How to sharpen chains for chainsaws with their own hands

When servicing the household, especially in summer cottages, a variety of devices and tools are used. One of the most common is a chainsaw (chainsaw). The chainsaw is a cutting tool, and its correct operation becomes a guarantee of human safety. The working (cutting) element of the saw serves as a chain, therefore sharpening chains for chainsaws with your own hands becomes an important condition for its proper maintenance.

Scheme device chainsaws.

If the owner is familiar with the basics of the process, then sharpening the chain for a chainsaw with his own hands will not be a big problem. In general, this is a standard operation, which, however, requires certain skills and possession of some special tools and devices.

The need to sharpen chainsaw chains

Sharpening chainsaw chains with your own hands.

Efficiency, quality and safety of use of chainsaws depend on the state of the cutting edge, consisting of teeth of a rather complex configuration. During operation, the teeth are blunt, which leads to slower work and lower quality. Dates of sharpening can not be normalized and set in advance. The time for sharpening is determined practically by the result of the analysis of some indicators.

The first sign of the need for sharpening is the feeling of the worker himself. The most accurate indicators are the increase in time for the production of the same work and a noticeable increase in the required effort to feed the cutting tool. When working with a blunt instrument, vibration and "walking" in different directions can be felt. Sometimes the wear of the teeth is noticeable visually.

An important rule for determining the period of sharpening the chain is to control the state of the chip. If the teeth are sharpened normally, the chips fly out fairly uniform in appearance, large and shaped like a square. When the teeth wear out, the chips become fine, almost dusty. In this case, it resembles the shavings left by a simple hacksaw. The shavings become darker in color.

The design of the cutting part of the chainsaw

Front angle sharpening chain cutting.

The cutting part of a chain for a chainsaw is, as a rule, not fundamentally different in design for different tool brands. It includes 3 main elements: the base of the link constituting a certain chain, the cutting depth limiter and the blade itself, which forms the basis of the tooth. The last of the listed elements consists of 2 types of blades: butt, having a vertical position, and a horizontally installed upper one.

To provide the desired effect can be, if the blade of the teeth is located under the optimal slope. Monitoring compliance with the angular location of the teeth is an important condition for proper sharpening of the cutting surface.

The back angle of the upper blade is determined by the location of this cutting blade relative to the back of the tooth. This angle is important to ensure the desired entry of a given blade into the tree. It is recommended to provide an angle in the range of 50-60º.

The installation of the end blade is determined by two angles: rear and front tilt. The back angle is taken into account to ensure lateral cutting of sawdust, and is set by narrowing the surface of the tooth from behind. The rake angle is determined by the location of the surface of the end cutting blade relative to the sliding edge of the chain element. Its value, as a rule, is in the range of 60-85º for different brands of saws.

Circular saw blade device.

The sharpness of the cutting blade determines the angle of sharpening. When working with soft wood, increasing the angle increases the speed of work. The opposite effect occurs when cutting hard wood. Based on the alternative choice, it is recommended to set the sharpening angle in the range from 25 to 35º.

The depth of penetration of the cutting tool into the tree is determined by the depth limiter. It is placed in front of the surface of the cutting tooth. An important parameter “distance limiter” is characterized by the difference in height of the location of the edges of the limiter and the back of the tooth. This distance is normalized in the range of 0.5-0.8 mm. For the most common types of saws, it is 0.6 mm.

It should be remembered that in order to maintain the desired distance, it is necessary to periodically file a limiter.

Basic rules sharpen chainsaws with their own hands

The process of sharpening the chain should begin with determining the main characteristics of the chainsaw and the properties laid down by the manufacturer in the instructions. The identity of the height of all the teeth of the chain should be verified. When sharpening, it is necessary to provide the necessary installation angles for the blades and the depth gauge distance.

The tooth surface is required to be processed with a small file of a round type. Requirements for the accuracy of maintaining the dimensions of the cutting parts when sharpening necessitates a clear spatial fixation of the tool relative to the tooth section being treated. The choice of file size is determined by the chain pitch (usually 4-5.5 mm). Strict requirements for the tool require to have files of several types and sizes, as well as to use tools for fixing the saw.

Tools and tools for sharpening chains

The position of the file when sharpening the chainsaw chain.

For the production of sharpening chain cutting elements for chainsaws, standard kits can be used. Usually such kits include:

• round files of different sizes, placed in special holders for spatial fixation of the file in relation to the tooth being processed;
• flat file for surface depth limiter processing;
• caliber (pattern) combined;
• device in the villa hooks for the extraction of sawdust;
• vice.

Markers are made on the surface of the holder in the form of lines that, with a sufficient degree of accuracy, allow fixing a round file relative to the chain surface at a given angle. Taking into account the location of these lines, the fixing holder is attached to the tooth to be ground in such a way as to fix between the edges of the cutting element and the stop. The file is placed in such a way that it cannot change the specified direction and angle relative to the cutting edges. The size of the holder is selected taking into account the pitch of the chain. Select the desired file and holder to set the file with the protrusion above the tooth surface at 20% of its diameter.

The pattern is used in the last operation when working with a depth limiter. With the help of a template, the required distance of the limiter is set when processing a flat file on its edges. In addition, a pattern (gauge) is sometimes used to determine the sharpening angle of a tooth.

Tooth sharpening process

Sharpening a tooth and grinding a depth stop.

The first stage of sharpening fulfills the condition of sharpening the blades of the cutting teeth of the saw. Chainsaw is fixed in a vice or manually. The holder is fixed on the first cutting tooth and the tooth surface is sharpened with a round file. By moving the file in only one direction (forward), the tooth is sharpened. The file should be held at an angle corresponding to the angle of the previous sharpening of the tooth (usually 25-30 °). File movement should be in one direction only. Excessive efforts should be avoided; movements should be carried out smoothly and evenly.

Similarly, it is necessary to sharpen all the teeth of the chain. When grinding teeth, it is recommended to produce an equal number of movements with a round file and apply approximately the same force, which, under equal conditions, should ensure the same height of all teeth of the chain.

At the second stage, the surface of the depth limiter is processed. The required distance of the limiter is controlled by a template that is installed between the surface of the limiter and the corresponding edge of the cutting tooth. The cutting of the surface is carried out by a uniform direction of the flat file in one direction (forward). The template is necessary to avoid unnecessary cutting metal limiter.

Use of machine tools

Wiring and sharpening band saws.

In some conditions, manual sharpening of cutting elements of chainsaws is complicated by significant wear of teeth. In such cases, it is advisable to think about automating the process at the expense of special machines. Used manual and electric machines.

Manual machines are based on the above methods of sharpening chains. They also use files, gauges and limiters. But to facilitate the process there is a complex system for setting the locking and guiding elements. Standard machines handle cutting elements of chains, links reign, adjust the height of all teeth.

In electric machines, disks are used instead of files. The system of adjustment and control allows for high precision grinding with the installation of the desired angle of grinding. When using machines, the rule for adjusting the height of the teeth incisors for the most worn out. It should be remembered that there is no need to allow significant removal of metal from the surface of the cutting tool, as this leads to accelerated wear of the chain and the entire saw.

Summarizing

To ensure quality, speed of work and safety of operation of the chainsaw, you should constantly monitor the cutting surface of the chain, timely sharpening the teeth. The most reliable way to carry it out is to take the saw to the experts in the workshop.

At the same time, the sharpening operation under the basic rules and under certain conditions is simple and can be done by hand. Sharpening of chains can be done both manually and using special machines. The timeliness of the sharpening will allow for a long time to maintain the performance of the chainsaw at a high level.