Sharpening chainsaw after hitting the nail.

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Dmitry

Minister of Fire
Oct 4, 2014
1,146
CT
It was one nail from the birdhouse and I hit it, of course. Noted right away but it was too late. Rakes are not horrible visibly but produce nothing but dust.
It's a full chisel saw. Can I bring it to life with my Stihl 2 in 1? The other option is to get a grinder since it's not the last time, I assume. I already have 2 dull chains.
 
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Yes
The 2in1 will do a great job ..remember to do each side of the chain with the same strokes'... like 5 or even 10 if it's real bad.
Tell use how you did.
 
Yes Hand File like a Boss!
 
Absolutely a hand file can do the job. But this is also the reason I own a cheap grinder. The initial correction is much faster with a grinder and then finish with a file. Just remember that using a grinder is aggressive and can heat a tooth quickly if you're not paying attention
 
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2 in 1 is fine, just lean on it a bit more than normal, and count your strokes. I'd give it a full look to make sure you don't have any serious damage.
 
I hit nails every so often. Its quicker to put the loop on the cheap grinder. I got the HF one for like 30 bucks. If dose a good job. I take off very little on the tooth. Just enough to get it back cutting again. Dont get me wrong I hand file alot if the chain is dull just from cutting alot or if there dirt on the log to bring it back up to sharp.. There are times when you grind , thats when you need to file for a long time. At the end of the season when Im done cutting, all of the dull loops go on the grinder