Oregon chains

[nomak]

what do you guys use as far as chains go... I am running a 72 lgx on my 455 rancher and cutting 2 to 3 foot diameter pieces and Im cutting in clean conditions no dirt or rocks or what not.. but seems I can only cut about 3 pieces off this big log I got and then the chain is starting to get dull to the point you have to force it down to get it to grab in the wood and cut...are oregon chains just not that great and is there something better..thanks

 

[SawTroll]

It sounds like some grit is imbedded in that log - but it could of course be that the chain isn't to sharp to begin with?

 

[mtfallsmikey]

Nuthin but Stihl RSC on all saws, 'cept for the 170. What kind of wood are you cutting?

 

[striperswaper]

how are your rakers set?

 

[Zippy]

Too hot?

I'm no expert, but I mostly use oregon chain (73LPX and 91VX from memory). I like it as it seems to sharpen really well with a file and holds it's edge.

Apart from dirty conditions or hitting rocks the only other reason I can think it might go blunt quickly is if it's got too hot previously and gone soft?

Maybe too hot when it went blunt before, or if it's been sharpened on a power tool like a grinder or dremel?

Just thoughts.

 

[CGC4200]

2' to 3' pieces of what?

Semi-chisel may give better results on some tough & gritty woods.
I have some shagbark/scalybark hickory on my property. It takes
the edge off chisel chain fast, spend more time filing than cutting.

Oaks and some other hardwoods that have been down a while seem
to harden with age.

 

[rmh3481]

If you have sharpened the chain more than once without adjusting the rakers, that is where the trouble is.

 

[palogger]

not trying to sound rude here but somwhere your hitting dirt, whether it be the ground or in the bark or the wood itself. i run oregon 75lgx on all my saws and if im in good clean wood i can run a day or two, without needing to sharpen.

With that said look at the logs themself a little more there maybe dirt imbeded into the bark, if there is maybe debark them before bucking or try semi chisel chain

 

[tdi-rick]

As CGS said, sounds like a situation for semi-chisel.

Most firewood we cut here is as hard as nails and has lots of silica in it, what you've experienced is often what I encounter using semi-chisel, the stuff is that tough.

 

[nomak]

the wood Im cutting is a maple tree (the kind with the wirly gigs) not sure if its sugar maple or silver maple or what... but the tree is well over 50 yrs old or so and 3ft diameter at the biggest point towards the stump left from the tree and probablly 90 to 110 ft tall... I know that the chain gets hot to the point it cant be touched but beings I have a 20" bar I dont think its getting the oil it needs all the way down the chain for when I do a oil test on a clean surface of a log its sprays a fine mist of oil from the tip and not a thick line like my 16" 435 does...as far as dirt goes yeah there maybe be little particles that Im just not seeing from ants that have burrowed up through the center of the log but there is no mud caked on the side I do know that..and I also notice when cutting the large diameter rounds I seem to be recutting chips alot once I get over half way through the log...I wonder if having a oil bottle near by to squirt the chain with every so often would help out with the oiling issue where it seems to not be getting enough.. thanks everyone for the info on this....

 

[BryanEx]

the wood Im cutting is a maple tree (the kind with the wirly gigs) not sure if its sugar maple or silver maple or what...

FYI - if the "wirly gigs" drop in the spring and the leaves have jagged edges it's likely a silver or possibly red maple. If the "wirly gigs" appear in the fall every 3 ~ 5 years and the leaf edges are smooth it's a sugar. By firewood standards silver maple is a softwood and sugar is hard (and also makes for excellent furniture).

Bryan Ex
Sugar bush operator

 

[CGC4200]

Try cleaning bar groove & oil ports in bar and sawbody

I have had problems there. Blockage from sawdust/oil gunk will
prevent proper B&C oiling.
It is much cheaper to do a little cleaning/maintenance than to fix later.

 

[WoodRipper]

Oaks and some other hardwoods that have been down a while seem
to harden with age.

This sure seems to be true. I just finished ripping some red oak logs that had been sitting for close to two years. I had painted the ends twice when they were first cut, but they still had dried out some, not dry but definitely not as wet as green. I had to change change chains 2 or 3 times for each log, whereas with a fresh green log I can cut an entire log or maybe change chains once to get the job done.

 

[rob206]

Let me shout from the roof tops "I am not an expert". Okay, with that said, I used to have a similar problem and I think Sawtroll is right in suggesting maybe the chain isn't all that sharp to begin with.

