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Post by milspec on Sept 24, 2019 16:29:02 GMT 10
We recently had a couple of guys stay with us to do a bit of hunting and camping on the farm. I suggested they cut some firewood as they'd brought their own chainsaw. After a while it became apparent that they were not having any luck despite the fact that they had a decent husqvarna saw. On inspection it was very blunt and gummed up. I gave them a sharpening tool but they looked at me blankly. Then I remembered watching a farmer bring a chain in to the Stihl shop to be sharpened one day and I've concluded that people who own chainsaws don't always know how to sharpen them. So here are a couple of pointers for anyone interested. I'm no expert by the way but the guy that taught me had a few clues and this approach works well. 1. Get one of these tools (see pics) from Stihl, you'll need one matched to the pitch of your chain. 2. The tool sharpens one tooth (yellow circle)and files its correspinding depth gauge (blue arrow) whilst riding on the tooth being sharpened and an adjacent tooth (purple circle). 3. The white plastic edge (red line) of the tool needs to be kept parallel to the chainsaw bar whilst filing each tooth. 4. About 8 strokes across each tooth is plenty. 5. You file every alternate tooth from one side of the saw and then move to the other side and file the 'other' teeth. 6. The tool has a little image of the saw imprinted in it so that you can orient the tool correctly based on whether you are standing on the same side as the motor or on the opposite side. 7. A lot of people don't realise the the depth gauge height governs the bite of the tooth and it needs to be filed too. This tool files the depth gauge automatically and doesn't allow you to over file it. 8. Do your filing on the tooth which is sitting above the bar holder because the chain is most stable there. 9. After sharpening a tooth, use the tool to drag the chain along until the next tooth is in position for you to file it. 10. Use the same number of sharpening strokes on each tooth to keep the chain cut even. 11. If you're using your chainsaw all day. You'll end up sharpening the chain several times during the day, as well as re-tensioning the chain each time you sharpen it. Good luck.
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frostbite
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Post by frostbite on Sept 24, 2019 16:54:13 GMT 10
Exact tool that I use, although I only run 3 or 4 passes on each tooth. And I wipe the files down every so often. Chainsaw should be stored with some slack in the chain, and the bar should be flipped regularly as well.
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Post by spinifex on Sept 24, 2019 17:21:04 GMT 10
Good post MS. Every 15 minutes spent regularly sharpening a saw saves an hour of cutting and makes the cutting much easier.
Its always highly amusing to watch someone try and cut well seasoned Sugar Gum (or any hardwood) with a blunt saw. Saw screaming at max revs, gritted teeth, the bar being jammed into the cut as hard as humanly possible ... and just a dainty sprinkling of wood powder trickling out the base of the saw.
A well sharpened saw will pump out a prodigious stream of coarse shavings.
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Post by Joey on Sept 24, 2019 23:50:34 GMT 10
I've never seen that tool before. I'm used to using the old style round file and guide bar, I've been trained properly in it's use so can usually get the teeth to a good condition.
Which reminds me that I should give me saw a service, it's been a while since it's received some love or use for that matter.
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norseman
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Practical is Tactical!
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Post by norseman on Sept 25, 2019 6:58:41 GMT 10
I've never seen that tool before. I'm used to using the old style round file and guide bar, I've been trained properly in it's use so can usually get the teeth to a good condition. Which reminds me that I should give me saw a service, it's been a while since it's received some love or use for that matter. Stihl make them, they haven't been around that long relative to other sharpening guides / jigs, they do make for quick chain sharpening I'll say that much. I use a texta to mark the first tooth as my start / swap sides point. I'm another one for flipping the bar to allow for even wear and longer life.
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Tim Horton
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Post by Tim Horton on Oct 3, 2019 1:01:34 GMT 10
Even having spent 40 years in tool and die shop, I am the worst drill, chisel, knife, saw chain sharpener.
The Stihl tool shown works well and I have better results with it than anything else I have tried. Paint mark, and bar flip are both good advise.
The Stihl tool is almost $50 CDN here. There are so many saw shops in the area it is cheap to get chain resharpened.
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