How to Sharpen a Chainsaw with Elegant Efficiency [smoother & straighter cuts]
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 9 ก.ค. 2019
- Up your sharpening game and saw smoother and quicker! I show what I did, and most people, even experienced chainsaw users, do wrong when sharpening chainsaw chain for Alaskan milling.
Having a sharp chain is really important when you come to chainsaw milling, and it can be a bit trickier than sharpening chains for regular cross cutting. If the chain is sharpened unevenly it will cause major problems: an uneven finish on the milled lumber at best, overloading the saw and damaging the guide bar and chain at worst. In this video I share tips on how to sharpen chains to get really nice smooth and flat slabs.
If, like me you ever hit metal or glass or a rock with your chainsaw chain, it is likely only a grinder will save it.
The grinder I use is a much cheaper copy of the Oregon Bench-Mount Chain Sharpener, Model# 520-120. It's called ZF-ES009 230W (though these names do change!) and it too has a cast aluminum chassis, but has some drawbacks over the Oregon, which I go into in the video. It was about $140 from ebay USA: ebay.us/iBLI5h UK ebay: ebay.us/ELJicX
Or check out the Oregon one here: ebay.us/ZNYBdM
The game-changing 5 ¾” CBN grinding wheel we use was from a company called Baltic Abrasives - it was about $90. I have been using it for a good few years now and have been very impressed! After this video had been released about 6 months, Darius from Baltic Abrasives saw it and reached out to me. He offered viewers a 5% discount! All you need to do is mention Flowering Elbow in correspondence, or use the code ‘Floweringelbow’ at checkout. Sounds good to me! They do worldwide delivery and you can find their CBN wheels here lapidarywheels.com/53-chainsa...
In general, I use a standard .404 Still rapid super (RS) 30° crosscut chain (US ebay- ebay.us/qJ1N9B , UK link - ebay.us/QdcmJj ) and slowly grind it to a lower angle, like 10°, over consecutive sharpenings.
I always keep at least one chain at 30° for cross cutting very big logs and making cookies.
Please stay safe friends - it is not be a good idea to use a low top plate angle rip chain with low depth gauges for freehand cross cutting - it will behave unpredictably and kickback will be more severe if you hit something on that part of your chain/bar.
Note, I have no connection with any of the companies in this vid - I bought the tools myself as a regular customer. This video description though contains affiliate links, which means that if you click on one of the e-bay links, and then buy, I’ll receive a small commission at no cost to you. This helps support the channel and allows me to continue to make videos like this. Thank you for the support!
Hey friend, thanks for watching. If you are interested in chainsaw milling, check out our new book on the subject "How to make a chainsaw mill and how to use it". It's got a lot of great information and you can earn our undying gratitude by getting it here :D ko-fi.com/s/dd5b46e8a8
I was running this saw for about 2 hours at about a 30-50% duty cycle th-cam.com/users/postUgkxfQm1wmg0ItKDLavxj1nXtQY9HP7EF504 and it did a great job. I used the lever for the built in sharpener to clear chip buildup out more than to actually sharpen the chain. It managed to cut some hardwood stumps much larger than it's size without bothering the neighbors with hours of 2 stroke noise.
I sharpen chains like this in a cedar shingle saw mill. I was not trained on how to do it so I appreciate this video. Thanks.
Probably the most informative video on you tube that I've seen so far, , on chainsaw teeth cutters and the variabilty of angles to suit the job.
Thanks Kevin, 'preciate that :D
watched your sharpening video - loved it. I'm 70 now and have logged since 1960. Always knew sharpening saw technical but you reinforced what I knew to be important.Now the eyes are not so good and it is harder to see what I'm doing. Now I want to saw lumber and have the use of a LT40 but want to slab with my chain saw to save on blades. You have made that a lot easier with that video. thanks again.
Good morning Dennis. Thank you for your encouragement, means a lot to me. I'm surprized you wouldn't rather use the bandmill than the chainsaw? Do you have use of a blade sharpener for the bandsaw?
Thanks again, Bongo.
You are a gift to the cyberverse. I don’t think you said one sentence that didn’t have pure gold experiential wisdom in it. Thank you. I have to go now to implement all the ideas you shared. I’ll be back in a month.
Hey Tim! Thanks for this :D Good luck. Let me know how you go.
I have been doing this stuff for around 40 years, and take a much more casual approach to it. The pay back from CM is so fast, that in a few outings one can have more wood than one will ever get through. The reason rip saws are filed differently was to reduce the power required to make a cut, or to increase the cutting power of a given saw. Same geometry and reasoning as with hand saws where the difference is immediately evident. With an 090, I mostly don't encounter power problems in the 16-24 inch trees I mill. You are correct to point out that CS saw geometry has some peculiarities, and a lot of cuts are mixed grain directions. Everything I knew came of Maloff's book, which I purchased when it came out, so it is great to hear some modern ideas. Thank you.
Nice tip on the CBN wheels for those grinders, cheers.
Great video, love all your videos on milling, keep them coming need to learn as well as getting out there milling more myself. Thanks for the info on chain sharpening, will look into a purchase for a machined grinder! Thanks
Well I think this is one of the best videos explaining ripping chains.i just built a slab mill and have been told use nothing but ripping chains. I have a bandmill have used chainsaws for over 30 years but never once had any experience with a ripping chain I feel you explained this perfectly and gave me some good knowledge to get started in the world of large slabs my bar mill is 84" !! Thank you!!!
