Tree ID/ help sharpening degree

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atp_08

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Hello, so ive been sharpening my own chains lately and its been going okay, i sharpen at 30 degrees. Well my chain goes okay through oak but a little slow for my taste. Well anyways I was cutting down a tree just to get it out of the way and the saw flew through it. So i was wondering if i could get an id on the tree and a little help figuring out why my chain went so fast through this tree but a tad slow through oak? Thanks
a0ed4ee83bf1224a96f5c597fd10786e.jpg


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Hello, so ive been sharpening my own chains lately and its been going okay, i sharpen at 30 degrees. Well my chain goes okay through oak but a little slow for my taste. Well anyways I was cutting down a tree just to get it out of the way and the saw flew through it. So i was wondering if i could get an id on the tree and a little help figuring out why my chain went so fast through this tree but a tad slow through oak? Thanks
a0ed4ee83bf1224a96f5c597fd10786e.jpg


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You really should cut a face out before your back cut. A barber chair can injur you or your saw or worse. Any pics of the leaves or other parts of the tree. Looks like hickory or walnut from here. But hickory is not softer than oak. Have you been cutting dead/dry oak?
 
Dead oak yes, dry probably not its been pretty wet here. I dont have any pictures of the leaves from that tree because it was just in the middle of a bunch of other trees and all the leaves were on the ground

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Dead oak yes, dry probably not its been pretty wet here. I dont have any pictures of the leaves from that tree because it was just in the middle of a bunch of other trees and all the leaves were on the ground

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Dead wood can be much more dense and plenty of dirt in the bark and wood. both could slow your cutting speed down.
 
Sure looks like walnut to me. Soft, easy wood to cut.
So if it were walnut, should i be sharpening at a different angle to cut the oak i have?

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Couple of different questions here. One is on your cutting technique for falling trees - I will leave that mostly to others, but agree that cutting straight through, as in the photo, can be dangerous. One is the species of wood (I don't know).

As for different angles for different wood, the short answer is 'Yes'. Under controlled (read 'laboratory') conditions, it is possible to optimize chain angles for different species of wood, as well as for live ('green'), dead ('dry'), or frozen conditions, etc. As a practical matter, that is only an issue if the wood you cut is remarkably uniform - such as if you cut on a Christmas Tree plantation, or production cut southern yellow pine, etc.

Most of us cut a variety of different woods, so we look to find the best, 'all-around' angles, for general use. It can be time consuming and wasteful to frequently change these angles for different cutting conditions, BUT, you can have different chain loops filed for different uses, and swap them out (analogous to swapping sockets on a ratchet wrench) as needed.

Chain Filing Angles.png
FILE ANGLES AND CUTTING PERFORMANCE
30° is the top plate angle ('A' in photo), and usually the 'general purpose' angle for most chains. This angle is sometimes changed to 25° for hard or frozen wood, and 35° for softwood.
The diameter of the file (<x>) should be appropriate for the chain pitch;
File tilt or 'down angle' ('B), usually 0° or 10°;
Height of the file ('C') affects the bevel of the top plate cutting edge, or 'hook'; and
Depth gauge setting ('D') this is typically 0.025" for general or hardwoods, but is sometimes increased for softwoods.

More info in books like the Oregon Maintenance and Safety Manual:
https://www.oregonproducts.com/pro/pdf/maintenance_manual/ms_manual.pdf

Performance can even vary between saws (!). So, if you want to experiment with different angles, I recommend having a few loops of chains, filed at slightly different angles. Swap the chains back-and-forth in the same wood, with the same saw, and see if it makes a noticeable difference to you. Fun to try, and you can learn a lot.

Philbert
 
I stick to 10 degree tpa , don't change for different woods. Pay more attention to drags/rakers height. I've tried more angle but just end up tearing links and stretching chains, gets pricey experimenting for me when the loops are 142 or 172 links.
 
You won't have to worry about sharpening if you continue to fell trees in that manner. Please get and apply instruction. Classes that give basic instruction in chainsaw use are a lot more available than ever. Moreover, from where you entered the trunk it looks like you were all over the place, not having control of a running saw. Is that a flat file at the base of that trunk? Would sure be ugly if a spinning chain hit that. Those chips don't look like they come from a chain that's been properly sharpened.
 
Hello, so ive been sharpening my own chains lately and its been going okay, i sharpen at 30 degrees. Well my chain goes okay through oak but a little slow for my taste. Well anyways I was cutting down a tree just to get it out of the way and the saw flew through it. So i was wondering if i could get an id on the tree and a little help figuring out why my chain went so fast through this tree but a tad slow through oak? Thanks
a0ed4ee83bf1224a96f5c597fd10786e.jpg


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Safety of cut addressed. Sharping chain is very well instructed by BobL native to Perth ,OZ. Wood is harder tougher to cut & dulls chain faster down under than stateside hard woods. Angle is not as important as hook of cutter edge and depth gage height. Hope you cut safer rather than "that's such a little tree"
 
It's got to black walnut, it's very easy to cut even though it is heavy and dense.

Definitely don't forget about setting the rakers properly, too shallow and you cut slow but two deep and you've got a jack hammer.


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