What can I or we do to get a better file on our chains?

[southsoundtree]

Tapping the tip end of the file against the bar helps knock filings free from the file, helping it cut the tooth better.

When your files are dulling, save them for the first couple passes on a rocked/ nailed chain, working off the beat up leading edge, then change to a sharp file.




I file from the end, not the side. If I am filing the chain on top of the bar, I am leaning over the powerhead in a vise or holding it between my legs while sitting.
If I put the bar in the vise, powerhead and bar upside down, working at the bar nose-end, there is nothing in my way.

I prefer to file with both hands, switching L and R on the file handle and tip.

 

[southsoundtree]

Agree with @Bucknut on the sharp file thing. I will also reiterate @ATH s point about cleaning your files. I use an air compressor in my shop and my pants in the field. I also spray WD40 on the file prior to and during sharpening in the shop which helps the file to cut better and also cleans out metal dust.

Interesting. When cutting metal, oil is useful.

 

[Jehinten]

If I was cutting maples, oaks, or similar wood I would not have them on my saws.

Well this is disheartening lol. I'd really like to try square grind, but I cut almost exclusively hardwoods.

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[Njdelaney]

Interesting. When cutting metal, oil is useful.

I use bar and chain oil in the field, but WD40 is better to clean out the metal shavings. Oil can create a slurry that fills in the tiny gaps in a file, WD40 washes the filings away. Both work better than a dry file!

 

[ATH]

..... After a while you can tell if the file is cutting immediately both by feel and sound. One of those things only experience teaches.

Absolutely. Once you feel it, a dull file feels like it is just skating across the tooth while a good new file you can really feel and hear it taking metal off.

 

[Jehinten]

Second, if you are someone who like to steer their cut, you can't with a square grind. How you start the cut is how it is going to end, no tweaking as you go.

Any chance of expanding on this? Another strike against trying square grind for me ...

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[evo]

Square filed chains are amazing but dull quickly.
Flipping the saw some find easier as they don’t have to work around the power head, personally my muscle memory used the power head to brace my left arm. I use both hands to guide the file. Sharp files make for sharp chains. The 30 degree angle doesn’t matter so much, I think of it as a guideline of not going past 30. I file closer to 20 but also work in conifer land and have few true hardwoods.
Staying on top of touch ups is key, ground saws get 2/3 licks every few hours of use. Once you feel the saw getting dull just stop and touch up, it’s way worse to try to sharpen a dull saw. I do 80/90% feild sharpening, but much prefer a bench with a good shop light, and the routine of a morning cuppa as the sun is coming up filing is a great way to get going.

 

[Christrees]

For handsaws you're almost always better off just getting a new blade. The time and tedium of sharpening just isn't worth it.

Ok I was just curious because I found a file for silky saws legit silky. But I bought a cheaper version so I could try it out the legit 1 is as much as a new blade crazy


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[Christrees]

Pictures of your before and after, especially magnified, will help.




Good lighting and good eyesight, natural or corrected, is important, as Mick mentioned.

The wedge under the chain helps.

File with the power head upside down on a vise, filing from the nose-end, on the bottom of the bar.

I tried taking a few pics of afterwards but forgot before hand.. also I had a hard time focusing well my camera did. I’ll try my good camera tomorrow afterwork. Here is a couple I took tho

I probably could have done better but just getting used to an iPhone again.


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[Christrees]

Oh wow a lot of great tips.. let’s keep this thread going.


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[Jehinten]

I tried taking a few pics of afterwards but forgot before hand.. also I had a hard time focusing well my camera did. I’ll try my good camera tomorrow afterwork. Here is a couple I took tho

I probably could have done better but just getting used to an iPhone again.


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Hard to tell, but it looks like you need to get the gullet filed in better.

Try resting your phone on a stationary object and cleaning the lens for crystal clear pics. Much of not being able to focus is the camera compensating for your hand moving. Also, sometimes scooting the camera back a few inches gets the image of the tooth clearer, then you can zoom in on the pic.

Cell phone cameras a quite impressive anymore. A little off topic, but this is a cell phone pic at about 15X magnification. I had to hold the side of the phone up to a privacy fence for stabilization.

