Getting the absolute most mileage from your saw chain WTF? (Pic)

[KG441c]

Thats where that baby starts cuttin good ! Squared filed with at least half the tooth gone!! Lol!! With a few teeth gone its just considered semi skip now!!

 

[TIMBERTRON]

This came in today on a 24" Stihl MS660. Talk about stretching the absolute complete life out of the chain, jeez........

here in montana i see that all the time farmers and ranchers want to get the most out of everything and they do it like that. i tell them they need a new chain before i will let it out of my shop. for cutting sake. yes they cut great but they are also at the end of the life by that point and should be replaced when you get to the life mark on the cutter but you can still get another sharpening out of a last bit of life chain like that.
got to give it to the guys that really stretch the life of the chain to the last smiggin of tooth

 

[Guido Salvage]

I was thinking about Tony the other day, have not seen him post in a while. If any gun enthusiasts read this thread, be sure to check out his website. Just Google his name and you will find it.

 

[a. palmer jr.]

This came in today on a 24" Stihl MS660. Talk about stretching the absolute complete life out of the chain, jeez........

Am I looking at it wrong or is the chain on backwards also?

 

[dimanager]

Am I looking at it wrong or is the chain on backwards also?

Could be the saw is upside down.
Sam

 

[wde_1978]

Only when the chain becomes "Super Skip" it nears the end of its life!

Two teeth , one left and one right preferably on distance of each other , suffice for cutting.

My currently eldest "race" chain in use , a Dolmar 099 , 3/8" .058" 72DL:



It is intentionally missing every other tooth for superior chip clearance in strong wood!

Two more chains are past the witness mark and bound to become true hardcore race chains , but not until next year!

If one doesn't cut too deep into the gullet , those teeth hold their ground remarkably well!

Why throw away what still works fine?!

P.S.: Definition of "Super Skip" = one cutter/tooth vs. two or three skips (missing teeth)

 

[a. palmer jr.]

Could be the saw is upside down.
Sam

I never thought about that, could be.

 

[a. palmer jr.]

Only when the chain becomes "Super Skip" it nears the end of its life!

Two teeth , one left and one right preferably on distance of each other , suffice for cutting.

My currently eldest "race" chain in use , a Dolmar 099 , 3/8" .058" 72DL:
View attachment 387372 View attachment 387373 View attachment 387374
View attachment 387375 View attachment 387376 View attachment 387377

It is intentionally missing every other tooth for superior chip clearance in strong wood!

Two more chains are past the witness mark and bound to become true hardcore race chains , but not until next year!

If one doesn't cut too deep into the gullet , those teeth hold their ground remarkably well!

Why throw away what still works fine?!

P.S.: Definition of "Super Skip" = one cutter/tooth vs. two or three skips (missing teeth)

I think I'm gonna have to re-think about some of my worn out chains, they're new compared to yours.

 

[wde_1978]

I think I'm gonna have to re-think about some of my worn out chains, they're new compared to yours.

As other members already pointed out , chains like this cut surprisingly well!

A missing tooth is not an issue , it's a upwards bent tooth that causes jitters.
But such a tooth will break off completely quite fast and the cut becomes smooth again!

P.S.: On a chain worn past the witness mark one must restrain from going crazy on the rackers!

 

[Gypo Logger]

I've rarely been put in a situation where I had to take cutters that far back ,except in the early days and when I was into racing chain.
Generally most work chains taken back that far have heavily preened tie straps taking they're toll on bar and sprocket.
I simply have too much chain to file back that far. I even have a 100' of A1 I bought off DDM over 10 years ago.
One chain will cut a lot of wood depending on cutting circumstances and who's doing the filing.

 

[wde_1978]

I've rarely been put in a situation where I had to take cutters that far back ,except in the early days and when I was into racing chain.
Generally most work chains taken back that far have heavily preened tie straps taking they're toll on bar and sprocket....
...One chain will cut a lot of wood depending on cutting circumstances and who's doing the filing.

I am not going cheap on my saw/chain!
A chain worn that far I usually assign for dirty work.
That one recently cut up some very dirty boards/planks and a stump in its roots.
This way I at least don't feel sorry for a good chain while cutting into dirt.

I am currently at a pace of one chain every two years. The rim sprocket gets replaced together with the chain , even though they still look good when I switch them out. The very first sprocket ran two chains alternately. I am at my 3rd sprocket , 4th chain and first , still original , bar since 2006. on my Dolmar PS6400.
My Dolmar PS7900 doesn't have its place within this equation as I literally haven't used her to any notable extent yet.

This year I stockpiled 3 new chains , 4 rim sprockets , 1 new bar and the (used) PS7900 with an "as new" chain but severely worn bar.
Also , my old "spare" supply accounts for 1 new chain , 1 new rim sprocket and 1 new bar.
The above is what I have at my disposal for my two big saws , my little Dolmar 105 has 2 new chains a 1 new bar in stock.
"NEW" means - never been mounted on a saw , let alone ever cut any wood.

I should have enough "saw" for the next few years , I just need some firewood to cut!

Each to its own I guess!

Before I knew better (up to 2006.) I used to wear down the tie straps of my chains before wearing the teeth - that was quite obviously anything but economical.

Cheers,