and collect less resin. Your pic suggests the chain has got pretty hot.

If the saw produces dust, it’s blunt! I can’t tell by feel or vision whether a chain is really sharp or not, but you’ll soon find out! It can be a challenge to sharpen each hand of teeth consistently, unless you’re comfortably ambidextrous. If wrong, the saw will cut a curved kerf. In the field, a chainsaw vice is more-or-less essential. You hammer them into a log, and can have a rest, sitting astride the log, bar pointing away from you, whilst sharpening.

Hope this helps.

[Michael GilliganParticipant @michaelgilligan61133]

It helps a lot … Thank You

… and thanks again to all the other advisors !

At least in this aspect, the forum is working as it should.

MichaelG.

[FulmenParticipant @fulmen]

As Dalboy says, if you’re using a tank of oil to a tank of gas you’re good. Just make sure it gets to the chain and not just drip onto your shoes.

[noel shelleyParticipant @noelshelley55608]

I FIND IT HARD TO BELIEVE ! Where are the pedants and health and safety brigade ? 30 odd posts and nobody has mentioned H&S or queried why such a lethal device is sold to untrained members of the public ! Any body who has read this set of posts is now fully trained and can go out and tackle the mighty oaks ! Noel.

[An OtherParticipant @another21905]

In our part of the world, the principal method of heating/cooking is burning wood (and yes, I know all about the ecological consequences, but if you have no choice….), so chainsaws are a common household implement  I have three, two electric and one petrol.

Although files are used, almost everyone now uses a small electric grinding wheel to do the sharpening – basically a small flat grinding wheel mounted at the correct angle, which can be lowered onto (into?) the chain, which itself runs in a guide which locks it at each tooth. The guide can be swung from side to side to deal with alternate teeth.

I find that even ‘good quality’ files very rapidly become blunt and useless on a hard steel chain – and how do you identify a ‘good quality’ file – even reputable makes are suspect. It also seems to be very difficult to re-sharpen a chain so it performs like new with a file. The machine can sharpen a chain as good as new in about 10 minutes or less, so it might be worth considering the extra cost.

I have to cut around 20 tons of oak or ash logs into firewood each year (I know, its a tragic waste, but as I said, there is literally no choice – we do at least try to ensure it comes from defunct trees).

 

[jaCK HobsonParticipant @jackhobson50760]

Tree surgeon friends I trust say those cheap electric ones do work well for DIY peeps like us. It is still worth learning how to sharpen with nothing but a file – for a quick tune up during a long day in the woods or when you don’t have electric power handy.

[FulmenParticipant @fulmen]

Nothing wrong with electric saws, in fact I prefer my 30year old Husquarna for home use.

[pgk pgkParticipant @pgkpgk17461]

I’ve used my chainsaws a lot.. perhaps less the last couple of years. I started out learning to sharpen with a file and generally results were acceptable but every now and again I’d end up with a chain that didn’t cut straight down rather it would cut at an angle. Sometimes it took a few resharpening goes biasing the amount of file to get the chain cutting straight again.

In contrast a simple cheap lidl type electric sharpener gives excellent results. I just set mine up just to kiss the front of the tooth and the bottom of the gullet. The chain cuts  longer than when I hand sharpened, always cuts straight and produces good chips. Yes it’s worth having the file handy if going off into the woods where trees may have mud and stones embedded or you’re cutting fallen stuff but you can’t beat the electric sharpener for results.

As for a battery electric chainsaw. I have nothing against them I only have one cheap variant which has a skip chain and that does mean vibration and slower cutting than I’d like but it was cheap and handy for a quickie bit of pruning.

[Kiwi Bloke]

On Kiwi Bloke Said:

His earlier link (post #705608) is to a strange plastic and metal Stihl gizmo which, in my opinion, is near hopeless. My neighbour has one, and can’t use it; neither can I…The all-metal guide allows you rotate the file to even out wear.

The 2-in-1 system allows you to rotate the file as well.

