Round File Top Plate Angles

[Deets066]

Yeah it works to sharpen acordingly for wood. But should also file for size of saw too. A chain for an 066 should be different than one for an 026. And not just by raker height

 

[angelo c]

One added tad bit ....

My hand filing improved quite a bit when I learned what a dull file looked (and filed) like. My grinding got better once I learned how to use a dressing wheel as well. Stuff ya never think of ....

 

[jakethesnake]

Yeah it works to sharpen acordingly for wood. But should also file for size of saw too. A chain for an 066 should be different than one for an 026. And not just by raker height

That is a good point. My 50cc chain is gonna be different than an 80plus. Including depth gushes.

 

[shorthunter]

Is 25 degrees better? is 30 degrees better?
Does one angle cut better than the other?

Which angle(s) cut faster depends on the wood, only way to know is to put a stop watch on them. I can tell you that I was surprised by the results I got in cottonwood

 

[huskyboy]

Which angle(s) cut faster depends on the wood, only way to know is to put a stop watch on them. I can tell you that I was surprised by the results I got in cottonwood

I fookin hate cutting cottonwood. Does not act like pine even though both are soft. If you run pine rakers in cotton wood it’s gonna be a rough time. 7 pin and stock rakers for me if I’m cutting it. Too much hook will be too agressive in cotton wood it seems too. I don’t really cut a lot of it and am used to cutting hardwood and pine so it surprised me.

 

[RI Chevy]

Cutting Cottonwood was like cutting kevlar. Lol
Grabs onto your bar and chain and keeps getting tighter. Lol
Give me some oak or maple!

 

[huskyboy]

Only saw that I ran that had zero problems in cotton wood was a Mac 125. Torque.

 

[Hedgerow]

You all are crazy..
Cottonwood is soft.
Other than being rather inconsistent, it cuts pretty fast.

All the cant's at the IA GTG races were cottonwood. Not as fast as aspen or poplar, but faster than Gum..

 

[huskyboy]

You all are crazy..
Cottonwood is soft.
Other than being rather inconsistent, it cuts pretty fast.

All the cant's at the IA GTG races were cottonwood. Not as fast as aspen or poplar, but faster than Gum..

Cut a 3ft diameter cottonwood log and it’s a different story. Small cottonwood logs are easy. Bar buried you notice it seems to get up under the rail, lots of mush and very wet wood when green...jams a saw easily. I’m sure once it dries it’s easier.

 

[Hedgerow]

Cut a 3ft diameter cottonwood log and it’s a different story. Small cottonwood logs are easy. Bar buried you notice it seems to get up under the rail, lots of mush and very wet wood when green...jams a saw easily. I’m sure once it dries it’s easier.

I have and do..
It's really not that big of a deal.
When the sap is running in the spring on other species it's very similar.
There are conifer trees out west that are similar and have the same characteristics that's why they use skip chain.
You can also sharpen the cutter to take a wider kerf.

 

[cus_deluxe]

cottonwood will expose a chain with inconsistent cutters pretty quickly. End up with 1/4” pubes on the end of the log lol.

 

[RI Chevy]

The cotton wood we were cutting was green, had stringy bark and the wood just grabbed hold of the chain creating resistance.
Didn't descriminate either. Hooskies, Stihl's, Dollys, Kitas, they all slowed when the bar was buried.

 

[huskyboy]

The cotton wood we were cutting was green, had stringy bark and the wood just grabbed hold of the chain creating resistance.
Didn't descriminate either. Hooskies, Stihl's, Dollys, Kitas, they all slowed when the bar was buried.

Seemed like there was sand in the bark too. Chain didn’t last long in it. Almost seemed like the kerf closed up on the bar on changeovers.

 

[RI Chevy]

Yup. Very true Mason..

 

[huskyboy]

cottonwood will expose a chain with inconsistent cutters pretty quickly. End up with 1/4” pubes on the end of the log lol.

Inconsistent rakers makes chain cut funny. I can file half the teeth on one side of a new chain and leave the other side...as long as the rakers were set all at the same height with a gauge it’ll cut straight.

 

[Hedgerow]

cottonwood will expose a chain with inconsistent cutters pretty quickly. End up with 1/4” pubes on the end of the log lol.

Yup..
If your kerf is closing up with all the fibers...






You're doing it wrong..

Sharp side plates will shear those pesky fibers off smooth as glass.

 

[RI Chevy]

How do you file for this softwood? Explain a bit more please.

 

[jakethesnake]

How do you file for this softwood? Explain a bit more please.

Make it sharp. Keep high takers. As in o25 ish. As mentioned if you see stringy at the ends File more better. Round file like I do I go 30 ish up top. I cut a lot of gum. I get some stringy on the ends some as well.

 

[RI Chevy]

Ok. Thanks

 

[huskyboy]

We weren’t seeing stringy ends on the logs but ok will keep that in mind. I made the mistake of lowering the rakers as I expected it to be like pine as I mentioned in my post.