cant get chips instead of sawdust while cutting

[Bob Hedgecutter]

i have a husqvarna e440 with 18" bar. im cutting some down red oaks that fell couple years ago. they are like 16 to 20" around. theyre big and hard. ive sharpened my chain like 3 times and even file the rackers down but cant get a good chip and kind of burning through it. thinking i need a bigger toothed chain but can i do that? also looking at a used husqvarna 51 and a sthil ms270. bigger saw that has a 18 or 20" bar that is more for the big stuff. can i put a bigger cutter chain on my 440 saw?

As others have said, close detail photos of the cutters on your chain will help- but there is absolutely NO SHAME in not getting the perfect file until you learn the technique that suits you and the timber you are cutting- absolutely 100% none of us were experts in the beginning and if like me you cut a lot of softwoods- you can get away with murder damn near in the filing and still do okay, hardwoods are more demanding.

As for a bigger saw and bigger bar- I would drop any ideas of the MS270 like last months milk. The 51, maybe- but you could do a lot better.
I would be looking at 60cc saws or better. Something like a 262, 266 (365)Husqvarna- or 034, 036 (MS340-360) Stihl.

 

[Bearcreek]

The hook as others have mentioned is called the gullet. If the saw tooth isn’t sharpened properly you would most likely not get quality wood chips. Watch Buckin Billy Ray Smith on YouTube! He has some of the best tutorials on sharpening a chainsaw chain. Get the gullet friend!

Thanks for the recommendation. I've been successfully sharpening my chains for two and a half decades now. I'm pretty happy with my method.

 

[SS396driver]

The only 2 ways for a chain not to cut good. Rakers too high, no hook on the cutter. Steve

Three … backwards not paying attention I’ve done it myself

 

[pdqdl]

absolutely 100% none of us were experts in the beginning

Oh, yes. I had no training whatsoever, and I certainly didn't know much about chainsaw sharpening. That's one reason why I am so willing to teach folks stuff... I can still remember what a dummy I was in the beginning.

I never ran a chainsaw until I was 24. My only saw in the company was a Pro-Mac 10-10S. In retrospect, I think that Toro dealer sold me just the right saw. I used that for many years. Not the best saw for climbing a tree with, however.

 

[fields_mj]

What is your definition of slow? A 40cc saw isn't going to rip through 20" of seasoned oak like a hot knife through butter. Are you cutting through a lot of knots? That will cause your chips to be a lot smaller.

Pictures will really help us diagnose any potential issues with the chain. If the saw isn't pulling itself into the wood, the chain is not sharp or not sharpened correctly. If you've run the saw hard with a dull chain, you may need to sharpen each cutter back quite a ways before it will cut correctly again. As another reply suggested, buy a new chain, get a 2 in 1 file then practice on the old chain until it looks like the new chain. Magnification helps when examining your work. Most of us ruined our first chain or even 2 before we were able to sharpen it correctly.

 

[ChuckMI]

#3: Dull ?
#4: Rakers far too low, chain binds in the cut as soon as it contacts the wood.
#5: chain is worn unevenly on the rails and rides crooked in the groove. Consequently it cuts so crooked the bar cannot follow the chain through the cut.

#6 Chain is on backwards

 

[lambs]

Well it seems like the OP is getting some chips, but not big ones. Send us pics of the sharpened chain. That red oak is some tough stuff. A 70 cc class saw might be in your future. I buck red oak with an 046 mag and a 20" bar, with RS chain.

 

[gggGary]

Nobody's mentioned it but pics of chain and tree would be nice.
Assuming you have a sharp chain and the bar isn't worn out, bent twisted;
A worn bar typically shows up first in deep cuts, and or twisted grain. When I'm going into "too big" wood with a too small saw I'll tend to work a shorter section by SLOWLY rocking the saw to reduce the number of teeth in the wood at any one time. Better that than backing off pressure to keep motor speed up. You haven't said if the saw is slowing down when you are bar deep in the cut.

 

[river of smoak]

I think at this point there would be no way I'd show that chain being that it burned thru a log instead of cutting it

 

[Mad Professor]

I think at this point there would be no way I'd show that chain being that it burned thru a log instead of cutting it

Keep on cutting with a dull chain is stupid and bad for the saw/bar

 

[Ironhorsedoctor]

Keep on cutting with a dull chain is stupid and bad for the saw/bar

There are a lot of saws at repair shops or scrap piles for scuffed pistons and cylinders because of dull chains!

 

[samaritan]

How'bout them rakers? use a guage to check the rakers, and file em down if needed

 

[singinwoodwackr]

I think the OP has left the building…

 

[frankh]

Chain on backwards? Sorry, just had to ask.

 

[davidwyby]

Can someone tech me how to sharpen? All I get is dust.

 

[singinwoodwackr]

Can someone tech me how to sharpen? All I get is dust.

Lots of rot in that wood…or bugs have eaten half of it.

 

[davidwyby]

Lots of rot in that wood…or bugs have eaten half of it.

We don’t have rot in the desert. It’s dry hard Euc and a good square .404” chain and ported 395.

Stock 288 with 3/8”

 

[singinwoodwackr]

We don’t have rot in the desert. It’s dry hard Euc and a good square .404” chain and ported 395.

Stock 288 with 3/8”

well, I wasn’t there but from that vid it looks like bug rot or a dull chain, sorry.
I’ve cut hundreds of cord of Eucalyptus both green and dry and never got that kind of dust unless there was rot, chain needed touching up or cutting through a big knot at just the right angle.

 

[psc1947]

Same problem here. I've been sawing on this tree for days and this is as far as I've gotten.

 

[davidwyby]

well, I wasn’t there but from that vid it looks like bug rot or a dull chain, sorry.
I’ve cut hundreds of cord of Eucalyptus both green and dry and never got that kind of dust unless there was rot, chain needed touching up or cutting through a big knot at just the right angle.

It's been down in the desert for 20 years, got a mountain of it to cut. Some may be deteriorated from the dryness at the ends, but most is hard, slick and smooth after you cut it, slapping it is like slapping a rock. Dense and heavy...maul bounces off it. Tension in it from drying and cracking over the years. Als has dust in the cracks...sometimes I pressure wash it (288 vid) and sometimes I don't (395).