Hey Thomas, really good to hear, thanks 😊
Dude, I clicked because of the smile and because you look so happy. Oh, I also need to sharpen a saw.
Nice to see somebody who knows how to use the electric sharpener. Seem a few that don't know you cannot just run it in, in one shot. It burns and case hardens the tooth. Nice and slow with a few bring downs on each tooth. used them to make 4-8 chains a night for years to do high production firewood. Burrs were no problem at all and I haven't found anyone on utube that could cut as fast as I did on a daily basis.
Instead of removing (cutting off) the damaged teeth I would just replace them with a new one and grind them to match others. Takes less time and your chain will not be missing any cutters.
очень сложную работу по заточке ножей Вы делаете и это реально круто. Поменять угол я даже не задумался.... RESPECT!
I work for a small trefalling company in norway and we started sharpening our own chains last summer and I was tasked with doing it. We got a oregon bench grinder that was actually quite expensive and it had some terrible instructions so we have not used it that much but I think after watching this im really looking forward to giving it another shot. Great video!
Hi Ithz, thats really heartening to hear. Best of luck with it, let us know how it goes.
I run a small business called Really Sharp and just bought the same very expressive grinder. I agree, the instructions are terrible.
Thanks again. About to tackle a Big redwood project and can use all the help I can get. Love your tips, attitude, and style. 🌲
Thanks Randall. Good luck with the redwood, let me know how it goes.
Thanks. A clear, detailed breakdown of sharpening. Especially appreciated the breakdown on when and when not to use a ripping chain. I'm milling ash, spruce, willow and poplar in Ireland. The landscapes in your videos and on my farms could be twins. You have better weather though. Thanks for the tips, and loving your videos and down to earth but knolwedgeable style.
Hey Keith. Thanks so much for the encouraging feedback :) I suspect the weather is quite similar, just I don't do a lot of filming in the wet ;)
Maybe one day post lockdowns etc. we'll visit Ireland again. Wanted to do a cycling tour with my wife Sam one day...
Peace, Bongo.
Just the info I was looking for. Awesome video!!! Thank you.
Thanks dude, I’ve learned lots watching you. Number one is ya gotta love wood!
Aye, nice comment eh... Üö
Really heartening to hear that friend :D thanks for the encouragement.
Thanks a million, really appreciate you taking the time. learned more in your video than in 10 others. My chain cut like new.
Great to hear Timmy. Thank you for taking the time to comment 🙏
Love ❤️ this is great. I have a cheap sharpener and I just tried using a dull chain to cut some old and dirty elm and it's not working! Time to sharpen my chains! Cheers from NEW MEXICO!
Thank you so much… You educated me on skip chain as well because I have a couple change just like you described you gave me another option for those chains
Good evening Chuck, really pleased you found some use in it. Hope you can modify those old chains. Thanks for the encouragement:D
Great, detailed explanation! I bought a Granville saw attachment years back but never used it. Now I have a couple of stacks of beautiful red oak that we had to cut for the sake of the safety of our house in windstorms. (A huge 120’ oak blew down a couple of years back and took out our back deck, narrowly missing our house, so we’re a little leery of having trees so close to our noise now.)
I was going to try putting a really long bar on my little Stihl 291 and just go really slow, but after seeing one of your other vids where you talked about rebuilding an engine 3x, I guess I’m gonna have to find the budget for a much bigger saw :-/
I don’t really have the $1,000+ for a big saw, but there’s a load of potential lumber and beams there; maybe I can convince my wife that I’ll be able to recoup the cost of the saw and accessories by selling the wood… (Unfortunately, she knows me too well, and there’s a higher probability of our boys inheriting a couple thousand board feet of lumber whenever we finally kick the bucket :-/)
Haha, Hi Dave. Well, if it's oak it would be worth a penny or two. But yeah, unless you or your boys are into woodworking or diy stuff, you could probably get a bit selling the log to a sawmill. If you do have a woodworking bent though, it's a way to get some prime and unique slabs that would be very hard to get otherwise... Good luck with it all, and thanks for getting in touch.
I use a Dremel tool with Oregon sharpening stones. Oregon has a dedicated system however Dremel has a fantastic guide that comes with some terrible stones.
It makes sharpening a chain a quick and easy thing once you understand what’s going on. I’ve taught many people how to get a decent edge on a chain.
You my friend have made me look like an absolute amateur!
When it comes to sharpening chains I feel like I haven’t even been born yet.!😝. I appreciate this video in the precision you applied with that grinder.
When I used to take chainsaws to a shop to have the chains sharpened they would buzz through them so fast and not even adjust the rakers.
For a long time I thought those machines were junk now I just see most people don’t know what they’re doing.
Thank you
Appreciate that Scott, thanks 😊
There's really useful observations and corrections in there. Helpful tips and ways you make things roll smoothly. Great video, thank you for sharing.
Very useful video. I have the same cheap grinder and experienced exactly the same problems you have highlighted so glad to hear your solutions many thanks for posting it.
