Square ground chain

[Shanen Mannies]

Has anyone chosen to go all in for square ground chain for your chain of choice for firewood?
For 30 plus years I have used full comp, square chisel round ground and occasionally semi chisel,... but you don't know what you don't know.
I know several people test drive it, but wasn't sure if it was anything more then a experiment..

 

[Hinerman]

Square is all some people use. If you learn how to sharpen square, it is hard to be happy with anything less.

 

[SierraWoodsman]

Pretty much all I use, but I'm almost always in clean soft pine. If you're working in clean conditions it's hard to beat, but you'll hate it if you're trying to cut skidded logs or wood like cotton wood that has a lot of Sand blown into it bark. I'll usually carry spare chains and swap them out rather than sharpening up on the mountain. More productive that way should one go bad on you.


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[Shanen Mannies]

Does it work well in hardwood, I carry a old chain for fence rows and the other bad conditions. Mostly hardwood and I go to great lengths to keep it clean.

 

[Woos31]

Does it work well in hardwood, I carry a old chain for fence rows and the other bad conditions. Mostly hardwood and I go to great lengths to keep it clean.

It can work in hardwoods yes, and that's where experimenting with your angles would come into play. Here in eastern Oregon we have a tree called juniper (western juniper) very similar to red cedar in the midwest........it's very hard and holds dirt and rock in the bark and I can fall, limb, and buck firewood out of a tree or two which is a tank or two of gas and my square chain is shot. Round holds up better and I care less about my one round filed chain than my good square ground chains. But part of my deal could be that the grinders I use for my chains have the angles set for production timber felling on the Oregon Coast in fir, alder, hemlock, cedars, spruce, and some maple which is pretty hard but they only cut it once in awhile

 

[Shanen Mannies]

Are the cutters identical except for the profile ground on them...round or square?

 

[SierraWoodsman]

Yes, Full Chisel chains can be sharpened either round or square profile. Madsen's has a good article worth reading on this:
http://www.madsens1.com/bnc_teeth_types.htm


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[cumminstinkerer]

along the lines of this thread what would be the ideal chain to run for bucking skidded logs and felling some. Mostly hardwoods, and a fair bit of standing dead of all types

 

[svk]

I have a few square chains and will be having a few more converted shortly.

They cut great for my cutting and I have had no issues. If I don't rock them too badly I can touch them up pretty easily with the square file (it isn't actually square).

When I have dirty logs to cut (rare) I will use one of my few remaining loops of semi chisel or one of the small saws with cheap-o safety chain.

 

[Shanen Mannies]

I have a few square chains and will be having a few more converted shortly.

They cut great for my cutting and I have had no issues. If I don't rock them too badly I can touch them up pretty easily with the square file (it isn't actually square).

When I have dirty logs to cut (rare) I will use one of my few remaining loops of semi chisel or one of the small saws with cheap-o safety chain.

Are you the one doing the converting?
That's kind of where I was heading, I cut a yard ornament (big walnut) for a friend the other day and found some hardware (as usual) and mucked up my chain pretty good. As I was looking at it, looks like square ground chain to me now.... and me being a "jack of all and a master of none " I thought why not give it a try..
Not much life left in it any way and I can make the best of it.
What angles to grind for square profile?

 

[svk]

Are you the one doing the converting?
That's kind of where I was heading, I cut a yard ornament (big walnut) for a friend the other day and found some hardware (as usual) and mucked up my chain pretty good. As I was looking at it, looks like square ground chain to me now.... and me being a "jack of all and a master of none " I thought why not give it a try..
Not much life left in it any way and I can make the best of it.
What angles to grind for square profile?

Not me, I'm having a guy with a silvey grinder do them. If you are good with a file (I'm not there yet) you can convert by hand.

I couldn't help you on angles.

 

[LLE]

If you are wondering whether to try square ground my experience my help you decide. I have been using it for two years cutting 12 cords of lodgepole firewood a year. When I stay out of the dirt I sharpen about every 5 cords.
My ms362 with 20 inch half skip chain cuts through a 13 inch diameter lodgepole in 14 seconds.
Last trip out after a few cuts it wouldn't self feed and began cutting poorly. I had apparently hit something and without a second saw or spare chain I would have been in trouble. I only sharpen in a vice with a very good light. It is getting easier to do. Keep in mind the top 1/32 inch of the cutter side is doing the cutting so pay attention to make sure you are actually sharpening that area. I don't find keeping a proper corner too difficult when I shine the lamp in a direction which highlights the corner of my file as well as the corner of the cutter.
Let me know your results if you have done any time tests. PS ms362 horsepower is 4.6.

 

[Little Al]

along the lines of this thread what would be the ideal chain to run for bucking skidded logs and felling some. Mostly hardwoods, and a fair bit of standing dead of all types

If it's "******"ie muddy dirty in terms of outer contamination semi chisel is usually the longer lasting between sharpeningfull chisel & square ground are faster cutting good for clean wood but require more service in forest floor processed wood

 

[Swamp Yankee]

It's a learning curve,

As previously alluded, in some cutting applications it's great, in others not the best choice.

It can be faster, but not by a huge amount, over standard chisel, especially if you know how to dress a chain. I find the major advantage to be how smooth it runs in the cut. This is especially noticeable running longer bars and skip chain where you tend to get a lot of chatter and feedback.

Biggest drawback is the cost to dress the square ground. The files are very expensive by comparison to round files and unless you come up with a real steal, grinders and wheels are very expensive. Most saw shops want nothing to do with square grind maintenance, you'll be pretty much on your own. If you rock a square grind chain, the saving grace is it can be either ground or filed into a standard round chisel profile.

I urge you to get a couple loops and give it a try. Hands on beats the internet any day of the week.

Take Care

 

[tdiguy]

I guess i'll get an opportunity to find out. I bought a roll of 72cl oregon. I would not have bought it if it couldn't be turned into round ground with my 511a grinder. It's supposed to be the same cutters as 72 lgx just square ground.

 

[LLE]

Tdiguy, I spent a lot of tie in NE Iowa when I lived in Marion. Finally learned how to catch a few trout on flies. I bet your trees are looking fine now but you don't have any species so little work to make into firewood as lodgepole.
If you do a time test let us know the results please.

 

[Ryan'smilling]

I guess i'll get an opportunity to find out. I bought a roll of 72cl oregon. I would not have bought it if it couldn't be turned into round ground with my 511a grinder. It's supposed to be the same cutters as 72 lgx just square ground.

Get a couple Save Edge files if you haven't already. I think they're called double bevels. They say that Oregon square chain gets better after a couple touch ups with a file.

 

[tdiguy]

Tdiguy, I spent a lot of tie in NE Iowa when I lived in Marion. Finally learned how to catch a few trout on flies. I bet your trees are looking fine now but you don't have any species so little work to make into firewood as lodgepole.
If you do a time test let us know the results please.

I will try to remember to do that. Not much straight wood here!!

Get a couple Save Edge files if you haven't already. I think they're called double bevels. They say that Oregon square chain gets better after a couple touch ups with a file.

I'll have to look into that. I'm not a great filer, i can make a dull chain sharper, but after a few filings my inconsistency gets pretty obvious and it needs to be straightened out with a grinder.

 

[sunfish]

I've tried it a few times and like it, but prefer semi chisel in the woods.

 

[Little Al]

along the lines of this thread what would be the ideal chain to run for bucking skidded logs and felling some. Mostly hardwoods, and a fair bit of standing dead of all types

Full Chisel round filed for the less "******" really "****** " Semi chisel will get you spending less time down sharpening