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Sharpener and Sharpening Help Please


Witterings
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A few sharpening questions if anyone can help .... I really only use it for logging for a stove so not for doing commercial work.

 

Has anyone used the Stihl 2 in 1 copies like the link here and if so are they any good or am I wasting my money and better off getting the real deal

WWW.EBAY.CO.UK

Material: Made of plastic and grindstone, it is durable and anti-corrosive. Sharpen any chain quickly and easily, can make your saw chain more sharp, easy to use. Scientific design: the end...

 

Approximately how often do you sharpen the chain ... don't know if it can be measured in approximate hours or not and assuming I'm looking after it and avoiding things like cutting into the ground.

 

Roughly how many times would you sharpen a chain before replacing with a new one.

 

Help with any of the above would be appreciated even if it's just one of them!!

 

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41 minutes ago, Witterings said:

A few sharpening questions if anyone can help .... I really only use it for logging for a stove so not for doing commercial work.

 

Has anyone used the Stihl 2 in 1 copies like the link here and if so are they any good or am I wasting my money and better off getting the real deal

WWW.EBAY.CO.UK

Material: Made of plastic and grindstone, it is durable and anti-corrosive. Sharpen any chain quickly and easily, can make your saw chain more sharp, easy to use. Scientific design: the end...

 

Approximately how often do you sharpen the chain ... don't know if it can be measured in approximate hours or not and assuming I'm looking after it and avoiding things like cutting into the ground.

 

Roughly how many times would you sharpen a chain before replacing with a new one.

 

Help with any of the above would be appreciated even if it's just one of them!!

 

They have a very good rating and for someone like you its ideal and they do the rakers at the same time.

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47 minutes ago, Witterings said:

A few sharpening questions if anyone can help .... I really only use it for logging for a stove so not for doing commercial work.

 

Has anyone used the Stihl 2 in 1 copies like the link here and if so are they any good or am I wasting my money and better off getting the real deal

WWW.EBAY.CO.UK

Material: Made of plastic and grindstone, it is durable and anti-corrosive. Sharpen any chain quickly and easily, can make your saw chain more sharp, easy to use. Scientific design: the end...

 

Approximately how often do you sharpen the chain ... don't know if it can be measured in approximate hours or not and assuming I'm looking after it and avoiding things like cutting into the ground.

 

Roughly how many times would you sharpen a chain before replacing with a new one.

 

Help with any of the above would be appreciated even if it's just one of them!!

 

When I was working I would give the chain 3 strokes every fill up . Do the rakers at home if need be .  IMO it does not matter where or what you are cutting , a dull chain is a dull chain . Edit . I would replace the chain when one or two cutters start to fall off . This is the point were the chain cuts its fastest .

Edited by Stubby
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20 minutes ago, Stubby said:

When I was working I would give the chain 3 strokes every fill up . Do the rakers at home if need be .  IMO it does not matter where or what you are cutting , a dull chain is a dull chain . Edit . I would replace the chain when one or two cutters start to fall off . This is the point were the chain cuts its fastest .

 

Aggghhhhhhh ...... So a couple of seasons of reasonable usage topping a few biggish conifers and doing a lot of laurel last weekend and never having sharpened it could explain why my Black & Decker Pole saw's bogging then ? ?

 

Blimey I didn't realise they'd need doing that often, I do have a normal sharpener which I can use in the interim, roughly how many passes should I do on each blade do you reckon and how do I know when it's actually sharp??

 

Cheers for all teh replies, I#ll order one of the ones I linked to for sure and will defo take a look at the Oregon site as well!!! ?

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Its a little and often that keeps you working . If you muller a chain that needs 12 or 15 strokes per cutter thats 1/2

 an hour off the job .  Its fairly obvious if you look at the working edge of the cutter  . Also you will feel the difference . Don't forget to take the rakers down now and then ( dependent on how much you have to take off the cutter ) .

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There is a difference between full and semi chisel chains, if it's not obvious the full chisel have a sharp top corner whereas the semi chisel have a rounded edge (Oregon have pics).

The full chisel need to be razor sharp to do anything, which is where you need to keep tickling it. A semi chisel chain never cuts quite as quick but deteriorates much more slowly in use so you can pretty safely sharpen two or three times less often. Domestic stuff like your pole is quite often semi chisel as it stands abuse better.

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i use the stihl 2 in 1 files.  Easy. I tend to whizz round the loop every tank or 2, or if i hit something and see sparks (may need more than a tickle then).  I have spre chains for those mullered chain moments but otherise i find it easy to leave the chain on the bar 'til its dead...a cutter or 2 goes byebye.  can't comment on any cheap copies, but Pferd made them originally, stiihl and husky licence from them i think, those 3 ar good.  there isn't much to copy though so i suspect a cheap copy should be ok, the files may blunt faster but all file need swapping sooner or later

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btw, if you've not done much sharpening don't fret, its pretty easy and since you aren't ding cant races it doesn't matter iif its a little off.  a few tips

 

1. hold the saw in a vice by the bar, or just cut a groove in a largish log and use that to hold the bar fairly still.

2. get the chain tight easily by shoving your carb screwdriver between chain and bar on the underside and movng it to the nose until the chain jams tight.  then flip the chain brake on.

3. flat and 30 degrees.  its easy, its marked on the guide, don't fret about being exact...higher angle cuts more but is grabby and blunts faster and vicki verka

4. have you been watching buckin billy?  don't worry about the gullet intil you get in a can't race

5. try and keep both sides of the chain with about even length teeth BUT don't fret.  don't count strokes and do the same each side religously...you will have a strong and a weak hand, so do it buy eye occasionally.  also since the 2 in 1 does the rakers it does not matter a jot.  every cutter can be a different length, if the rakers are appropriate then every cutter still cuts the same amount in the cut and the chain cuts straight.

6. mark the tooth you start on with pen, tip ex or blood, which ever.  or some chains eg 14" stihl bars, don't have equal numbers of left and right cutters, find the left/left pair and start there.

 

oh and how the chinese file goes I don't know but the real deal stihl on 3/8 picco starts to give an odd shape as th teeth get worn, with ZERO hook and the teeth even starting to slope backwards as the chain is very used....it still cuts.  the round files seem too high...but any lower and they tickle the side plates...race chain here we come

 

those chinese copies are cheap...might buy some for stocking fillers or something!

 

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As I've posted on here a few times, just get someone local to give you a 2 minute "tutorial" on sharpening and it isn't that hard. The guy who services my saws exlained it to me in 2 minutes which is better than 100 hours of youtube videos. Experience and 1:1 instruction beats youtube in my mind.

Just get on and work with the tools and over time you get the feel for when they are going blunt and need to be sharpened.

Always buy quality chains and files, cos as a rule you get what you pay for, and you won't go far wrong, although i do keep a cheap rotatech chain in the van for jobs that trash the chain as they are almost disposable.

The 3 golden rules to my mind are full PPE every time, fresh fuel every time and a sharp chain.

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