Thanks Andrew, good to hear 😀
Thank you for this video. While i don't do any milling, i have noticed that my hand filing is more forgiving of inconsistency than my bosses filing. Now i know why. I tend to file the top plate steeper than stock allowing the side plate to cut as well, it just mad sense to me that if all angles of the chain can cut you would have less resistance in the cut, also my chains tend to be better at cleaning out and adjusting notches because the chain doesn't skip away from the wood when contacting at an angle, the corners bite easier.
Excellent advice and guidance, especially the CBN grinding wheel. Many thanks for your mentorship on this topic which as we all know is one of the hardest things to get right. Even after 35 years of chainsaw sharpening there are plenty of things to learn.
Good luck to you.
Good morning Tom, thank you for this, great to hear. You are so right, I certainly have plenty still to learn and refinements to make with this.. I really want to try a grinder with higher build quality - just so I can compare and see if the are worth the extra.
Peace, Bongo,
Quite right FE. I've got a real shakey 3rd rate model which I don't use much unless I, as you did put my 880 or other chain through some nails. I've just purchased an Oregon professional 410-230 and will get your CBN disc and a vernier caliper and get some of the old chains out. Thanks for the inspiration.
@@stihlnz please HELP---- SATAN, he forever chases my at night!
Thanks for the great video. It is the most informative video I've found regarding the behavior of the chain while ripping figured wood.
Hi Leif52pickup, thanks for the encouragement friend.
As a new subscriber, I can see that I have a steep hill ahead for my new chainsaw mill.
Today I cut my first log, freehand, with my 40cc Echo CS-400 chainsaw, just to see if I could. It took about 1/2 an hour, but I had my first 2”x16”x 8’ slab when I was done. The wood was a very hard poplar tulip, cut down a year ago, very dry.
Today I ordered my first chainsaw mill. I was afraid that 40cc and an 18” bar wasn’t enough, but I hope not. Most of the boards I want to cut are going to be 6”-8”.
I also started sharpening my chain on a relatively cheap Harbor Freight chain sharpener which I spend a great deal of time making sure it is consistent.
Your advice on chainsaw mill chain types was very helpful. I may stick with my 30 degree for now. Your advice and tips are a big part of my journey. I like your editing and narration too. Thank you.
Welcome friend. Thanks so much for the encouragement. It means a lot. Good luck with the new mill!
Oh my, the things I'm learning on TH-cam... My brain needs more information... Lol.... Awesome video... The video ended with me knowing more... Thank you for your time showing your wisdom gained from experience...
Sir Fish a Lot, thank you so much for watching ans your encouragement. It means a lot to me, and I'm super pleased if you learned something from my blunderings too! :D
Very useful!!! You actually gave a great description of everything. I am getting into chainsaw milling and your video really helps!
Hey Guy, great to hear 👍 😀
What a great explanation. You definitely have a great talent for teaching and I learned an awful lot, thank you.
The sideways problem you speak of is rarely the angle or length of the tooth. Although they are important, there are 2 main reasons for “sideways” or banana cuts. First is the gullet (bottom section of the tooth) quite often gets ignored which will cause each tooth to cut at different depths. Removing the gullet evenly keeps a nice C shaped tooth for an evenly pulling cut & that nice chunky looking sawdust. But just as important is raker depth. Uneven rakers will pull your cut sideways no matter what type or how sharp your chain is. Also causes saw to chatter, giving your cut the rippled look. A dull chain with correct raker depth will cut better than a sharp chain with uneven rakers
Good afternoon D J Santlago. Thanks for the comment friend, and sorry for the late reply. This is really nice info you share here, and I'm sure others will find it useful, thank you. My experience has been a bit different, but the things you mention sure are important! Peace, Bongo.
Excellent as usual. Thank you so much for sharing these sharpening tips. I have one of those small Granberg 12v sharpening systems I can use in the field, which I think is kind of ok. It uses a long round stone which fits the main unit like a dremmel bit. What I like about it is the consistency it offers. However, I have to do rakers separately... Anyway, keep it up. I really enjoy your vids. Cheers, Nigel
Thanks Nigel. Means a lot :)
Mount a piece of 2x4 or even angle iron or whatever to the bolt holes on the grinder base. You can then mount grinder in a vice. The chain will be easy to slide as you grind as it sits in between the space between the jaws of the vice, or it will hang either side of the vice. This allows easy access to the degree adjustment knob at rear. Carbide chains for pieces of known wood with metal embedded. Carbide chains are also good for pretending your in a virtual video game & rampage through the local town cutting cars up, whether people are in them or not. Sorry lockdown has made me go stir crazy
Great vid and camera work mate, thanks for some good commentary. Great singlet too.
Good morning Simon, thank you for the positive feedback, I appreciate that. I must admit, I was a tad confused about what a 'singlet' was - I had to google it. The multi coloured stripey one was a fave, but is a bit too warn out to carry on with now...
Great video. I started w same clone but then down graded for rakers. I long bolt my grinders 2x6 on top through 4x
quite useful video. simple blown away by your expertise and knowledge thanks
I use the same grinding machine, but have dressed the stone into a square edge. This produces a square ground chain, that seems to be quicker for sawing timber. I am still adjusting the back-tilt angle, will get it even better soon...
