How To Set Depth Gauge On Chainsaw?

[igorpace]

Is it possible to file the depth gauges on a chainsaw chain with the handy dandy sharpener Harbor Freight has at the following link?

have this sharpener, but unfortunately it did not come with any instructions... I also found out by reading many articles on sharpening that the teeth should be the same size (distance from cutting edge to back of tooth). Can anyone shed any light on how to use this sharpener to make sure the teeth are being sharpened to the exact same size?

Why does the top of the tooth slant downward to the back? If the tooth didn't slant I wouldn't have to worry about filing the depth gauges... Do any manufacturers make chains with teeth that don't slant? If so, is that a good thing or bad thing? Thanks!

[hylourgos]

[this may be a repeat post, sorry if so...]

Can't speak to the rest of your questions, but as to the manual, check more closely on the page you link to: near the bottom, below the price and "Add to Basket", you'll see, in green, "Download Product manual".

FYI, H

[Robert Allison]

No, you can't use that for the depth gauges. The best thing I have found for DGs is a 3 corner file.

Perfection is a goal, not a destination. Try to keep them the same by sharpening each tooth each time you sharpen the blade. They don't have to be EXACTLY the same, but close.

The tooth slants downward to give it bite into the wood. The depth gauge keeps it from going too far.

No one makes a nonslanting chain, it wouldn't work.

[CW]

If you find a manufacturer that makes chains that have teeth that don't slant (clearence), you have found the manufacturer of non cutting chains. Lay a knife blade flat on a board. Is it going to cut the board in that position?

[Bob Lee]

Much as I love power tools, if you can manage to keep the chain out of the dirt and rocks, hand sharpening is all you'll need and it's better for the chain. I use a file guide:

it takes a practiced and careful eye to keep the angle constant on the tooth. If you're not confident with that, you can get a jig: are awesome, because the angles are exact, and you are way less likely to take out too much metal from the tooth. Think of it as like hand sharpening your wood chisels, rather than putting them on a machine

- yo get a better edge in the long run.

And as for the depth gauge:

a fancier one: Why does the top of the tooth slant downward to the back? If the tooth

The chain tooth needs to slant to keep an effective angle of attack.

Bob

[Jay Pique]

******************* Worlds are colliding.

[igorpace]

Hmmm... Don't you hate it when you miss the obvious? Thanks for pointing that out!

[igorpace]

Thanks for the information! The nonslanting part makes sense...

[igorpace]

My thought on a chain with a non-slant tooth would be that the cutting edge would not be able to get a bite on the wood traveling at high speed. Since the chain is bouncing around a tad, the slant is needed to help ensure a good bite.

I like your first sentence! However, I don't quite buy your second sentence. Bread knives are flat, but serrated (the serrated part might not qualify for the true definition of flat...). Knives in planers and jointers are flat and cut like a mean son-of-a-gun (got a scar to prove it-long story, briefly put -> Tormek + planer HSS knife + replacing = nice clean deep cut).

[igorpace]

I ran across one fella' who said he uses a broom to get rid of a lot of sand and crud on the wood he cuts. I started doing that. I'm sure it helps...

I felled a big oak today from hurricane Katrina and had dirt, wood, and crud all over me. I'm sure a lot of that crud made it's way onto my freshly sharpened chain...

Thanks for the links you mention below!

I've never seen that before. How did you do that?

[Mike Marlow]

Get used to it. Try as you might, and it's worth trying to keep your chain away from the dirt and the rocks, you won't avoid it completely. The best thing you can do is keep a file in your back pocket.

[Bob Lee]

Absolutely. It's hard to keep a saw sharp when trees are covered with muck and crud, but it's key to keep the chain out of the ground and away from rocks. Like Mike Marlow mentioned, if you carry a file with you, you can touch up a chain before it gets real bad. It's easier to keep it touched up regularly than to sharpen it when it's gone real dull.

Heh. Most of my wood cutting here in the (dry) southern Rockies is felling and bucking for firewood - not too much mud involved. Good luck with that hurricane thing.

I read usenet from my ISP's NNTP feed using newsreader software - MT Newswatcher v3.3(?) in my case. The application allows me to add extra instructions in the headers, and I've added a line that says "X-No-Archive: Yes" which is supposed to keep it from being archived. Doesn't always work. Reading your headers it looks like you are posting though the web-basedGoogle Groups - I don't use Google Groups so I don't know if you can add header info when posting there.

You probably can't see it, but lots of newsreaders can display a little image (called X-Face) in my headers. Right now I have the Japanese kanji for "mountain" there. Among other newsreader apps, XNews and Forte Agent can display X-Face images.

Bob

[CW]

No, they aren't.

but serrated (the serrated part might

No, they aren't.

[alexy]

How? When showing headers, I see that header and lots of ascii characters following it. How do I get Agent to display X-face images?

[Bob Lee]

Oh, do I have my head stuck somewhere dark? I use a Mac, Agent is PC-only, and I was going on what I thought I remembered. So if Agent doesn't display X-Face images then I was wrong.

Sorry for any confusion. A little googling shows that besides XNews, MesNews, 123NewsZ, and Gravity seem to support X-Face. And there may be some DLLs that seem to add X-Face support to Agent: