Specifications

Chain Grinding Information
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model, and maintaining a saw's
engine and AV system, a pro
saw user has little control of a
saw's engine vibration.
Cutting vibration is differ-
ent. It is caused by the action of
the saw's chain's cutter teeth as
it severs wood fiber. Like
engine manufacturers, chain
producers have developed saw
chain that vibrates less, too. But
even with these improvements,
a saw's operator plays a bigger
role in managing his saw's cut-
ting vibration.
Uneven and Over-Cut
Depth Gauges
There is no single cause of
rough cutting saw chain, but
there are a number of mistakes
many pro saw users make. The
most common is over-cut
depth-gauges. Overly aggres-
sive chain takes bigger bites of
wood than it is designed for. In
the process, cutting vibration
increases. Many pro saw users
don’t realize the “hungry” feel
of an overly aggressive saw
chain also causes it to vibrate
more than it should.
Much of the time, when we
see depth gauges that are over-
cut, t h e y are ofte n also
unevenly-cut. Since depth
gauges control the amount of
wood each cutter tooth takes,
when they are uneven, each
cutter tooth cuts a different
amount of wood. This causes
some cutter teeth to pull harder
than others -- a recipe for vibra-
tion.
Uneven depth-gauges are
usually the result of sloppy
measuring. Some users count-
A saw that vibrates exces-
sively causes your hands to
tingle and your elbows to ache.
It also adds to fatigue, reduces
productivity, and increases the
“work” of running a pro saw.
But for a pro saw user, excess
cutting vibration can be more
than an irritating cutting char-
acteristic. It can cause long
term injury.
For pro saw users , the risk
of injury from vibration is
higher than it is for a non-pro-
fessional user because you run
a saw for a long period of time
and do it almost every day.
Excess vibration is also some-
thing you may have gotten used
to or are no longer sensitive to.
But beware, what you may have
gotten used to can still harm
you. Veteran timber fallers
often develop circulatory prob-
lems in their hands, such as
numbness and painful sensitiv-
ity to heat and cold.
Vibration is not good for
your saw engine either. It leads
to premature bearing failure,
and increases component fail-
ure due to cracking and fatigue.
It also rattles parts loose, which
leads to damaged mounting
points and stripped fasteners.
What Causes Vibration
On a pro saw, vibration is
caused by two things: engine
vibration and cutting vibration.
Engine vibration is largely the
domain of saw manufacturers.
They work to reduce the levels
of engine vibration by develop-
ing engines that are better bal-
anced and smoother running.
Other than choosing to run a
new saw engine over an earlier
ing file strokes as a method for
measuring how much depth
gauges are being cut. The prob-
lem is, each file stroke does not
remove the same amount of
d e p t h g a u g e m a t e r i a l .
Measuring by counting file
strokes may seem to work when
a chain is new, but after the
depth gauges are cut several
times, this is not the case. The
inaccuracy adds up and the
depth-gauges are uneven.
Each depth-gauge should
be measured and set accurately
when it is lowered. Yes, this is
tedious, but it is important.
This is why many pros employ
a depth-gauge grinder like the
Silvey HDG-6. This makes cut-
ting depth gauges much easier.
Once set up, a hand crank
advances the chain past the
grinding wheel, quickly and
easily cutting its depth-gauges
in the process.
Other Causes Of Cutting
Vibration
Unevenly sharpened cutter
teeth can also cause vibration.
All cutter teeth must be the
same length, filed at the same
angle, and all be sharp. Again,
for saw chain to cut smoothly, it
is important for every cutter
tooth to take the same size bite
How to Minimize Cutting Vibration on a Pro Saw
Shown is a depth gauge that is cut
too low. Also notice it was not
reshaped after it was lowered.