Thanks for sharing. Looks like a ton of work.
you sir, and a damn saw chain rocket scientist! I am impressed that I've found someone who shares my thoughts on precision sharpening. Excellent video, awesome presentation and your available wood selection is incredible. Out here we have white oak, ponderosa pine, black oak and some limited access to pacific coast redwood, and sugar pine. Your tips on a more aggressive angle and using less skip teeth have improved my production quality and for that I thank you. Keep up the good work.
Really appreciate that Dennis, thanks :)
Sounds like you have some nice woods to play with, was trying to narrow down your location by what trees you have, but failing, where you based?
I guess you want to use quite a different grind for oak to the pine?
@@FloweringElbow my location is the foothills in northern California usa. Within a 3 hr drive I have access to the coastal redwoods and in the opposite direction the high Sierra mountain range with elevations up to 9,000' which yield high elevation conifers. Yes, I even use a different angle on my chains depending on whether I'm cutting the pines or the local hardwood.
just bought one of the cbn wheels with your promo code. Thanks for all of the great milling videos! keep them coming please!
It does sound like you know quite a bit about power saws and sharpening, but check out a TH-camr called bucking Billy Ray of you've a mind to, he's extremely knowledgeable about all things felling and power sawing. Hands down the best man with a saw I've seen, he has quite a few sharpening videos, even does some hand filed square grinds that cut like a knife through butter. Although I must admit you did teach me something of how and why to grind differently for milling which I'm seriously looking into taking up, I just found your content today, I'm highly impressed and extremely thankful for your quality content and in depth explanations, despite my original hesitancy due to the bri'ish thing... Just kidding, I appreciate you and your hard work, truly, thank you good sir.
Excellent explanation. Love all the fine details and it was obviously shot very well
Good morning GoneForever. I really appreciate that, and glad you like the details :)
Great video! It was informative and concise. I really like how easily the information was explained and documented.
Thanks Scott. Appreciate that D
great video, very interesting. Just started out milling with Alaskan and Stihl 441. agree sharpen in the shop. thanks
Hey Gordon. Thanks for getting in touch. Good luck milling, hopefully some of my other milling vids will be of use.
Thanks again,
Bongo.
Love the way you do the rakers, and that CBN wheel !!
Thanks for putting out this material. 👍
Good day Matthew, more than welcome :D Thanks for the comment and encouragement.
Years ago when I was working in the industry it was also my job to maintain the saws and sharpen chains and whatnot. As I had quite a few chains to do on the weekends. I would not have been able to do them all by hand in a reasonable time, not to mention the amount of elbow grease involved. So I only used a grinder to do the job. These days I have five chainsaws and I occasionally use them to do smaller jobs for friends free of charge as I love using chainsaws. Even though I have a grinder I do not use it as it is wasteful on the chain compared to using a file, no matter how careful you are and that can get rather time consuming. Back in the day I removed enough material to get the chains sharp but not to the point of being anal about it insofar as saving the most amount of the tooth.If you are like me and not working in a professional capacity where you sharpen lots and lots of chains, just use a file. It is still cheaper to buy files than prematurely be replacing chains.
Thank you for sharing your knowledge. Very well explained mate. Quality video recording too. Cheers🇦🇺
Good morning Tyrone. Thanks so much friend, your encouragement means a lot to me :D
hi great video, i do the same thing but have a drip tool coolant line that runs off a aquarium pump . chain stays much cooler, a little messier process though.
Nothing can beat a round file for perfect tooth profile.
Long time awaited video, very nice too.
I guess I am a one chain guy, I sharpen it by hand whilst on the guide bar, and it seems to last me forever. The teeth became extra hard for some reason, but fully functional.
Always like your videos.
Hi Milad. Thank you for the comment and watching friend. Not sure why they would become so hard? Does the file still cut? The files do wear out after a bit, maybe that is what makes it seem hard?
@@FloweringElbow dear friend, I change the file every year or so, and I use the chain saw to cut fire wood for the house use, I have been using it for the last 15 years and it's even chinese made.
And thank you for reciprocating, I wish I was your neighbor ;-)
@@miladne1092 Lol. Sound like you have a runner on your hands, and obviously care for it nicely. Happy firewood sawing!
Very good. Thanks for sharing that. That was great information!
My pleasure! JR. Happy sawing :)
Hey mate, I use a similar set up for sharpening chains. I have a couple of those CBN discs from the US. I cut various hardwoods here in Australia, very tough stuff some of them indeed. I’ve been using CBN’s on my Carlton grinder for over 7 years now, love them. I have a tip for you. Every time I complete a grind, I get a 6mm hardwood dowel (around 150mm long or so) and I remove all burrs on that particular tooth. The hardwood dowel is a very important process. It’s like stropping a knife once it’s been sharpened. I used the CBN for around a years before I discovered this tip. If you leave burrs on the chain, it will not cut well and dull quickly I noticed. You will notice the difference, if you use this method
Hey Andrew- Great tip thanks! I will try this next time I use the sharpener :)
Andrew 1974, would you expound on how you are using the dowel to deburr after you grind the tooth? Are you just rubbing the dowel across the tooth like a file?
