Sharpening: part 2, square chisel chain.

[Swe#kipp]

AL was it the "true square" or the "goofy" on ??
The goofy 3/8 is not to be compared with square guide, i have tried them both and did not like the goofy one though in .325 it's an other story with very fast and smooth cutting

 

[Swe#kipp]

I have tried a new file from Vallorbe in the guide what do you think about the angels it gives with the guide ?
it cutts smooth and fast but may look a bit agressive ,,
The file is a double bevel.

 

[Swe#kipp]

For freehanding square this is the smoothest file i have used, i have tried pferd, save edge and they are not close to this ,,
don't know when this file hits the market but for you freehanders this is a "must try once" file !
It feels a bit frustrating not to be able to tell were to get this stuff but as soon as i now more i will tell you !!
At the moment it's the US liabillity laws that are beening worked through, and they are far from the same as in Sweden, here you can say a product is for racing/competition only and your'e pretty much set as a seller/manufacturer ,,,

 

[Burnham]

Looks nice, Kipp. I'm still wanting to hear when and if the guide becomes available.

 

[Swe#kipp]

Will tell you for sure

 

[fallguy]

Kipp do you have any up to date information on that file guide yet? It looks like the answer for us low volume file'rs.

 

[Al Smith]

I did about 3-4 race chains so far this weekend the way an expert filer from the other side of Ohio showed me .
If you hold the bevel file so the long part is on the top plate and the short part is on the side plate ,aim the bevel exactly towards the working corner .It should come out about like this picture which is already on this thread .

That chain is fast as lightning if you do it right .It is even faster if you blend the tooth below the side cut .

The Rocky special pulls that chain in pine with a 8 tooth with no problem what so ever . I doubt it would be worth a hoot for a work chain but it is a speed cutter it is for certain .

 

[fallguy]

Thats one sharp lookin chian Al!!!!!!!!!

 

[Al Smith]

I didn't do that chain ,it was a picture taken from post # 77 of this thread .

The ones I did are # 72 Oregon without the ramped anti kick backs . I only borrowed that picture to point out the working corner which was nicely done on that praticular chain .

That right there is what makes it fast .Try as you might you can't get a working corner like that with a round file .Wish you could though .

It took me around 1 1/2 to two hours just to rework a 60 driver chain from round to tricked out square . It's not worth the time for a work chain .

 

[Dave Shepard]

What brand of file do you use? I don't get that nice of a corner with the Pferd double bevels I have.

 

[Al Smith]

A double bevel Pferd . It's all in how you angle the file .Once you figure it out it's simple .Believe me I struggled for a long time then it came to me like a flash from the blue .

You have to hold some rather odd angles .

I'll try and get some pictures in a next couple of days .

 

[Dave Shepard]

I'm getting a good cutting speed out of my filed chains, but they don't look that nice.

 

[Al Smith]

I don't know if this will show anything you can make sense of or not .

 

[fallguy]

Al do you flie from the front of the tooth to the back? Or back to front?

 

[Al Smith]

Both but it's easier to judge where the file is cutting going into the tooth ,at least for me .

If you do it just right the side plate portion of the cutter and working corner will finish at the same time .

On a regular round filed chain I can go righty lefty over the top but I've yet to learn that method on a square chain . About 5 minutes on a 20" loop .Can't go that fast on a square ground .

This may sound counter productive but something I learned .If you take a flat file and remove all or most of the round filed tooth profile it squares much better . Just hold it at 30 degrees and file away .

I suppose the easiest method would be to just start with square chain to begin with . Of that though in factory I grind I only own one and that being a 36" loop of .404 for Stihl 084 driver count which I run on a Homelite 2100 .

 

[SkwerI]

Al, you need a couple loops of factory square ground? Regular or skip? I have either in 3/8" .050. Just tell me a link count and I'll spin it up for you.

 

[Cut4fun]

Rocky is your square stihl RSLK or oregon CL

Also give those save edge files a try. You will be surprised at the difference. Some guy on the other side of Ohio let me try a few and they sold me. There is a difference.

http://www.saveedge.com/

 

[SkwerI]

Rocky is your square stihl RSLK or oregon CL

'Rocky'? Do we know each other from another forum?
I'm using all Stihl chain, the Oregon is too soft. And I owe Al a favor or three after the last gift he sent me.

 

[Cut4fun]

Yes we do.

Al is top notch and is owed alot. We send gifts every now then ourselves.

 

[Al Smith]

Well,the both of you are about to get some more as soon as I make them .

I have the 22 mm Stihl flywheel puller perfected and will be working on a universal seal puller as soon as I find the time . If I could find something with 26 mm threads I'd make the larger pullers but as of yet haven't found anything I can adapt .

Those Germans are a sly bunch but they've never been able to out fox Yankee ingenuity .

Yes to the loop but only one please ,72 driver . If it works out I may use square more in some of my cutting which isn't nearly as intense these days as it once was earlier in my life time .

 

[SkwerI]

72 driver, you got it Al.

I've lost your mailing address. Can you pm it to me please?

 

[Swe#kipp]

An update on the Atop square guide, some guides are heading over to some companys to test Baileys is one of them and there is some more but don't has the name in my head.
anyway it seems as the guide are landing on your side of the pond soon

 

[fallguy]

Thanks for the update

 

[Al Smith]

Since this thread has started I did learn a few valuable lessons .

The biggest so far is to watch the "beaks" which in reality is a miss alignment of the side and top plates . Those long pointy things might look real aggresive but they hinder the chains ability to cut correctly .

Madsens site shows a well sharpened square ground in case anyone has interest .

As has been mentioned by many,it just takes time to learn to square file as it is a little different than round filing but it's not impossible to get a good cutting chain with some practice .

 

[sotc]

But the point is to get a great cutting saw, not just good