who else has tried square chain and switched back to round?

[046]

who else has tried square chain and switched back to round?

a few months back purchased a dozen or so square cut chains to give square a fair trial. absolutely loved the performance!

even spent a load of hours getting down square filing by hand. my hand filing jobs were never perfect, but outcut round by quite a margin. problems was hand filing simply took too long.

so I search up and down for a square chain grinder. Yeooooo... price shock. cheapest was a $750 razorsharp II, which I couldn't bear to purchase because it was second best to pro-sharp at $2,000+.

a used square grinder was not to be had and I couldn't justify spending so much time on filing chains. especially since I cut a lot of dirty hardwoods. one dab in dirt and square cut chain becomes worthless.

sooooo... filed my square cut chains into round. takes me 3-5 minutes or less to hand file a chain. not fast as square, but still pretty fast. especially when compared to a dull square chain :chainsawguy:

so who else has tried square cut chain and switched back?

 

[TDunk]

I bought some square ground but i just mainly use that on my bigger saws for felling. ALL my smaller saws and my firewood saws are round ground. I like how fast the Square cuts, even when it's not perfect. But like 046 said one piece of dirt and it's game over. There are some days where i end up dulling a chain 4 or 5 times (for one reason or another) in one trailer load of fire wood. I would spend WAY to much time sharpening square ground over round.

 

[crashagn]

Tried square, just to try it though, cut fast. But maybe i just didnt take the time to shaepen it correctly. Stayed with round just becouse 70% of the wood i get is already down and dirty. I have a harbor freight chain grinder i got for $39, works great for what i use it for..had 1 of them antikick back chains.. took them suckers off. Ya i got bored...

 

[Locoweed]

More of the same here. It's more trouble than it's worth.

 

[SawTroll]

More of the same here. It's more trouble than it's worth.

I believe that is right, but have never tried a square chain - round chisel is a good compromise, I believe.......

 

[TwinTurboRam]

If you cut dirty wood square chain isnt what you want. If you have clean wood or are felling and bucking I think its well worth the time to keep on a saw. I used to have a dozen chains that were square and Id send them to someone close that had a square grinder to be reground. Since then I bought my own grinder and square is all I run except for when flush cutting stumps or cutting very dirty wood.

 

[smokechase II]

same thoughts

Work on the fireline or piling slash involves cutting plenty of dirt eventually.
Square is hard to file in the field.
In short I'm not skilled enough nor man enough in my environment to run it.

However, I fully support the right to keep and bear square chisel by all members of a well organized militia - 'Loggers'.

It keeps the woods safe.

 

[redprospector]

Just like every other tool, there is a time and place for square ground chain.
When I'm felling, limbing, and bucking square is the only chain for me. But on the landing, or cutting firewood I use round ground. You can make square ground work in dirty wood, but it's a wast of chain.
After using square ground for a little over 18 years I can file it in the woods about as fast as a round chain, it just takes lots of practice.

Andy

 

[Haywire Haywood]

I went one step further... I went from semi to round to square and back to semi... LOL I didn't give square even half a shake. I bought one loop of Oregon, made 2 cuts with it at the GTG half dull like it came out of the box and traded it to DustyTools for a loop of Bailey's ripping chain at the end of the day.

Good trade I say... I wasn't about to mess with the funny files. I bought a grinder cause I can't file round chain.

Ian

 

[TwinTurboRam]

I do have to agree with Ian in the fact that the Oregon chain isnt real sharp out of the box, I buy mine by the reel and even work chains get a new edge before going on a saw. Ive found Stihl chain to be a bit better out of the box as far as the square grinds go. I also have found Stihl chain to have a bit harder material to grind but holds the edge better on work chains than oregon.

 

[chainsawjunky]

I've never tried chisel chain. Is there an advantage of chisel over semi-chisel(I'm not concerned with speed). Thanks. Evan

 

[Haywire Haywood]

If you are not concerned with speed then semi has the advantage in that it doesn't dull as fast if you get into dirty wood.

Ian

 

[redprospector]

I do have to agree with Ian in the fact that the Oregon chain isnt real sharp out of the box, I buy mine by the reel and even work chains get a new edge before going on a saw. Ive found Stihl chain to be a bit better out of the box as far as the square grinds go. I also have found Stihl chain to have a bit harder material to grind but holds the edge better on work chains than oregon.