EliseandDanchannel...
this is going to be a challenge to put it into words, but I’ll give it a go. To answer your question; no, not along the parallel surface as you would with a file (well not in the beginning of this process). I get the timber dowel or maybe better call it a 5mm (in diameter) hardwood timber rod approximately 100-150mm long. Remember that there are two cutting edges, vertical side and horizontal side, left side and right side. The first 3 steps are for the vertical side. This explanation is for all the left side of the cutting teeth.
(Step 1) I de-burr it on a approximately 90 degree angle on the inside of the grind, moving the timber towards the leading cutting edge, so any burr are pushed towards to outer side of the leading edge.
(Step 2) Then approximately on a 45 degree angle from the outside (flat vertical side of the tooth) with quite a bit of force making a stroke in the direction of the forward chain motion or opposite direction of step 1.
(Step 3) Then, get the timber rod, and try to cut the timber or shave the timber moving it in a forward and backward direction.
So, basically if you did what I described with a file (in step 3) you would dull the edge, severely.
Step 1,2 & 3 are for the vertical cutting face.
Step4. (For the horizontal cutting face, the part of the tooth that faces up), I usually push the dowel from the back of the tooth towards the cutting edge, this pushes the burr towards the under side of the horizontal flat surface. Then drag the timber rod along that cutting edge towards myself, cutting a gouge into the timber. (This part basically rackes the burrs off). So from the beginning of the leading edge to the inside of the cutting horizontal edge (widest part to narrow part). Then, as you would file the tooth with this motion, I then start to cut the timber with both cutting edges.
This whole process should only take less than 10 seconds per tooth, depending how bad the burr is or how much you have had to grind the tooth back.
Once, the left side is done, right side is repeated the opposite way, but same way if you know what I mean.
Hope you understood, cos it’s done my head in explaining 😂. I’m better with my hands than words. Good luck
@@Andrew-1974 Ok. I think I understand. You are basically breaking off the burr by pushing it away from the cutting edge then back again on the vertical cutting edge.
You should put a video up of your technique as I'm sure many would be interested.
Thank you much for responding.
Thanks for this vid, really enjoyed it and found it incredibly helpful and educational
Appreciate that Nate, thanks :D
Thanks, that was a really well constructed and delivered guide, don't you just love discovering little treasures, in urban timber recovery you always encounter this. My favorites are star pickets and rail spikes, a cheap metal detector off ebay can help. I have noticed that you don't de-bark much.....with the timbers I have milled (Australian) this can have a huge effect on chain sharpness, that and termites.
Hey Bunyip, agree about the little 'treasures'! Normally I blame my dad or the farmers round these parts for using the trees as fence posts, but this time I don't even have anyone to blame but myself :D I may have to invest in a metal detector... do they really work to much depth though?
Sometimes I de-bark, depends on the species and how dirty I think the log is. If it has been rolled about in the mud then I will usually de-bark. Often I am using the bark on the slabs for finished furniture (I have noticed it adheres really well to Ash if it is dried without any rain or strong sunlight getting on it).
@@FloweringElbow In my experience chainsaws appear to be the best way to find metal treasures in trees, but as for metal detectors I have only used friends detectors who used them for prospecting (garret?) It was able to identify 4" nails about 3" under the bark, not sure about anything deeper, guess you get what you pay for. I think there are a lot of variables, but I would be more keen to Id some of the star pickets and rail spikes I have had the pleasure to uncover, they are real killers.
@@bunyipdan haha yes the chainsaw is the best detector!
I just started following you! I liked the one where you cut your own posts and installed them. This is a great video also! I was curious where you are from? I’m from Alliance Ohio in America. It was great that your video came across!
Hi Kurt. Based in Wales, UK here. Thanks for watching :D
Great tips. I'm not a miller but would like to give it a try.
Hey Carl.Good luck if you give it a go. Let us know how it goes. The other vids on CS milling here may help: th-cam.com/play/PL95ElZTgRGGt9_ST0yXkRq1Qbub57UUa0.html
Any questions just ask. Bongo.
I have the same sharpener. On the chain rest, remove one of the two washers on each side and turn the outside guide around. It will hold the chain much better and the clamp cam will work.
Thanks for sharing
Best video on sharpening chain saw chains
Hey thanks Danny, 'preciate that :D
Thanks heaps for the video. While I don't do milling I can still apply these same techniques to crosscut sharpening.
One thing I have noticed on my cheap sharpener (similar to yours) is that when I rotate to cut the opposite side cutters the tooth length is slightly different.
I measure the tooth length with verniers and then adjust accordingly to try and get them all consistent. Not sure if it helps a lot but as you reinforced in your video I believe consistency is the key to a well behaved chainsaw. :)
Jack! Dude! Thanks so much for your comment. Nice work adjusting to get consistent left and right cutters. And certainly a good call to measure them! Thanks for sharing this.
Peace, Bongo.
Nys
You need to center your vice to get even lenght on both sides.
@@firewoodwarrior4396 That would work if I had some way of adjusting the vice position, but my sharpener doesn't. Another option would be to use a progressive depth gauge.
I don’t do much milling and am often cutting dirty or old gnarly wood. I tend to file sharpen and often in the field. I alway have a spare sharp chain but only resort to using it, if I’ve really mash the first one and it would take forever to file sharpen it. I’ll wait till I’ve go 3-4 mashed chains, before the grinder comes out and then they all get done at the same time.
