Raker profile

[Wood Doctor]

Yeah maybe a hour or so is a little conservative, but from my experiences logging jack pine and spruce the cutting action hones and smooths the fronts in quick time.
Now re read my post I didn't say "shape"...you said that.
I always round the raker's leading corner edge with the file after lowering them. The wood hones them smooth just nicely removing the file marks that are a curse for added friction.

Thank you for the clarification. Now I understand what you meant to write.

 

[Wilhelm]

I reshape the rakers on my small bench grinder and then follow up with a small diameter grinding stone in a dremel type straight shaft grinder, that orients the grinding marks into the cutting direction and it doesn't require too much time nor effort.

 

[Willard]

Thank you for the clarification. Now I understand what you meant to write.

I must add the hardness of depth gauges on a LGX or RSC chain is not all that high.
I normally lower them about 3 or 4 times during the life of the chain, not every or every other sharpening.
I do see wear on them if left alone long enough from normal cutting in a sense they can shape them selves adapting to a near perfect angle of approach.
Good example is next time when you take .010" - .015" off your rakers don't round off the square leading top edge.
Cut with it for a few days or 10 tanks or so and then take a look at that square front corner.....

 

[Wood Doctor]

Good example is next time when you take .010" - .015" off your rakers don't round off the square leading top edge....

Excellent advice. I once dropped the rakers too far on a 30" loop and that made it virtually useless. The saw engine coughed and choked continuously, regardless of pressure. It could be used only on the softest of wood species, even after two more cutter sharpenings. Ash, oak, and even elm could not be bucked or noodled with it. If my saw's engine could talk, it would have cussed at me all day.

 

[Wolverine]

@Duane(Pa) Great vid on progressives. I bought 2 last visit to the Husky shop, one's yours.

Buckin uses em too.

 

[Duane(Pa)]

@Duane(Pa) Great vid on progressives. I bought 2 last visit to the Husky shop, one's yours.

Buckin uses em too.

View attachment 212956

Picture worth a thousand words! Vid worth a million. Makes sense to me now. I thought the notch on the end was used at the back of previous tooth, but that was quite wrong!

 

[Wood Doctor]

This thread caught my fancy again. I looked around the shop for a Wixey angle gauge I last used about 10 years ago to measure accurate table saw blade angles. I had removed the lithium battery to extend its life, and it popped right into action when I inserted it. It calibrated almost instantly.

I checked ten new chains of different pitch and MFG and found them all to be within a half degree or so, from 5.8 to 6.2 degrees regardless of pitch. Then I checked several used chains. They ranged from 3.5 degrees to a whopping 12 degrees, the latter being the one that the saw swore at the last time I used it, even in cottonwood. I gave up on that chain and threw it away.

From now on, I intend to check this angle between the raker's top and the cutter edge after nearly every sharpening that I do. It seems far more accurate than the ruler depth gauge I've been using. It won't work on some so-called safety chains, but I never buy those.

 

[Philbert]

From now on, I intend to check this angle between the raker's top and the cutter edge after nearly every sharpening that I do.

Just another tool in the toolbox!

Philbert

 

[Wood Doctor]

Just another tool in the toolbox!

Philbert

Can you believe that Wixey worked after 10 to 15 years in a bench drawer? I even checked it against a 45-degree triangle and it was on the nose. The battery should have been toast but it was fine. This one also has rather strong magnets at the bottom They worked also. I have no idea if these are still sold.

 

[Philbert]

I have no idea if these are still sold.

Still made, although, it looks like a newer model: http://www.wixey.com/anglegauge/

I bought one at Rockler Woodworking, and it looks like Amazon and a lot of other places sell them.

Philbert