PM 10-10 and PM 55 Bar and chain combos

[Jmwhite3908]

Looking for a bit of help. I have the normal 20" bar and chain combo for each of these saws and they work fine. But I dull out the chains when i've been cutting logs with the "grain" instead of cross cutting them for small woodworking projects. Is there a different chain that I should be using for this and if so do I need to change the bar and sprocket too?

I'm sure that there are saws out there that are better suited to the type of work I'm asking about, but i'm not going to go spend that kind of money if I don't have to.

Thanks in advance.

 

[Jethro 2t sniffer]

How long are you running it before it gets dull? I'd be touching it up at a tank or two maybe 3 in real soft poplar or willow.

How are you sharpening your chains?
Nice saws jump on to the mac thread with those beauty's

 

[heimannm]

Typical milling chain is simply sharpened with a 10 or 15 degree top angle rather than the 25 to 35 degree angle used when cross cutting. You can buy a milling chain, or simply sharpen one that you have with the lower angle to use for milling. No need to change anything else.

In the meanwhile, try cutting with the grain in the long orientation rather than 90 degrees, even holding the bar at 45 degrees or so will be much easier on the chain. Search "noodling" for more information (a look at the "chips" will tell you why it's called noodling). Here I am noodling a log by cutting with the bar parallel to the grain.



Mark

 

[Cliff R]

I do a LOT of "cross-cutting" or noodling here. It makes big pieces much easier to handle and I'm getting lazy in my old age (59) and don't want to wrestle big pieces around and lift them up to the splitter or have to put more effort into busting them up with the maul.

I outfitted my recently acquired 10-10 with a 20" Echo bar and Oregon DPX semi-chisel chain. I like the rounded cutters as they don't tend to "grab" as hard and the lower RPM power of the Mac 10-10 does well with that deal. I've also been switching most of my saws over to semi-chisel in recent years because we cut a lot of tops left over from logging operations and they simply stay sharp 2-3 times longer than full chisel to the same type of cutting. You feel like you loose just a little cutting performance at the beginning, but a lot of this wood has been moved or skidded and has some dirt in the bark. So at the end of the day you're glad you made the switch.........Cliff

 

[Jmwhite3908]

I do a LOT of "cross-cutting" or noodling here. It makes big pieces much easier to handle and I'm getting lazy in my old age (59) and don't want to wrestle big pieces around and lift them up to the splitter or have to put more effort into busting them up with the maul.

I outfitted my recently acquired 10-10 with a 20" Echo bar and Oregon DPX semi-chisel chain. I like the rounded cutters as they don't tend to "grab" as hard and the lower RPM power of the Mac 10-10 does well with that deal. I've also been switching most of my saws over to semi-chisel in recent years because we cut a lot of tops left over from logging operations and they simply stay sharp 2-3 times longer than full chisel to the same type of cutting. You feel like you loose just a little cutting performance at the beginning, but a lot of this wood has been moved or skidded and has some dirt in the bark. So at the end of the day you're glad you made the switch.........Cliff

Very nice info. I will definitely look into the bar and chain.

 

[Jmwhite3908]

Thanks for all the info. Its given me a few spots to start off on.

I'm cutting a lot of Silver maple, hickory and oak. No soft woods really unless you want to count the Maple as that. As for sharpening, I use the clamp on guide sharpener when I'm back in the garage getting ready for the next cutting. If I'm noticing the chain getting dull while I'm cutting I touch up the chain by hand.