Excellent video!!! Great
BEAUTIFUL JOB. CONGRATULATIONS! ( I am from Brazi)
Thank you learnt a lot!! Will add to my knowledge database brain:D
Good video. You are right that even a cheap grinder is better than filing by hand. I bought a cheap Aldi chainsaw and hand filed the teeth badly. I bought the cheap Aldi grinder (like $A30) and after about five re-sharpens, I had even teeth... yes it took a while. The trick with the cheap floppy plastic grinder is to be very consistent. I pull the chain back against the stop, pull the head down into the tooth slowly and evenly with the same pressure for every tooth. I give the depth gauges a good grind with a Dremel. If the gauges are ground low, it is easy to stall the saw. So the trick here is to feed the saw so the engine is running quite fast. If you load it up the engine is running slow and is not making much power. Of course if it is not slowing down it is not loaded and is not making power to do the cutting either. Next point... keep the blades sharp. We have a few and swap out the blunt blades to be resharpened often. Your bar will last a lot longer if the blade cuts straight and it will usually go blunt on one side first and cut crooked, loading up the blade and the bar. The grinder makes sharpening quick and means you don’t put it off.
Hey, thanks for the comment. I was curious about how the plastic grinders would sharpen. Good to know they can be made to work... in the end.
lots of good tips there thanks
Took you some time playing around with diffrent settings. Me to. Make a chain so. Wild stall tje saw out. Try a thinner grinding wheel on 3/8. Chain at your 15 deg. With a 10 deg set back. Check rakers. To.
Excellent video. Very informative!
Thanks Jacek 😊.
great video - thanks for sharing. i've got 27 tonnes of logs to mill, stack and dry and then re-roof my old croft house & outbuildings at the top of the UK in Caithness
Good stuff! Good luck and let me know how it goes Leigh. Thank you for getting in touch :D
@@FloweringElbow hi again, i'm just reading an old book called Chainsaw Lumbermaking by Will Malloff (1982). have you read it? the guy made a living being in the middle of nowhere making lumber with an alaskan mill. First tip that caught my interest was that coating a grinder disk with parafin wax supposedly stops the chain swarf embedding in the cheaper sharpening disks. have you heard of that before? - cheers leigh.
@@leighrawnsley2266 Hi again. I have skimmed the book a few years back. Ok maybe more like 8... Some good info in there. If I remember rightly there were photos of the old boy milling with zero ppe and smoking a pipe at the same time! Made me chuckle.
I don't remember that tip, no. If you try it do report back. Interested to know if it works...
@@FloweringElbow hi, yes that's the right book and he talks of attaching pulleys and putting weight on the mill so he just stands at one end. i havent read it all yet, but i did try adding a candle to the spinning disk and rightly enough if at the right angle, the waxed peels off the disc pulling all the dirty swarf out as it changed from candle white to grey and disc colour until there's no more coming off it. who'd have thought it. he does say that cleaning the disc in parafin works too. he advises using the candle method several times during 1 chain sharpen and i was quite amazed at it.
@@leighrawnsley2266 That's really good to know. Thanks for the sharing! Interesting the weights and pulley idea... I can imagine it kinda working on very straight logs, it's normally all wiggly oak and the like that I'm playing with...
I swap out the grinding wheel to a wide, flat surface wheel for the rakers. I like your comment on rounding the front edge with a hand file, and I'm going to research CBN wheels. Thank you!
Good day Carl, thanks for the tip, I agree that a flat wide wheel could be nice for the rakers. Let me know what you find re. the CBN wheels - it has worked well for me. The reduction in dust alone makes it worth it ;)
Peace, Bongo.
Ya old timer logger flattened my rakers useing a wheel grinder ,wow was i sharpening my chain wrong
This is really helpful and detailed. Have you ever used a winch to chainsaw mill? I started using one late in my milling experience and was surprised at how much it was a back, shoulder and arm saver.
Hi Lolita. Thanks. No I haven't tried a winch before... People keep telling me to try, but I am resistant to lug about another bit of kit/ add it to my setup time... Though I think they probably would be really useful when you are having to mill uphill. Good for instances where the log is to big/awkward to arrange so you can mill down a slope... I guess I like feeling that the sharp chain is pulling the saw through the wood - rather than a winch doing the work.
Will have to look into it though ;)
@@FloweringElbow Big advantage is that you can be 20 feet away from the power head. So that is an advantage relative to noise (defenders are only partially effective), and a safety advantage. I don't use one, but at 60+ I may start. Mainly I found one could get so much wood out of say a 20" black cherry so fast, that I was not inconvenienced often enough to bother making a change. Maloff who devised the system was maybe doing it pro. And he lived on the west coast where he could get imense logs that were very long, so his system allowed him infinite cuts, within the bite of the saw.
@@FloweringElbow On the sharp chain thing, I would counter, that if it is really sharp it should not really be pulling on the log. You have adjusted your sharpening geometry so that it will feed for you. Are you sure that is the most efficient use of geometry. Is it just a happy accident that your idealized self-feed is the perfect geometry in every other respect. That would be convenient.
