The life of a chain..

[goanin]

I have to get it straight once and for all:
How often does a chain need to be sharpened?
When do you know your chain's done?

The thing is- it's hard to notice the deterioration in sharpness because it's gradual. It leads me to always think I'm not cutting well. And I don't have a hell lot of experience..

So I have a new chain. So far it only cut a 17" diameter pine (easily).
Does it need sharpening now?

 

[bullittman281]

hello,
I generally get a whole fire wood day out of a chain. Its done by the end though. That's felling, liming, and bucking to manageable but not final length. Sharpen your own chains. Not only does it make you self sufficient but its also incentive to be kind to the chain. I takes a lot of work to dial one in, especially to go and immediately kill it. Get a filing jig. You'll be much happier with the result. Once you get it figured out you know right away when a chain is good or bad. A good chain cuts with out down pressure and throws nice big chips. A dull chain takes alot of force and throws dust and cuts very slow. You'll know. The cleaner the wood the longer they last. Stihl brand chains seems to be the hardest/longest wearing and is most certainly most expensive. there are other good, far cheaper alternatives as well. Get real chain, safety chain sucks. The chainsaw part arborist site has all your answers.

Bullittman

 

[derwoodii]

No no need to sharpen it wait n till it tells you.
these things
When you need to push the saw down to get it to cut
When what used to be quick is slow
When your kerf becomes a dust not a slithers.

When to know its sharp good to go.
When you touch it with finger tip and it trys to bite your skin like a razor blade
When the chrome shines in the slot
When the files doing nuthin no more
When the tooth tops neat without chips or worn chrome

 

[dingeryote]

Touch the chain up every other tank fill.
Just get the edge back, no need to correct the rounding if it's not there.
Just a pass or two with the file will do it.

File it in earnest if it's shooting powder/dust instead of chips.
Usually this means ya rocked the chain and will have some serious filing to do.

Sharpen the chain when you're done cutting for the day.
That way you'll find all the chipped teeth, busted beaks, and what not in the shop with time to deal with 'em, and not the next time you're cutting looking to get work done.

One small shagbark will have me filing 3-4 times and a big Cherry might only take a single touch up.
Too many variables to even think about guessing if ya need to sharpen.
If ya think it needs it, file it.

Stay safe!
Dingeryote

 

[savageactor7]

goanin the thing is to let the chain do all the work. If you have to torque the saw in the slightest to cut...then the chain is dull.

I suppose if you did a days cutting and were satisfied with the cutting part it wouldn't hurt to draw the file once alone the teeth...as a touch up sort of thing.

As far as how long they last that's up to you. If the chain never hits metal and stays out of the rocks that good.

We drag wood here so often times I'm cutting threw mud. I think maybe that's responsible for my chains stretching...so I take a link out to shorten them when needed.

I'm willing to put up with the mud because it's an east take for me. I can hand fire a chain faster than it takes me to make adjust the chain properly.

I have chains that have been hand sharpened hundreds of times, maybe there's 1/8th of an inch of cutting tooth left. They're my 'retired' chains I use on roots, boundary trees, other crap I don't want to use good chains on.

But no matter how long chains last you always want to have some spares handy when you plan to spend the day in the woods.

 

[Pulp Friction]

I buy the cheap chisel chain loops pre-maid from Woodland Pro, on sale at Bailey's for $11.95 each. I sharpen by hand every 3-6 face cords. Use only a stump vise and a hand guide that reminds you of the correct angle. Can do all 40 cutters in 8 minutes. You will MORE than get back the time you spend sharpening by increased production. You couldn't even get down to a shop to drop the chain off in that same 8 minutes. Buy a box of a dozen files for $1 each and rotate it 90-degrees in the hand-guide holder on your second sharpening with it. Use it twice then toss it. Remember, you dull opposite sides of a file when you do the left then right side of the bar.

Every 2 or 3 sharpenings is what slows me down a little, grinding the rakers down to spec. (.030" below cutter). Get a depth gauge. Don't forget this important step as you will have the sharpest chain that never gets to dig into the wood. You should get many full cords before tossing out that 12-dollar chain.

 

[4seasons]

Hope you aren't needing to sharpen that carbide chain you were talking about a while back. I think you have to have a diamond wheel to sharpen that stuff, but maybe stihl makes a file for it.

For normal chain I touch up the edge every tank or 2 of fuel. I use a cheap file guide in the woods. I also take 3-4 chains with me so if I beat one up bad I can just switch chains. When I get back to the house I look all chains over for damage and use my dremel to put an edge back on, then touch up all the chains with the hand file and guide as well as take the rakers down. If I'm cutting something clean I may only use one chain all day, but if it is full of dirt or I hit something I may use all 4 in a day. Using this method I only buy a couple of chains a year as I only grind damage out. I tend to hit things in the wood that break the chain before I actually wear one out.

