How to keep your chain neat and beautiful? This is the problem I faced during the first few months of trading. I saw other people picking up the round file and passing it through the chain, leaving them with nice scratches. So I said to myself: "This seems easy, I can do it." So I tried it and imitated what I saw other people doing. Sometimes I get good results, sometimes not so good. I have been trying to get different results, trying to figure out why I can't do it like others. It turned out that I was just asking the wrong question. I shouldn't ask "Why am I not very good with the file", but should ask "Why the saw chain works in the first place?" In order to truly maintain mechanical parts, you must understand how and why they work. Knowing how to change the oil filter in a car does not make you a car mechanic. Why do I need to filter oil? Why does the engine need oil at all? What is "internal combustion"? Similarly, when I picked up a file and dragged it onto my teeth, I was engaged in so-called "result-based education", from which I found that knowing the "how" was enough to bring me results. It turns out that what really matters is the "why". The speed of the Straight chain saw is amazing. custom chain saw also can be made for cutting.When it is sharpened and working properly, it appears to be "cutting down" the entire wood. However, the saw chain is not designed for cutting, but a material designed to remove one chip at a time. Anyone who has used a hand plane will see the same concept on a chain saw: Why does the saw chain work Therefore, I hope you can visualize the basic idea: Each tooth is like a small chisel If: the chain is tensioned correctly, the teeth are sharp and the rake is adjusted correctly, Then: As the chain rotates around the rod, each tooth will remove one sawdust each time it passes. This happened so fast that it did indeed "slice" the wood. So now that we have some background knowledge, let’s take a look at what constitutes a saw chain The chain consists of several basic elements: Knives-combination of teeth and rake Drive chain-allows the saw to move the chain on the chain Belts and rivets hold the tool and drive link together The teeth are arranged in an alternating pattern to help the chain cut evenly and straight. Depending on the length of the chain of a particular size, there will be an equal number of alternating left and right hand cutters, or the chain will end with 2 back-to-back cutters on the same side. Chain specification When buying a chain, there are three main elements to keep in mind, which are usually printed directly on the saw blade. All three elements are directly related to the transmission chain of the chain. The three concepts are: pitch, specification and number of drive links. In order to circulate, the drive link of the chain rides on two sprockets: one on the clutch of the saw and the other on the end of the rod. When initially buying the saw, the dealer will ensure that the two sprockets match, and the chain must match them. Let's take a closer look at these three main elements. Chain pitch-adjust size Pitch is technically defined as the distance between any 3 rivets divided by 2, but at least to me, this definition is not very intuitive. The actual measured pitch is the size of the drive connecting rods and the distance between them. The gauge is just the width of the drive link, they can be installed in the groove of the guide rod. The specification of the chain must match the specification of the guide bar. Number of drive links This is the way to match the chain to a certain length of rebar. For example, a rod that is 20 inches long may require 72 drive links. When buying a chain, there are other main considerations, which are related to the cutter itself: Cutter type/profile There are many different types of milling cutters, but in the standard arbor arc grinding gear chain, we can simply say that there are two basic types of teeth: the upper corner is round or square. Chains with rounded corners are preferable in dirty cutting conditions because they can better maintain their edges if you get into the dirt. These are often called low profile or half chisel. The chain types with higher efficiency and better performance are square corner or full chisel. This is the most standard chain type used by professional arborists in residential tree work. Modern knives are a combination of teeth and rake. These two elements work together to produce a cutting effect-neither of them can be used for wood slices alone. Teeth-top and side plates The front part of the top plate forms the chisel edge, that is, the part of the tooth that finishes cutting from the corner. The top board cuts the wood chip and discharges it. corner The corner is where the top plate rotates downward toward the rivet to form the side plate. The corner is the front edge of the tooth and will first contact the wood. Therefore, the corner starts the cutting action of the tooth. For simplicity, there are 2 basic types of corners-rounded corners or squares. esophagus The esophagus forms the space between the actual teeth and the rake. Depth gauge (harrow) A depth gauge or rake can prevent the chisel of the teeth from biting into the wood too much. The height difference between the rake and the top plate determines the depth of the tooth cut each time it moves around the rod. Grind Grinding refers to the shape of a file or grinding wheel, which is necessary for sharpening each tooth. The standard chain is fully rounded-sharpened with a round file. There are things like square ground, which means sharpening the teeth with a flat file. The square ground chain is dedicated to large loggers who cut down cork all day long, which is beyond the scope of this article. I hope that the overview of the saw chain is deep enough without being overwhelming. According to what I said at the beginning, it was not until I took the time to really understand the chain and how and why the chain works before I could really serve, maintain and improve the chain.