PowerSharp End Of Life Condition
I like the PowerSharp chain system. It works best in softer wood, cutting surprisingly aggressive. The current version was only offered in 3/8 low profile pitch, which fits a limited range of saws. It is very convenient. But, like any chain, each loop reaches an 'end-of-life' condition, where it no longer cuts. I took a closer look at one loop, when it reached that point, to see why.
Looking at the used loop, in front of a new one, it is easy to see the wear on the cutter, but it looks like it still has useful cutting life left. For reference, the gold link at the left in this photo is the diamond dressing link that conditions the sharpening stone.
The wear in the sharpening stone is also clear. Each chain loop is supposed to be matched to a unique sharpening stone to maintain uniform wear patterns. So the stone pictured was used exclusively for the chain shown: they are replaced as a set.
On closer inspection, it becomes clear how much lower the cutters are on the worn chain, compared to the new one (I tried to emphasize this with the lines): a lot of metal has been removed (I did not track the specific amount of use, or compare this chain's life to the life of a conventional chain).
Could I manually file / grind down each set of depth gauges, along with the top of each cutter? Could I somehow shim the sharpening stone down a few thousandths to grind a bit more? Perhaps. But I would likely also have to remove the diamond dresser links. And that is getting to be a lot of work for a system based on convenience!
Philbert
I like the PowerSharp chain system. It works best in softer wood, cutting surprisingly aggressive. The current version was only offered in 3/8 low profile pitch, which fits a limited range of saws. It is very convenient. But, like any chain, each loop reaches an 'end-of-life' condition, where it no longer cuts. I took a closer look at one loop, when it reached that point, to see why.
Looking at the used loop, in front of a new one, it is easy to see the wear on the cutter, but it looks like it still has useful cutting life left. For reference, the gold link at the left in this photo is the diamond dressing link that conditions the sharpening stone.
The wear in the sharpening stone is also clear. Each chain loop is supposed to be matched to a unique sharpening stone to maintain uniform wear patterns. So the stone pictured was used exclusively for the chain shown: they are replaced as a set.
On closer inspection, it becomes clear how much lower the cutters are on the worn chain, compared to the new one (I tried to emphasize this with the lines): a lot of metal has been removed (I did not track the specific amount of use, or compare this chain's life to the life of a conventional chain).
Could I manually file / grind down each set of depth gauges, along with the top of each cutter? Could I somehow shim the sharpening stone down a few thousandths to grind a bit more? Perhaps. But I would likely also have to remove the diamond dresser links. And that is getting to be a lot of work for a system based on convenience!
Philbert
