Sharpening woes

[Rob D]

Just what it feels like Spud

Certainly giving the GHS pot and cylinder a really good work out! at one stage yesterday I used a full tank in one cut, but then I really should have stopped a while before and had a sharpen up

 

 

Yes be a little bit careful here as this is worse for your saw than you might think... You need to train yourself to pull that saw back out the cut and sharpen rather than "I'll get this board done then sharpen".

 

I used to always plough on but I think this then causes the saw to start overheating and further down the line you get idling problems and such.

 

Rest the saw 2 or 3 times down the log and let it idle for 30secs (I usally tap the wedges in while this is happening). When you finish the cut let the saw idle upright for 2 or 3 mins with a light rev in between - it just lets that cooling air though the fans and pulls out excess sawdust trapped in the bar.

 

Will be doing a vid on some chainsaw milling tips this summer and this will be one of the main ones (I may do a thread in the meantime...). I have found my 880 runs as sweet as after 2 years and a lot of milling and I think this is down to the above - treating the saw a bit kinder and allowing it to cool itself.

 

 

 

 

[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