All other things being equal, how much faster is square than round filed, typically?
I have never filed a square chain ever but I have a few rocked loops I’d like to play around with to see what I can get out of them. Figure if I have to take off half the cutter anyway, might as well try it.
Sure may all well try but you my want to take Ryan's advice quoted below and get a fresh start so then you have your corners split already. I would practise will a 16 -18" skip if I were you.
Files are expensive. I have done that before and It just killed the bevels fast. I then started with another fresh file and I wiped it after ever stroke until each cutter would take shape. That made a huge difference. I still ended up with beaks here and there and wasted $20 ? n file expense. In my case I like to try and fix things that aren't broke and don't fix the real things that are.
It was Oregon chain but It may have developed a hard crust on it from heat changing IDK. It happens. (Long tome ago)
B) Pretty much what Wolverine is saying. Most all square is ground similar on the coast from one guy to the next. So it will last all day in clean wood If you are not hitting sand in the moss. Some guys will take the time to scrape the moss of the blow down with their wedge first.
My round chisel chain cuts the same in softwood even with a smaller saw with 36" bars. I have cut side by side many times with one guy setting up the back leaners and the other guy 'pushing them' with a dominant tree. I've used all their saws and used their set up grinders now and then.
I can't speak for anywhere else in the
word or for anyone elses round filing obviously.
The difference being in old growth limbs, especially odd angled ones that come out vertical and
the big and small vertical cedar schoolmarms, The square is just amazing. You don't even have to pre rev the saw. Just hold it there and hit the trigger and it smoothly sucks right in.
What a difference, Its just effortless. It not even the same job. Feels like i'm on holiday somewhere.
Now on the coast in BC hand filling is becoming a lost art. Not to many round filers left but very very few tri filers anymore. Either all have retired or got a grinder because the price went up and the quality was down on the tri files.
Some of them could sure make a saw cut but then they filed a lot through the day so if that's the case then is It really a work chain? I wouldn't think so.
Not that I am an expert on tri filing.
The combination of Saw, wood type, tunning, porting, filing and using the dogs as much as posable, I never really had issues with a rough saw in general. YMMV.
Full race chain, of course much faster. Work chain all depends on the angle of the dangle. Your round filed is no slouch AJ, so maybe you wouldn’t see as much gain as the next guy.
What ya can’t measure is how much smoother it cuts compared to round.
Sounds accurate and honest
Depends, but probably 15-30% faster, so it's a decent difference. I'd advise against starting with a rocked loop. Best choice would be to get a couple loops from someone here with a square grinder. Keep one untouched as an example and use and practice on the other one. Either that or start with some chisel chain (ideally Oregon because it's softer). It helps if the chain doesn't have a ton of hook when you start. It will take a few filings to get it to look like square chain, but that's easier and less wasteful than filing a bunch back at once.
He did smash the two chains up really bad so the waste didn't come into play in his case.
All Sound advice^^
.
