Good climber cant shapen saw

darkstar

darkstar

Rockclimber/ treeclimber
Joined
Aug 5, 2005
Messages
1,526
Location
chattavagas
Has anyone here ever met one?
I have a dang good climber and he uses a cheapo battery powered chain saw rotary to sharpen saws.
Ive tried that but the stone always fills with metal rendering it useless.
Ive never seen anyone with alot of expierence do this .
All good tree men ive known always use a round file.
 
I may use a grinder if I had one. ...never needed one. ...but then again, I never said I was a good climber either. :lol:
 
It took me a long time to learn how to really sharpen a chain... hell, I still can't get'em as sharp as i think they should be. I can put a wicked edge on a carbon steel knife though. Most climbers come from ground work and that's where you need to learn to sharpen.

Electric sharpeners... meh, never used one, don't see the point. My longest bar is 28" and i run skip on it.
 
Most of the climbers that I know aren't very good at sharpening a chain. Of those that cannot, about half think they can. But then I'm a perfectionist and don't know anybody who can file a chain better than I can. Heck, most don't even know what size chain is on their saw. They have to take the saw (or the old chain) with them to the shop to get another. Some of them know the difference between the safety chain and the non safety chain. Most replace their chains about the time the rakers need filing.
 
Skwerl said:
[...]Most replace their chains about the time the rakers need filing.
Click to expand...

I see that a lot with landscrapers I work for. Once the chain starts making dust and smoke no matter how much they file it, they get a new chain. They just don't file rakers, they talk about it like it's a black art or something. All my Stihl chain comes from their discards.
 
When I think its getting dull I just flip it and use the other side.
 
I hate teaching guys that work for me how to file. I like chains perfect and get the willys when I see a rookie doing it wrong. I try and tell myself that once upon a time I botched someone else's chains and now its time to let mine be guinea pigs. The only thing worse than a dull chain is a dull file!
 
I used to use a Granberg electric sharpener on a jig when first getting into milling. I think that there are advantages when using a very long bar and wanting to keep the chain angles always consistent. If I was milling regularly now, I might be wanting to use it. I never had a problem with the stone loading up, either the ceramic or diamond type.

You didn't say whether he is using one with an angle jig or not. For regular chain saw use, I don't see much advantage over skilled free hand, by the time you set it up on the bar, you can have it 2/3 done with just a round file. Free hand, and having a proper
stationary chain grinder to use when needed, that's where I get the best results.

The chain saw rental place near me replaces the chain after every return, and gives them to me if I catch them before they get tossed. 3/8 -.058, wish they'd go to .050. I must have about fifty of those, all 68 drive links.
 
Brian stole some of my thunder-most climbers I've met claim to be able to sharpen-and are lousy at it. I know one good climber who admits he is not good at sharpening.
 
Stumper said:
Brian stole some of my thunder-most climbers I've met claim to be able to sharpen-and are lousy at it. I know one good climber who admits he is not good at sharpening.
Click to expand...

Haahaha...I climb and sharpen. Whats the big deal, really. It aint rocket science:/:
 
I like when they (landscapers, homeowners)poop their pants after I file a saw for them, especially if I bring the drags (which they ALWAYS need) down. They think they have a hot saw, lol.
 
Surprisingly a majority of folks think their saw is on the fritz .Half the time the chain just needs some attention . I've sent more than one away from here that they swore I souped up the saw or something. About 5-10 minutes with a good file job fixes a lot of complaints .

Anyone who operates a saw should be able to file a good working chain .A racer on the other hand is something else which I have yet to master myself .
 
No_Bivy said:
Haahaha...I climb and sharpen. Whats the big deal, really. It aint rocket science:/:
Click to expand...

True but it does take a measure of precision and touch that some people simply don't grasp... hand filing that is.
 
MasterBlaster said:
I like when they (landscapers, homeowners)poop their pants after I file a saw for them, especially if I bring the drags (which they ALWAYS need) down. They think they have a hot saw, lol.
Click to expand...

...for about 5 minutes. Then they shove the bar into the dirt and it's back to being a dog saw. :roll:

I was at the shop the other day and a guy was asking how long before he'd have to have his nine dozen chains sharpened again. I told him if he didn't cut anything but wood they'd last a hell of a long time. He didn't get it.
 
Anybody can file a chain using a file guide .I'll bet I could show my granddaughter how to and she's 15 years old . In about 7-8 years I could show the 4 year old .At the present time the little darlins attention span is not that long .:)
 
I can't file for crap with a guide, I end up over-doing it and hooking the tooth. I gave mine away. Of course, my attention span's kinda short too.
 
MasterBlaster said:
I've never met a "good climber" that couldn't file his saw.
Click to expand...

:lol::lol: Aw, you're killing me. I know lots of great climbers who can't sharpen a saw for shit. Hell probably the reason a couple of them are so damn good at moving in a tree, the only way they could make up for a dull saw.
 
I learned to sharpen saws in the forest service. I think I have hand sharpened over a thousand chains by now. I sharpen better than most people but not as good as I could because there seems to be a point of diminishing returns effort wise.
 
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