Sharpening woes

[Rob D]

You want the saw to be just the right side of grabby (I don't really use a guide - just file down by eye) so that it does occasionally stall itself, but more often than not, it's pulling itself through the wood. Taking the depth guages down from standard to just the right side of grabby tripled the cutting rate in 40 inch oak.

 

Jonathan

 

 

That's a good analogy Jon I reckon - I've been milling some wide old planks recently and not been finding it a chore as the saw is just cutting so nicely.... As you say the difference in milling speed when you get the chain right is just crazy....

 

The real tricky bit is that there's no real right or wrong answer... if you take the depth guages down and the chain is just a little dull it can cause massive vibration....

 

if you take the depth guages too low and you're ripping with full chisel chain the same can happen.....

 

if you take the depth guages too low with a smaller saw (even the 90cc saws) it can be very very grabby to the point of not being usable.

 

and finally the type of wood you're cutting also has an impact....

 

 

 

 

A lot of variables indeedy!

[bobh]

Sounds like some great advise there.

Think I will just have to try a few different things with my sharpening and do a lot more milling, no substitute for experience.

Will rest the saw a bit more often I reckon and try to train myself to sharpen when it needs doing rather than when is convenient.

Jon Glad you liked the extraction method, was a bit of an experiment but doing it this way meant I didn't have to rely on anyone else. 4.1m planks on a 2 foot barrow looked a bit weird though! 400 meters down over the field to the transit, worked a treat.

Rob - looking forward to the video, they're really helpful

Edited April 23, 2012 by bobh
i'm an idiot