As a wood worker, always remember that the sharpness of your chainsaw blade, goes a long way in determining how neat each finished work would be. However, what is important is not just how sharp those chainsaws are, but also whether they have been sharpened in the right angles. So if you’ve not been very satisfied with your finished work outputs, then one of the things you should be checking, is whether the saw blades are actually at the right angles.
Now, don’t be surprised to know that the neatness and
smoothness of your work, has a lot more to do with the angles at which you’ve
sharpened the chainsaw. In fact, when you take the machine to a sharpening
expert, the sharpening angle is about the most important factor that would be
considered. If you’re not sure of what the sharpening angle means, then this
article would help you find out what you need to know.
What you should know about chainsaw angles
Every ideal chainsaw machine, comes with a specific or
ideal chainsaw angle. The chainsaw teeth angles are basically the inner and
outer surface of the top and side plates of each tooth of the machine blade.
Essentially, the chainsaw blade angles indicates the purpose of each chainsaw
machine. Thus, if you have to go sharpen the blades, then you should make sure
that it is sharpened according to the purpose for which it was designed.
For instance, crosscut chainsaws are usually sharpened at
angles of 30 degrees, while a rip chainsaw has a sharpening angle of about 10
degrees. Since all chainsaws come with their own sharpening angle, you should
find out what sharpening angle is best for your own cutting activities, before
you go on to buy one.
It is possible to estimate the sharpening angle for your
chainsaw, by yourself. You can do this, by measuring with a file, or by marking
reference using the witness mark that comes on some chainsaw models. This is
important when sourcing for what chainsaw to buy, as deeper angled chainsaw
would cut fine- but with less smoother strokes. If you’re particularly
concerned about getting smooth cuts on your works, then what you need is a
chainsaw with a shallow angle.
If you’re going to be sharpening the tool by yourself, make
sure you’re using a sharpening file that fits the diameter of the chainsaw
blade angle. This way, you would be effectively sharpening the chainsaw blade
and tooth angles, without altering them.
Why you importantly need to sharpen your
chainsaw at the right angle
Expert chainsaw users would always emphasize on chainsaw
angles, because they’ve had firsthand experiences of how this affects their
work. Sharpening the chainsaw at specific angles, would always be an important
component to effective chainsaw use. It is even more important because the
implications of a wrongly sharpened blade, goes beyond the quality of work that
is produced.
Firstly, you’ll see that the right chainsaw angle helps you
become more efficient as you slice the wood. This is because the chainsaw blade
cuts rightly into the wood, hence requiring relatively less effort from you. If
you’re using a wrongly sharpened blade, then you would need to produce more
driving efforts- one way or the other, before the work is done. This is
summarily why you must always use the chainsaws with the right angles.
A wrong blade angle, gets the machine stuck between wood,
as you cut. When this happens, you would not only need to expend efforts on the
impact strokes, but also in removing the machine from the wood- after every
cut. This gives you some unnecessary work, which is what should be expected
when the wrong machine specifications are used.
Another disadvantage with using a blade with the wrong
angle, is that you would also need to expend more powering resources on the
overall. Hence, if you’re using a fuel-powered machine, you would tend to burn
up more fuel before the pile of work is done. All of these, increases your work
cost implications, hence reducing your profits too. So if you think your
machine type does not necessarily determine how much profits you’re making,
then you just might be wrong.
On another hand, working with the right chainsaw angle,
really does enhance the safety of the user- while at work. Usually, if a
chainsaw gets stuck in wood, it almost immediately tries to pull free. In the
process of doing this, the machine may launch out forward, and also hit the
user. This is known as a chainsaw kickback, and could lead to injuries. If
you’ve the correct chainsaw angles however, your work would go on smoothly-
with way reduced chances for kickbacks.
If you have the right tools, sharpening a chainsaw only takes few minutes. Although it is quite easy to determine your chainsaw angles and sharpen them appropriately, you may consult the services of an expert- if you’re not yet sure of how exactly to do it. You can ask the professional to put you through the processes for a few times, or until you’re able to get it done yourself.
Before Post:
How To Make Chainsaw Cut Faster
What Can I Use for Chainsaw Bar Oil?