Ruined a good chain yesterday

[Old Goat]

I had just started cutting some Siberian elm logs yesterday with a nearly new, freshly sharpened chain. I was about 2/3 of the way through the log and sparks started to fly. By the time I realized what was going on the chain was toast.

I installed a new chain and finished cutting up the rest of the logs before I came back to the first one. I made a final cut about 5" away from the first cut. I wanted to be able to get that piece on the splitter without damaging another chain. I had my mental Fingers crossed the whole time.

The splitter revealed half of a brick embedded in the center of the log. When this tree was much younger someone must have placed the brick in a crotch of a much smaller tree. The tree grew up around the brick without even a hint on the outside that it was in the center.

All of this wood comes from the town green dump. I have found Nails, fence post, chain link fence, even tow chains in the wood I have scrounged there, but this is the first brick.

I figure that I can salvage the saw chain but I am going to lose over half of its usefulness just getting it sharp again.

 

[cuinrearview]

Brick pic?

 

[Old Goat]

Here is the brick

 

[cuinrearview]

I have a little hunk of oak with a 1/2" eye screw in it that I split out of a trunk. Luckily that was a tree removal scrounge and I didn't have to cut the round that contained it.

 

[LoveStihlQuality]

Here is the brick

View attachment 617971 View attachment 617972 View attachment 617973 View attachment 617974 View attachment 617975

How many btu s does a brick generate? More or less than fence post? Fubared a new 36 chain

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[Old Goat]

If I end up reconditioning and sharpening the chain by hand the brick will be responsible for generating quite a bit of BTU's. Most likely end up using my buddy's chain grinder on that one. I'll take a little bit off at a time until it is good to go although the cutters will be somewhat smaller.

 

[svk]

I was given a chain that was run against brick or cement and looked like that. You just need to do exactly like you said, slowly eat away until your top edge is true again without overheating the cutter.

 

[Jakers]

I was given a chain that was run against brick or cement and looked like that. You just need to do exactly like you said, slowly eat away until your top edge is true again without overheating the cutter.

F-that... I'd chuck it and spin up a new loop. I've rocked many chains on some pretty nasty stuff. the only time I've ever seen one come out that bad is when i let the "new guy" run the saw and he was trenching in the dirt (gravel driveway) with every cut. i guess theres only one way to learn that sound when cutting. i just got lucky and recognized it early in life i guess

 

[ChoppyChoppy]

2-3 passes on the grinder and it'll be cutting again. Doesn't need to be textbook perfect.

Worst I've gotten into was a couple logs that got sprayed with the crap from drilling a well. The logs were decked too close. Would figure it was just mud which doesn't bother the chain much, but that stuff was like concrete. I ended up throwing the worst of it in the the burn pit, wasn't worth trying to cut it. In one log I had to pull off the chain 3 or 4 times to sharpen it.... I normally can go 10-12 cords on a sharpening!

Got some logs from a property that had apparently a tree stand on every other tree. They used about a dozen nails for each wood rung, spaced about 12-18" apart. The rungs rotted off, tree grew and nails got covered.

I've got almost 1400hrs on my processor and I've only gone through 5 chains and 1 bar. The old bar is still ok, just the rails are down to where the drivers bottom out.

 

[jnance]

The well drilling mud may have had Portland cement in it. The well maybe sealed with neat cement to prevent contamination


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[user 122190]

I've sawed thru a nail before. A brick -- bad luck. Yup, you can get that chain operational again. It is a challenge I enjoy to take a chain to the very edge of its cutter. All chains should be used till the cutters are past the factory engraved filling mark, and they start to snap off.

 

[svk]

F-that... I'd chuck it and spin up a new loop. I've rocked many chains on some pretty nasty stuff. the only time I've ever seen one come out that bad is when i let the "new guy" run the saw and he was trenching in the dirt (gravel driveway) with every cut. i guess theres only one way to learn that sound when cutting. i just got lucky and recognized it early in life i guess

If it was a safety chain yeah I would toss it. But it's a chisel chain and will still have a few sharpens left after he fixes it.

 

[Little Al]

I had just started cutting some Siberian elm logs yesterday with a nearly new, freshly sharpened chain. I was about 2/3 of the way through the log and sparks started to fly. By the time I realized what was going on the chain was toast.

I installed a new chain and finished cutting up the rest of the logs before I came back to the first one. I made a final cut about 5" away from the first cut. I wanted to be able to get that piece on the splitter without damaging another chain. I had my mental Fingers crossed the whole time.

The splitter revealed half of a brick embedded in the center of the log. When this tree was much younger someone must have placed the brick in a crotch of a much smaller tree. The tree grew up around the brick without even a hint on the outside that it was in the center.

All of this wood comes from the town green dump. I have found Nails, fence post, chain link fence, even tow chains in the wood I have scrounged there, but this is the first brick.

I figure that I can salvage the saw chain but I am going to lose over half of its usefulness just getting it sharp again.View attachment 617967 View attachment 617968 View attachment 617969 View attachment 617970

When you've filed out all the bad bits that chain will cut like a hooligan

 

[panolo]

Wow! I hit a broken tree stand spike and thought that was bad enough but a brick is crazy. Sorry about the chain.

 

[olyman]

pile of wood I got two years ago,,guy said there was a brick or something low in the log...how about three cement bricks,,glued together with port land,,to fill center of tree???? I could see it,,so I just sawed all around it,,and split the edges away till I freed it!!!! he screwed his chain up bigtime...he told me so I wouldn't!!!!

 

[Bobby Kirbos]

pile of wood I got two years ago,,guy said there was a brick or something low in the log...how about three cement bricks,,glued together with port land,,to fill center of tree???? I could see it,,so I just sawed all around it,,and split the edges away till I freed it!!!! he screwed his chain up bigtime...he told me so I wouldn't!!!!

Nice guy.

Is that tree cutter equivalent of the ex-boyfriend giving you fair warning that the chick is bat s**t crazy BEFORE you stick your d**k in her?

 

[crowbuster]

I feel for ya, But not that bad. I put a brand new chain on my 046 with the 32in bar on to cut a big ole ash base in a farmers yard. Half way through the first cut, BAM BAM BAM. No cut no more. Pull er out, half the teeth gone, as in no longer on the chain. Found a big field stone that was put in the crotch and grown over. So much for free wood. haha. The things we find.

 

[Iaff113]

Just the other week I took a job of cutting down five 30 foot Leyland Cypress what a crap job that was. To make it better ruined a brand new chain to metal fence post they used to hold the trees up how ever many moons ago. Had to cut the rest of them and leave a 4 foot stump


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[Jakers]

Just the other week I took a job of cutting down five 30 foot Leyland Cypress what a crap job that was. To make it better ruined a brand new chain to metal fence post they used to hold the trees up how ever many moons ago. Had to cut the rest of them and leave a 4 foot stump


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Found many a t-post used for the same reason. Some trees are really good at eating objects and not showing any external signs

 

[unclemoustache]

Here's a great video of an iron monster. Filled with cables and spikes. They ruined several chains on this job.