Chain Storage

[wde_1978]

I do most cutting in my own yard, everything is at hand if needed - and in a pinch I can always opt to take a spare new chain out of its box.
If I go cut elsewhere I will take one spare chain along, even if that means taking a NIB chain along. I always carry a good sharp file along so I can touch up or sharpen my chain if needed.

I tried rotating two chains on my PS-6400 when I first bought her - took me like 5 years to wear them down!
Well, since then I only use ONE good chain and whatever "worn but not trashed" chain(s) I have.
I flip the sprocket on a regular basis and replace it waaaay before it has ran its coarse whenever I take a new chain into usage.

I only have 4 saws, and they are paired up from a chain and bar point of view.
The small SD105 & 108 both use 3/8"LP/.050"/52DL , and my PS-6400 & PS-7900 use 3/8"/.058"/72DL (115DL).
That been said, I have very little to no chaos or disorder while storing my few chains and bars!

I have it very simple, the chains that are not being used are 95% NIB chains and they are stacked one atop another.

I would like to actually see the "shops" of some of You guys - might be an interesting experience!

 

[wde_1978]

There are probably 250 - 300 chains in these boxes.

View attachment 473174

Was that Jägermeister box empty before You filled it with chains or did You have to bother emptying it Yourself?

That corner right there would set me up with chains and bars worth a few lifetimes!

Merry Christmas!

 

[JeffGu]

...if you only have one or two saws.

On what planet does that happen? Ok, at one time I only owned two saws... but only for long enough to prop the door open with them while I carried the new ones in.

 

[Guido Salvage]

Was that Jägermeister box empty before You filled it with chains or did You have to bother emptying it Yourself?

That corner right there would set me up with chains and bars worth a few lifetimes!

Merry Christmas!

Came to me empty, I stocked up on boxes from the Liquor Barn prior to my move.

 

[wde_1978]

On what planet does that happen? Ok, at one time I only owned two saws... but only for long enough to prop the door open with them while I carried the new ones in.

After I R.i.P.-ed my electric saw (sometime in the 90's I think) I had only one 40cc firewood saw up until 2006.
From 2006. till 2014. I owned two saws but mostly ran my 64cc Dolmar PS-6400 to take off the load of my Sachs-Dolmar 105 for which parts became NLA.

Throughout my chainsaw using life I annually cut approximately the same amount of firewood!

Within one Year of AS activity I doubled my saw count, and tripled my NIB spare chains.
It is this site that causes CAD and turns perfectly normal chainsaw users into saw, chain, bar & oil hoarding nuts!

 

[ChoppyChoppy]

On what planet does that happen? Ok, at one time I only owned two saws... but only for long enough to prop the door open with them while I carried the new ones in.

I normally only use 1 saw, an 036. I have another 360 and 2 460s, mostly collect dust.

 

[Guido Salvage]

I think I had 12 or 13 saws when I found this site, I bought 7 more the first week I was here and it has been downhill ever since.

 

[Nitroman]

Once I have a chain sharp, I'll put it in some genuine oil-cloth that I found on the internet. I fold it carefully and like a "football". Meaning; I fold it in a triangle then tuck the loose end in the last fold. So far none of my chains have even a hint of rust on them. I always carry a spare chain for each saw I intend to use, as I don't want to spend the time sharpening when I am out. I carry my Granberg File-n-Sharp just in case though.

 

[wde_1978]

This is how I storage my spare chains


... and my spare bars!

 

[Philbert]

It's easiest to control when they are your own chains, and you are the only person using them. I also work with volunteer groups, which are more challenging to manage.

For a while we saved and re-used the plastic, clam-shell packages, and cardboard boxes, that chain loops are sold in. This worked for awhile. But different chains come in different packages, and the packages wear out after a while.

More recently, for those guys, I coil and zip-tie sharpened chains into individual bundles, and they go into a plastic ammo-style box - one for each size. Used chains get tossed into a 'sharpen / repair' bucket (hopefully with any repair needs tagged).

My own chains travel in the case for that specific saw, using zip-lock bags, old VHS cases, etc.; varies by saw. At home, scrounged chains are sorted on hooks, if they are 'inventory' , or in zip-lock bags sorted in plastic shoe boxes if 'ready to go'.

Philbert

 

[a. palmer jr.]

Built this last weekend.

View attachment 473028

That's how I do mine but I don't have that much space or bars. I generally put a lot of my good chains in a drawer.

 

[wde_1978]

... My own chains travel in the case for that specific saw, using zip-lock bags, old VHS cases, etc.; varies by saw. At home, scrounged chains are sorted on hooks, if they are 'inventory' , or in zip-lock bags sorted in plastic shoe boxes if 'ready to go'.

Philbert

I like that idea, VHS cases are sturdy and nicely stack able.
Labeling them should also be easy.

 

[Philbert]

I like that idea, VHS cases are sturdy and nicely stack able.

And, they are free, if you can still find them!
http://www.arboristsite.com/community/threads/chain-storage.171234/ Post #17

Philbert

 

[fearofpavement]

I rarely change a chain on a work site. I usually just bring multiple saws and if a chain has an issue a file won't readily resolve, I just change to a different saw. I frequently will use 4 or 5 different saws on a job. I fell with a larger saw and then begin limbing with a small saw and work up until I'm back to the larger felling saw. This is assuming I'm cutting the tree into firewood. If I'm not doing that, I use less saws. If I have a lot of large diameter bucking cuts, I'll bring an extra chain for the longer bar(s).

 

[Philbert]

Spare chains are cheaper than spare saws !

Philbert

 

[a. palmer jr.]

Spare chains are cheaper than spare saws !

Philbert

I dunno, I've bought a lot of saws for less than you'd pay for a new chain and several had a new chain on them..

 

[fearofpavement]

Why you need to bring extra stuff to the jobsite:



You can see in the above pic where the nail head is shiny on the left side. My chain wasn't happy. (and neither was I) There's more stuff buried in trees than one could ever imagine...

 

[Philbert]

I dunno, I've bought a lot of saws for less than you'd pay for a new chain and several had a new chain on them..

I scrounge chains for free!

http://www.arboristsite.com/community/threads/philberts-chain-salvage-challenge.245369/

And they are easier to carry than extra saws!

Philbert

 

[fearofpavement]

Chains may be easier to carry than an extra saw(s) but lots of stuff can happen to a saw besides a buggered chain. I like redundancy. Carryover from flying I guess...

 

[ChoppyChoppy]

I've cut several nails and bolts making firewood and generally it doesn't bother much on the harvester chain. Rocks though... not fun. Recently I was cutting out of a load of wood that had been decked near where they put in a well for a house. All the junk from the well hole had been sprayed on the logs and it dried like concrete. I killed 2 chains on that pile. Now bear in mind I have been using 4 chains for several years, about 650 hrs of cutting on them so I wasn't too pleased to say the least!

If I'm out in the woods hand felling I'll bring a couple saws. I don't do much hand work though, so it's not often. 99% of my saw use is cutting tree length into ~25fters for the processor, limbing whatever the delimber missed and cutting jams out of the feed trough. I might use maybe 20 gals of mix a year, so not much use.