I snapped a chain

[jimdad07]

Hah, that's some nice wood Kicker, what kind is it? I want to post some pics of this wood that I recently split so you guys can identify it.

Is it ok to store freshly cut, green, bug-free, rot-free wood inside a heated garage? I figure if it's in a heated(60º+) dry garage it will season it in, say, half a year as opposed to a year.

Nothing seasons wood as well as sunshine, wind and rain. I like to have my twenty or so face cord cut, split and stacked into 4' x 8' stacks by May, and then I cover the stacks with tarps around mid September.

 

[s37d]

skimmed this thread, I know i'm weighing in late.

I appreciate your input, ty. I went to home depot tonight and they gave me a new chain. We'll see how long this one lasts lol.

Nothing seasons wood as well as sunshine, wind and rain. I like to have my twenty or so face cord cut, split and stacked into 4' x 8' stacks by May, and then I cover the stacks with tarps around mid September.

Yeah this makes sense. I read somewhere that moisture only exits the wood form the cut ends of the wood, not the face of it. I also read that wood exposed to rain dries it out faster, similar to how overexposure of our hands to water dries them out. Do you cover the tops only with tarps or the sides too?

 

[BobL]

Nothing seasons wood as well as sunshine, wind and rain. I like to have my twenty or so face cord cut, split and stacked into 4' x 8' stacks by May, and then I cover the stacks with tarps around mid September.

I'd avoid the direct sunshine if possible.

 

[Brmorgan]

I'd avoid the direct sunshine if possible.

I believe he's talking about firewood.

 

[Brmorgan]

Yeah this makes sense. I read somewhere that moisture only exits the wood form the cut ends of the wood, not the face of it. I also read that wood exposed to rain dries it out faster, similar to how overexposure of our hands to water dries them out. Do you cover the tops only with tarps or the sides too?

Moisture will leave the wood radially through the rings as well, but it's a slower process because it has to pass through all the cell walls of each layer of cells, whereas it can travel lengthwise down the natural passages in the wood grain to exit the ends. Casehardening and honeycombing occur when lumber is dried too quickly or with too much heat - the moisture does leave radially through the sides, but in an unequal fashion where the outer layers are extremely dried and hard and the inner ones still have a relatively high moisture content. This can result in all sorts of warping and fiber tension issues in the lumber and is why most fine woodworkers won't even look at kiln-dried wood for projects.

 

[jimdad07]

I'd avoid the direct sunshine if possible.

I was talking about firewood, sorry for the confusion. Milled wood in the direct sunlight is not good.

 

[jimdad07]

I appreciate your input, ty. I went to home depot tonight and they gave me a new chain. We'll see how long this one lasts lol.



Yeah this makes sense. I read somewhere that moisture only exits the wood form the cut ends of the wood, not the face of it. I also read that wood exposed to rain dries it out faster, similar to how overexposure of our hands to water dries them out. Do you cover the tops only with tarps or the sides too?

I cover the sides as well. I built my house in the middle of a field so the wind coming off of Lake Ontario drives the snow all through my wood pile if I don't cover the sides. I have also not had any luck just leaving the wood in a big pile (like a mound), seems to not dry out and just get moldy a little ways into the pile.

 

[SilverBox]

I believe he's talking about firewood.

lol

 

[Brmorgan]

Well I wasn't sure if maybe I'd missed something since it's a milling forum and all; for a second I was trying to come up with some reason why leaving firewood in the sun was a bad idea. You never know about those Aussie hardwoods eh! They're already close to petrified, who knows what exposure to sunlight could do!

 

[s37d]

PowerCare from HD is junk. It will only take about 2 horse. I've snapped a couple. On a 2.5 horse saw, never even got to sharpen it before it snapped.

This is not in any way the users fault or some problem with his saw.

Powercare chain is complete total garbage, the longest I've seen one of these chains (3/8 LP) last is filed down about halfway on a 1.8hp saw.

and one last time POWERCARE IS JUNK.

Looks like you're right, because I snapped another one. Took it back to home cheapo and got yet another replacement. I'll stay positive and look at it this way: free chain sharpenings.

 

[Philbert]

Looks like you're right, because I snapped another one. Took it back to home cheapo and got yet another replacement.

I don't know how things work there, but if they get enough of them returned that break, some guy in Atlanta might look at the numbers and tell someone in China to make them stronger.

If you or I go tell the guy at the counter, he might not care and blow it off, or they might ignore him too. If we just throw the broken chains away, they never know.

Philbert

 

[BobL]

Looks like you're right, because I snapped another one. Took it back to home cheapo and got yet another replacement. I'll stay positive and look at it this way: free chain sharpenings.

Sure - but are you getting any wood cut or just putting miles on your car?

 

[s37d]

Sure - but are you getting any wood cut or just putting miles on your car?

Yeah it always seems to happen right at the very end of the session. I always have 2 backup chains. I will definitely buy a higher quality chain when I get a chance.

 

[BobL]

Yeah it always seems to happen right at the very end of the session.

That's handy!

I always have 2 backup chains.

Yep - nothing worse than being stymied by no back up chains.

It sounds to me like they have a bad batch of chains - I can't believe they would do this deliberately.

 

[SilverBox]

It sounds to me like they have a bad batch of chains - I can't believe they would do this deliberately.

Its deliberate, not a bad batch, its total junk. It actually cuts pretty good if you keep it sharp and doesn't dull really fast, but the pins and straps are super weak, snap really easy.