What to use when holding the saw in place while sharpening?

[daveswoodhauler]

Title says it all...just wondering what folks use to keep the saw tight when filing/sharepning the chain?
I have a little portable workbench and use some clamps, but I just can't seem to figure out a good way to keep the saw/bar from moving from side to side when sharpening.
I'd be curious to see what contraptions others have come up with.
Thanks.

 

[HittinSteel]

I use a bench vise

 

[Mmaul]

A vise works best for me.

 

[Northwind]

I use a bench vise

+3

 

[daveswoodhauler]

Gotta get me one of those.....rope and bungee cord isn't working out too well

 

[BrotherBart]

My left hand.

 

[Hurricane]

I use a vice too !

 

[zzr7ky]

Hi - I just kneal astride the motor. But then I file left and right handed, so it is quick for me. Gloves are a big plus for safety!

 

[jj3500]

I use a 9" C clamp.

 

[LLigetfa]

My left hand.

Ditto. I stop the chain from rocking in the groove with my finger while I hold the bar. I usually put a small round under the bar so it doesn't teeter. I did use a bench vise once and I've seen others using a stump vise.

 

[aerodark]

Make a cut into the end of a fairly big round about half the depth of your bar. Drop the bar into the slot after shutting off the saw, and, voila! You have a simple and fast way to stabilize the saw while sharpening.

 

[Gooserider]

Hold saw between arm and body while holding bar and chain steady with hand, file with other hand... Swap sides to do other side of chain.

Gooserider

 

[waynek]

Two different situations requires different tactics, both utilize a sitting position. When I file the saw chain in my workshop, I reverse the bar and reapply the chain and place the saw on a "sitting" bench, attach the file guide to the bar, set the cutter holder, put on my leather (barbed wire) fencing gloves, sit on the bench with the saw to my left side, place a short piece of 2 x 4 underneath the bar/chain. Push the chain/bar down on the 2 x 4, sharpen first cutter and mark it with carpenter crayon. Sharpen all cutters, then sit down on the opposite and repeat procedure. All cutters are sharpened with my right hand. If the chain has been used several times, I will measure the cutters to find the smallest one and file all others to approx. same size. Also will bring down the rakers if necessary.

In the woods, I place the saw on the truck tailgate, trailer bed or on a wide stump, place a small round under the bar/chain, put on my leather (barbed wire) fencing gloves, sit down with the saw on my left side, push the bar/chain down on the round, pinch the chain with my left hand and free-hand the file on the cutter. File all the dirty cutters and stop at the first shiny cutter. Repeat the procedure with the saw next to my right side.

One note here...I run four chains on each saw, therefore it is very seldom that I sharpen in the woods. I built a simple wood "chain box" with three compartments to carry the extra chains. The box with a sturdy hickory handle on it holds three one pound coffee cans...cans and compartments are marked 1, 2, 3. To keep track of dull chains I have a snap hook on the handle with three spray painted steel washers. When a dull chain is placed in a can, a washer goes in with it.
jackpine

 

[BrotherBart]

I run a chain on the saw until it is ready for the trash heap. The only time it comes off that bar is when it it throws the chain. Then I hand file it and we go at it again. When the cutters are almost non-existent I put on a new chain and delight in the first few wonderful cuts.

Ya can just over think so many things. It is a chain. File it and cut wood.

 

[stee6043]

I run a chain on the saw until it is ready for the trash heap. The only time it comes off that bar is when it it throws the chain. Then I hand file it and we go at it again. When the cutters are almost non-existent I put on a new chain and delight in the first few wonderful cuts.

Ya can just over think so many things. It is a chain. File it and cut wood.

I wish I had your patience! I rotate three chains on my saw so I can have one on the bar, one that needs to be sharpened and one that is sharp and waiting to go on the saw again....once I've run them all I typically flip the bar over, repeat.

 

[JustWood]

I have a 2x12" piece of oak about 2' long with a vise bolted to it. The corner of the plank gets wedged into the notch that the truck tailgate fits into when closed and I file away. When I need to do the other side of the chain I spin the vise around or flip the saw in the vise and/or use the other side of the truck. Works great and makes a good portable vise.

 

[computeruser]

In the field, it's usually freehand on the nearest convenient log. At home, it usually gets sharpened on the grinder unless it's just a quick touch-up. I like setting the saw up on a firewood stack, so I can have the chain more or less at eye level, so angles and sharpness are easier to see without hunching all over.

 

[Bigg_Redd]

Title says it all...just wondering what folks use to keep the saw tight when filing/sharepning the chain?
I have a little portable workbench and use some clamps, but I just can't seem to figure out a good way to keep the saw/bar from moving from side to side when sharpening.
I'd be curious to see what contraptions others have come up with.
Thanks.

I run the file with my right hand and hold the chain/bar with my left while the whole thing sits on my tailgate.

 

[joshlaugh]

For work, I use a vice. At home I hold the saw with one hand and file with the other.

 

[savageactor7]

If your a scrounger an inexpensive stump vise can prove most useful...but no substitute for a bench vise.

 

[daveswoodhauler]

Thanks for all the replies.
I improvised with my Black and Decker work bench last night, along with an old 2 X 4 and some clamps.....worked great.
Now I have 4 evenly sharped chains ready to rip...problem now is I am out of wood to cut...time to start scrounging again.
Thanks for all the tips, and I like the idea of the cut out round to touch up on the field.