Terrible luck with keeping my chain sharp.. Darn dirt!

[bigblue12v]

Today I cut up a good size maple that was laying on asphalt, after a storm blew it over. Bucked up a whole big load of it. Never once touched the road with chain. It needed sharpened before I did that unfortunately. I run Stihl RS chain. I'm not a total idiot but sometimes I just have trouble when something is in a bad spot and it's almost impossible to cut without touching dirt and that seems to trash these chains instantly. But I'm addicted to the speed when they're sharp! After i got back with that load i sharpened it and had lightning speed as usual, made one cut on a log kind of in a ditch that was too big to roll, and apparently the sob sucked dirt into the mother f'ing cut! Dulled instantly! Never saw dirt flying. After i got home i thought well I'll file it instead of using my bench mount electric sharpener, trying to save some material on the teeth. But i suck at hand filing and it didn't really do anything for it.

Any help, or ideas other than don't be such a klutzy dumb@$$ sometimes? Lol quit being impatient and find a way around the predicament? I cut firewood so lots of cuts where logs are on ground sometimes they can't be maneuvered because of where they're at or how they're positioned, or have to be cut before they can be maneuvered. I'm getting fed up, I can sometimes do lots of cutting without an issue other times I can't keep it sharp for one whole tank of fuel....

 

[RedFir Down]

Get yourself a big peavey.
Cut 3/4 the way through the log (or whatever your comfortable with) then roll it over and finish your cut.
You would be surprised what you can roll with a big peavey.

 

[lambs]

A few thoughts:

• Don't cut too close to the ground, and cut the butt of the trunk last. Dirt gets splashed up into bark sometimes when it rains..
• Take a hatchet with you to the field, and use it to chip the bark off a cut so you're sawing clean wood.
• Cut down from the top of the log, then roll it over with a cant hook and finish the cut on the upswing to minimize contact with grit.
• You could try separating the rounds with a wedge instead of cutting all the way through

Remember that dirt does not have to fly to dull your chain. One little grain of grit is all it takes. RM chain has more shoulder and will cut longer in dirty wood, but it is not as fast. I'm a RS guy myself.

 

[Full Chisel]

I think you'll be much happier running a semi chisel chain like Stihl RM or Oregon BPX. The full chisel cutters dull in a heartbeat when they contact dirt or anything abrasive. Once that nice sharp point on the cutter dulls, you are spraying dust and leaning hard on the saw through a cut.

 

[bigblue12v]

I have a cant hook or peavey, whichever... A lot of times I can't use it either the log isn't straight enough to roll until I cut it, or its just in a bad spot or just too damn big for me to budge. On the one in the picture, I cut until I saw the cut gap wiggle, pulled saw out and set it down, rolled the round away from the log breaking the bark as I went. I was pretty careful, having wrecked a chain on this saw once before when it contacted concrete with the tip. Dull I can handle but losing half the cutter life due to grinding mangled teeth half way back to get to good part, really ruins your day!!!! So is there hope for the RS chain or am I expecting too much? I love the speed it's a blast to run my ported 360 with sharp chain but there's times it won't stay sharp more than a couple cuts and again I'm really careful with it. I'm very picky about things as well, oiler is cranked up good, chain tension just right, every time I sharpen I blow everything out and off including carb area, air filter, bar grooves, clutch area, clutch cover etc. And I grease the bar tip sprocket each time as well. I take care of my stuff pretty good compared to most I see around here. My saws ride in truck floorboard not bouncing around in the bed. They don't see rain. I just can't get this RS to keep an edge very well. Frustrating!

 

[bigblue12v]

I think you'll be much happier running a semi chisel chain like Stihl RM or Oregon BPX. The full chisel cutters dull in a heartbeat when they contact dirt or anything abrasive. Once that nice sharp point on the cutter dulls, you are spraying dust and leaning hard on the saw through a cut.

Yes I've noticed, nice fat chips and self feeding turn to dust and leaning on it, hard on saw and user as all as fuel. I don't like that!!!! I know a few other firewood buddies than run RS and love it. I think they're using Oregon but the Oregon safety chains I've disliked enough to swear off Oregon... Here's the thing I run RS on my 290 also and it seems to last a lot longer. I don't use it as much and do less bucking with it. Other than that it's a 20" bar as opposed to 24 on the 360. Maybe I just lose track of where the tip is sometimes. Idk. Just frustrated lol.

 

[Chris-PA]

Yup, sounds like full chisel!

Properly sharpened (good) semi chisel like BPX is very fast too.

 

[drf255]

Mortgage your house and buy a Stihl Duro carbide chain.

