All About Sharpening a Chainsaw

If you ever use a chainsaw, you need to know about sharpening a chainsaw. Whether you are in your back yard or on the back 40 you can't cut many trees with a dull chainsaw . You could have a professional sharpen your chainsaw or you could sharpen your chainsaw your self. Sharpening your chainsaw will make your job go a whole lot easier and extend the life of your chainsaw.

Let's say you are out in the woods and you notice that your chainsaw is having a tough time cutting through a log. You notice the chainsaw engine is bogging down and realize that the chain needs to be sharpened. To sharpen your chainsaw yourself you will need a chainsaw file. A chainsaw file is just like any other file except it is round. Set your chainsaw on a flat surface where you can easily reach it. Take the file and make about 2 or 3 passes on the tooth of the chain. Take the file and place it inside one of the teeth with part of the file protruding on both sides of the chain. Place a hand on each end of the file and pull, this will turn the chain so you can sharpen each and every tooth. After you have made 2 or 3 passes on the tooth take your file and tap it against something hard. This will jar loose the metal shavings from the file that came from the tooth.

You must sharpen your chainsaw after every use, to help prolong the life of the engine. You will eventually have to buy another chain after sharpening 8 to 10 times, but the cost of the chain is a lot less than the cost of a new chainsaw.

You could however take your chainsaw to a professional Sharpener. For some people it is faster and easier for them to have a professional sharpen their chainsaw. Fo someone who knows what he is doing it doesn't take very long at all. In about ten or fifteen minutes he can have it sharpened as good as new. Although taking your chainsaw to someone after every use is very time consuming and costly. Always remember to carry a couple of extra chains along with you in case you have a chain get dull or have one break.