Using 11/64 (4.5mm) file instead of 3/16 on .325

[TimberCutterDartmoor]

I'm running .325 21LPX on my little dolmar; shop was out of 3/16 files back along and said to try a 4.5mm instead; with a quizzical look I took one and fair enough seems to as you would expect, hook the cutter that bit more and give the chain more bite.

 

Anyone else doing this?

 

[Woodworks]

It will be sharper initially but it will blunt faster. On another thread (can't remember even thou it was mine) I was recommended to use the next file down to avoid catching the drive links in the latter stages of a chains life.

[Craig Johnson]

I start with a 4.5 then change to a 4 when I start cutting into the tie straps, sharper but as said blunts quicker

[Stubby]

I'm running .325 21LPX on my little dolmar; shop was out of 3/16 files back along and said to try a 4.5mm instead; with a quizzical look I took one and fair enough seems to as you would expect, hook the cutter that bit more and give the chain more bite.

 

Anyone else doing this?

 

 

Yep have done . Start with 3/16 (4.8) then when cutter is half used up step down to 11/64 (4.5) to avoid filing into tie straps .

[wyk]

When I was running 325 on an 026, I used the 11/64 on it until the teeth were gone. It stays sharp long enough, cuts faster, and never lost a tie strap. Relieving a bit of the strap and the gullet is an old fallers/cutters trick in the states to make a chain cut better as well, so grinding a bit of them off never bothered me. If you just cut conifers, you can get away with using a 13/64 file. I did so for about a year until I ported the saw and put 3/8 on it.

[Stubby]

When I was running 325 on an 026, I used the 11/64 on it until the teeth were gone. It stays sharp long enough, cuts faster, and never lost a tie strap. Relieving a bit of the strap and the gullet is an old fallers/cutters trick in the states to make a chain cut better as well, so grinding a bit of them off never bothered me. If you just cut conifers, you can get away with using a 13/64 file. I did so for about a year until I ported the saw and put 3/8 on it.

 

I started a thread a while back about filing out the gullets and people did not get what I was on about !

[TimberCutterDartmoor]

I started a thread a while back about filing out the gullets and people did not get what I was on about !

 

link?

[wyk]

link?

 

This is an image I use to show some friends when they ask about it. It shows the start of a flute on the back of the cutter, start of opening the gullet, and thinning the raker. To finish you would deepen the gullet a bit more, thin the raker a tad and the cutter top plate and body, flute it till it's nearly an edge on the back of the cutter, remove some of the back of that raker, and bevel the top of the straps and the rear edge of the top plate. Basically remove anything that can cause drag or stop wood flowing, and make the chain as light as possible. How much you do it depends on whether you want it to last in the field, or do 3 cuts in a race. A race chain would have a MUCH shorter top plate.

 

 

And here's the amount of chips a 'woods grind' on a chain can move even on a 444SE(heavily ported, tho):

 

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YT8gmZRllrg]Husqvarna 444SE chainsaw. Ported, piston popped, timing advanced, 230PSI, carb bored 1mm - YouTube[/ame]

 

And here is a woods ground chain on a stock, muffler modded 372xp with square teeth:

 

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X8uNt0CqU0c]372XP in Big Leaf Maple - YouTube[/ame]

 

Yeah yeah, I know. PPE. I wear it nowadays.

[C.J]

wyk - Is that oregon LG chain that your using ?

 

4.5mm is the correct file for 33LG but here in the UK we can only get 21LPX (with guard drive links) which impede chip flow.

 

TCD you should try RSC in 58 gauge available on E-bay from Kwik-chip.

[wyk]

wyk - Is that oregon LG chain that your using ?

 

4.5mm is the correct file for 33LG but here in the UK we can only get 21LPX (with guard drive links) which impede chip flow.

 

TCD you should try RSC in 58 gauge available on E-bay from Kwik-chip.

 

It's Oregon 72CK reground to round, which is why I started to mod it since I only had round files at the time anyways. If yer gonna grind away on it, might as well invest double the time and make it cut as fast or faster than when it was square. Also, I just love the feel of grinding on metal, whether chain or cylinders.