How do You Sharpen a Chainsaw?

thats fantastic!, but when it IS dull, like the OP asked, THEN how do you sharpen it?

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when something is dull, the cutting edge will reflect light..it will be shiney.

I file each tooth, matching the existing angle, untill the brightness is gone from the cutting edge. I usualy take 5-10 strokes per tooth, and I do this every time I fill with gas.

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All right guys - the file thing for me only makes the darn thing duller. So I set the saw on the tailgate of the truck, look to see if anyone is around, if so I pull out the file and look darn stupid (not hard since my hair color is blonde) and ask if anyone knows how to get the darn thing sharp. That way if it will not cut - then it was not my fault!
However, if it is just me and the horses and possibly my DD who knows better, I rip out the Dremel and all I have to do is just touch each tooth. We are back in business and up at the house before anyone knows what we've done! Gosh, I slaved all day to cut that tree! VBG

when sharpening, only file on the forward stroke! (from the low side of tooth to the high side) filing both ways will ruin the file and make a less sharp tooth.

i start at the double set of teeth that face the same way and do one side of teeth then the other.. a few forward strokes per tooth is all thats needed.

same with the depth gauge n file, only file on forward stroke

Yep. Had a guy helping me do some cutting one day, and told him to let me know when he ran out of gas, that I'd touch the chain up for him. I had walked off to do something else for a few minutes. When I came back he had the saw on the ground with the file sawing back and forth like a hack saw. I nearly blew a gasket.

We were cutting up to 20 cords a year to heat our house, so I bought a professional sharpener. You can buy them at Harbor Freight for about $30. With a file eventually you chain gets all out of wack and you need to have it resharpened with a machine to straighten the cutters back out.

Bob

Sorry, not so.

See my post #9 above on how to bring the cut back into line.

I do a touch up about every other tank of gas. I've found a filed chain to work better than one I used a Dremel tool on.

Somebody is going to have to explain how teeth of different length can effect the cut. I have chains that have teeth of varying length and they cut fine. And FYI the latest thing in bandsaw and circular saws is variable teeth. IF you look at the teeth on a bandsaw blade you will see that they are different

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they cant because they are high on crack, or just repeating nonfactual jiberish that they heard from someone els

ANy time my saw dosnt cut straight, I find that the bar is worn unevenly. After I replace it, the saw cuts straight again

I argue with my dad about this all the time. He has been cutting firewood for 50 years, and I have been for 15 years. He thinks the chain affects the direction of cut, and I think its the bar

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it's interesting you should mention that. that has been a dream of mine for years( to go on a covered wagon trek) and i plan to do just that before i die. there is one in south dakota but only for a day i think. another is hole in the wall. i think Wyoming not sure. anyway they offer at least a week for 1500. it will cost me twice that to drive there.hotels and such.(i dont fly) but hey, i will die happy. ...back to the saw sharpening topic.
...Georgia.

I just know that if my saw starts to cut to one side or the other, an extra stroke to the teeth on the opposite side straightens it out. I've done it too many times.

Independent Sawmill and Woodlot Magazine had an article on chain sharpening some time back, and the author of that article said the same thing that I did. He also agreed with me on the number of strokes on a tooth, two per tooth normally, and three if the chain is really dull. More than that and you're putting more wear on the chain and file than is necessary.

I've never replaced the bar on a saw. The average homeowner/homesteader should be able to use a saw for years without replacing the bar.

The article I referenced above was in the March 2005 issue. Here's a link to that back issue if anyone would like to buy the issue to read that article.

http://www.sawmillmag.com/Go.IssueInfo?issue=50

This is an excellent magazine for anyone interested in small scale timber, sawmilling, or lumber business.

I agree. If it starts to wear a bow in it, turn the bar over. Keeping your oiler working/full helps that alot.
I can't see touching up the teeth every fillup, unless you are chewing through wire or staples all the time, that and running the chain in the ground.

Like I said, I can go through alot of cords without ever touching the chain.
I watch the chips and if it has to be man handled through the log, it's time to check things. There doesn't have to be much force applied to the saw if the chain is good.

I use a file and can hold it approximately at the right angle and pitch which you can find in your saw manual or replacement chain package. Different lengths of teeth on one side mean nothing, it is when one side is filed more than the other the chain cuts unevenly. Pinch a thin bar ever so slightly and the cut will angle from straight.

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Well,

Speaking as someone who started out knowing nothing and made every mistake in the book twice before reaching a point where I could finally get a decent sharpening job done I have to respectfully disagree.

If one side of the teeth are sharper then the other side that side will cut better and pull the saw in a curve to that side.

If the rakers are higher on one side then the other the saw will curve through the cut.

However, if you run your chain to loose for too long the channel in the bar will widen allowing the chain to flop to one side or the other which can cause the saw to cut a curve.

I have done some TERRIBLE sharpening jobs in the past and could cut a straight line to save my life. Replaced the chain with a new one on the same bar and it cut fine.

I am not clear about how a bar could wear unevenly? I have worn one out from lack of keeping the right tension on the chain but inspite of starting out as the worlds worst saw operator I have never managed to wear a bar so that it was uneven in any way.

I ruined a few chains getting past the learning curve but only one bar.

Find someone that makes his living with his chain saw, and ask him how often he sharpens his chain.

I don't know exactly what you are saying.
If I was sharpening my chain after every fillup, it's every 30 minute or less.
There wouldn't be a chain left after a few days.


All I know is how I cut firewood and the chains last me a long time before sharpening if I stay out of the wire, rocks and the ground. I personally don't see another way to do it and I've been doing it 20 years, not that that matters.
The last 2 weekends I have cut approx 4 cords of mostly hedge on a new chain. I'll lightly put an edge on the chain this weekend.
Just my opinion.

Every professional logger or sawyer I've ever talked to touches up the chain every time they fill the tank.

Putting two strokes per tooth at fill up does not eat up the chain, and it takes all of two or three minutes. The sharper the chain stays, the faster it cuts, the cooler the chain stays, the less it stretches, the longer the chain lasts, and on and on and on. Keeping a chain sharp makes everything on the saw work better, including me.

But, if what you're doing is working for you, and you're happy with the results, that's certainly ok with me. I just want those who asked the questions in the beginning to know that I personally don't think it's a good idea to cut 20 cords of wood between sharpenings.