Any drawbacks to carbide chain

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noodlewalker

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I've never used it but have an opportunity to buy a 20" carbide chain for a decent price... Just curious if there are any hidden monsters involved with it other than needing a diamond wheel to sharpen it.
 
The cutters can chip.

Get the loop then you can comment in similar threads.

Never seen the cutters chip on my Bosch worksite table saw? Ive used the same blade for more than a year without sharpening... cuts like through butter still. It don't get dirt and sand through it though.
Anyway, if a carbide cutter chip -what would a regular steel tooth do?
 
From what... Rocks or metal in the ground, fence post or something? Or just from running through wood? I'm interested in the longevity of the cutting edge mainly. I don't plan on getting crazy with what I cut. I mainly cut trees for our firepit... And I enjoy knocking trees over. So will it chip just bucking and limbing? If it chips, is the chain shot at that point?
 
Well I wouldn't mind something like a Maya carbide chain, but what good would my precious grinder be :rolleyes: tungsten carbide being less good than soft iron - pull my fish till it hurts :dumb:
 
Well I wouldn't mind something like a Maya carbide chain, but what good would my precious grinder be :rolleyes: tungsten carbide being less good than soft iron - pull my fish till it hurts :dumb:
I think it is Maya. I don't fully understand your comment, are Maya carbide chains no good?
 
From what... Rocks or metal in the ground, fence post or something? Or just from running through wood? I'm interested in the longevity of the cutting edge mainly. I don't plan on getting crazy with what I cut. I mainly cut trees for our firepit... And I enjoy knocking trees over. So will it chip just bucking and limbing? If it chips, is the chain shot at that point?

Carbide will chip, shatter or fall off if it hits anything hard enough to damage it. Depending on the type that can be metal, rock, “dirt” or excessive heat. If the wood being cut is clean and clear a carbide chain should last significantly longer between sharpening. It can become dull sooner than many folks think it should.
If you get a loop, pay attention to chain tension and lube and give it a whirl. Some folks really like it, some do not. Having a local place to sharpen it seems to make a difference.

As a person with buckets of used chain, I tend to just swap chains regularly. The carbide chains I have used were never as fast as a decent semichisel or as smooth.

Stihl sells some for their wee little saws that folks seem to like. Never tried that. There is carbide that is moderately priced on eBay a couple folks seem to think is good for the $ however I never tried that as well. One of the things about the casual users that really like it seems to be a general lack of regular chain sharpening ability. If you are decent at sharpening a chain the benefit of carbide might not be as noticeable.
 
Carbide will chip, shatter or fall off if it hits anything hard enough to damage it. Depending on the type that can be metal, rock, “dirt” or excessive heat. If the wood being cut is clean and clear a carbide chain should last significantly longer between sharpening. It can become dull sooner than many folks think it should.
If you get a loop, pay attention to chain tension and lube and give it a whirl. Some folks really like it, some do not. Having a local place to sharpen it seems to make a difference.

As a person with buckets of used chain, I tend to just swap chains regularly. The carbide chains I have used were never as fast as a decent semichisel or as smooth.
What do you do with your chains? Send them in by the bucket full to be sharpened or just toss them out?
I'm just an occasional wood cutter with a few saws. I typically run a file across the cutters every other tank, and grind them before I put them away, or maybe a couple of days later. If a carbide chain can eliminate that or at least minimize it I'm happy. But if a carbide tip is going to cause more headache by breaking or chipping, then what is the appeal? Do guys mainly use them for "dirty" trees or stump work then?
 
Carbide will chip, shatter or fall off if it hits anything hard enough to damage it. Depending on the type that can be metal, rock, “dirt” or excessive heat...

It makes me wonder what soft iron would do encountering that... "excessive heat" - you saying soft iron takes excessive heat better than tungsten carbide?
 
Never mind, I just have a critics point of view. No real experience, other than in wood working and metal tooling that is. Harder is more brittle, softer is softer... bad things happens to both.

Wouldn't want a knife with a soft edge though...
 
Yes it will chip or shatter if you hit something hard like say a little stone in bark for one example.
buttercup sounds like you cut only clean wood? go nick a rock with your magic chain and report back.
At least with normal chain you just sharpen it if you hit something carbide on the other hand will be trashed at best.
 
It makes me wonder what soft iron would do encountering that... "excessive heat" - you saying soft iron takes excessive heat better than tungsten carbide?
Then why comment??? If you have no experience why would you chime in? I openly said I have zero experience with it and am looking for input from people who have experience with it. If you make a comment about a manufacturer of a product which happens to be the manufacturer of the product I am actively looking at buying, I am going to take that comment as a real assessment of the product... Then you say you have no experience with it... WTF? Just being a critic doesn't help anyone, especially if you are criticising something you have never used.
 
We used a couple carbide chains building pole barns. If you hit a nail be prepared to buy a new chain. Most of the time the carbides fall off unless I or someone knowledgeable are running the saw and are always ready to to pick up the saw out of the cut when we hear that nasty sound.
 
Carbide chain has many myths attached to it one being you can cut anything with it.
For the money and time would it be better invested in learning how to sharpen normal chain efficiently than looking for a magic mythical chain that never needs sharpening? absolutely.
Also a big part is knowing what you can and can't cut if you see dirt clean it off if bark has dirt in it use an axe to cut it away at your cut. There is no magical solution as yet to cutting dirty timber.
 
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