Agree once again with Red. That hot water rinse is usually a must. The sink turns black as the ace of spades and I usually wear rubber gloves. The overnight soaking is done in a shallow plastic container with a lid.
How I Fix A Rusty Chainsaw Chain
- Thread starter clint53
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Piotr Pakula
ArboristSite Operative
What if it's a chain that is difficult or unavailable?
I had a chain frozen up with canola oil. A trip through the ultrasonic cleaner with a splash of purple Simple Green fixed it up (don't know if the Simple Green helped, but it probably didn't hurt).
I tried: diesel, acetone/atf, ethanol, gunk engine cleaner, gasoline, paint thinner...........nothing worked.
I had to pry the chain from the bar with a screwdriver.
I would try lye: it is the basic ingredient in oven cleaners like ‘Easy Off’. That hardened oil should be like the crusty stuff on the sides and racks of your oven.
Philbert
Some of those guys run chains at much higher speeds than recommended. And they have much more powerful engines, so damaged or abused chains are more likely to get ‘launched’.
Philbert
I'll give that a try. I just brought some oven cleaner to take to a greasy 009 muffler I'm working on.
Great advice. Lye will remove any type of animal/plant based oil.
Agreed. I don't want one wrapped around my leg.
I skimp on saw parts to keep the total cost of the saw down, but chains I don't skimp on.
ChoppyChoppy
Tree Freak
I don't know many guys changing a buncher or harvester setup for faster chain speeds.
They are FAST from the factory.
300+ hp.
I have used electrolysis with great success.
once you have a old chain you "saved" lunch itself in a cut and launch off your saw you tend to start throwing them in the trash can...sure changed my mind on that
Most of my saws hang like decorations in my basement. I agree, use a good chain for regular cutting.
I use an electrolytic process in which involves a solution of Sodium Carbonate (plain washing soda) and a 12V car battery charger, running overnight. Afterward I rinse and dry the chain, grind it, and oil it.
Here's the link:
Recently, one of my regular customers, who sends in up to 30 chains at once, had a rusted chain in the mix. I quoted him a "derusting" fee equal to a sharpening charge (so effectively that chain cost twice as much to grind), and he was very happy. Since I charge about 10% of a new chain price for grinding, he effectively saved 80% over buying a new one.
Hope this helps.
Mike
Here's the link:
Recently, one of my regular customers, who sends in up to 30 chains at once, had a rusted chain in the mix. I quoted him a "derusting" fee equal to a sharpening charge (so effectively that chain cost twice as much to grind), and he was very happy. Since I charge about 10% of a new chain price for grinding, he effectively saved 80% over buying a new one.
Hope this helps.
Mike
Interesting to see the process work. I was expecting more of a bare steel finish, or didnt he leave it in the tank long enough?
Good information Phil.
I feel like this is a much stronger argument than "it's too much work to fix 'em".
I lost a chain one time, and I was trying to cut an embedded railroad spike in half at the time, so I can't really blame the chain for that. But it did make me reflect on some things (I never used one of the old saws without a chain catcher again, in fact).
I wish I had time like that. $5/hr, that chain would go in the scrap bin in a heartbeat.
Fire. Heat it up with a propane torch to soften the crud, not enough to damage anything or remove the temper, and then make a couple cuts with the chain running normal bar oil. Chain will be clear after that.
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