Thank you for your time to create this video. Super nice video
Thanks for watching Mechanicpower :D Seeing as your a mechanic - check out my latest video - I'd love your feedback on my novice attempts...
I have one of those cheap grinders like yours, I mounted it on a big piece of steel angle plate so I could clamp it in the vice, the top pivot had a lot of slop in it so I machined some bushes and pressed them in and greased them, that took care of the pivot slop, the cam lock had a lot of slop so I bored out the hole in the cam to a larger size, remade the pin to suit and fitted thinner washers for the guide rails to bring them closer together. Doing those two things have improved it substantially, I made a bush for the head adjusting pivot as there was too much slop in that. I found the pink grinding wheels wobble so will upgrade to a CBN wheel as funds allow. With those modifications the machine is much better to use now.
Good work my friend! :)
Really helpful video, thank you!
Tom back again. I'm not sure how the Simington 451C would work for making milling chain but for square cut it seems to be the real deal. They are US$ 1500ish, so for a 1/3 of that you get an Oregon 520 with a BCN disc. See Bucking Billy Ray use his, good luck to you.
Good morning Tom. Thank you for this. The 451C looks good, I just need to persuade them to send me one so I can make a video about it ;)
Peace, Bongo.
Awesome tips
Greetings from Philippines 🇵🇭..
Nice work brother ❤️👍👍
Thanks :D
Amazing tutorial !!! Love it man!
For doing fire wood I just vise file mine. I have the combo tool the files the tooth and racker down at the same time. Unless I really mess the chain up a few quick passes sharpens the tooth and lowers the racker just a bit. If it’s bad I’ll do the separate or swap the chain out and fix it at the work bench.
Hi there, thanks for commenting - that's actually my strategy for firewood to :)
Living in NW I've used several chain sharpeners, my brother an his wife worked for company making Oregon Chain an bars. He actually went to China as a department head to show Chinese how to use equipment after China bought Oregon Chain! Brother has asked me to try out several types an one I'm using now is the "Timberline"! For same reason your looking for, Consistency! (What I don't like is carrying bag, which has nothing to do with performance).
Good morning Tim, thanks for this, really interesting. So how is the Timberline? Are you referring to the hand sharpening system that uses a carbide bit? Or is this a type of chain?
Thanks again, Bongo.
@@FloweringElbow yes I'm referring to same Timberline with carbine bit! Wrangler Star has video on best sharpener but it's 2 years old an different! So several (including me) sent him info in this timberline, now he thinks Timberline is best too! Needing carbine tip for different chain is understandable. It's small & portable in field, it's fast, you don't need to remove chain from bar, easy to learn, easy to use, an makes every link perfect consistency (what I look for besides razor sharp), can repair old hand filed chains. It's expensive but I found deals all over! I wish I had a dollar for every sharpener I've tested an disliked, but Timberline is my favorite by far! (And you can buy different cutting angles too for your milling), an I thought of something else! It only removes small amount of material from cutting edges, many pro sharpener take too much meat an cuts chain life, with Timberline I can sharpen edges with only couple turns (I count turns same each edge for that consistency)!
Very well presented and easily followed. I have been able to gain further understanding of different types of chains as well as techniques to help me to sharpen my chains. Thank you for sharing your knowledge with others.
Hey thanks friend, means a lot :)
Good day Flowering Elbow, I can relate to chainsaw chains. I also use a 404 chain on my saw. Oregon brand (New old stock)is the one I use, but mine is a semi-chisel type because firewood is sometimes dirty with stony bark. Personally, my sharpening method is using an old vintage Arnold rotary sharpener. This old machine uses a tungsten carbide rotary file. The first time you sharpen the chain it takes about ten minutes for a 3 foot bar. The next time takes about 4 to 5 minutes. Then you just slightly dress it and you have a honed edge that just glides through the wood. I used to use a Foley Belsaw grinder similar to what you are using. But found out the machine seems to just take too much metal and the finish is not the greatest with the grinding grit and the boron nitride wheel. My way of cleaning the chain is to soak the chain in gasoline mixed with two stroke oil as that is the cheapest way to do so. Then blow the chain from the inside out to make sure the grit is out of the chain. This is the main reason chains wear out and boron grit is super abrasive to the chain even the old chain. Think I said enough Bongo. Good day and peace too. VF
Nice tips VF. I would be really interested to see your Arnold rotary grinder.
Peace, B
@@FloweringElbow Here is the address for you to see it. picclick.com/Arnold-Precision-Chainsaw-Sharpener-New-Old-Stock-In-222418692890.html Works really well for me B.
@@FloweringElbow Done.
Great info, Thanks. I was taught to brush up the teeth with a file every other tank of gas. has been working well but I'm ready to upgrade to a grinder after 30 years. LOL. Peace Bro!
Thanks Jeff, good to hear from you :)
They make a gauge for filing your rakers so you don’t get them too short which can cause kickbacks, if I were you I would get a gauge that way it’s like brand new and you don’t have to worry about the chain trying to cut way too aggressively causing kickbacks
Due to I use a very cheep grinder I have no chance to ajust the angle for the cutting angle. So the sulution was to unscrew one side of the guides and add a piece of sheet metal. The track now is highter on the right than on the left side. The angle increased up to 50 -60 degrees. Now the chain bites much better. Save fuel and time.
