question on woodland pro chain

[MJohns]

i bought 4 woodland pro chains (2) 68DL and (2) 72DL chain loops in chisel. the 68s were put on a husky 55 and the 72s were installed on a Husky 455. after about 5 min of great cutting both chains went dull like they were running backwards. we were cutting about a 16" hickory tree. do anyone have any idea on what would cause this?

 

[howellhandmade]

i bought 4 woodland pro chains (2) 68DL and (2) 72DL chain loops in chisel. the 68s were put on a husky 55 and the 72s were installed on a Husky 455. after about 5 min of great cutting both chains went dull like they were running backwards. we were cutting about a 16" hickory tree. do anyone have any idea on what would cause this?

Dirt. The full chisel is a little more susceptible to dulling in dirty conditions than semi-chisel. They're good chains -- at least, I've had no reason to complain about them dulling fast.

Jack

 

[alderman]

Dirty wood?

 

[ray benson]

Chain cutting the ground, dirt embedded in the bark, screws or nails in the wood to name a few things.

 

[MJohns]

ok wood was clean we cut the tree down and then cut it up for firewood. i am not gonna say we weren't in the dirt cause obviously when you cut it up it will get in the dirt some. dad was cutting about half way through the tree after we got it down and his dulled. i started at the opposite end of the tree and cut all the way to were his dulled and i was gonna finish his cut and mine dulled we thought there was something in the tree so he swapped to an older chain and cut right through it. and to our amazement there was nothing there.

 

[alderman]

I know about dirt. I was just naming this as a possible cause and was a little late on the enter key.

 

[mikefunaro]

Some complain about out of the box sharpness with the WPro chain; maybe try putting your own edge on it with a file and see if the same thing happens...

 

[bytehoven]

Any critter trails inside the wood?

 

[MJohns]

no i didn't see any critter trails just nice solid hickory. out of the box sharpness Oregon don't have #### on the woodland pro just trying to put my finger on the problem. i like the way it was cutting and a good price on the loop. and i have only heard good things on them, and was trying to see if anyone else had the same problem or if maybe it was a fluke.

 

[mtngun]

I've been thrilled with the performance of Woodland Pro chain, especially considering the price. Sounds like either your chain was not hardened properly -- if that's the case, you'll probably notice when you file it -- or else you were cutting some bad stuff.

 

[mowoodchopper]

The woodland pro chains are good, you could have hit something, or dirt . Or it could have just been a hard spot in the wood. I cut alot of cottonwood in cold weather, sometimes I can cut a whole tree up and never dull a chain. Then I get down to the stump end and it must have a little moisture left in it and be frozen and it will dull a full chisel chain in about 2 cuts , so bad you have to stop and look at the chain , the cutter edges will be rounded over almost!

 

[TDunk]

I run WP chain and have had very few problems. It seems to stay sharper in "dirty" conditions than say Oregon, but i will say the out of the box sharpness is not that good. Oregon and Stihl you can take right out of the box and cut, WP you almost always have to sharpen. Other wise they will cut OK but seem to dull really quick.

 

[jerryw66]

I run WP chain and have had very few problems. It seems to stay sharper in "dirty" conditions than say Oregon, but i will say the out of the box sharpness is not that good. Oregon and Stihl you can take right out of the box and cut, WP you almost always have to sharpen. Other wise they will cut OK but seem to dull really quick.

That's been my expierience also, I've only got 3 woodland chains though. All 3 seemed dull compared to a stihl or oregon chain. The .404 woodland chain I bought was terrible out of the box.

 

[sly13]

Could be

I don't know, but I cut a hickory down for my brother and not sure if it was a "shagbark hickory" or what species exactly but noticed had trouble w/ my chains dulling faster than usual. After looking around on here, alot of members said the bark is notorious for collecting dirt as it grows. Might just be the case for you as well. Made really nice firewood. Has a couple more that died that he said I can have. No hesitation from me, even with the dulling problem. I might be way off JMHO.

 

[rob066]

I had a pile of logs given to me for firewood. There are quite a few shagbark hickories in the pile that are frozen. I had somewhat of a dulling problem cutting them. I had switched to a semi chisel chain it seemed to have helped the problem. The chain I am running now is an Oregon DG chain.

 

[FarmTough]

No problems here with the Woodland Pro chain, it's a great chain for the price.

 

[bitzer]

Some hickories will dull a chain faster than others. Do you have a pic of the chain? Any marks on top of the cutter or what does the chisel point look like? Was the tree dead? What old chain did you use (chisel style)?

 

[mtngun]

Just noticed another post by Banshee with the same complaint, except he didn't mention the chain brand. The common thread is you are both cutting hickory.

I've never cut hickory, but maybe semi-chisel would be a better choice ?

 

[Grande Dog]

Howdy,
From reading what you said about starting from different ends, and you not having a problem until you worked down to certain point would lead me to think the tree is in a flood zone. With trees that get flooded, The wood that is below the high water line can be packed with abrasives that are not visible. Trying cutting a piece of the suspect wood after dark. If it looks like you're grinding metal, you probably are.
Regards
Gregg

 

[CGC4200]

Shagbark Hickory

The wood is tough enuff.
If you are cutting shagbark or scalybark hickory, you can see sparks
fly off the bark in day time. It will dull any chain I have ever
tried on it. It knocked the sharp corners off a Husky/Oregon chisel chain
I used on it. I have been thinking about using a scraper to remove
bark before cutting.
It is the preferred cooking wood in this area for BBQ pits.
I use a carbide tipped circular saw blade to cut up small limbs for
the charcoal grill.