Chain dull in two hours?

[Woodsplitter67]

What wood are you cutting? What chain are you running? I have neer heard of anyone cutting that long with that little sharpening.

The majority im cutting is oak, i did cut a little poplar and im guessing 1/2 cord of cherry so far. Mostly oak.

As i said in my original post, i have touched it up so far 3xs with the hand file.. but my chain is not so beat that i need to swap it out. This past weekend I did a real sharpening on the grinder.

As for the chain, its all Husqvarna bar and chain.. iv been running my 550xp 95% of the time.

 

[bholler]

The majority im cutting is oak, i did cut a little poplar and im guessing 1/2 cord of cherry so far. Mostly oak.

As i said in my original post, i have touched it up so far 3xs with the hand file.. but my chain is not so beat that i need to swap it out. This past weekend I did a real sharpening on the grinder.

As for the chain, its all Husqvarna bar and chain.. iv been running my 550xp 95% of the time.

My chains are not so beat i need to swap them out. I just choose to because it is much faster than even a quick touchup with a file. But regardless the most i cut before i feel the chain is dull is a chord. But that depends on the wood with rock oak i am lucky to get a half a cord. Cherry i could do more than a cord probably but when i can fell the chain start to dull at all i just switch it out. It only takes a min.

 

[TreePointer]

As mentioned already, chain does matter.

Hardness. Some chains have harder teeth than others and thus tend to stay sharper longer. Example: standard Stihl chain has more chrome plating than standard Oregon/Husqvarna chain (thicker chrome plating makes it harder).

Tooth geometry. Semi-chisel teeth tend to keep their cutting efficacy longer than full chisel teeth. Why? While full chisel teeth will cut more aggressively than semi-chisel teeth of the same pitch, once the sharp point of a full chisel tooth wears down, cutting efficacy can rapidly diminish. Semi-chisel teeth don't start with that sharp tip in their geometry.

Chain length. Shorter chains (on shorter bars of course) will seem to dull more quickly. When cutting the same diameter wood, each tooth on a shorter chain cuts more per linear foot of chain travel than than a tooth on a longer chain. This means more wear from friction for teeth on shorter chains.

Pitch size. Larger pitches will cut more wood than smaller pitches before becoming noticeably dull. This is because larger pitches take a larger bite of wood per linear foot of chain travel. Larger bites mean each tooth spends less time cutting through the same diameter log.

 

[Kevin Weis]

In other words size matters.

 

[nrc]

As others have stated, two hours is a long time cutting, especially with a 50-ish cc saw. My 460 feels like an anvil after cutting all day. I'm glad to have picked up a tiny Stihl 150 for limbing duty and just using the 460 for bucking and felling (when needed). I'm getting up to five chains now, so I'll probably get an electric sharpener.

Absolutely - I was pretty beat but really please with knocking some of this stuff out. I have a 15" electric which I've found ideal for limbing and light work.

You're sure you're noodling - and not ripping?

This is an great point. I hadn't really thought of noodling in terms of cross cutting vs ripping. Like I said - amateur. The way I approached these I was really ripping the majority of the time. With an 18" saw dealing with a three foot diameter round it just seemed to make more sense to cut slices out along the length then to try to go across the diameter.

So on the next go I'll try doing 4" thick cross cuts and then ripping those and that should be much less ripping. Thanks for that.

Also - what is up with a splitter than can't do a 20" round? Must have been something wrong with that splitter - hope you got your money back!

I did get my money back. It went through some 2-2 1/2 foot diameter rounds that were 20-24" think but it would not budge on the three foot plus ones. These are monster rounds so I wasn't sure if that was to be expected. It was a 25 ton stand up splitter from Home Depot.

 

[maple1]

You should be able to avoid any ripping at all, actually.

 

[nrc]

You should be able to avoid any ripping at all, actually.

Once I cross cut it into 3' diameter 4" thick rounds is cutting down through the grain to cut it into strips not considered ripping? Seems like that's still with the grain.

 

[maple1]

4" rounds? Not sure there's a reason to go smaller than your normal firewood length.

