First go with Alaskan

[Pat Ferrett]

I thought I'd missed one

[Rob D]

Nicely done on the pics

 

 

The thing is with filing chain is not so much how you do it and with what tools.... it's more what you're aiming to achieve.

 

The Stihl ripping chain for instance you're looking for a 10 degree top plate angle (which is easy to see) and also a side plate angle of 75 degrees.

 

Make sure the tooth has been filed all the way into the top working corner - it's this corner that does most of the work (with the side plate) in severing the wood fibers.

 

Side plate angles always used to confuse me so the best way to think of side plate angles is the 'hook' in the tooth.

 

I've outlined the hook here in red. This is 36RMX stihl 3/8 ripping chain.

 

Too much hook and you get a beak - aggressive cutting chain that dulls rapidly. Too little and you have a laid back tooth which hardly cuts at all.

 

The hook or side plate angle is controlled by file size and technique.

[Robert Raven]

Right, I'm going to have a sort out tomorrow. I think I'm getting a laid back hook because I'm having to push harder and I'm getting a finer sawdust.

 

10 degree top plate I can do. But do you control the side plate angle by lowering the file handle so it's no longer held horizontally, or is that angle just formed by the curvature of the file, and how deep you cut into the hook? Is the one in your pic about right?

 

Thanks for taking the trouble to explain it, I bet you get a lot of this.....

[Rob D]

The pic there is of a brand new cutter so in theory that's what you want to aim for.

 

 

On the file you have it says 3/16" so it may be the file holder does make a difference i.e. the 3/16" file holder could be holding the file to high.

 

You could always have a go taking the guide off and using just the file in the handle. This helps to get more hook in the tooth.

 

If all cutters are not the same length = longer cutters hit the wood harder = chain cuts ok to start with but then seems to dull very quickly. So you need a method of measuring the cutters as after 3 or 4 sharpens they start to become unequal.

 

A similar thing happens if depth guages are incorrectly set. You need a depth guage measure .025" to ensure the right amount of wood is fed up into the working corner of the tooth.

[Robert Raven]

Finished milling that log, thanks for the help. I got the correct 7/32 stihl sharpening set and put the cutters back how they should be, they were not hooked enough. Still had to re-sharpen every two boards though.

 

I've put up some pictures of the end result, unfortunately the log had some rot in it at one end as I got deeper, so some boards will need trimming, but overall I'm very pleased- eleven 1.5" boards and two 2", 9' long, 20" wide. Next job should be some newly felled ash, so will be interesting to see how that goes!

 

Finally- once the timber is air dried, have any of you finished drying by bringing timber into a heated house? How long would that take for 1.5" oak?

[Rob D]

That's a very good milling and stacking effort for your first go Rob (or any go!)

 

 

Given the type of timber you have I'd air dry then just make it into whatever it's going to be.... there's already a few cracks in the timber so a couple more is not going to make too much difference.

[Pat Ferrett]

Thats a fantastic stack of timber

 

Any ideas on what your going to make with it ?

[TrollSpiel]

Rob, there should be some instructions on the back of that holder that read something like "horrible pointless cumbersome invention dispose of at earliest opportunity"

[Robert Raven]

Cheers everyone, nice to get a bit of encouragement and know it looks alright. I'm (slowly) converting a barn into a house so this timber is earmarked for some countertops and some shelves. I also have two external steps and loading platforms to build so if you hear of any oaks or chestnut available in Suffolk/Norfolk.... have teleporter and flatbed, will collect!

[Rob D]

Keep your eyes on the forum as there are often other members on here that come across nice bits of timber in the course of their tree work.