Chainsaw Sharpening Mistakes (Avoid These 8)

Sharpening a chainsaw chain is definitely a key maintenance practice for keeping your chainsaw in good working condition. But if you make a few mistakes and sharpen your chain wrong, you’ll end up damaging it. So, to avoid any unnecessary wear and damage to your chain, let’s take a look at 8 common sharpening mistakes.

Chainsaw Sharpening Mistakes & Errors (The Short Answer)

The key steps to successful chain sharpening are using proper tools and techniques. Without these, you’ll be likely to make a number of errors. Here are 8 common chainsaw sharpening mistakes.

• Forgetting to Set the Tension
• Not Stabilizing the Chainsaw
• Using the Wrong Sharpening Tools
• Using the Wrong Chain Tooth Angle
• Using Sharpening Tools Incorrectly
• Not Having a Sharpening Method
• Forgetting to Adjust the Tension After Sharpening

Not Knowing When to Sharpen Chains

The first mistake I see people make is not knowing when to sharpen their chainsaw chain. They let it go too long and struggle to cut. There are a few signs that will clearly point out you need to stop cutting and start filing. Here are the symptoms to watch out for.

• The chainsaw stops pulling itself into the wood.
• You need to apply more pressure to the saw to cut.
• When cutting across the grain, the saw makes sawdust, not coarse strands.
• The saw makes smoke even when the bar and chain are oiled correctly.
• The saw starts to make a diagonal cut.
• The saw leaves burn marks on the cut wood.
• The saw becomes jammed because of a sideways cutting path.
• Slower cutting ability.

A Closer Look at Chainsaw Sharpening Mistakes & Errors

One way to tell if you have made a mistake when sharpening your chainsaw chain is by experiencing symptoms of a dull chain when cutting. To avoid these issues, let’s take a more in-depth look at each of the common sharpening mistakes and see what you can do to keep clear of them.

Forgetting to Set the Tension

When you get your chainsaw up on your workbench, you’ll first want to ensure that the tension is set correctly. This is so the chain is secure in the bar and can’t lift out. Usually, you sharpen the saw after you have been working.

So, you’ll probably find that your chain needs to be tightened. If you don’t tighten it, the chain could move around in the bar, affecting your ability to sharpen it accurately.

Not Stabilizing the Chainsaw

When you come to sharpen your saw, you’ll want it to be nice and stable. Not only does this help keep your saw safe, but it also stops it from moving around while you sharpen. So, using a chain saw vise that connects to the bar will keep your saw in one place, plus it will keep the bar from lowering as you put pressure on the top of the chain.

In addition, a vise will stop the underside of the bar from hitting your work surface. This is especially important when sharpening on a metal or concrete surface. The last thing you want to do is sharpen the top of the chain, only for it to become damaged when it reaches the bottom.

Using the Wrong Sharpening Tools

You only need a few tools to sharpen a chainsaw chain. First, you need a flat metal file and a round metal file sized correctly for your chain. Then, you need an angle gauge and a depth gauge. By getting yourself a chainsaw sharpening kit, you’ll be able to avoid a whole set of problems when sharpening.

I see this all the time, but tools like oversized files, Dremels, and angle grinders really have no place being used on a chainsaw chain. These kinds of tools tend to be too big and end up making a mess of your chain. So I recommend getting a nice full sharpening kit to prevent any issues.

Using the Wrong Chain Tooth Angle

You’ll find that most chainsaw chain teeth are sharpened to an angle of somewhere between 25° and 35°. This seems to be the middle ground between cutting efficiency and sharpness longevity. So, keeping your chain sharpened within the range is vital. If you have a proper chainsaw sharpening kit, you’ll have a round file with an angle gauge that tells you exactly what angle you are sharpening at—another good reason not to use a Dremel.

Using Sharpening Tools Incorrectly

Sharpening is actually a pretty precise task and needs to be done with care and accuracy. So, using your tools correctly is the only way to avoid mistakes. Let’s take a look at the right way to use the various sharpening tools.

Round File & Angle Gauge

The round file and angle gauge are designed to sharpen the flat and side plates. These are the two parts of the tooth that make the actual cut. So, the file and gauge need to be positioned on top of the chain so that the file is level and 90° from the bar. Then the file is rotated at the desired angle for your particular chain.

Then to sharpen firmly, press the file on the chain, and with one stroke in a single motion, push the file away from you. Finally, lift the file, place it back into the starting position, and repeat.

Raker Depth Gauge

For the rake gauge, simply place the opening of the gauge over one of the rakers and lower it into position. Then, inspect how much of the raker is visible above the top of the gauge opening.

For example, if 2mm of raker sits above the gauge opening, you need to remove 2mm of raker metal. So, lift off the gauge, file the raker a small amount, then retest with the raker. Repeat this process in small amounts, lowering the raker bit by bit until its level with the top of the gauge.

One of the big mistakes I see people making is guessing the height of the raker by eye.

Flat File

The flat file is only to be used to file down the raker to the appropriate height, and that’s it. There is no reason to try to sharpen the tooth with a flat file. A flat file doesn’t have the right shape to get into the side plate of the tooth. So, just use the flat file on the raker and avoid this costly mistake.

Not Having a Sharpening Method

Now that you have the right tools and know-how and where to use them, a sharpening method is the last thing to figure out.

Why is this important? Well, the blade needs to be sharpened in a particular way and in a specific order. If you sharpen each tooth one after the other, all in the same direction, you’ll end up with half the teeth sharpened correctly, and the other half sharpened incorrectly.

Why does this happen? Well, it’s because chainsaw teeth are designed to be sharpened in a specific way to keep the chainsaw centered in the cut. The right way to sharpen the teeth is to sharpen one tooth in one direction, then the next tooth in the opposite direction. If all the teeth are sharpened on the same side, the saw will want to veer off course and cut at a diagonal angle.

So, select a tooth that has the side plate closest to you. Then sharpen with the away motion. Then skip the next tooth. You want to sharpen every other tooth. When you have completed all the teeth on one side, rotate the chainsaw 180°, and repeat the process for the remaining teeth.

Finally, when all the teeth have been sharpened, use your raker gauge and flat file to adjust all the rakers to the correct height.

Forgetting to Adjust the Tension After Sharpening

After you have finished sharpening, the last thing left is to double-check that the bar is positioned correctly and that the chain has the right amount of tension. I see a lot of people skipping this stage, leading them to dull and damage their chains quicker than they should. Here are the steps to get this right.

• Release the chain brake.
• Loosen off the bar bolts so that the bar can move up and down.
• Lift the bar so that it is in the top position.
• Tighten the bolt enough so that the bar cannot move.
• Adjust the chain tension screw so that the chain is at the desired tension.
• Lift the chain to check that the drive link cannot raise completely above the height of the bar rails (if they do, then the chain needs the tension increased).
• Tighten the bar bolts fully.