Chainsaw sharpening guide

A chainsaw is a portable power saw, which has a rotating chain that runs along a guide bar. A set of teeth is attached to the rotating teeth, which I used to cut and doing activities like tree limbing, felling, pruning, cutting firebreaks and harvesting firewood. Some special chainsaw is also used for cutting concrete. It is also sometimes used for cutting ice or for winter swimming. A chainsaw chain; after using for a particular amount of time, becomes dull and do not make perfect cuts on the workpiece. So it has to be sharpened from time to time. And in this article, we will give you a complete chainsaw sharpening guide, telling you how to do so.

The chainsaw comes in many sizes, from small electric saws used for home and garden use to large lumberjack saws.

Three main types of chainsaws are available. They are-

1. Handheld file chainsaw
2. Electric chain saw
3. Bar mounted chainsaw

Uses of chainsaw

1. For limbing trees
2. For tree felling
3. Pruning trees
4. For cutting firebreaks
5. For harvesting firewood.

Just like any other cutting tools a chainsaw become blunt and dull due to usage. Cutting with a blunt and dull chainsaw may cause its efficiency to be declined. A dull chainsaw causes higher fuel consumption while cutting. As a result of chain getting caught in the wood bar of a chainsaw launches upward in a dull chainsaw, which causes a common cause for chainsaw injury known as kickball. So to avoid this chainsaw must be sharpened regularly in the correct way.

A chain saw always comes with manuals and instructions, these instructions and manuals are to be read and followed carefully, this is one of the easiest of all ways to learn how to sharpen a saw.

When to sharpen a chainsaw

1. Check if the chainsaw cut makes any dust or not. Dust means it’s time to sharp.

2. A dull chainsaw tends to ride the cut without deepening it.

Everything about sharpening a chainsaw is revealed below:

First of all, check if the chainsaw needs repairing or not.

Steps before sharpening a chainsaw

1. Precaution before starting to sharpen a chainsaw

Before going to chainsaw sharpening guide, some safety measure should be taken into account. They are sated below

• Use goggles to protect eyes from getting inside eyes or hurting eyes
• Use gloves to protect hands
• Before starting to sharpen your chainsaw, first of all, the type of chain and sharpening angle specifications should be known. This information is available in chain saw manual
• Make sure to attach the sharpening chain to the chain saw bar to make it tensioned properly
• To prevent occurring build-up on the file’s teeth or on the wheel while grinding wipe the oil and grease off the chain
• Examine the chainsaw for damages-
• Check for any broken or cracked cutters
• Check for bent, burned, broken or cracked drive links
• Check for worn chains
• Try rotating the rivets of the chainsaw, if the rotate then they are too loose
•  Repair the broken or ripped chains

• Check the depth gauge and adjust them

• Use the correct file guide and file for the saw chain while filing the chain of the chainsaw with hand

2) Chain saw sharpening tools

Then, the most important thing for sharpening a chainsaw is the sharpening tool. The idea is simple, the best chainsaw sharpener gives the best results. A sharpening tool contains-

• Round file

• Flat file

• File gauge

• File guide

• Stump vise

• Depth Gauge Measuring tool

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Chainsaw sharpening guide or procedure:

A chainsaw can be sharpened using a hand, or using a sharpening machine or by using the above tools. In this section, we will tell you how to use a chainsaw sharpener and also how to sharpen a chainsaw with your hand.

Step 1- Sharpening a chain saw with hand

1. First of all find the size of the chainsaw link, which is also called pitch.
2. Use the pitch number for getting match file with correct diameter.
3. Use less aggressive cleaners to avoid damaging the saw while cleaning the chain thoroughly to get rid of dust and dirt or oils
4. Find the damaged, cracked or bent cutting links and replaced them with new ones. Damaged cutting links can be dangerous and can cause accidents
5. Fasten the chainsaw and its bar to make it static while filing and position the bar in such a that it allows the chain to move freely
6. Hold the handle of file with one hand and use another hand to guide the motion of the file. Keep in mind that the file only sharpens on the forward motion. Filing in the backward motion may make the file dull
7. Rotate the file while filing so that it wears out evenly
8. Check after filing to make sure if the cutting link is filed evenly or not

Step -2 Sharpening with power tools

To make the sharpening easier you can use electric chainsaw sharpener. The electric sharpener can easily and quickly sharpen with accuracy. But electric chain saw sharpener needs to be set correctly otherwise it may file extra materials.

Step 3-Sharpening a chainsaw with round file

1. Ensure the protection first like; wear goggles, glove, etc.
   1. Engaging the chain brake, lightly clamp the bar of the chainsaw in a bench vise. Then release the chain brake so that the chain can be able to rotate by hand
   1. Place the file guide over the cutter, if using one with the file in the gullet, which is between the cutter and the depth gauge. Make sure the file guide has on point of contact on the top plate of cutter and another on the depth gauge
   1. Hold the file’s diameter 20% above the cutter’s top plate, so that the file is in the correct position
   1. Make sure the top plate filing angle is parallel to chainsaw chain centerline.
   1. Sharpen using even strokes in the most damaged area of the cutter to remove damage. When the cutter is shiny and silver it means that the damage is removed
   1. Before switching to another side of the change, complete all the cutters on one side.
   1. File again to keep the length of top plates equal and to remove damage
   1. Recheck the depth gauges.

Safety measures of sharpening a chainsaw

• Always use safety materials
• Be careful while sharpening, especially with a sharpening machine
• Always read the instruction that came with the saw.

Conclusion

A chainsaw must be sharpened often as it becomes dull and damages with time which is dangerous and increase the chance of kickback accidents. Now that you have a complete chainsaw sharpening guide, hope that you will get benefit from my article.