Chainsaw sharpening advice needed

[merrill77]

My saw is putting out a mix of chips and dust. It takes over a minute to get through a 10" oak log that had been standing dead for a few years. Perhaps my expectations are wrong, but that seems pretty slow. Last time I used it, I was cutting some smallish (6-8") freshly felled soft maple and poplar, it went through that pretty quick, as I would expect. I'm not putting much pressure on the saw - mostly letting the weight of the saw do the work (as I was taught).

The cutters feel sharp. They are about 1/16 higher than the depth-setting teeth, maybe less. I have a Granberg sharpening guide, which I've used set at 30deg. I'm not positive what angle I should be using. It suggests 35deg is common for crosscut chains (I have a Stihl 026, I think). 30deg looked right.

Any advice?

TIA!
Chris

 

[BrianBDH]

See if anything on this link is helpful. I sharpen my own chainsaw and have pretty good results.


http://blueandwhitecrew.org/files/SharpAdvice061301final.pdf

Also, the owners manual for the Stihl 026 calls for a 30 degree angle. See page 44. Make sure you've got the right diameter file and that you are only cutting on the push stroke. It should only take a few strokes on each tooth unless you have been cutting dirt or hit metal.

http://www.stihlusa.com/stihl_ownersmanuals/026_Manual.pdf

Brian

 

[cpw]

Chris,

Have you sharpened it much? If you have, you may be to the point where the depth gauges (rakers) are protruding too high and preventing the cutters from taking a proper bite. This video from Stihl explains basic sharpening and filing the rakers: http://stihldealer.net/videolibrary/OnePlayer.aspx?v=3&vt=3&vb=0&id=3 Your Stihl dealer should have the depth gauge tool and file set available.

 

[ScottM]

Just like in wood turning, green wood cuts much easier then dead dry wood so that could explain some of what you are seeing.

 

[Bernhard]

I gave up sharpening my chains by hand. While some people can do a fantastic job producing a sharp chain, I am not one of them. So I went the motorized tool route: 'Nick, the Grinder' is a neat little sharpener. HF sells a clone which works just as well and is on sale right now for about $40 ish.
The sharpener works great and does not require any skill. I sharpen all my chains (Stihl036, MS310 and MS290). The down side is youhave to take the chain of the saw.
In case you get one, do only take off a very, very small amout. Basically you want to 'touch-up' and re-esteblish a new cutting edge. One quick grind will do it. Don't let the grinding wheel 'ride' on the chain too long; it will just heat up and dull it. Another important item: left and right chain cutters must be ground at the same exact angle..otherwise the saw will try to saw a curve instead of a straight line.
In case you use the 'green' chain, you need to periodically file down the cut limiters. I prefer the 'yellow' chain because they have a more agressive cut (no limiters).
Cheers,
Bernhard

 

[Mike Davis]

I use the oregon chainsaw file guide and the Stihl depth guide.

It sounds to me like your teeth are not all the same length since you are getting chips and dust.

I use a 1 inch micrometer (don't faint! you don't have to measure each tooth to a certain .001) Just find the shortest tooth, lock the mic at that setting and file all the other teeth to about that length. You can use a locking divider if you don't have a mic. Or look very closely at the lines inscribed on the chain teeth. If it's way off you can see the difference if you are aware and look for it.

What happens is when you file, some of the teeth are more worn so you hit it an extra stroke and eventually some are longer (do all the work) and some are shorter (don't cut, just make dust) now when you get them all the same (just close to it) then all teeth are cutting and you will get long noodles in green wood and good chips in dry hard wood. And the saw will cut much faster because every tooth is cutting wood.

 

[merrill77]

Thanks for all the advice. I'll be heading back down to the workshop shortly to take another look - particularly at the depth-control teeth.

 

[MrAudio815]

ChrisM,

Thanks for posting this question. I got some pretty bad infor from the dealer I bought my Chain saw from. The first two guys didn't know how to use the sharpening tool. The one who sharpens his by the tool all the time, didn't tell me that you only sharpen in the push stroke. And alos didn't know how to use the depth gauge???

Charles, Thanks for sharing that Video Link~!

Mike Davis, Thanks for your knowledge on each cutter and how they should be equal so some are not doing all the work while the others are just scratching the surface.

This is also the perfect time for this post as I was just having the same issue. I did however sharpen mine incorrectly by pushing and pulling, Argh~!


Thanks again for the post and EXPERT ADVICE GIVEN~!

 

[JimD]

It seems like you may have what you need but I will add a couple comments just in case.

My rule of thumb on when the chain needs to be sharpened is when I do not need to hold up on the chain saw. When the chain is sharp, the weight of the saw will cause it to bog down. I have to lift up to get it to run right. Once I find myself letting the saw rest on the wood, it is time to sharpen the chain. I used to rock it back and forth too, trying to get it to cut. That is another bad sign and you are well past the point where you need to sharpen.

I have sharpened the same chain many times without ever needing to reset the depth. I have the gauge and have checked but they have not needed to be filed down. I just use a simple gauge like the Stihl brochure illustrates. It has a round file of the right diameter with a metal guide on top to control where it contacts the teeth. The metal guide on top has angles on it. I think the tools came from Oregon. I just give each tooth a few strokes until the edge looks like it got filed. All the teeth in one direction then all of them in the other direction. I can sharpen the chain on my little 14 inch saw quicker than I can change it. I can and have cut trees over 20 inch diameter down with it. I got a quick lesson from a guy who heated with wood many years ago and it stuck.

Jim

 

[merrill77]

I went back down and measured the depth of cut. I measured it about .25mm. The manual listed several different DOCs based on the chain .65 to .85mm. I don't know what kind of chain I have so I shot for .75mm. After some quick work with the dremel I went back out to give it a spin. The saw was still spitting out a mix of sawdust and shavings, mostly shavings, but it cut a lot faster this time...and not the tiniest hint of smoke, either. So I think that was the solution.

Thanks for the suggestions!