Cuts Up-not Down

[Holler Dave]

There are 4 of us in the Holler that want to know why a chain will cut great on the upstroke but throws sawdust when cutting downward. We are using tips from this forum to learn how to sharpen our own chains instead of local hardware taking a brand new chain with one day of cutting and returning the chain with 2/3 of cutters gone. We surmise that our techniques of sharpening contribute to this but it makes no sense that a chain will cut like the wind when cutting from the bottom upwards but wont cut when cutting downwards. Any help will be greatly appreciated. We have learned a lot from you guys and want to learn more. Thanks. Holler Dave.

 

[treeclimber165]

What kind of wear do you have on the bar? Do you flip your bar occassionally so it will wear evenly on both sides?
Sounds like the bottom side of the bar might be worn unevenly.

 

[jsirbasku]

Maybe the teeth are sharper on the bottom

 

[spreaderman]

file guide

stihl makes an excellent file guide for around 30.00. It holds any size and will put the same angle as factory .

 

[Rotax Robert]

How far south are you, If you are in the southern hemisphere ie: new zealand etc. then you are doing fine but if in the north you need to get a Lambert self-sharping chain and is no;y available in Canada.

 

[WOLF_RIVER_MIKE]

Cuts Up-not Down, kind of describes this forum I read this post a while ago and couldn't think of any thing, other than the fact that that cutting up casts shavings out, cutiing down casts them in. But that seemed obvious. After reading some other posts, I'll suggest cutting up one one half, walking around, and cutting down on the other half...Would that work?

 

[WRW]

From the holler, everything is up. From the ridge, everything is down. On the hillside, you can go either way.
Have you adjusted the depth guides lately?

 

[sonny]

The bar must be spread out on one side. Grind the bar.

 

[Holler Dave]

I should have added that this is not an everyday occurance. We all have experienced this phenomenon on occasion. I am running a 038 Super with a bar that is about 2 years old. We all heat with wood here in the holler so the saws don't run everyday. I will have the local Stihl dealer check out the bar which I do rotate everytime that I put on a new chain. Thanks for the replies. We had been putting the 10 degree angle but just read on here that we probably shouldn't be doing that. We run Stihl full chisel chains. We love life in the Holler.

 

[sedanman]

I was cutting some firewood today and noticed very fine dust-like chips on an up-cut, thought I'd rocked out the chain. I checked the bar and chain all looked good, next series of cuts were all down and pulled big chips, must have been the wood in that particular spot.

 

[treeclimber165]

Good saw, good chain. Stihl stuff may be pricey compared to other brands, but I think it is worth the extra $$ for the quality you get and how long it lasts.
Sounds like someone may be getting a little sloppy on the filing occassionally. Once in a while, I seem to lose the 'right touch' when filing and my saw won't cut for nuthin'! Then I go back and resharpen it, paying close attention to my angles and it always works better.
Keep an eye on those rakers, too. With the 038Super and the RS chain, you can file your rakers to the shortest recommended height and it will pull great.

 

[kenabcd]

It sounds like it could be as simple as leverage. Sometimes you can hang the dogs into the log better from one side than the other. Next time you have this happen, look at the dogs and see if they are hooked up with the log well. A slightly dull chain will throw shavings with enough pressure, but dust with less pressure. It is natural to hang the saw on the dogs and lever it up when the option is to grunt it up, but when sawing down the saw rests on the log and levering is not as needed to keep it in place? I see that happening after cutting all day.

 

[treeclimber165]

Ken, you reminded me of another possible cause. I've seen (and run) saws with loose screws holding the dogs. If one or both screws are loose, the dogs can get leveraged out of parallel with the bar and draw the cut off line- and therefore stop cutting. Easy fix with a scrench, unless the threads are stripped.

 

[tony marks]

my personal opinion is that there is more oil on the chain on the top side . ive noticed this myself at times

 

[Holler Dave]

Well once again thanks to all of you who responded. Very good info gleaned from the pros as usual. As the years creep up the ole 38 seems to be a mite heavy for this rickety ol back of mine. I cut about 50 cords of hardwoods a year to keep the ole outdoor woodburner crankin (don't burn it all but like to have a head start on the next season). What would be a good saw to handle the oak. cherry and hard maple I cut that is lighter than the 38AV Super? Looking for the power she has but not the weight. Thank you again. Holler Dave.

 

[stihltech]

044

Check out an 044. Lighter, same power. If you feel you can drop down some, look at a 036.

 

[toolmaker]

Dave, I am in Pa. and I use my saw for mostly firewood. Not nearly as much as you though. I cut red and white oak, some cherry. Much of it is standing dead and dried. gypsy moth kills. I think the 036 PRO (MS360) is hard to beat. Plenty of power, not too heavy for an all around saw. I sold mine for an MS460, and am still kicking myself for that. Don't get me wrong, the 460 is outstanding, more horses, but a bit heavier than the 036.

 

[Tom Dunlap]

Have you run any time trials with up and down cutting?

From my experience, when there's a difference, its not from the chain. that couldn't vary from cut to cut. Possibly the bar but I think that's unlikely unless the bar is ready for recycling. Bars have to be REALLY bad to effect a cut.

You might notice more chips flying out of the bottom kerf because gravity helps to drop them out of the kerf. When top cutting maybe more of the chips stay in the gullet and don't get expelled until the tip is clear on the other side of the log. when bottom cutting the chips clear the gullets and aren't conveyored around the bar again.

Tom