Let me introduce you to the Husky Roller Guide or the Carlton File O Plate. Try either one(or both, such as myself) and you will be golden. I used to have the EXACT same problem you are experiencing. For instance, I would take a chain in to have my dealer sharpen, and it would cut very well. After a tank of gas I would touch up the chain and performance would be degraded. The cycle of touching up the chain and performance degradation would continue unabated until I would bring the chain back to the dealer for a good grinding. At the time I was using one of the Oregon clamp on to the file file guides......worthless.

Try the Husky roller guide or the Carlton file o plate and you will have a chain that gets serioulsy sharp when you put the file to it, and just as importantly, it will stay sharp for a decent amount of time.

Buy both products, you will only be out maybe seven dollars total. If they don't work for you(can't imagine) you are out some chump change, and if they do work(very likely), you will be grinnin' from ear to ear.

 

[Evan]

in clean wood i can cut for a long time if i keep the tip outa the dirt.
starts cutn slower well enough to notice its slower around the 3 or 4 tanks of fuel. then i swap saws or chains and keep cutting

ohhhhh also running the oregon 72 lgx and use the fileO plate to set the rakers and free hand the cutters

 

[nomak]

I have a husky roller gauge but it didnt come with a raker depth gauge on it but it works well and I just file maybe 4 strokes with a flat file on the rakers and assume thats good enough for its worked well in the past.. but I just got a pferd dual purpose cutter and depth gauge sharpening tool that I have been using but I dont know how well its working with my raker gauges even though it is taking them down some but maybe not enough..I will have to get a file o plate seperate so I can double check the gauge heights..


as for the tree Im cutting on its a silver maple for its got green leaves and drops wirly gigs every spring... well it used to till it got cut up for firewood.. hated to cut it down but it was in danger of falling on the house and had already sustained damage from previous yr wind storms.. so it was only matter of time in my mind anyway that it was gonna end up on my house...

 

[Modifiedmark]

not trying to sound rude here but somwhere your hitting dirt, whether it be the ground or in the bark or the wood itself. i run oregon 75lgx on all my saws and if im in good clean wood i can run a day or two, without needing to sharpen.

With that said look at the logs themself a little more there maybe dirt imbeded into the bark, if there is maybe debark them before bucking or try semi chisel chain

Exactly, I'm betting hes hitting the dirt in the bottom of his cut as well. LGX holds a edge very well and clean silver Maple isnt hard enough to bother it hardly at all.

 

[nomak]

Exactly, I'm betting hes hitting the dirt in the bottom of his cut as well. LGX holds a edge very well and clean silver Maple isnt hard enough to bother it hardly at all.

I did resharpen it lil while ago and did get into the dirt for a brief second and cut one more log after that and it was done.. at rpms it was running at full throttle I imagine it hit every tooth by the time I got it lifted out of the dirt even though it only went in a 1/4 inch at most... but im guessing im having a depth gauge issue here cause most sawing I do is on clean wood and its lifted up on 2 or 3 inch diameter logs so as to not get into the dirt but this one log wasnt and it hit the dirt and it was gone imediately.. but as far as rest goes I can usually get about an hour of large and medium size pieces of wood bucked up before the saw goes dull.. but one hit of the dirt at full throtle which I did less than hour ago only produced 2 logs bucked for this go around..lol.. live and learn but definately gonna look into the raker gauges and see if they are getting files to the .025 or .030 depth they need to be...

 

[komatsuvarna]

I run the Oregon LGX and JGX(skip) and have great service outta them. One thing, Around here when maples get that big they start rotting on the inside. I just cut down 3 sugar maples that were rotted so bad it was like dirt in the center 12 inches. It was hard on my cutters.

 

[Modifiedmark]

I did resharpen it lil while ago and did get into the dirt for a brief second and cut one more log after that and it was done.. at rpms it was running at full throttle I imagine it hit every tooth by the time I got it lifted out of the dirt even though it only went in a 1/4 inch at most... but im guessing im having a depth gauge issue here cause most sawing I do is on clean wood and its lifted up on 2 or 3 inch diameter logs so as to not get into the dirt but this one log wasnt and it hit the dirt and it was gone imediately.. but as far as rest goes I can usually get about an hour of large and medium size pieces of wood bucked up before the saw goes dull.. but one hit of the dirt at full throtle which I did less than hour ago only produced 2 logs bucked for this go around..lol.. live and learn but definately gonna look into the raker gauges and see if they are getting files to the .025 or .030 depth they need to be...

One time in the dirt is about all it takes to dull any brand of chisel chain.