Kinda hard to explain but I'll try. Picture a log on the ground. Cut a 20" (or whatever your stove length is) round off. Roll it to the side a bit so it's clear of the log. Stand at the end of the round and cut right through the round from the top side all the way to the ground. (If you have a 20" bar that will take the full length of the bar). That is noodling. If you had stood or pushed the round over on its cut face first and done the same thing that would be ripping. And if it was a 36" diameter round you bar only would have reached half way across.

Think that's all I got...

 

[nrc]

4" rounds? Not sure there's a reason to go smaller than your normal firewood length.

Kinda hard to explain but I'll try. Picture a log on the ground. Cut a 20" (or whatever your stove length is) round off. Roll it to the side a bit so it's clear of the log. Stand at the end of the round and cut right through the round from the top side all the way to the ground. (If you have a 20" bar that will take the full length of the bar). That is noodling. If you had stood or pushed the round over on its cut face first and done the same thing that would be ripping. And if it was a 36" diameter round you bar only would have reached half way across.

Think that's all I got...

Actually, based on that description it's closer to what did than I was thinking. I guess I didn't describe it well.

Diagram below shows it. First cuts are the blue. When I cut that I try to keep the bar up as much as possible so I'm cutting through the grain from the end/top of the round. I'm only doing the blue cuts about six inches deep because it seemed easier than trying to use more of the bar and get a deeper cut. Once the blue cuts are done I roll the round to the side and make the orange cut straight down.

 

[maple1]

I would likely only quarter or halve by noodling , then do the rest with a splitter.

 

[Medic21]

I cut a lot of dead ash. It dulls chains fast. I switched to semi chisel chains for this reason. The full chisel still feel sharp but, if you push it along your finger nail is just slides across. That same chain will fly through soft wood but, won’t touch ash anymore.

Use semi chisel on ash or sharpen as soon as it slows down.

 

[Sodbuster]

I like the electric sharpener. It saves a ton of time. But you do have to be carefull you dont burn the chain or it will dull very fast.

Like Holler said with an electric sharpener, which I have. All you need to do is spark it a bit, if you see the tooth change color you hit it too hard. All you want to do is see shiny steel, then it's sharp.

 

[Sodbuster]

I cut a lot of dead ash. It dulls chains fast. I switched to semi chisel chains for this reason. The full chisel still feel sharp but, if you push it along your finger nail is just slides across. That same chain will fly through soft wood but, won’t touch ash anymore.

Use semi chisel on ash or sharpen as soon as it slows down.

That's good to know Medic21, I have a lot of dead Ash to cut, I normally run full chisel, but will pick up a couple loops of semi-chisel.

 

[ColdNorCal]

Make sure the chain oiler is placing enough onto the chain. My Craftsman out of the box was not. Pferd or Stihl chain sharpeners work great and can be used out in the field.

 

[woodhog73]

I’m sorry in advance I didn’t read the posts. Just want to say I touch up my chains with a file every other fill up no matter what. Even just 1 file stroke helps. If you mean actually running 2 hours on your saw and the chain is dull ?? Well ya I’d say it’s dull in 20 minutes. Especially if your wood is dirty, dead on the ground wood, standing dead rotting wood etc.

 

[aaronk25]

I’m touching up my chains every 20-40 mins max. So a lot of times at 3/4 a tank. As soon as I can tell a difference each tooth gets a stroke or 2 from the 2 in 1 file. (Takes the rakers/depth gauges down too). It’s so easy once you “stay ahead of the sharpening”.let it get dull, really dull and it’s a lot of work.

Plus the chain and bar temps go way up....not good.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

 

[tadmaz]

I bought my MS261 with 2 stihl branded chains last March. I cut 4 cords last year until the first chain got dull. I've cut 3 cords so far this year and the second chain is starting to get dull. I've bought a pferd and plan to sharpen the chains for the first time soon. As long as I'm getting chips versus dust it must be sharp. For the guys sharpening constantly, not sure what's going on. Maybe once my chains get a few more years on them they will need more frequent sharpening?

