I made at least one more cut before seeing the nail. I started filing this morning, found a pretty damaged tooth, then remembered the nail. I guess for six bucks I will let them grind it.
Thanks for answering.
Dune - make the call on what it looks like. If the cutters are gonna need substantial removal of metal to get them back in shape - have it ground. If it looks like a few swipes of a file will clean it up - you can go that route. I simply will not spend an hour with a hand file to bring a chain back. (fact is, I rarely hand file anymore since I purchased a grinder).
Heck, it sounds like you already have the solution Grinder it is.That's just it Jags, I don't much enjoy hand filling the chain anyhow, nevermind repairing nail damage.
I never let a shop touch my chains. They just hog off material turning your chain teeth blue. All the teeth don't need to match in file wear. Just clean up as necessary and go on. I've seen plenty of ruint chains come out of saw shops. To many times its the new kid in the back taking 2/3s the life out of a chain in one pass just so he can getter done.
If you only damaged one tooth and it isn't bent, I'd ignore it and carry on as usual. One cutter not doing its job is not going to be noticed. Then as you file the rest of the chain normally, you'll gradually bring that cutter back into service.
As others have said, grinding half of what's left on the other teeth to rescue one cutter doesn't make sense.
Half hour to file a chain? All you need to do is a few strokes when you fuel up to keep the edge. Just keep the original angles, easier when you still have them.