Machine vs hand sharpening, anybody?

I mastered hand filing, but I got sick and tired of filing a chain after hitting hidden metal or rocks in trees.
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So, I bought a grinder. Now I love the grinder.

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"Blue tooth" only happens when you are impatient and take too much metal at once.

I never "blue tooth" my chains.

Every chain is machined to perfection.

Once you master the grinder, there is no going back to hand filing.--Unless, you are out in the field and you need to file right away because you don't have any back up chains.
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Once you master the grinder, there is no going back to hand filing.--Unless, you are out in the field and you need to file right away because you don't have any back up chains.


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Exactly!

Here is a photo of a square ground tooth sitting on my square grinding USG. The wheel has two flat faces and these faces meet right at the inside point of the tooth. If you look closely you can see the line. The chain is Stihl 33RSL bought by the 100ft roll. I've been playing with square grinding since 1990.

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Chisel tooth chains are nice!

Dan. Where did you get your square grinder? Shoot if I could find a decent one used, I'd convert to all chisel tooth chains.
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I have a factory Stihl square grinding attachment for my Stihl USG and it is almost 20 years old. It is no longer available and evidently was not widely sold. I only know of one other person with this attachment but I'm sure there are others out there. I think most square grinding machines start at about $1,000. these days.
 
How do square ground chains cut in hardwoods? I did a little climbing for a moron once upon a time that came up with his own breed of square ground chains and that had a big "V" cut into the chain and were missing half the rakers. Terrible, horrible, nerve-racking experience. Back to my question, can a properly cut square ground chain handle northern hardwoods well? How about on a long bar (36 inch).

Chris
 
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How do square ground chains cut in hardwoods? I did a little climbing for a moron once upon a time that came up with his own breed of square ground chains and that had a big "V" cut into the chain and were missing half the rakers. Terrible, horrible, nerve-racking experience. Back to my question, can a properly cut square ground chain handle northern hardwoods well? How about on a long bar (36 inch).

Chris

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On a 36 inch bar I would use full skip chisel chain.

The square ground tooth has a more efficient edge than a round ground tooth. It will out cut round ground in all conditions except in dirty wood. With Stihl chain it has the exact same tooth as round ground...only it is ground differently. It does not take to dirt well and will loose it edge quicker to dirt.

The reason for it getting dull in dirt faster than round ground...is the same reason it cuts faster. Square grinding removes metal on the inside of the cutting corner of the tooth making it a sharper cutting edge and requiring less horsepower to pull it through the wood. This sharper cutting edge has less metal and when getting into dirt wears down faster.

I think round ground is the way to go for most tree services. Buy a loop of square ground and try it out. It can be converted to round ground easily by sharpening it with a round file just like you were doing a round ground chain. You don't have to remove the whole square ground face when converting....just touch it up so it cuts. It will have a wild looking face for the first few filings though.

Here is a link to a square ground file. http://www.baileysonline.com/itemdetail.asp?item=15020&catID=

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Hello,

i don´t know anyone of the pros around here using a machine for filing. Hand sharpened chains are faster, stay sharp longer - last longer and finally the whole procedure doesn´t take a long time...if you practice and pratice. In the beginning of my timber-time i had to file all the saws of the crew for months, then you got it after takeing much criticism.
And another advantage:
If you know you have to file by hand, maybe more than one saw, you become more careful about cutting earth and stones!!!

Christian
 
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If you know you have to file by hand, maybe more than one saw, you become more careful about cutting earth and stones!!! Christian

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Amen Brotha!

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Halleluiah!
 
So, it's a debate...based on opinion...

here's mine:
I don't use hand files as I have access to a machine. I don't make the teeth blue. The chains are super sharp. It takes me about 3 mins per chain(approx, I didn't actually time myself). Grinding depth gauges is also quick. I sharpen the chains by aligning the grinding wheel so that when I pull it down, I also have to push it(a little) onto the teeth to grind it(so that it eats the minimum amount of metal). I am careful with sand/rocks/wires(there is a lot of sand on the trees here). Uhm, I just checked out the dinasaw...well, that's a different story. So, sticking to the basics i'd say the opinions were 50/50 unless someone can give some substantial evidence pointing to one method more than to the other. Thanks, Island
p.s. is it just me or are there no women in this profession?
 
Things to add to hand filing, as you push the file through the tooth, try rotating it with your push hand .The file will last longer this way. also ,the last draw I take on the tooth is done very lightly , as to almost "buff" the tooth, this helps to keep the cutter tooth from clogging.
 
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