I won't even run round chisel straight off the reel. any of them do a lot better with just a few strokes of the file.

Andy

 

[SawTroll]

I've never tried chisel chain. Is there an advantage of chisel over semi-chisel(I'm not concerned with speed). Thanks. Evan

If you are not concerned with speed then semi has the advantage in that it doesn't dull as fast if you get into dirty wood.

Ian

Yes!

 

[Cedarkerf]

Hit three nails with stihl square ground today 32" 066 dulled it a little but not the usual wipe out. Hit one a few months ago same result. Don't know if its because of the configuration, the hardness or just recognizing a nail strike but was amazed at so little damage. Thinking about getting a Silvey Razor sharp II in August any body used these before. I am just hooked on square ground. I buy a couple loops at the dealer when I have a big job come up then round file when it dulls but would love to keep it square.

 

[klickitatsacket]

I am a firm believer in the quiver. Any one serious needs at least 3 saws. The top handle for limbing. The 60cc - 76cc modified work horse and a large saw saw for the occasional big job or milling jobs.
Then you need 7, 8 and 9 pin sprockets
You will also need several lengths of bars for different circumstances.
Last and definitely not least you need several different chains.
a worn out bar and chain for roots
a chipper for filthy wood
semi chisel for slash piles
chisel round file for ground work
square chisel for falling and impressing your brother-in-law.

The trick is to have the best length of bar for the job, the best sprocket, the best amount of teeth for the job (skip, semi skip or full comp) and then the best cutter style for that particular job.

Now if are new to this, you may consider having a full time caddy along with you to help with your selection. Oh yeah and if you wife asks why; just tell her that it is mandatory for the warranty.

 

[sILlogger]

so i gotta ask, how many chains does a square chisel logger carry with them....because i carry a flat file-8", round file, and a bar wrench and i'm good to go..just curious as to how many chain swaps a day entails,

 

[Cut4fun]

I am a firm believer in the quiver. Any one serious needs at least 3 saws. The top handle for limbing. The 60cc - 76cc modified work horse and a large saw saw for the occasional big job or milling jobs.
Then you need 7, 8 and 9 pin sprockets
You will also need several lengths of bars for different circumstances.
Last and definitely not least you need several different chains.
a worn out bar and chain for roots
a chipper for filthy wood
semi chisel for slash piles
chisel round file for ground work
square chisel for falling and impressing your brother-in-law.

The trick is to have the best length of bar for the job, the best sprocket, the best amount of teeth for the job (skip, semi skip or full comp) and then the best cutter style for that particular job.

Now if are new to this, you may consider having a full time caddy along with you to help with your selection. Oh yeah and if you wife asks why; just tell her that it is mandatory for the warranty.

Wow, Dean you just listed my whole artillery, saws littlest TH 30cc to 122cc and bars, chains, sprockets, etc and I am just a homeowner cutting for fun. :hmm3grin2orange:

 

[B_Turner]

so i gotta ask, how many chains does a square chisel logger carry with them....because i carry a flat file-8", round file, and a bar wrench and i'm good to go..just curious as to how many chain swaps a day entails,

I carry at least three chains per bar size, which is generally about four sizes. But I am not usually packing my equipment that far from my trailer. I generally get about two tanks per chain, and as soon as it stops cutting effortlessly, I simply swap it out for another razor sharp one.

I'm probably going to make some one mad, but I got to say I am not impressed how sharp many pro's chains are in the field. I just couldn't bear to chew the wood like I see so many people doing. I think they just get in their habit, and forget what a really sharp chain is. Just because someone's done something for 30 years doesn't always mean they are doing it the best way.

It's all about productivity, and I feel filing chains in the field is usually not the best use of one's time. Especially after hitting a big nail or some cement that was poured in some tree.

 

[redprospector]

so i gotta ask, how many chains does a square chisel logger carry with them....because i carry a flat file-8", round file, and a bar wrench and i'm good to go..just curious as to how many chain swaps a day entails,

I keep an extra chain in the truck incase I screw up real bad, other than that I have one chain. I cary an 8" goofy file and a bar wrench (hey, I carry one less file than you.). It doesn't take much longer to file than to swap chains, and then I don't have to sharpen when I get home.

Andy