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[Shadowscape]

Check your raker height on a regular basis. Raker gauges are cheap.
These are nice units that allow you to keep the angle where it should be and raker height where it should be all at the same time. A dozen different companies make them and they all look the same except for the color. The more expensive ones like this have better files in them. Made for all the chain sizes.

https://www.amazon.com/Pferd-17300-Chain-Sharp-Filing/dp/B0047A0RUC/ref=sr_1_1_sspa?crid=2605UMOVO2CND&keywords=chainsaw%2Bfile%2Bcombination&qid=1697761039&sprefix=chainsaw%2Bfile%2Bcombination%2Caps%2C129&sr=8-1-spons&sp_csd=d2lkZ2V0TmFtZT1zcF9hdGY&th=1

 

[ATH]

...The 30 degree angle doesn’t matter so much, I think of it as a guideline of not going past 30. I file closer to 20 but also work in conifer land and have few true hardwoods.
...

For those who don't know:

the closer to 0 degrees (perpendicular to the bar) the longer the chain stays sharp. The higher angle the faster the cut will be (but chain dulls quicker).

 

[Shadowscape]

Any chance of expanding on this? Another strike against trying square grind for me ...

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Typically if you are making a cut that you can tell is going to be a tad off, such as your second cut on a notch, you can steer your cut so it ends up where you want. Not right angle moves, but slight deviation from where it was headed. With a square grind chain you can't make that adjustment. It goes straight where it was headed and all the twist or turn you want to give it won't make a gnat's eyelash of difference.
On a different area of chain sharpness, starting a bore cut is way easier with a not so sharp chain. But, impractical knowledge for the most part.

 

[Jehinten]

Typically if you are making a cut that you can tell is going to be a tad off, such as your second cut on a notch, you can steer your cut so it ends up where you want. Not right angle moves, but slight deviation from where it was headed. With a square grind chain you can't make that adjustment. It goes straight where it was headed and all the twist or turn you want to give it won't make a gnat's eyelash of difference.
On a different area of chain sharpness, starting a bore cut is way easier with a not so sharp chain. But, impractical knowledge for the most part.

Ahh. I got it. I was understanding it as steering the tree during a back cut. But that makes sense

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[chiselbit]

So some of you have mentioned the importance of a clean file, I’ll say a clean chain is important too. Run it through some clean preferably dry wood prior to filing and shut the saw off immediately to keep the oiler from getting the chain oily again. Then file with your clean , sharp file. Bar oil does not enhance a files ability to cut.

 

[evo]

Oh wow a lot of great tips.. let’s keep this thread going.


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Maybe practice on Oregon chain. That stuff is fairly soft metal, and one stroke takes off about twice the material of stihl chain. It doesn’t last or wear as well, but is some easy filing chain that will give you plenty of practice at a lower cost. Also files last longer too.
There is no right or wrong technique, some twist the file, some don’t. Personally I do about a 1/4-1/2 twist.
Some mount the saw upside down….
What is important above all else is consistency.
Second is the top corner, as this initiates the cut per cutter.
Then hook and gullet.
I’d recommend focusing on the above in order, get good at one then move on to the next as it will fall into place eventually.

 

[Chris Schultz]

Like others have said: A fresh sharp file is key!!!! Nothing worse than a dull file….. Reps, the more you file your chain, the better you’ll get at it. AND don’t forget your rakers!!!!

 

[Bucknut]

These are nice units that allow you to keep the angle where it should be and raker height where it should be all at the same time. A dozen different companies make them

Can’t recommend these highly enough. I tell interested customers to buy them immediately if they want any chance at effectively sharpening a chain.

Always having the correct angle and lowering the rakers simultaneously is invaluable. Pferd really upped my game.

 

[Shadowscape]

Can’t recommend these highly enough. I tell interested customers to buy them immediately if they want any chance at effectively sharpening a chain.

Always having the correct angle and lowering the rakers simultaneously is invaluable. Pferd really upped my game.

They also don't let you file too high or too low. Keeps the file right where it is supposed to be. Wish they made something like that for square grind chains, but given the angle you file them at, not a possibility.