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Pittsburg, Kansas | I got a lesson on the rakers or depth drags when I was a young man, probably about 28 years old.
I had learned earlier in life that if a saw "sawed in a circle" as my dad used to call it, it was probably the rakers were too tall after the chain had been sharpened several times. Too much down pressure on the bar to get it to cut and the rakers would push the chain one way or the other in the bar rail and cause the saw to not cut straight. In a big log it would cut in a semi circle enough to pinch the bar and quit cutting.
Dad and I were cutting hedge (osage orange) corner posts and firewood out of the brush in a quarter mile hedge row. One day before starting I filed down the rakers to what I thought would be about right (this was before the day I even knew about raker depth gauges, I have several now for different chains). So dad shows up and starts to file on my saw and file the rakers down. I said "Dad, I just did that. I've alread done the rakers". He paid no attention. This is a guy that has used a chain saw for many years (cut and sold hedge posts in the beginning with a hand crosscut saw and axe till he got his first saw. Used to split the larger ones with sledge and wedges for line posts to sell) so who was I to argue with him. I let him proceed. This was on a Homelite 360 with 20" bar.
Well I must have filed them down plenty. And so did he. I could NOT get that chain to cut. Even if I reved it wide open and carefully set it into the wood. Would just grab and stall. Had to give up and put a new chain on it. So that was my lesson on filing down the rakers. A little if often good. Too much is not.
Edited by John Burns 11/9/2023 10:22
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Chain saw sharpener
