Chainmill Sharpening - Score one HFT

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Dusty Sawyer

New User
David
:thumbs_upFor years now I've been milling my own lumber but have been hand sharpening my blades. My rig is a Stihl 044 with a 30 inch bar using semi-skip chain on a Granberg mill.... that adds up to 105 teeth on a blade.

I had done some in depth reading recently to find out why I wasnt able to cut as quickly or smoothly as I had in years past. Over time, hand sharpening leads to teeth that are different lengths and heights. It's unavoidable, much like walking circles in the desert.

I don't do enough milling to consider a $200+ sharpener from the Oregon company, but figured I would give good ole' HFT a shot for $39-. As I had suspected, the machine needed a few minor mods to turn it into a precision sharpening device; the positioner lock mechanism needed to be cut down to keep it from trying to lock onto the round headed rivits (which causes the chain to turn at an angle sometimes), and the remainining adjustment lockdown turnscrews would not firmly lock into place. After fixing those minor issues, I was very pleased with how accutely and consistently each of the teeth were sharpened. After headed off to my neighbor's yard where a 24 inch wide Cherry tree lay, I was even more thrilled with how my mill cleanly and quickly cut through the wood.

cherry_slab.JPG

View image in gallery

-david
 
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SubGuy

Administrator
Zach
Nice. What style teeth are you using. I've been told using a chipper tooth is the only way to go.
 

CDPeters

Master of None
Chris
Is this the one?
image_13983.jpg


On sale $39.99. Maybe now is the time to go for it!

Make that $29.99 - just got the HF flyer in email !!
C.
 

sawman101

Bruce Swanson
Corporate Member
I've read many times the lumber milled by a chainsaw mill has a smoother surface than from a band mill, but I have never seen the results in person. What angle do you sharpen your teeth at? 30 degrees is about normal for crosscut type cutting, but ripping do you grind the teeth at a lesser angle and do you maintain the raker teeth the same, or lower? I've been curious about the chainsaw mills for years, but have yet to see one being used.:saw:
 

Gofor

Mark
Corporate Member
I've read many times the lumber milled by a chainsaw mill has a smoother surface than from a band mill, but I have never seen the results in person. What angle do you sharpen your teeth at? 30 degrees is about normal for crosscut type cutting, but ripping do you grind the teeth at a lesser angle and do you maintain the raker teeth the same, or lower? I've been curious about the chainsaw mills for years, but have yet to see one being used.:saw:

I have noticed my Oregon 72 chains filed at a 10 degree angle do cut smoother than a stock Stihl RSC chain filed at 30 degrees. Both, if sharp, cut smoother than the bandsawed wood I have bought. I don't have any of the unique Granberg profile rip chains so cannot compare those.

The main difference is the chainsaw seems to slice the wood and the bandsaw cut has more tear (lots of rough fibers sticking up). That said, I do not know if a depth profile comparison between the band and chain would bear out a "smoother" cut. If you let the chain really dull, it also tears the wood (not to mention can significantly slow down the cut and increase temperature). Same might be said for the bandsaw (I don't know).

As to the depth rakers, I keep mine about .025" to .030". Any deeper only results in it being easier to bog down the saw, but does not increase the cut speed.

The main thing with the Granberg mill set up is to not let the saw rock in the cut. If it rocks even slightly, the return side of the chain can really butcher the bottom of the board you are slicing off, negating any cut smoothness.

My chain milled wood is not as smooth as the wood I have gotten from Scott Smith, cut on his carbide tipped circular saw mill, but is smoother than some I have seen from other round blade mills.

JMTCW

Go

Note: the above is based on only a couple thousand linear feet milling of oak (white and red), sweet gum, cherry and pine, the majority being red oak. I don't cut commercially.
 

Dusty Sawyer

New User
David
When my chains were new I ground them with a roundfile, but since getting the HFT sharpener I changed over to a 0-degree chisel-tooth. It moves faster than I can ever remember.
 

