"Carbide Chain" Rescue Saws? ...

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cary911

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I'm surprised I'm not banned, or have anyone that answers my handicapped questions? Considered Stihl's Rescue, Ventmaster saw on occasion. … I've cut Plowed Snow Piles, for visibility,"full of sand", ice, Rail Ties etc. … "Can You Cut Firewood, Fall, Buck, Clear Trees productively with Carbide" Under Normal Seasonal Conditions??? … Thanks
 
What do you define at productively? For the occassional firewood cutter that can't sharpen a chain I'd say you probably can. For a person who can sharpen a chain and cuts enough to heat their house all winter, I would say no. Carbide chain is just too expensive and too slow, you can have 5 loops of sharp chain ready to go and swap as needed faster and for less money than one carbide chain. Hit one rock and you might as well throw the chain away, then to sharpen it you need diamond coated grinding wheels or at a minimum diamond bits in the dremel. Forget fixing it in the woods.
 
We have a 460 Rescue saw on our quint. We do not use it to cut trees. Carbide tips break off during deeper cuts when they hit stuff at high speed. I’ve been forced to use it to cut a few trees and it does not cut wood nearly as effectively as a regular chain or as it works cutting a tepee cut in a garage door for vent work or forcible entry.
 
Rapid Duro Rescue/RDR chain will cut slower than a sharp chain, faster than a dull chain. It’ll last a long time, but it’s expensive.

If you are cutting garbage, it might be worth it.


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Rapid Duro Rescue/RDR chain will cut slower than a sharp chain, faster than a dull chain. It’ll last a long time, but it’s expensive.

If you are cutting garbage, it might be worth it.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Valid Point. … We, or the Dept. had Jonsereds when I worked for Southfield/Detroit Fire Dept. … The group I hired out with didn't know how to start saws, generators, etc. I'd scope out the carbide chain as it hardly had an edge? In 5 years they were never used in a structural Fire, However … Called For a House Fire one day, an Old Victorian That had Huge Overgrown Trees Surrounding the Residence. 5 of us were on the saws, Just to Gain Access/Entry … "The Saws were Cutting Hardwood at the Speed of Smell, An Embarrassment" … The House Rolled and was a Total Loss.
 
FD Ventilation carbide chains Not for cutting wood, big double rakers or bullets in front of tooth to blow a pathway for cutters.
We’ve had and use regular Full comp carbide chains on saws for dirty wood; storm or flood debris. Mostly soft wood out west so they work. Come off in summer for comp or skip chains for felling or brushing.

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Rapco Terminator .404 .063 20”

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Cutters Edge Bullet chain .404 .063




Erik
 
You are right, “Bullet chain” is incredibly slow cutting.

The Stihl RDR chain is much, much faster.




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We had a fire in a vacant hotel years ago when I was assigned to the "truck". I was cutting through a boarded up door but what I didn't know was there was still panic hardware on the inside. IIRC I knocked off twelve carbide teeth, about $100 damaged. Later we switched to Bullet chain. Had to send that chain away for sharpening. I did cut through cast iron sewer pipe and a bathroom mirror and didn't even know it.
 
RDR is $1300 for a 100’ spool. Definitely not cheap.


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Have tried the Stihl RDR chain on wood. It's nothing I'd use! I shut the saw off to make sure the chain was on the right way, it was that bad!
 
The chain I worked with had carbide cutting edges soldered brazed or electro fuzed teeth. Was several thousand for one loop. It did work pretty well for extreme uses. The bullet stuff looks pretty good. My experience was the carbide plated chain cutters worked better than anything else and was cheaper. Thanks
 
The chain I worked with had carbide cutting edges soldered brazed or electro fuzed teeth. Was several thousand for one loop. It did work pretty well for extreme uses. The bullet stuff looks pretty good. My experience was the carbide plated chain cutters worked better than anything else and was cheaper. Thanks
Several THOUSAND for a loop??!!!???
Just askin.....
 
I sharpen 20-30 loops tof RDR each month for a couple of large fire departments. They use it as it is designed to be used- for roof venting. I've tried it on my 066 just for grins twice- the FIRST and LAST times. It really does cut about like a dull semi-chisel chain in regular wood. In dirty (skidded out) or frozed wood, it may be OK, but not much better than OK.
If you're venting an attic- cutting through shingles, felt paper, plywood, joists, nails, and teco plates. It ROCKS at its intended purpose. For general cutting, not so much. I've used the Rapco chain and it hammers through wood like a stump grinder, it doesn't "cut" like regular chain.
I'm about the only guy in the DC area that repairs and sharpens carbide chains. Our local fire department sidelines an RDR loop if it has 3 or more damaged cutters. I punch these out and rivet in new/used cutters. The big safety issue with RDR is that folks don't carefully inspect it after each use. Pay particular attention to any broken teeth- the hazard isn't a missing cutter, but the often-seen damage to the rear cutter rivet joint when a cutter is broken off by hitting a solid object. A compromised rivet joint is a catstrophe waiting to happen. Be sure to clean and inspect these chains carefully prior to sharpening. I often use cutters that have been salvaged from RDR's that are too damaged to repair. This is a cost-effective way of returning a chain to service. No department has ever complained about me using cutters salvaged from surveyed chains to keep other loops in service.
When you consider that these RDR 20" loops are $240-ish, it makes good sense to repair them. This isn't your average chain sharpening job- charge accordingly. That diamond wheel for my Stihl USG sharpener was about $300, but it has done HUNDREDS of RDR's over the years. It was a serious investment, but I'm glad that I spent the time and money to develop this niche service. I love seeing a 5 gallon bucket of RDR loops waiting for me. It really is money in the bank.
 
I sharpen 20-30 loops tof RDR each month for a couple of large fire departments. They use it as it is designed to be used- for roof venting. I've tried it on my 066 just for grins twice- the FIRST and LAST times. It really does cut about like a dull semi-chisel chain in regular wood. In dirty (skidded out) or frozed wood, it may be OK, but not much better than OK.
If you're venting an attic- cutting through shingles, felt paper, plywood, joists, nails, and teco plates. It ROCKS at its intended purpose. For general cutting, not so much. I've used the Rapco chain and it hammers through wood like a stump grinder, it doesn't "cut" like regular chain.
I'm about the only guy in the DC area that repairs and sharpens carbide chains. Our local fire department sidelines an RDR loop if it has 3 or more damaged cutters. I punch these out and rivet in new/used cutters. The big safety issue with RDR is that folks don't carefully inspect it after each use. Pay particular attention to any broken teeth- the hazard isn't a missing cutter, but the often-seen damage to the rear cutter rivet joint when a cutter is broken off by hitting a solid object. A compromised rivet joint is a catstrophe waiting to happen. Be sure to clean and inspect these chains carefully prior to sharpening. I often use cutters that have been salvaged from RDR's that are too damaged to repair. This is a cost-effective way of returning a chain to service. No department has ever complained about me using cutters salvaged from surveyed chains to keep other loops in service.
When you consider that these RDR 20" loops are $240-ish, it makes good sense to repair them. This isn't your average chain sharpening job- charge accordingly. That diamond wheel for my Stihl USG sharpener was about $300, but it has done HUNDREDS of RDR's over the years. It was a serious investment, but I'm glad that I spent the time and money to develop this niche service. I love seeing a 5 gallon bucket of RDR loops waiting for me. It really is money in the bank.
Nice info....thanks.
 
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