Is this chain shot?

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PoulanInPA

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.404 Carlton chain. It came to me this way. The tops of each edge are pretty rolled over and the gullet is all but gone. Itll sharpen but dulls our very fast. I have a grinder and don’t mind getting aggressive with it, if that makes a difference. Thanks!
 
Is there supposed to be a pic?

Are the depth gauges set correctly?

If they are and it is getting dull quickly, it could very well have gotten too hot on a grinder. Just take tiny bites...tap, tap, tap. Not a long grind. If you see the metal start to glow red, you've possibly lost the temper and it will be a softer metal and will not hold its edge as long.
 
Duh, pics below.
 

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The OP went way past dull, but it should live again. I hand file so hate it when something like that happens. It is possible I would get the grinder out for that one. Yes chain like that are easy to burn or take the temper out. Thanks
 
Its totally serviceable if you take a bit off at a time to remove ALL the damage. The moral of the story should be to not let the chain get that bad before re-sharpening. Its not just bad for the chain, the bar and saw drive system cops it too.
 
When I hit something and roll a chain back pretty bad like that I'll definitely get it back in order with the grinder. I mark the top of 2 opposite teeth with a red marker. Then set the grinder to take off just a little as if it wasn't very dull. Sharpen one side. Sharpen the other side. Adjust the stop just a little closer and do both sides again. If it's real bad it can take several times to get it all out. If you try to get it all out at once you will burn the chain and take the temper out. Plus the grinder might not move far enough to get the bad out without readjusting the stop anyway. If the tooth discolors then you have to take it past that point. I use a diamond wheel. It helps not to overheat the tooth. A regular stone wheel will overheat the tooth very fast. Going over it several times allows the teeth to cool. By removing that much of the tooth you will want to hit the rakers a few licks each with a flat file also. There are filing plates for the correct depth. Very cheap also. Just a few dollars. If you don't lower them enough it won't pull to the wood, if you go too far it will jump and grab and be nearly impossible to use.

With the teeth being that bad someone probably done a lot if pushing on it before they decided to quit. The bar might need to be leveled and the rails tightened. I level and tighten my bars every couple of weeks depending on use. After all of that you'll probably have a wire edge on the bar that will need to be filed off. The bar can easily get wider than the chain if you don't. Plus you'll surely cut your hand on it anyway . While it's off clean the bar groove out too. After all of that it will cut better than new. Sounds like a lot to do but I have over 20 saws that I have to keep up with so I do a couple nearly every day.
 
Get one of these 2 in 1 Sharpeners, they are great. You can sharpen your chain and cut the rakers to the right height in 5 minutes with the chain still on the saw. I have a couple different ones to match the chains I use.

 
I probably killed the temper when trying to re-establish a gullet on the grinder. I'll see if I can bring the chain back to life.
 
Nope. Chain shot usually is a harvester thing. Have read articles of people dying from a flying chain coming through the cab. Scary stuff!

 
Get one of these 2 in 1 Sharpeners, they are great. You can sharpen your chain and cut the rakers to the right height in 5 minutes with the chain still on the saw. I have a couple different ones to match the chains I use.



They look like a potentially handy tool. Wranglerstar endorsement does nothing for me but I will likely try it anyway.
 
They look like a potentially handy tool. Wranglerstar endorsement does nothing for me but I will likely try it anyway.
Agreed, he’s too much for me. Plenty of other good YouTube channels out there. I’ll have to add these files to my arsenal.
 
Get one of these 2 in 1 Sharpeners, they are great. You can sharpen your chain and cut the rakers to the right height in 5 minutes with the chain still on the saw. I have a couple different ones to match the chains I use.


5 mins, not on that chain lol.
Those are great and put a nice edge on if you touch the chain up every couple tanks or as soon as you hit a bit of dirt, but I wouldn't want to use one on a damaged chain like that, that's what a grinder is for.
Do they make a 2 in one for .404 chain.
 
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