Dusty Sawyer

New User
David
I've read many times the lumber milled by a chainsaw mill has a smoother surface than from a band mill, but I have never seen the results in person. What angle do you sharpen your teeth at? 30 degrees is about normal for crosscut type cutting, but ripping do you grind the teeth at a lesser angle and do you maintain the raker teeth the same, or lower? I've been curious about the chainsaw mills for years, but have yet to see one being used.:saw:

When my chains were new I was grinding them at 30 degrees - factory setting. But now I have them at 0 degrees. The key is to use skip or semi-skip chain. Regular chain will work just fine, but it tends to bog the saw down quickly and eventually burn out the motor under the additional heat and stress. The skip chain allows you to adjust the rate of cut much more easily and allows you to have raker teeth that help clear the cut as you go.

As for quality of the cut it can be very close to the cut of a bandmill. I've not been able to do better than a bandmill but have come close the the same cut quality. The big difference is the kerf - chainmills turn much more of the wood into dust. The portability and investment have a tradeoff.

David
 

sawman101

Bruce Swanson
Corporate Member
When my chains were new I was grinding them at 30 degrees - factory setting. But now I have them at 0 degrees. The key is to use skip or semi-skip chain. Regular chain will work just fine, but it tends to bog the saw down quickly and eventually burn out the motor under the additional heat and stress. The skip chain allows you to adjust the rate of cut much more easily and allows you to have raker teeth that help clear the cut as you go.

As for quality of the cut it can be very close to the cut of a bandmill. I've not been able to do better than a bandmill but have come close the the same cut quality. The big difference is the kerf - chainmills turn much more of the wood into dust. The portability and investment have a tradeoff.

David


You're correct that skip tooth chain will cut better and faster in the rip cut. Because the chip in the rip cut is quite large compared to the chip from a cross cut, the gullet needs to be much larger to clear the chip effectively. The angle of the tooth needs to be nearer 0 degrees to act as a chisel would in the cut. A hand ripping saw has very large teeth compared to a crosscutting saw for that very reason, and the face angle of the tooth is 0 deg. There is one type of swing head sawmill that has only 2 teeth in the blade, (I think it's the Peterson). Less teeth means it takes less power to pull the teeth through the cut, and greater cutting ease. Although I've sharpened many thousands of saw bands for bandmills in years past, I never sawed with one, but sawed with several different Belsaw circular mills over many years. I've been fascinated by the chainsaw mills for a long time. There are several versions, including those that operate on the same track and saw frame as a bandmill, even allowing a conversion from one to the other. In all my experience with sawmills, I still have never seen a chainsaw mill in action, other than videos on the internet.
 

Dusty Sawyer

New User
David
You're correct that skip tooth chain will cut better and faster in the rip cut. Because the chip in the rip cut is quite large compared to the chip from a cross cut, the gullet needs to be much larger to clear the chip effectively. The angle of the tooth needs to be nearer 0 degrees to act as a chisel would in the cut. A hand ripping saw has very large teeth compared to a crosscutting saw for that very reason, and the face angle of the tooth is 0 deg. There is one type of swing head sawmill that has only 2 teeth in the blade, (I think it's the Peterson). Less teeth means it takes less power to pull the teeth through the cut, and greater cutting ease. Although I've sharpened many thousands of saw bands for bandmills in years past, I never sawed with one, but sawed with several different Belsaw circular mills over many years. I've been fascinated by the chainsaw mills for a long time. There are several versions, including those that operate on the same track and saw frame as a bandmill, even allowing a conversion from one to the other. In all my experience with sawmills, I still have never seen a chainsaw mill in action, other than videos on the internet.

Good notes on the reason for the angle of the teeth - makes sense to me. Chainmilling is for sure a dirty and loud alternative, but then again I can't afford a big mill and often the sawlogs are located in out of the way places where hauling it out wouln't be an option. The videos on the net are pretty accurate though :rolleyes:
 
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