Customer Reviews

Oregon 27742 Depth Gauge and File Guide

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

After a few touch-up sharpenings your chain will not be taking as much of a bite out of the wood as it did when it was new. This is because the top plates on the cutters have a slight angle. To maintain the proper 'bite' you will need to file down the depth gauge on the cutter and the bumper links if they are present on your particular chain.

Most chains are designed to cut a 0.025" thick chip as they pass through the wood. After repeated sharpenings, the depth of cut is reduced. As the depth of cut setting reaches zero, the chain won't cut no matter how sharp the cutters are. This tool makes it easy to reset the depth of cut.

The depth of cut should be the same for all cutters so they each take the same amount of wood. If they aren't the same, the saw will vibrate more and can have a tendency to cut crooked.

If the depth of cut is excessive, the saw will bog down as the engine doesn't have enough power to pull the cutters through so much wood at once. This gauge prevents removing too much steel from the chain.

The gauge is long enough to span several cutters so getting the depth setting right is easy to do with the chain on the bar. The file is high quality and removes the excess metal from the depth gauges and bumpers quickly.

The steel used in the gauge is quite hard but you need to try to avoid filing into it. If you file away at the gauge itself, you will end up with excessive depth.

This tool is 1) well made, 2) easy to use, 3) inexpensive, 4) easy to carry along and 5) doesn't rely on electricity to work. It is all that I want.

after a chain has been sharpened several times it can be sharp but not cut worth a damn --- reason being the sharp part aint able to get down to the wood due to the 'rakers' (the little metal guy on the link next to the sharpened link) being too tall(not yet filed) --- put your newly acquired gauge on the chain while it is still on the saw so that the raker is in the slot --- ya gotta file the raker down to the top surface of the gauge --- bit of a hassle to hold everything in place but ya hasta do every one of them guys in order for the chain to reach the proper cutting depth (space between the tops of the links) --- available info sez .025" --- .030 to .035 for the longest time between re-files --- just make certain they is all the same height when yer done fixing em ... on a scale of 1 to 10 I'd give this a 5 (remembering that one doesnt have much of a choice 'cause these are the only gauges readily available)

I had never adjusted the depth on my chain saw blade before, so I'm no expert on this matter. Bought this and it seemed to do the job just fine.

Pretty simple item. Does what it says it does. For clarification(I could find this stated explicitly), this item DOES come with the file as well. There is only one(obviously) height setting instead of the hard/soft options that I've seen on other devices, but since this seems to cut well on hard and soft woods, I'm not deducting any stars.

The gauge is fine, how can it not be given it is just a tiny piece of metal! However, the flat file included seems to me to be pretty low quality. I have not used it enough to see a problem yet, but I am not counting on it lasting very long. Given that this is not a frequent thing to use (vs. the round file), I expect I'll get enough life out of it. I just wish it were better. For the price, I suppose it is worth it even though a bit low quality.

The file included is a bit small and flimsy, although cute. Seems to work OK, no other complaints--it is a good tool to have. Cost is good. Got this more for the Depth Gauge than the file. Home Depot charges over $9 just for the gauge, so this is a good deal, especially if you combine the shipping with other purchases and get free shipping.

Other places have this product too, but charge for shipping.