Slapped a brand new chain and bar on the Stihl today. After cutting around 80 logs with the new set up this afternoon all I can say is I'm ashamed I waited so long. It literally felt like a different saw. I feel bad for the extra stress I was putting on the engine all this time. The thing is, I bought the new bar and chain in the spring, and only now am I getting around to putting it on the saw. My lesson here is, take care of the equipment, it's worth it.
New Bar And Chain, Wow
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Don’t be ashamed, though you have reason to be. Let this be a life lesson learned. All that extra stress put on that engine can now be shouldered by you. The point here is you recognized your wrong doing, changed you errant ways, and most importantly admitted your sins to the logging community. That my friend is the manly thing to do. May your burden be lightened and your logs stay solid.
Flip the bar over every third time you sharpen, and try to keep the chain sharp. Easier than letting it go dull then trying to bring it back from fully dull.
Cool. Now I'd invest in a Stihl 2 in 1 file. You can keep your chain brand new sharp until the end of its life.
I do have the 2 in 1 file, I love it and use it often. I think I need to be better about keeping the tooth angle correct and just knowing when a chain is smoked.
lol you would hate to see how far my chain is down... my saw is used for trail clearing so im constantly tagging stones.. A few more runs and their will be no teeth left
The chain should cut good right to the end of it's life if sharpened properly.
Taking the rakers down to the proper height will help getting a wore chain to cut right.
You can have a razor sharp chain,but if the rakers havn't been taken down to the appropriate height the sharp tooth is useless and your chain wouln't cut .
Taking the rakers down to the proper height will help getting a wore chain to cut right.
You can have a razor sharp chain,but if the rakers havn't been taken down to the appropriate height the sharp tooth is useless and your chain wouln't cut .
I think my problem is not keeping the angles right, as I get crooked cuts when the chain is toward the end of it's life
Crooked cuts are usually one side is sharpened better then the other.
That is an issue when you find it hard to do the "other side".
I turn my saw upside down to do the "other side" and my cuts are straightish.
That is an issue when you find it hard to do the "other side".
I turn my saw upside down to do the "other side" and my cuts are straightish.
I got some stands off CL, triangle stands about 5 feet high with a bench vice welded on the top. I can clamp the chainsaw in it and sharpen the chain with it at a very good eye level. Makes sharpening the chain so easy I sharpen it before each use. Same thing, WOW what a difference a sharp chain makes. Also felt like a fool for how much wood I cut without a sharp chain because it was a hassle. Now 2 minutes and I am off with a good sharp chain.
JRHAWK9
Minister of Fire
Am I one of the few who takes a file to a brand new chain after putting it on? I'm never impressed with the sharpness or self feeding ability of a new "out of the box" chain and always end up running a couple swipes of the file to get the cutters cleaned up before I even put it in any wood. I also take my depth gauges down a hair.....like 0.040" or so. I just put a new one on my 346XP this weekend and did just that. The chain I removed was at the end of it's life, as I was getting real close to the angle markings on the cutters. It still cut fine, but seeing I am helping a buddy cut this weekend I decided to throw a new chain on as the old one didn't have too many sharpenings left in it.
JRHAWK9
Minister of Fire
Oregon LPX/LGX is what I mostly use. I tried running Stihl chain and even though it comes pre-stretched out of the box and they have harder cutters I just didn't care for it. It just didn't seem to sharpen as easily.
Gotcha. It was Oregon that I also found weren't very sharp, and needed some angle corrections right off of the spool. I use the Stihl yellow chains on all my saws when replacing now. Nothing seems to hold an edge or sharpen as well imo. Not cheap, but they last the longest for me too.
The harder cutters is what makes it harder to sharpen.Which is also the reason it holds an edge longer.
JRHAWK9
Minister of Fire
JRHAWK9
Minister of Fire
The guide I use has a depth gauge tool which seems to keep the depth gauges right around that 0.035"-0.040" area as well as at the correct angle.
https://www.husqvarna.com/us/access...g-equipment/combination-file-guide/505243501/
Oh okay there's a guide that gives you that level of precision. Thought maybe you were a chain scientist or something. I use a Stihl 2 in 1
Easy Livin’ 3000
Minister of Fire
Not one to give up on something because it has a little wear on it. Nothing to be embarrassed about. I'm sure none of us are as sharp as we were out of the box.
Haha that's true. I'm not sure of the effect of a worn bar, I thing eventually the groove edges could get worn down enough to throw a chain more easily
Remember to flip the bar when you file the chain and clean the gunk out from under the chain cover. This helps spread the wear and tear to both sides of the bar so it'll last longer. I also grease the tip sprocket at this time, however I'm not sure most Stihl bars have this option (my Stihl doesn't).
I like to keep my chains razor sharp so I'll do a light filing after each day of use, say roughly a cord of wood worth. I probably flip the bar every other time with this interval.
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