As usual, I waited to fall to get wood. And since it had beena very mild fall, I waited till November.
SOS, the 440 was cutting to the right. For a 12" round it would cut so much to the right that it would bind. I sharpen freehand, but I'm not very good at it. But first, I tried an experiment. Having read the flaming thread about flipping bars, I first flipped the bar over and tried again. This made no change in the way the saw cut.
Next I bought a Timber Tuff CS-BWM from Tractor Supply. Assuming that this electric chain sharpener would work, the $129 price made sense in my circumstances. I have two Stihl chains which I purchaed at the same time as the saw (3-4 years ago). I also have 6 Oregon chains. The guy who sold me that latter chains said my Stihl chain was not worth tryingg to save - he didn't want to sharpen it - so he offered me his 'special'. 5 chains for $75". My experiance has been that you need 5 Oregon chains be cause they seem to dull under the SLIGHTEST of occasions. I also founf that when the Oregons threw, the drive teeth would end up burred up. Anyway, not the point of this post . . .
So I brought the electric srarpener home and began to commence. The first thing I did was to sharpen the chain that had been cutting to the right. Back on the saw, no more cutting to the right. Bull chit (in this case ;-) ) on the whole bar routine.
Comments on the Timber Tuff CS-BWM:
1: Maybe a bit of overkill unless you are sharpening many different chains. All the adjustment the grinder has are meaningless if you set them once and forget it.
2:It would be nice if they had incorporated a raker grinder into the unit.
So far, I am happy with the performance. Hopefully I will get all 8 chains sharpened this weekend. I have about 4 cord of Oak that I dragged out of the woods to cut. Obviously, the dragging operation does a great job of setting me up for a chain dulling experience.
Jimbo
SOS, the 440 was cutting to the right. For a 12" round it would cut so much to the right that it would bind. I sharpen freehand, but I'm not very good at it. But first, I tried an experiment. Having read the flaming thread about flipping bars, I first flipped the bar over and tried again. This made no change in the way the saw cut.
Next I bought a Timber Tuff CS-BWM from Tractor Supply. Assuming that this electric chain sharpener would work, the $129 price made sense in my circumstances. I have two Stihl chains which I purchaed at the same time as the saw (3-4 years ago). I also have 6 Oregon chains. The guy who sold me that latter chains said my Stihl chain was not worth tryingg to save - he didn't want to sharpen it - so he offered me his 'special'. 5 chains for $75". My experiance has been that you need 5 Oregon chains be cause they seem to dull under the SLIGHTEST of occasions. I also founf that when the Oregons threw, the drive teeth would end up burred up. Anyway, not the point of this post . . .
So I brought the electric srarpener home and began to commence. The first thing I did was to sharpen the chain that had been cutting to the right. Back on the saw, no more cutting to the right. Bull chit (in this case ;-) ) on the whole bar routine.
Comments on the Timber Tuff CS-BWM:
1: Maybe a bit of overkill unless you are sharpening many different chains. All the adjustment the grinder has are meaningless if you set them once and forget it.
2:It would be nice if they had incorporated a raker grinder into the unit.
So far, I am happy with the performance. Hopefully I will get all 8 chains sharpened this weekend. I have about 4 cord of Oak that I dragged out of the woods to cut. Obviously, the dragging operation does a great job of setting me up for a chain dulling experience.
Jimbo
