Sharpening

[Harry_L]

Hi everyone, in my cs30 i was taught that the cutters on a chainsaw chain had to be the same size. Since then i have been told that they don’t need to be the same size, they only need to be sharp and the depth gauges need to be set properly.

 

Has anyone got any answers to this??

 

Many thanks

[AHPP]

Watch a Buckin Billy Ray video. He’s a proponent of the latter and his saws cut like fuck.

[Tommy_B]

In theory, they should all be the same size and length to reduce vibrations, etc. Not sure the exact amount but Stihl spent millions developing their chains.

In practice though, the differences are marginal and you wouldn't file loads off all cutters if only one is damaged. 

 

Tldr: Both answers are right 

[Harry_L]

So if one side is smaller than the other side will the saw still cut fine?

[Harry_L]

Watch a Buckin Billy Ray video. He’s a proponent of the latter and his saws cut like fuck.

Ive watched lots of his videos, is there a specific one you recommend i watch?

[Tommy_B]

6 minutes ago, Harry_L said:

So if one side is smaller than the other side will the saw still cut fine?

It will still cut but won't be as good as if you'd got calipers and got them exactly right 

[AHPP]

 

Ive watched lots of his videos, is there a specific one you recommend i watch?

 

He’s done some specifically on sharpening but the thing about his videos is that you have to wade through hours of him being silly to find some isolated little tip that you’d never guess would be in the video. I don’t even look at the video titles now.

The tips are often very very good though. Worth having hours of him running in the background if your mental health can take it.

[Darrin Turnbull]

Hi everyone, in my cs30 i was taught that the cutters on a chainsaw chain had to be the same size. Since then i have been told that they don’t need to be the same size, they only need to be sharp and the depth gauges need to be set properly.
 
Has anyone got any answers to this??
 
Many thanks

Watch this Video from chainsawbars .

[thetoolnut]

Watch this Video from chainsawbars .

The best video tutorial i've seen on the black art of chain sharpening.

[Woodworks]

Yes you want to keep them fairly even in length. A few tenths of a mm here or there is fine but more than this you will start to notice it cutting less well. Some callipers to check the lengths can come in very handy. Lidl do a vernier gauge for around £10 from time to time

 

For general sharpening I take this advise "learn how the geometry of a cutting tooth works, what it should look like when sharpened correctly. Then practice different methods until you master the ones that work best for you."

Edited December 30, 2017 by Woodworks