 

[bigblue12v]

So I'm not the only one?!

 

[skippysphins]

Buy a shorter bar

 

[Wood Doctor]

Dirt will take the edge off a chain instantly if hit under power. My solution is to carry three chains along with every saw that I intend to use at the work site (one mounted and two spares). My feeble brain tends to get the picture after I hit dirt twice, and sometimes it picks up on it after the first hit.

On a long log like this one, never cut all the way through every cut. Move along with partials until you reach a section that is off the ground. That one can be cut through, but drive in a thin wedge into the kerf's top after you get most of the way through. The wedge will stop the pinch so that you can complete the cut. Usually there are enough of these available so that the log sections can then be rolled to complete the partial cuts.

Give that a try next time.

 

[RedFir Down]

Buy a shorter bar

Chain on shorter bars wont dull?

 

[KenJax Tree]

As a work chain semi chisel is far more productive.

 

[bigblue12v]

Man I've been doing this all backward I thought fast chain was more productive lol. Ugh. I really really like to cut fast. I'm not getting paid per hour. I realize I'm at the intersection of tough **** blvd. & get over it street. Lol. I may have to compromise. I hate changing chains. However I was pretty happy I had DOT highway crew helping load the rounds and watch me "expertly " cut that log without touching asphalt! Haha. I don't work well with an audience normally..... They showed up right after my gf took the pic. Took two of them to lift each round about 20" long , 20" diameter. Hard maple soaking wet. We all thanked each other! Haha. They said I saved them work, I said they saved me work loading it! Lol

 

[KenJax Tree]

Did you ever hear the saying " slow and steady wins the race?"

 

[bigblue12v]

Did you ever hear the saying " slow and steady wins the race?"

Yea I know I know lol. Just never been my style lol. My old daily driver was a 96 Dodge diesel on 39.5's ran high 7's in the 1/8 mile banging a sled pull built 5 speed with a dual disc clutch. Never broke at the track but put a transmission in it every other month for a year and a half before I gave it up! I never learn lol

 

[zogger]

I have a cant hook or peavey, whichever... A lot of times I can't use it either the log isn't straight enough to roll until I cut it, or its just in a bad spot or just too damn big for me to budge. On the one in the picture, I cut until I saw the cut gap wiggle, pulled saw out and set it down, rolled the round away from the log breaking the bark as I went. I was pretty careful, having wrecked a chain on this saw once before when it contacted concrete with the tip. Dull I can handle but losing half the cutter life due to grinding mangled teeth half way back to get to good part, really ruins your day!!!! So is there hope for the RS chain or am I expecting too much? I love the speed it's a blast to run my ported 360 with sharp chain but there's times it won't stay sharp more than a couple cuts and again I'm really careful with it. I'm very picky about things as well, oiler is cranked up good, chain tension just right, every time I sharpen I blow everything out and off including carb area, air filter, bar grooves, clutch area, clutch cover etc. And I grease the bar tip sprocket each time as well. I take care of my stuff pretty good compared to most I see around here. My saws ride in truck floorboard not bouncing around in the bed. They don't see rain. I just can't get this RS to keep an edge very well. Frustrating!

Take some of the stouter branch wood, a few inches thick, cut one at a sharp angle, then square at the other end, a normal bucking cut. Actually like this first cut | next cut / (steeper) next cut back to |. You now have two wooden lifting wedges. Now sledge hammer/back of a real maul those bad boys under where you need to make the bucking cut. Nice sharp angles so it will start easy. WHAMMO, a few big hits, you can lift even a big beefy log easy, enough for clearance, and with the lifting wedge right at your cut, you can cut right through.

I do this a lot when I have to cut stuff I can't roll. I have a log lifter, but..once them things hit over two feet, BWAHAHAHA I jiss ain't got enough @zz at the end of the handle to do anything, so lifting wedge time!

 

[SCHallenger]

Not that this has anything to do with your "chain & dirt" problem, but those sure look like Oak leaves to me.

 

[weedkilla]

The multiple chain thing works.
I start the day with full chisel and have semi in the toolbox. It's extra encouragement to look after the chain that's on the saw, and if the job is crap I'll need semi anyway.
Touch up with a file every tank or second tank, swap out if I seriously rock something.

 

[Deets066]

Yea I know I know lol. Just never been my style lol. My old daily driver was a 96 Dodge diesel on 39.5's ran high 7's in the 1/8 mile banging a sled pull built 5 speed with a dual disc clutch. Never broke at the track but put a transmission in it every other month for a year and a half before I gave it up! I never learn lol

High 7's in an 1/8? You sure you typed that right?