Pics of my chain sharpening results

[friendlywithbears]

I've always noticed that with the RM and PMM chains from Stihl, and the RS feed much better for me.

 

[Philbert]

How much self feed should I expect with the bar in 18" of oak?

Not as much as in spruce!

(especially if it is dry and hard).

Philbert

 

[huskihl]

It could be that your top and maybe side plate are hammered in from rocks and not sharpening often enough. If that's the case, it won't cut right until you grind past that

 

[rumatt]

I found this video interesting.. The guy is anti-hook, pro grinder, and argues that the magic is getting the right raker height using a progressive depth gauge.

Discuss.

 

[rumatt]

That video inspired me to scrutinize the raker depths. I don't have a progressive raker depth tool, and they wouldn't work on this safety chain anyway.

But I do gave a level-based angle gauge. I found the angle varied wildly, from around 3 to 6, but mostly in the 4's. On a new semi-chisel 3/8 chain I was measuring in the 6's

Going to try lowering them to a nice consistent angle (6?) and see how it goes.

 

[junkman]

I found this video interesting.. The guy is anti-hook, pro grinder, and argues that the magic is getting the right raker height using a progressive depth gauge.

Discuss.

I agree without running a lot of hook ,as for the depth gauges ,i let the chain tell me what it wants ,about every 3-4 sharpens ,2 swipes on the rakes seems to work for me for general rule .,not letting the file drop into the gullet is another filing mistake ,the oregon file holders work good to keep them all the same and hold the file the right depth .as for the grinder getting the teeth sharper than the file ,that's in the operator of both tools on how that outcome is ,i can get a little better edge with a file though ,the grinder seems to roll the chrome up some where the file does not .

 

[rumatt]

Well I lowered the rakers until the angle was at roughly 6 degrees on the digital level. And it fixed it!

Well, sort of. Self feed was decent but it was too grabby now. It wasn't terrible but it was pulling inconsistently, a little annoying, and I suspect hard on the saw.

I then attempted to fix the aggressiveness by hitting the cutters again at less of an angle. This was a total fail. The saw went back to not feeding at all. I think I was just too hasty and didn't get all of the cutter at the new angle.

I sharpened another full round - cutters at 60/30/5, and rakers lowers again back to and angle of 6 - 6.5 degrees. But the test cut will have to wait until tomorrow after work. I don't think the neighbors would appreciate me running the saw at 1am.

 

[Philbert]

Well I lowered the rakers until the angle was at roughly 6 degrees on the digital level. And it fixed it! . . . I then attempted to fix the aggressiveness by hitting the cutters again at less of an angle. This was a total fail.

You are learning from your experimentation in ways that you never could from a book or a post.

But the test will have to wait until tomorrow after work. I don't think the neighbors would appreciate me running the saw at 1am.

Electric saw.
Basement.
(Just don't cut anything structural).

Philbert

 

[Wonkydonkey]

There was a thread some where about guys using the angle finder... for raker height. Iirc 5.5/6 was the magic number...

Oh I was going to get one but I never did

 

[Wonkydonkey]

Here,
http://opeforum.com/threads/tips-and-tricks-for-uniform-rakers.6626/page-3#post-432199

I thought I found more info before, but I can’t find it now,, it may have been on as

 

[lehman live edge slab]

That’s good that the chain is working out better, I’m sure you probably already read about starting with the smallest tooth when sharpening a chain. But just in case I’ll mention that it’s hard to get a good result if you set up on a longer cutter the stop won’t allow the chain to be held far enough forward on a shorter tooth an you end up grinding the gullet instead of sharpening the top plate.

 

[Philbert]

There was a thread some where about guys using the angle finder... for raker height. Iirc 5.5/6 was the magic number...

https://www.arboristsite.com/commun...ly-progressive-depth-raker-generators.114624/

Probably sold more digital angle finders than any advertisement.

Philbert

 

[Terry Syd]

I came into this thread a bit late. I noticed this picture -

It appears the raker shape is not steep enough, it's too flat. The 'cutting angle', say 6 degrees, will be established in a trigonometric function from the TIP of the cutter to the CONTACT POINT of the raker to the wood.

If the raker is flat, the contact point will be at the front of the raker. In which case, the cutting angle will be reduced. If you shape the top of the raker to move the contact point to the rear of the raker, the cutting angle will increase.

 

[Bilge Rat]

I came into this thread a bit late. I noticed this picture -

It appears the raker shape is not steep enough, it's too flat. The 'cutting angle', say 6 degrees, will be established in a trigonometric function from the TIP of the cutter to the CONTACT POINT of the raker to the wood.

If the raker is flat, the contact point will be at the front of the raker. In which case, the cutting angle will be reduced. If you shape the top of the raker to move the contact point to the rear of the raker, the cutting angle will increase.

Your explanation of the raker top angle helps me understand how the tooth works.

Voodoo is what it is.
Every time i get a chain working right and staying sharp i hit a nail, rock, or dirt.

 

[friendlywithbears]

Your explanation of the raker top angle helps me understand how the tooth works.

Voodoo is what it is.
Every time i get a chain working right and staying sharp i hit a nail, rock, or dirt.

If you want to make God laugh, show him your sharpened chain.

 

[Terry Syd]

If you want to make God laugh, show him your sharpened chain.

Now that is funny!

 

[Terry Syd]

Your explanation of the raker top angle helps me understand how the tooth works.

A while back we had a discussion on the raker shape itself. If you take a look at say a fresh raker on RSC you will see a distinct 'shark fin' shape from the factory. The reason is to make the chain a bit more sensitive to the wood type and to be able to 'adjust' the cutting angle.

When a raker is 'thin' it will sink deeper into soft wood, likewise if the raker tip is more of a 'point' it will also sink deeper into softwood - the result is an increase in cutting angle when the chain is working softwood.

In Oz I usually cut tough hardwood and even though the raker has a fairly sharp point it just skips across the wood. On softer wood it will take a bigger bite. In fact, I was cutting up an old 'Custard Apple' tree (definitely softwood) and it took such a bite that the saw slowed down. I don't know how thick the chips were, but they were thick.

 

[rumatt]

A while back we had a discussion on the raker shape itself. If you take a look at say a fresh raker on RSC you will see a distinct 'shark fin' shape from the factory. The reason is to make the chain a bit more sensitive to the wood type and to be able to 'adjust' the cutting angle.

When a raker is 'thin' it will sink deeper into soft wood, likewise if the raker tip is more of a 'point' it will also sink deeper into softwood - the result is an increase in cutting angle when the chain is working softwood.

In Oz I usually cut tough hardwood and even though the raker has a fairly sharp point it just skips across the wood. On softer wood it will take a bigger bite. In fact, I was cutting up an old 'Custard Apple' tree (definitely softwood) and it took such a bite that the saw slowed down. I don't know how thick the chips were, but they were thick.

Well damn, that is pretty clever.

 

[CR888]

Too much hook makes for a rough grabby chain that's tough on the chain & drive gear. Its funny everyone suggests 'more hook' to increase self feeding. I have square chains that self feed just fine with zero hook even a forward lean...but anyways. IMO adjust yah inner top plate and correctly set & shape depth gauges.

 

[chipper1]

Too much hook makes for a rough grabby chain that's tough on the chain & drive gear. Its funny everyone suggests 'more hook' to increase self feeding. I have square chains that self feed just fine with zero hook even a forward lean...but anyways. IMO adjust yah inner top plate and correctly set & shape depth gauges.

While thats true on a square or a round full chisel chain I've found more hook can help a lot to get a semi chisel chain self feeding better. Yes it will get more grabby, but if you want a semi chisel to self feed thats part of the cost.