 

[sunfish]

I sharpen my when they get dull....

 

[goanin]

Hope you aren't needing to sharpen that carbide chain you were talking about a while back. I think you have to have a diamond wheel to sharpen that stuff, but maybe stihl makes a file for it.
.

Ya I was talking about the normal chain
btw: I've been cutting green wood with the carbide, and I have to say it's not that good. There is a mix of fine powder and good sized chips, and while it does cut straight, I don't think it cuts fast (maybe it's just me though). Someone told me that it's not ideal for regular green wood cutting.. Is it true?

 

[alderman]

I usually pull the clutch covers and blow the debris off the saw after I'm finished cutting. After I put the chain back on I'll give it 3 or 4 swipes with a file. My normal cutting doesn't last much more than an hour a session as I've got wood so close to home I don't have to spend a lot of time on any day cutting wood.

Probably overkill but it is frustrating to fire up a saw with a dull chain.

 

[Nuzzy]

How often does a chain need to be sharpened?

I do the every or every other tank touch up. So much nicer when the chain is tip top shape.

When do you know your chain's done?

Once I've filed back to the witness mark in the top of the cutter, I usually chuck them.

 

[4seasons]

I've been cutting green wood with the carbide, and I have to say it's not that good. There is a mix of fine powder and good sized chips, and while it does cut straight, I don't think it cuts fast (maybe it's just me though). Someone told me that it's not ideal for regular green wood cutting.. Is it true?

Personally I would have no use for carbide chain. I can see why you would want to use it for fire/ rescue applications where you know you will be abusing the chain and cant take the time to sharpen it. But for just regular wood cutting where no ones life is depending on me to get through the cut, I can just take 10 minutes with a file and have a sharp chain again. As far as speed in the cut the race saw guys use square ground chains but I don't know how to file one and have heard they dull much quicker. I wouldn't think that a second or 2 in the cut would make much difference to me. If the carbide is cutting slower than regular chain I would just use the easy to sharpen regular chain until I found something that it wouldn't cut.

 

[Mike PA]

When my chain is getting dull, I notice it when I am not dogged in. It will feel like you need to push teh saw a bit to get it to cut, instead of just cutting on its own. The rate of the cut, the size of the chips, the ease of the cut are all things you will observe and learn over time. Experience is key, so cut more and pay attention.

After cutting your 17" pine, the chain may/ may not need sharpened. Because you aren't very experienced, you may have hit the dirt more than you realized. Cut a little with it, sharpen it, and cut again and notice the difference (if any). Also, some trees seem to pick up more dirt, sand, or ash than others, depending on the environment.

Chains will last the average firewood cutter for a long time. For a while, I bought one new chain a year. Well, I still have all of those new chains and none are truly worn out. On a Stihl chain, keep filing it back until it get to the line on the cutter. I have never used a carbide, but I have read that they are slower for normal, clean cutting.

 

[Dan-o]

stihl chains

I have heard that Stihl chains require a different technique than other brands, any thoughts on this? I have filed othr chains before but haven't had to touch up my Stihl yet.

 

[TreePointer]

A different technique for Stihl chains? Never heard of that.

The cutters on Stihl chains have a reputation for being harder, and therefore, may take harder files or more strokes. The other side of this coin is that the cutters may hold an edge longer than those of other chains.

 

[mtfallsmikey]

A different technique for Stihl chains? Never heard of that.

The cutters on Stihl chains have a reputation for being harder, and therefore, may take harder files or more strokes. The other side of this coin is that the cutters may hold an edge longer than those of other chains.

Not a different technique, just different files....

Save-Edge files are da bomb...just another shameless plug.

 

[Marc]

I'll give another endorsement of the Pferd tool. Only disadvantages I can see is you have to use the flat file they make and it doesn't work on semi skip or full skip chain.

 

[slofr8]

I do the every or every other tank touch up. So much nicer when the chain is tip top shape.






Once I've filed back to the witness mark in the top of the cutter, I usually chuck them.

I'm with Nuzzy on this one.
Usually only 3 passes with the file. 2 with downward back pressure and 1 with upward back pressure.

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[goanin]

I just cut a 18" ceder. I gave the chain two touch ups. Man it went through like butter! I think I'm getting it :biggrinbounce2:

 

[logbutcher]

Carbide chain is not for "normal" wood cutting: used by emergency crews like firefighters or in unusually gritty wood. It needs special files for sharpening- diamond.

Neat advice for when to sharpen, when to throw the chain away. With the PFERD system and a stump vise it's quick and easy to touch up the teeth and rakers after a couple of tanks. For a 20" bar maybe 5 minutes for 2-3 strokes per tooth.