.325 nk chain on a 60cc saw? Any benefit?

[weedkilla]

Fwiw the new husky x force bars seem pretty good, but I don't have enough time on them yet to be sure and I've only bought in 3/8.
Seem an advancement on the older husky bars, I'll get some 325nk when I see them available.

 

[CoreyB]

Yeah, the whole point of using NK is to cut DEEPER rather than WIDER. You can have the same resistance, but you are removing more wood in the direction you want to cut.

I think the stock NK chain has a cutting angle of less than 4 degrees. That works for the smaller saws as it doesn't load them down. However, if you want the NK to work on a bigger saw, you HAVE to increase the cutting angle. I like around 6 degrees as it still allows me to have a smooth limbing chain.

There is no problem with chip removal as the longest bar you can get in NK is only 20". I have taken the cutting angle out to 6.4 degrees, which tended to grab the limbs a bit, so I backed down to around 6 degrees for smoother operation on the smaller limbs.

Would you mind explaining the 4 deg and six. I am failure with the Oregon sharpener and their angles . I am guessing you are talking about either the 30deg / top plate angle or the 55deg tooth angle.
I have not played with angles as much as I would like to. I need to start

 

[weedkilla]

Terry is talking about raker/depth gauge height.
Instead of using a fixed measurement for the distance the raker is below the cutter, some people use the angle from the raker to the cutter. This is how Carlton file-o-plate and husky depth gauge tools work.

 

[CR888]

Ya he's not talking about chain cutter sharpening angles. Its the angle from the top of the cutting edge to the raker. About 5°-6° is usual for an average work chain. Its a more precise way of measuring the function of depth gauges compared to 0.020" which is very different on a new chain compared to a worn back cutter. The 'angle of attack' measurement works at any cutter length.

 

[Terry Syd]

Its a trigonometric function. Here's a trig calculator for a right triangle -

http://www.pagetutor.com/trigcalc/trig.html

I use raker depth and the gullet length to figure the cutting angle. You measure the gullet length from the tip of the cutter to the CONTACT point of the raker with the wood. The contact point is where the raker touches the wood when the cutter rocks back.

Put the raker depth in 'A'
Put the gullet length in 'C'
Hit 'calculate'
Read the angle 'X' - that is the cutting angle

 

[Terry Syd]

The Husky raker plate not only keeps the same cutting angle as the cutter wears back, but it also puts a slope on the front of the raker. As I mentioned, it is the CONTACT point on the raker that determines the cutting angle. If you file the raker flat on top, it will be the front of the raker that contacts the wood. The raker plate moves the contact point to the back of the cutter.

A note on angled rakers. The more point you have on the raker, the more it can be pushed into softwood - which makes the raker a bit self-adjusting for soft and hardwood. In softwood the raker will be pushed a bit further into the wood and the cutting angle will increase. I note that RSC is set up that way from the factory.

 

[166]

.325-9 on this 2260