Taking depth gauges down past spec.

[njc110381]

After those replies I took down the rakers a little on my MS200. It cuts miles better! I am a little lazy with sharpening so my first sharpen may well take off double what a bloke who is on the ball would.

 

I do most of my logging up with an MS660 with an 18" bar... I'd have to file them down to a silly level to bog it. I'm thinking once I've done that one it'll cut pretty fast!

 

Thanks for your advice. I'll talk more with my mate to find out what he does too.

[doobin]

It's addictive when you start learning to sharpen and tune rakers properly

[TGB]

Got a chain back to about a mil from the witness marks recently and still cutting like new. As Rob D said, it's all about angles; and a more sharpened chain, the more one has to take off the rakers after a certain point. The chain finished its days, when it hit old top wire buried in an apple tree, (removed the tops off almost every cutter).

[Macpherson]

It's addictive when you start learning to sharpen and tune rakers properly

Yeah, although I`ve always been keen on learning the correct way to keep any tool I`m using sharp and fit for purpose, it`s only since I got a Granberg precision grinder that I`ve been able to take a more technical , accurate approach to saw chain, what a tool, cheers

[Logan]

Big J will love this thread if he catches it!

 

 

It's all a bit of a piece of string questions as depth guage reduction and how you tweak it depends on what wood your cutting, saw choice, bar length, chain type, have you ramped or just flattened them etc etc...

 

... so one persons experience may not match anothers even though they have said they have tried the same thing.... so you really need to learn it yourself...

 

 

If you're really interested then go here:

 

http://www.arboristsite.com/community/threads/raker-depths.264395/ as over the pond they are a long way ahead of us....

 

 

It's the angle of between the working corner of the chain and the top of the depth guage that you need to maintain ie. so as the tooth gets smaller you need to reduce the depth guage more than .025" to maintain the angle....

 

 

BobL on there knows his stuff - the cutter rocks its way into the wood - a reason why chain tension is more important than you think in the way a chain will cut:

 

It doesn't matter whether it's cross or end grain cutting a CS cutter does not work like a wood plane. The cutter rocks its way into the wood as determined by the cutter angle and chain tension. The raker and a constant cutter depth is maintained during the life of the chain the amount of "rock" available to the cutter decreases and it just cannot bite enough wood no matter how sharp the cutter is.

 

 

It's a combination of factors with how a chain cuts - if the saw does not feel like a live thing in your hands then the chain can be improved! I struggle with getting it right by eye and have to use a guide to get a chain spot on...

 

 

 

That is interesting. For a while I've noticed that you can be lot more cavalier towards the rakers as the cutters shorten, until right at the end when you can have a good file on the rakers giving perhaps 1mm depth, and resulting in good smooth cutting even on bore cuts. Still trying to get my head round the physics, esp. as BobL says doesn't differ cross or end grain.

So correct chain tension, cutters being towed along rail, cutter tilting as it contacts wood, angles then control the rest- correct angle giving smooth productive cut. Hmmmn, like the guys style. Great find Rob.

[Lumberwolf]

I hate new chains. They don't cut worth a damn. I always give a new chain a sharpen and give each raker 3 rubs. I use my chains right down to the line too and by that point the rakers are non existent

[njc110381]

I gave each of mine three strokes of the file. I can't believe the difference it makes. I'm waiting for it to grab and knock me flying like I've always been led to believe it would if the rakers were filed off more than they should be, but so far it feels fine. It cuts better but still smoothly and with just as much control even when cutting on the push.

 

Is this just a case of saw makers being health and safety mad? Did chains used to bite harder years ago or has it always been this way? I just don't understand it. I suppose you can file more off but not put it on, and if you're cutting seasoned oak it probably wouldn't go so well having them filed down like this?!

[Lumberwolf]

I gave each of mine three strokes of the file. I can't believe the difference it makes. I'm waiting for it to grab and knock me flying like I've always been led to believe it would if the rakers were filed off more than they should be, but so far it feels fine. It cuts better but still smoothly and with just as much control even when cutting on the push.

 

Is this just a case of saw makers being health and safety mad? Did chains used to bite harder years ago or has it always been this way? I just don't understand it. I suppose you can file more off but not put it on, and if you're cutting seasoned oak it probably wouldn't go so well having them filed down like this?!

 

I have my rakers right down for everything I cut. Can be a pain when boring big trees bit only sometimes. Just hold on tight n off you go! 👍😁

[Spruce Pirate]

Old school cutters used to take the rakers right down before using a chain, sometimes, like Big J says with an angle grinder. I borrowed a 262 off someone for a day once with a chain like that when I was new to cutting wood, it just about threw me round the tree on the first cut, but once you get used to it you learn to adapt.

 

These days most cutters I know give the rakers three rubs or so every third sharpen or so. Not very scientific, but it seems to work for most.

[HGBMX]

When I'm cutter soft wood I have the depth down real low so it rips through better when cross cutting