Here are a couple of videos from one of your compatriots demonstrating proper use of Stihl’s filing systems (the first one is exclusively about the 2-in-1):

The 2-in-1 system is brilliant. The only caveats are that you have to understand certain principles of use before using it and use it correctly, and it won’t work effortlessly on skip tooth chains. The latter point is academic for most of us.

All of this is covered in the following comprehensive video:

 

[Bill Phinn]

On Bill Phinn Said:

Here is an £11 one. It’s a good price. Ask Charlies if they can match it.

.

A quick update: That one on Amazon appears to be the the contents of the ‘tool-roll’ that Charlies sell for about £24 [as featured in the video that you posted later, Bill] … They also sell just the round file and its guide for something over £10

They expressed NO interest in price-matching: “if you can get one for that price, I suggest you buy it “ was the response.

As we are not yet comparing like with like, I decided to leave it for now.

I did however, buy a genuine STIHL chain and three Oregon brand ‘Swiss Made’ files, for a total of £23.98 … which seemed reasonable enough.

.

I’m busy with other things for the next couple of days, but will report back in due course.

MichaelG.

[mark costello 1Participant @markcostello1]

Something else not mentioned here yet, I had a bar that would only cut crooked.Even a new chain would not work right. I happened to go to an old pro in a chain saw shop and He told Me to take the bar off and dress it on a belt sander that was set square. I could see where one side of the blade groove was very slightly worn higher than the other side. Fixed the problem and used the blade until the saw blade was almost touching the bottom of the groove. Skint, Yes? My picture in the dictionary along side cheap, probably!

[Michael GilliganParticipant @michaelgilligan61133]

A quick update:

The original bar is still fine … straight, no obvious wear, and no burrs

Oiling appears to be working as it should

The new chain cuts very nicely [as one might reasonably hope]

The original chain may be a little less worn than it first appeared

Lessons have been learned … Thank You

MichaelG.

[Nigel McBurney 1Participant @nigelmcburney1]

I set my chainsaw in the vice with the chain fairly tight,as a guide to filing to the correct angle I cut two shallow grooves in the top of the vice using a hacksaw and protractor,two grooves are needed to file from both sides of the saw, the vice is old and not my best one!, saw files do not last that long,rotate them slightly after each cut to even out wear around the file,I have owned 3 Stihls and a Poulan,the small poulan started easily ,cut a lot of wood ,but eventually just fell to bits.my last medium size petrol stihl was a pig to start as I got a lot older I just could not pull it to start.So I purchased two electric saws ,a battery powered Stihl and a mains powered Oregon cheapy from screwfix which has a self sharpening device which requires a special chain. the battery drill is expensive but for an ancient chap like me there are no starting problems,just press the trigger and it goes,its very well made ,easy to handle and cuts just like you expect a Stihl to do,the very small chain cuts well ,is easy to sharpen,i am well satisfied with it,it will cut up to 8inch green oak. to save undue wear on the expensive Stihl ,for cutting a lot of firewood  I use a £40 sawing horse which has a swinging clamp to hold the chainsaw ,so all I do is feed the wood along the vee with my left hand and and cut holding the saw in my  right hand,i did one modification ,the saw chain guide is coated with a slippery coating so it slipped in the saw horse  clamp,so i put short dowells in the clamp and drilled dimples in the guide,no more slipping. this cheap saw cuts up cordwood easily with not too much effort on my part,always starts and cheap to run ,the self sharpening device works better than i thought it would.  For light splitting i bought a 6 ton electric/hydraulic (chinese made)splitter,disapointing,not very good performance ,and the 3 hp motor has failed,the correct motor pump assembly is no longer available,though there appear to be lots of similar units on auction sites, so having a good old English made  3 h single phase motor, which ran at half the existing motor speed ,so I mounted the old motor onto the side of the splitter turned up two  v belt pulleys to get the required speed ,and drove the dead motor/hydraulic using this motor as a layshaft. works ok now for splitting kindling and small wood ,and a bought a new big petrol splitter for the heavy stuff.I would to say after 40 years of burning wood,if you cut ,split and store your own wood,a cheap source of wood is required ans a lot of storage room required,currently I have around 10 tons stored and split, Remember i am in the uk where space is limited .

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