Pics of my chain sharpening results

[lehman live edge slab]

Don’t use diamond on regular chain, only stone or cbn wheels for steel chains and diamond for carbide tip

 

[lehman live edge slab]

Tip the head of the grinder down more so your not using the side of the wheel as much for making the tooth’s cutting edge on the top plate. 5/32 wheel works fine on .325 pitch

 

[junkman]

Thanks for all the tips.

I don't understand why I'm having so much trouble getting a decent hook. I bought a 5/32 diamond grinding wheel because it seemed perfect for 325

I guess I have to use 1/4, then do a second pass to clean out the bottom portion?

I'm starting to question whether the grinding wheel is any faster then hand sharpening at this point!

Do you have the dressing stone for the wheel ? You can adjust the shape a little for different results ,start with half round the shape of a file .A clogged / dirty wheel is bad also ,need to keep it dressed for a crisp edge on the tooth .

 

[lehman live edge slab]

This is a place in mn that sells cbn and diamond wheels, diamond isn’t compatible with steel chains need to use the pink “aluminum oxide” or cbn wheels. Diamond is for carbide chain only

 

[sawmikaze]

The chain in question here looks like it's ready for a 5/32 file in my humble experience.

Cut the bottom of the toof out a little so you can get some more hook on that cutter.

 

[junkman]

The chain in question here looks like it's ready for a 5/32 file in my humble experience.

Cut the bottom of the toof out a little so you can get some more hook on that cutter.

Whut do you know about teef ?

 

[friendlywithbears]

here are 3 examples i did a while back ,first is a slower chain ,less hook less top plate View attachment 187759View attachment 187760
this one has a little more hook and top plate angle to it so will cut a little faster
View attachment 187761 View attachment 187762
This one was pretty grabby ,so there is a limit of how much hook you want ,so you can tune the chain to the powerhead with some trial and error ,also when cutting in dirty wood ,the less top plate you run the stronger the outer corner will be so will stay sharp longer .View attachment 187764

Really helpful to see the differences, thanks. I definitely have some chains I can work on that don't want to self feed and have very little hook.

 

[rumatt]

Sorry, it's not actually a diamond wheel. It's from diamondwheelinc.com, but it's their "Super Abrasive CBN" It's the same as (CS575.3878E) on this page except custom ordered in 5/32" thickness.
https://www.diamondwheelinc.com/chain-saw-wheels.html

The pics below show the most hook I could figure out how to get with this wheel and grinder. The wheel angle was 45 degrees (the minimum), and the chain rotation at 35 (max). There's definitely more hook hook than before. (Remember it's RM chain so there won't be a point.)

But it still doesn't self feed well. I have to push slightly. I don't get it. Did I still fail on the hook? Or should I be lowering the rakers now?

#still-failing

 

[lehman live edge slab]

Looks like that one was sharpened once at one angle then you ran it again to get more hook in it. Almost looks like the stop wasn’t close enough to the stone. Still have a real shallow angle on top plate looking from the side. And it doesn’t look like that top plate edge got nice and sharp in these photos.

 

[Philbert]

The curve of your teeth in your first photos look very smooth, so it looks like you are grinding smoothly, without burning, but there still seems to be a reflection of light ('glint') off of the top edges. Might be the photo, but light only reflects off of a flat surface, and those top plate edges (and side plate edges) do the actual cutting. Start by checking that out.

Some of the cutters in the last photos look better (no glint), but again, can't always go by the photos.

As for 'self-feeding', you will want to play with adding more 'hook' to the cutters, so that the top plate edges enter into the wood earlier than the side plate edges. Not too much room left in that chain, but try changing the grinder head angle from say 60° to 55° for example.

A lot of guys get distracted by the shape of the gullet, but remember that is the edges (top and side) of each cutter that do the cutting, not the gullets or depth gauges. Focus on those edges, whether you file, or grind, or use vitreous wheels, or CBN wheels. or anything else to achieve that.

Like anything else, it take s little time, knowledge, and experience to build skill.

Philbert

 

[junkman]

Your grinding too low into the gullet and missing the top plate where it needs to be sharp.

 

[lehman live edge slab]

These pictures are all new factory sharpened stihl semi chisel cutters.

 

[rumatt]

Holy crap they have way, way less hook than mine does.

 

[lehman live edge slab]

Stihl rs brand new factory edge

 

[lehman live edge slab]

Are you using any tilt on vice or straight across at zero on vise?

 

[lehman live edge slab]

Teeth also get shorter as they are ground away so sometimes it helps to go to a thinner wheel on a 1/2 used or more chain.

 

[rumatt]

I experimented with and without tilt. However, the 620 grinder actually does not tilt. It just has a for and aft adjustment which simulates tilt, I think. But I'm not sure - it doesn't particularly well. I still need to figure that out.

 

[rumatt]

Those semi-chisel pics from the new chain are somewhat shocking. They have so little hook.


And I just ran my finger across the top edge of my cutters and the feel pretty darn sharp to me.

How much self feed should I expect with the bar in 18" of oak? Should it cut quickly with my hand hovering above but not touching the top handle? Or is needing to apply slight pressure for full cutting speed normal? Maybe the only problem here is unrealistic expectations?

 

[lehman live edge slab]

I’d say if the cutters are sharp the amount of raker that’s gone it should self feed pretty well if not be on the grabby side wanting to stall the saw. Pretty sharp or sharp enough to draw blood if the tooth slides against you finger. Sharp top plates can cut you fairly easy if your not careful.

 

[JimBear]

I had the same problem not getting the top plate sharp on a couple of older abused chains. I ran a magic marker across that face then used an eye loupe to check them, a magnifying glass will work also. My lighting wasn’t the best so some times it was hard to tell. There is more to sharpening a chain than running a file thru it or plunging s grinding wheel in there. I figured it out just like you are, ask questions & trial error.