Keeping Your Chain Saw Sharp

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The sprocketlike dial at the bottom of the guide controls the height of the file relative to the cutters. About one-fifth of your files diameter should extend above the cutter's working edge. This correctly sets the angle of the edge. Cutter edges that are too shallow dull quickly; cutters that are too blunt don't slice wood well. With practice, adjusting your filing guide will take less time than reading how to do it. Position your file to match the shape of the cutters on your nearly new chain.

Files last longer and cut better when they are lubricated. I use a lubricating oil, such as WD-40, from a pump-style oilcan to keep the file wet during use.

File the Cutters

I prefer to sharpen each cutter with file strokes that go toward the cutter's point. Filing is smoother and easier this way, though some prefer to file the opposite direction. Regardless of which you choose, count the number of strokes needed to bring the tip of the dullest cutter to a crisp edge, then repeat that same number of strokes for all other cutters. Maintaining consistency from cutter to cutter helps guarantee an effective saw chain. Since cutters alternate in direction along the chain, you'll need to file every second cutter, then flip the filing guide around to file the cutters pointing in the other direction. This also means swiveling around the sliding carriage that holds the file, and duplicating the angles you used earlier.

File the Depth Gauges

This part of the job is easier than filing cutters for two reasons. First, you only need to adjust depth-gauge height every three or four sharpenings. And even then, the job takes little time. Simply set the depth-gauge guide on the chain so it straddles the top of two neighboring cutters, with the depth gauge poking out the opening in the middle of the guide. Next, with a small, flat file made for the job, remove any part of the depth gauge that extends above the slot in the guide. It usually takes just a few strokes of the file biting into the depth gauge before the excess is gone. Since the guide is made of very hard steel, the file doesn't remove any metal from it. When the file seems to slide over the guide easily, it's time to move on to the next depth gauge. After filing the whole chain like this, remove the guide and round-over the now-flattened top of each depth gauge with a few more strokes of the flat file. Direct your efforts along the leading edge of each gauge. You don't want to reduce their height, just ease their travel over the wood by rounding the leading edges.

Remember how you over-tightened the chain to make filing easier? Now's the time to slacken it for actual use. Unscrew the two nuts that anchor the bar, then back off the tension screw so the chain hangs loosely. With one hand holding up the tip of the bar, slowly tighten the tension screw with the other hand and watch the slack disappear along the bottom edge. When it's almost gone, tighten the bar nuts and rotate the chain with a glove-covered hand. It will rotate freely- if the tension is correct.

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