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Which files to get?

Started by Coach, May 26, 2014, 05:19:54 PM

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Coach

I'm planning to do some chainsaw milling, so am ordering some semi chisel and ripping chain from Cutters Choice.  I need some advice which files to get for sharpening these.  On the website they have an attachment they call Professional file guide.  Am wondering if you guys recommend that, or just files?

mad murdock

Coach, it really depends on what size chain you get. If it is 3/8" ripping chain, you will want to look at 7/32" or maybe a bit smaller. If it is picco ripping chain, you want 5/32" files. SaveEdge files from Baileys are good files at a decent price. Oh, and you will want to get yourself a Raker file too.
Turbosawmill M6 (now M8) Warrior Ultra liteweight, Granberg Alaskan III, lots of saws-gas powered and human powered :D

beenthere

Files, and the Husqvarna file guide. IMO
And check out our sponsor Bailey's online for files.

 
south central Wisconsin
It may be that my sole purpose in life is simply to serve as a warning to others

Mac102004

Look on the box the chain comes in for file sizes and recommendations. I really don't know much about sharpening ripping chain, but I use the same setup as beenthere for sharpening my saws.



  
562XPG 24" B/C
357XP 18" B/C

webgal

The husky roller guides are more for sharpening conventional. However when sharpening your ripping chain, you'll want a guide that'll do 10 degrees. The Granberg Filing guide is an excellent choice. [url]http://www.baileysonline.com/Forestry-Woodcutting/Portable-Sawmills/Granberg/Parts/Granberg-File-N-Joint-Precision-Filing-Guide.axd[\url]
Gotta know when to fell em, know when to tell em, know when to walk away, know when to run....

celliott

I use the husky roller guide like beenthere posted, it works very well on 3\8 full comp. However it might be hard to do a consistent angle for ripping chain, I think it's generally set at around 30 degrees.

I like the Pferd files from Baileys- it's like 13 bucks for a dozen? Good sharp files. Heard good things about the save-edge files from Baileys too, similar price.
Chris Elliott

Clark 666C cable skidder
Husqvarna and Jonsered pro saws
265rx clearing saw
Professional maple tubing installer and maple sugaring worker, part time logger

CTYank

Granberg file guide for any chain filing but square. No question, IMHO.
'72 blue Homelite 150
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Mix of mauls
Morso 7110

Al_Smith

For a simple inexpensive guide the old standard Oregon works well .The newer ones aren't as robust as the older ones .I'm not real fond of Oregon files though .Pferd makes a good file .Baileys at one time had a selection of less agressive files I think under their "house" brand that to me worked better on hard Stihl chain or at least it seemed to .

With enough practice you can get to the point you don't need a guide .Some people progress that far and some don't no big deal at any rate . 

Tom King

I don't like fumbling with guides.  It goes much quicker without.  Since the main thing to keep consistent is the fleam angle, I have a piece of plywood with magic marker lines on it at the different angles I use.  I just lay it behind the bar, the same as when filing handsaws.  You don't really have to concentrate on it, but can put most of your focus on the tooth, and it's a bigger help than you might think.

Save your worn files, and when you have a bunch of them, send them off to be sharpened to either Save Edge on the East coast, or Boggs' on the West.

webgal

Let's not rabbit trail and forget he is sharpening ripping chain. Since Coach sounds new to this, the correct guide would be the best. I don't know about you, but when I sit down to sew, I don't want to spent half the time trying to thread the machine and figure it out. I do know a guy that hand files his chain perfectly for ripping. That is because he has been doing it 40 years. I'm going to write down his secret. Any rate, let's keep that chain facing forward for Coach so he can enjoy the process of milling.
Gotta know when to fell em, know when to tell em, know when to walk away, know when to run....

beenthere

webgal
When this thread stays in the archives, it won't just be for Coach. It will be good information for all the readers alike. IMO
;)
south central Wisconsin
It may be that my sole purpose in life is simply to serve as a warning to others

JohnG28

I don't get the need for a filing guide once you get used to using a file. I used one of the file holder guides the file straps to when I first learned. That made it pretty clear what you need to do. After a little time that thing went in the toolbox and has been there since. Unless you try to cut steel plate with your saw it really shouldn't be that tough to get it right, just follow the profile already there. JMO though. I also don't really care for that Oregon roller guide, never seemed to work well for me.
Stihl MS361, 460 & 200T, Jonsered 490, Jonsereds 90, Husky 350 & 142, Homelite XL and Super XL

Coach

Thanks much. Very helpful guys & gals. So 7/32 files and preferably some guide.  It's for .58 guage 3/8 ripping and regular semi chisel. 

Here's the guide i was considering.

http://www.cutterschoice.com/cgi-bin/store/cutters.cgi?show_details=2946&s=popup&cur=usd

beenthere

Coach
A good starter guide.. that will get you some of the basics of filing when you get this guide all figured out.
It is how I started too.

Now in retrospect, I stopped using that guide very soon after figuring it all out.  It has been setting in the box at the back of one of my workbenches ever since...about 35 years more or less.

Once you see how the tooth needs to be filed, then you too maybe won't bother with the setup time needed for such a guide.

Granted, that I have a good vise to hold the bar while hand filing, so without that vise then maybe I'd have used the guide more.

Free-hand filing is usually what I do, but use the Husqvarna roller guide most of the time as it gives good depth control and moves along rather quickly from tooth to tooth.
south central Wisconsin
It may be that my sole purpose in life is simply to serve as a warning to others

chainsawr

Free hand filing is quite a challenge for ripping chains.  If you can't keep all your cutters near exactly the same, and all your rakers the same, the chain will wander in the cut causing the mill to either jam, or pull up and out of the cut.  A good free hand filer would never notice a problem blocking and falling even in fairly big logs, but try making a 16' rip cut.   Add to that fact that typically mill saws are equipped with very long bars, and it gets even harder.

We prefer the granberg file-n-joint for on the bar sharpening of these.  Or a bench mount grinder with a good back stop.

On, the other note we are addicted to Swiss made Maddog files.  We sell and have tried everything but those are our favorite.
www.chainsawr.com

Over 50,000 parts in stock.

Selling excellent Dolmar chainsaws and power equipment.

High volume Oregon bar and chain dealer.

Al_Smith

FWIW Oberg used to be an excellant file .I'm not sure they are still made .I have about 30 of the original three dozen 1/4"I bought for 1/2" chain for gear drives .Which of course wouldn't interest anybody except a collector. .

barbender

I've sharpened plenty of chain, and I prefer to use a guide. Not so much for the angle, but I have a tendency to get too deep in the gullet. So I use one of the Oregon plate guides that your file snaps too. I bought a box of the Save Edge files after hearing they were the greatest thing since sliced bread. They are good files, but they don't seem superior to the Oregon files I was using.
Too many irons in the fire

thecfarm

I would use whatever works the best for me. Be it a file,guide,grinder. Good luck.
Model 6020-20hp Manual Thomas bandsaw,TC40A 4wd 40 hp New Holland tractor, 450 Norse Winch, Heatmor 400 OWB,YCC 1978-79

Al_Smith

I've said my piece about rip chain many  a time which I personaly  think is waste of time but that's only just an opinion and should be taken as such.

Cutting with the grain,ripping  is going to dull a chain quicker than cross cutting ,just the way it goes .It doesn't make a diff if it's standard 30 or 35 degree  chisel chain or 10 degree rip chain

If you choose chainsaw ripping be prepaired to be active with the file which is also the way it goes .

Coach

Thanks all for the advise. I got myself some files and handles, as well as the Granburg file & joint guide. Looks like a very decent apparatus. I'll use it to true up the chain after a couple hand filings.

HolmenTree

I don't want to burst anyone's bubble here but the way a sawchain cuts whether it's for crosscutting or ripping, the # 1 thing is to get the cutters cutting edges sharp. All the cutter lengths don't need to be all perfectly the same length.
Even a 30° top plate angle will rip just fine, but for the long haul the vibration will eventually destroy the chain's chassis.
My advice is to buy square ground chisel bit chain for the best ripping chain . Resharpen it with a chisel bit grinder or a Atop square filing guide with the top plate angles at 10°......
and you won't find a better ripping chain ;)
Making a living with a saw since age 16.

HolmenTree

To add to my last post our sponsor Bailey's sells the Atop square filing guide. With just a short piece of fuel line slid onto one of the guide pegs you can modify the top plate cutting angle to close to 10°
Making a living with a saw since age 16.

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