The Cheapest metal detectors tend to be the Best for your application. Good ones can be tuned to pass over small metal bits but for milling, you want the most sensitive and cheap ones tend to be the most sensitive.
I got one of those grinding machines. I hate it. The castings flex it's easy to burn the metal and the stinking chain positioning lock is inconsistent. I was designing a heavier machine, but after watching Bucking Billy Ray Smith freehand filing I gave it a try and It was so easy so fast and so good. I won't ever go back. I'll keep the machine and diamond wheels for my carbide chains.
Hey Bongo, I've done some more research on chain sharpening since I commented last. Living up in the pacific northwest of the US, logging softwoods is king and the tree fellers swear by square ground chain- essentially grinding full chisel teeth with a dressed grinding wheel which gives the top plate, top plate bevel and the side plate independent cutting angles and for whatever reason it is much faster cutting through wood. It doesn't quite make sense because the side plates would be cutting to the sides of your direction of travel (down the log) and so their sharpness shouldn't matter but I think you are onto something with the top plate angle affecting the side plate's ability to cut faster. I think if you were able to find someone to square grind your chains with a pointier top plate angle but less bevel, you would end up with a chain that is more durable, yet cuts faster because there is more surface area of the tooth cutting and with a sharp side plate- it would produce a nice finish because it pulls in the opposite direction of the top plate and therefore reduces gouging which I'm guessing is caused by dull top plates resisting the urge to cut and pushing the side plates into the wood. That was alot haha
Hi Erick, thanks for sharing! I have played with square grind, with a triangular shaped hand file for my small crosscut saw. It seems to cut quicker, but blunten slightly quicker. I haven't tried it milling as it's basically impossible to do with a regular grinder. I believe there are grinders out there that can do it, but they work a bit differently...
All potential experiments for the future... Let me know if you try these things out :)
Thanks again, Bongo.
very good , good information about angle
Thank you for this video. I have watched it numerous times and I'm still coming back and learning & absorbing more. I've been considering getting one of these power grinders to get chains that are damaged or have gotten uneven back to the same length on both sides. Have you gotten yourself a better sharpener yet to try? I'm considering getting an Oregon 410-120 and either one of those CBN or a diamond wheel. Also do you need different sizes of the CBN wheels if you are doing for example 3/8 low pro, .325 and 3/8 chains? I doubt I would do any other sizes.
Good morning Aeridyne, thanks so much for the comment. I doubt you would regret getting a power grinder. You will need some different sizes of cbn wheel to do all those chain sizes, though I think each wheel normally spans two sizes (eg the wheel I have is good for 3/8 and.404) but wouldn't do 1/4). It may be that because there are usually less drive links in the smaller size chains you only really want a large cbn to do your longer chains that have bigger cutting surfaces, and therefore require greater material removal?
Diamond wheels are only used for carbide chains normally so Cbn is probably what you want.
Anyway I'm really pleased you got something from the vid. Thanks again, Bongo.
Diamond wheels on a regular chain is a big no-no. Diamond is pure carbon and it reacts with steel at high temperatures like occur during grinding. Diamond is only used for sharpening carbide chain.
CBN makes 4 wheels that I've seen on Amazon at least. It's 2 wheels for cutting carbide chains and 2 wheels made to cut steel chains only. In each of the 2 types there's one wheel for cutting 1/4 and .325 and the other is for .375-404. I don't know if they make differing diameters the ones I looked at were 5 3/4 inch.
Awesome video !
trick for you - get a large plate magnet and put it in the spark path. While using a CBN wheel it is all metal particle debris and will be caught by the magnet. get one that will cover the majority of the palm of your hand.
Nice tip, thank you!
Thank you for the tips
No problem Peter, thanks for leaving a comment :D
Well done and thank you!
Having an old bar locked in a vise making it easy to slide the chain over the bar, I use a file. I liked the way you cut off a bad tooth the the chain I had done that same thing, but, did not cut the adjacent side the and it worked nicely.
great video man, thanks
Efco,made in Italy makes the best electric sharpener for chains.I have one I bought in 1986 still going strong.The best way to Sharpen is with a file I got in a hurry bought an electric.
G'day flowering elbow , I first started milling slabs in 94 with a Grandberg Alaskan with twin 066 Stihls . I don't use it anymore I prefer the Lucas mill it almost makes it fun , anyway hand filling in the bush only as a last resort . Grinding is the best for end grain ripping the hardest woods known . I've found that ripping skip chain 3/8 with clearing cutters ( no top plate ) at ten degrees the best , when cross cutting your soft Wood like oak and Elm Beech Birch not as important . I milled some Redwood once didn't need to sharpen at all . All the best ISH .
G'day Ish Ure. Thanks for the thoughtful comment. Agree with what you say about grinders, and clearing cutters for very hard woods.
I would love to try the Lucas one day... Looks super effective.
Peace, Bongo.
G'day Bongo I hope you get the opportunity to use or purchase a Lucas mill dedicated slabber or the circular swing mill with the slabbing attachment . Either way compared to the Alaskan you can't vary the angle on entry as it is on rails so in the hardest woods slow entry is recommended once the chain is fully into the wood you're all good 👍.
Thanks for all the tips. You've got a sub from me