20xwater said:
Ive got a X bull chinese chainsaw, starts and runs ok.
I sharpen the teeth on the right angle but for some reason it only cuts to the depth of the blade.
Is it because I need to file down the raker teeth or something?
G'day
The rakers are to prevent the chain tooth from biting into the wood too deeply and making the teeth bog down, as the teeth are angled from the front to the back and as you file the cutting edge down it lowers the height of the cutting tooth, if you don't file the rakers down to suit you will just find that it will cut poorly and can cause some of the problem you are having, you can get a gauge to place over the chain which exposes the raker tip so that you can using a flat file, you can then file the tip of the raker to the correct height, also you need to be sure that you take the same amount of metal off both he right and left cutting teeth so they all remain the same length, people tend to take more of one side than the other when hand filing the chain, so its best to count the stroke per tooth on one side and then when you file the other side do the same amount of strokes, if you do this correctly with a new chain from the start you will get a longer run out of both the bar and chain,
You might find that also your bar could now be worn out in the guide groove too much, and the chain drive links are worn as well, this combined wear will allow the chain to lay over to one side or the other, as the chain teeth cut into the wood it will cut in on an angle and not straight as it should, it bogs the bar into the wood as the bar can not follow the chain in on an acute angle, if the bar is too worn it is better replaced, if the chain when in the bar can be moved a fair bit from side to side slopping in the bar groove then both the bar and chain need to be replaced, lack of cleaning out the bar groove and oil holes at the mounting bolt end of the bar can lead to premature wear as the lubricating oil can not get to where its needed, also using engine oil instead or correct bar and chain oil can allow it all to wear prematurely as well, bar and chain oil contains polymers to make the oil tacky and so that it is sticky and will stick to the moving parts and not be flung off at high speed and not staying there to do the job.
The guide bar also needs to be maintained as well, when you remove the chain from it you will see particles of wood remaining in the bottom of the bar groove, these need to be cleaned out, as like I said the build up will stop the oil from getting to the drive teeth, you can do this with a piece of hooked wire or piece of hack saw blade to scrape the stuff out, also pay special attention to the oil holes at the bar mount end, clean them out as well, if you have a compressor you can blow it out to make sure it completely clean as well, the bar can be also ground along the guide groove to keep it square and also along the outer edges to remove burrs, also if it is a roller tip bar you can get a small grease gun to lube the roller bearings that are inside the bar tip, you can see two small holes for this, one on each side of the nose sprocket, if you don't have a set up to dress the bar then most small motor shops can do it for you, same as correctly machine sharpening the chain as well.
cheers
stayyerAU