 

[Woodsplitter67]

I bought my MS261 with 2 stihl branded chains last March. I cut 4 cords last year until the first chain got dull. I've cut 3 cords so far this year and the second chain is starting to get dull. I've bought a pferd and plan to sharpen the chains for the first time soon. As long as I'm getting chips versus dust it must be sharp. For the guys sharpening constantly, not sure what's going on. Maybe once my chains get a few more years on them they will need more frequent sharpening?

Some of my chains iv ran for years and they dont need anymore sharpening than somthing fresh out of the box..
I agree with you on the fact that i can cut alot of wood and not have to touch the chain that much..

 

[Sodbuster]

I've heard from more than one person that Stihl saw chain, while expensive, is worth the extra cost. They use a very high quality steel.

 

[SpaceBus]

I think it also has a lot to with the condition, type of tree, and how much minerals or dirt are in/on the bark. I honestly can't believe that manufacturer of chain matters at all. If it did, the market would look much different. There's also how much use over a period of time. Someone who uses chainsaws every day will dull a chain in an hour of use, but they will have cut far more material than even an experienced chainsaw user that isn't using it every day.

I used to never sharpen chains, but I also rarely used a saw. Now I might dull three chains a week if the weather is nice. Since my use is very high, I've ordered a Granberg sharpening jig because the hand guide is tedious. The Granberg will also keep chains sharper as the teeth will be all the same length.

 

[Sawset]

I think it also has a lot to with the condition, type of tree, and how much minerals or dirt are in/on the bark. I honestly can't believe that manufacturer of chain matters at all. If it did, the market would look much different. There's also how much use over a period of time. Someone who uses chainsaws every day will dull a chain in an hour of use, but they will have cut far more material than even an experienced chainsaw user that isn't using it every day.

I used to never sharpen chains, but I also rarely used a saw. Now I might dull three chains a week if the weather is nice. Since my use is very high, I've ordered a Granberg sharpening jig because the hand guide is tedious. The Granberg will also keep chains sharper as the teeth will be all the same length.

Metallurgy matters. Actually quite a lot. If you look up "Marbain", that's something I work with. Allowed for a fair amount of market share in cutting blades and wear parts in the ag and turfcare eq industry. Competitors have a hard time competing with it. Patented material and heat treat process. Something similar may be in play with saw chain - I wouldn't doubt it.

 

[TreePointer]

Stihl chain = thicker chrome plating = harder teeth

With all other factors excluded, this allows Stihl chain to stay sharper longer than softer alternatives. It also means that harder files should be used to sharpen Stihl chain.

 

[Sodbuster]

I think it also has a lot to with the condition, type of tree, and how much minerals or dirt are in/on the bark. I honestly can't believe that manufacturer of chain matters at all. If it did, the market would look much different. There's also how much use over a period of time. Someone who uses chainsaws every day will dull a chain in an hour of use, but they will have cut far more material than even an experienced chainsaw user that isn't using it every day.

I used to never sharpen chains, but I also rarely used a saw. Now I might dull three chains a week if the weather is nice. Since my use is very high, I've ordered a Granberg sharpening jig because the hand guide is tedious. The Granberg will also keep chains sharper as the teeth will be all the same length.

That's like saying the manufacturer of the saw doesn't matter it's just a motor with a bar attached to it. Around here all the pros use Stihl, with very few exceptions. Used to be a mixture of Husqvarna and Stihl, but Husqvarna really screwed their distributors when they began selling through the big box stores.

 

[SpaceBus]

That's like saying the manufacturer of the saw doesn't matter it's just a motor with a bar attached to it. Around here all the pros use Stihl, with very few exceptions. Used to be a mixture of Husqvarna and Stihl, but Husqvarna really screwed their distributors when they began selling through the big box stores.

Loads of folks around here use Husqvarna as well. It's a preference thing, not a one better than the other thing.

 

[SpaceBus]

This is like saying Ford is better because they use an DOHC engine vs GM with pushrods. It's all about preference.