How to Hand sharpen a chainsaw

In these times of economic strain saving money is on everybody's mind. through these instructions and practice you should be able to sharpen a chainsaw. I have done this countless of times over my 19 years in my line of work. It is one of the most cost effective and safe ways to cut wood.

Difficulty: Moderately Challenging

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• The proper sized round file for your chain. The size should be located in the owners manual. You can find them anywhere chain saws are sold.
• Patience
• Gloves
• Bench vise or Bolt of wood.

1. Visually inspect your chain for excessive damage to the blades for example if you hit the ground while cutting wood. You will most likely need a to sharpen or buy a new one, depending on how much damage is done.
   Look to see if they are rounded over, this would be severe damage.

2. Put the saw in the vise (if you don't have one you can rest it against something to keep it steady.) Like a bolt of wood.

3. Put on gloves to prevent cuts and use of bandages. Also it will help against slippage of the file in your hands.

4. Take the proper sized file, if the file is of the wrong size it could cause chain fatigue, cause the blade to cut improper and fail.

5. Holding the file level, at a 45 degree angle, use constant pressure, not too much just enough that the file moves through the groove of the blade. Always move the file in a forward motion, not back and forth, files are made to cut in one direction. Unless excess damage is seen between 3 and 5 strokes should do the job.

6. Switch sides of the saw, use the same method as in step 5, remember every chain has to be sharpened on both sides to cut perfect.

7. A final inspection should be made to ensure you have achieved a chisel point, make sure chain is not loose, it should make contact with the rail.

Tips & Warnings

• Mark the starting blade with white out or a felt tip marker so you know where to stop.
• A dull chain saw has a greater risk of kickback and take longer to do the job.

[ruf1950]

on 6/6/2009 Extremely well written and detailed explanation of how to hand sharpen a chainsaw. 5***** again; great work.

[greatgreat8]

on 6/5/2009 great article, thanks for the tips

[everydayguide]

on 6/5/2009 The word chainsaw reminded me of the Texas massacre haha. Good article though.

[cdclocks]

on 6/4/2009 Sweet! My hubby just bought a new chainsaw, and, of course, hit the dirt the first day. ...not that I expect that I'll have to sharpen it, but I did wonder how it was done. Thanks! 5*

[genius2b]

on 6/4/2009 great article! 5*thanks for the tips!