Filing guide v free hand filing

[Big J]

I tend to use the little electric sharpener from granberg initially, and then give it a couple of strokes free hand after to hone the edge. I use the electric sharpener as milling on a 42 inch bar requires so much sharpening!

 

Jonathan

[PeteB]

An interesting point is that many of you say, "free hand is better than guide". How are they done in the factory? - by machine, which is in effect a guide.

 

I used to encourage the boys to go and free hand 4 times then guide as the angles were then good. Most people are slightly stronger on one side than the other and using an adjustable guide enable all the angles to be set so that the user could then concentrate on tooth length etc

 

However,I did know one old salt who would file without any aids and get it right, even on the last tooth on the chain off a 5ft bar!

[Samuel]

i use a filling guide at college, and on my own saws i use free hand:thumbup:

[john dawson]

Definatly use a guide in the workshop to get things pucka.

 

So in the field, the chances are small if you need to sharpen at all. but a couple of gentle free hand strokes should be more than enough.

[TimberCutterDartmoor]

Free hand every time. Altho those little anosdised alloy Husky guides with rollers are alright.

[raker]

I use a guide. I`m not a pro doing it daily, so havent really got the knack of getting the angles right freehand. My chains always come up good and sharp, so guides suit me at the moment.

[Bolt]

I reckon you got to learn using a guide (3-5 years should do), then, as you will be starting to get the hang of it, go freestyle>

 

If you look a many 'freehanders' chains they REALLY should be using a file guide.

 

Can't think of the number of times people have rocked up on day 1 of CS39 or 32 courses with chains that looked like thay have been sharpened by a troup of random monkeys.

 

IMO Practice till you are good using a roller gauge (these give the best 'muscle training') and stop using it when ALL your teeth have the same top plate angle, same depth of cut and same length of tooth.

 

(Them little roller guides are still useful for doing major work on a chain that has been mullered)

 

(and is it me, or are stihl files 110% better than any other brand?)

[josharb87]

free hand with decent files, (oregon) free hand for the depth gauges, never use a vice, cuts perfectly everytime, i did buy a grinder last year for when a 3+ft chain hits metal, but never used it!

touch up a little and often, dull chains annoy the hell out of me, like stevie said, super sharp so you can do crazy stuff

nothing more satisfying than filing past the witness marks:thumbup:

[Big 'Ammer]

Free hand for me every time.

 

If the chains hit something and been mullered I use an Oregon depth gauge gadget to set the depth gauge and then profile the rakers by eye.

 

The profile of the rakers is overlooked by a lot of people and IMO is most important for smooth cutting and low vibes.

[combined tree services]

free hand for me , i have tried to use file guides recently but can not get on with them at all , its alot quicker without the guide. I guess i learnt to because the firms i worked for did not have and file guides - it is certainly one way in which you learn to pay attention to doing the job properly . if you have your own ground saw and its cutting like a bag of crap you son get fed up with it not cutting as it should , especially when all of your work mates are on your case because you are taking far to long to saw up timber .