chainsaw sharpening

At what angle do you grind your chains??

I file mine by hand and try to follow the angle that is marked near the back of the tooth. I am used to Stihl chains but I think all chains have the little mark cut into the tooth.
Zach

I file mine by hand and try to follow the angle that is marked near the back of the tooth. I am used to Stihl chains but I think all chains have the little mark cut into the tooth.
Zach

Mine are all stihl chains they all happen to get a 30 degree angle. It's not standard but if they are basic crosscut chains it would probably work just fine.

regular crosscut chains- 30*

I agree with Zachary, file by hand and follow marks provided.
Get my chisel chain from Baileys, good price ships quick . Hit each tooth 3 or 4 times at 30 degrees light even pressure on the file. Keep the chain out of the ground and you are good to go .

I make a mess out of mine cutting everything on the arm from roots to rocks to trees so I got a hand grinder that does a nice job of cleaning up my mess. Kind of depends on it use I guess.
Walt

This is my second Stihl in 30 years, also have a John Deere(Efco). Must have been the green paint. LOL

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File at the angle marked on the tooth. Three or four strokes,ought to do it. If you have hit a rock, file more. Every third or fourth filing, take a flat file and take the raker teeth down, supposed to be something like 0.025 or 0.030 below the cut teeth. And most important, when you sharped the cut teeth, hold the file handle FLAT, at a exact right angle to the bar, do not drop the handle or hold it up.
Get that technique down, and you"ll do a perfect job.

I am still new at chain saw repairs. But I had an older man show me how to do it by hand.So for people have been happy with my work.

I have a little sheet metal thing that clamps on to the file- you keep it at the top, and it has the 30 degree angle marked on it to guide you. I used to have a sharpener that clamped onto the bar of the saw, but I never could get it to do a good job. Much better now "freehand", with the angle guide clamped on.

I use a stone in a dremel type grinder, following the marks on the chain. Touch the raker teeth occasionally. Leave chain on saw, touch up the raker teeth occasionally. Dosen't take much time.

KEH

Old "Chipper Chain" teeth were to be filed at 35^ and Horizontal (Flat) across.
Chisel-Chain teeth should be filed at 30* and 10* angle from the point, tipped down to the back of the tooth.
Angles for Ripping are less usually..

File until you feel a burr at the cutting edge of the tooth..file the same amount on each tooth on Each side..!!
Raker teeth should be set according to what you are cutting.. .030+ for soft wood (Pine, green Box Elder, etc. and less for White Oak and hard, or Dry wood..
My saws are all old and run short on HP..maybe a big "Stihl" could handle more..

I don't have any Racing saws..!!


Ron..

I see that you are using a Husqvarna saw, as I do also. I can't see the model #, but I do believe that you have a saw and bar that takes "real chain" as compared to the consumer grade "anti-kickback" junk. I usually buy Oregon chain and it states on the package (or enclosed small paper) the various angles that chain is made for. On the chains I use, they are speced to have a 32* angle grind. As my hands are no longer steady and my eyes are losing ability to see close up, I gave up the hand filing. I do use an Oregon brand grinding machine but set it so that I am just "kissing" the chain with the grind wheel. If I have not been abusing the chain, I will get 20 to 30 sharpenings from a single chain.

A couple of other things to watch for.. 1) The drive sprocket will wear with deep slots where the chain drive teeth contact it. I have replaced a couple of drive sprockets, sourced from Husky (not very costly). And.. (2) The bar itself will wear, particularly the center groove. My bars have a .050" groove. If the chain seems to lean sideways, the groove maybe worn out, or the drive links on the chain can become thinner from wear. Check the width of the groove with automotive feeler gauges. A new bar is not too bad in price, I have gotten new ones from overstock dealers on Epay.

Paul in MN

Different size chains are different angle, it usually says on the box the new chain comes in. Most newer chains have a line scribed on top of the cutter at the correct angle. My owners manual for the saw also tells the angle and depth of the rakers. I have a grinder similar to yours and it works way better than a file.

glad to see you say 20-30 sharpenings on a chain, had a guy tell me that you can only sharpen a chain 3 or so times....told me that after I complained about the job he did on my chain. He left a 1/4 bur of metal and the teeth were black! Told me he would do this one for free. Told him that was the last one he would ever do and I bought myself some files, handles and guages and a tool box and started to sharpen them myself. I dont know how many sharpenings I get but I give the chain a few strokes each time I fill up with gas and my saws seem to work pretty well that way.

if that is a today pix,, someone needs top put those beans in the bin