how long does a chain last???

[Derag2]

How much cutting do you guys get out of chains you by from stores like bomgars and what not? I put a new chain on my husky 350 and i thought i got quite a bit of cutting out of it but my stepdad thought i shoulda got more cutting........ I was cutting stuff anywhere from 8-10 inches all the way to 20-22 inches for about 1.5 hours in big chunks then cam home and cut it all up in 16-18 inch chunks....... most the pieces were around 4-6foot...... total weight in the trailer was probly in the neighborhood of 5K, I'd say there is gonna be a couple cords when i get done splitting........

Thanks

 

[Crofter]

Derag2, that is a bit like asking how long a sucker lasts. Same answer; depends on where you stick it and how often you lick it! Clean wood with smooth bark no sand maybe four hours on a sharpening. muddy bark and touch the soil once and the answer is 10 seconds or less.

 

[BostonBull]

A good chain will have a line on the top of the cutter tooth towards the rear of it. This is the witness mark. You shouldnt sharpen the chain past this point and your angle shoul match this lines angle.

As far as how long a chain stays sharp? For as long as you can keep it out of the dirt and away from rocks and metal. This can be a week or it can be less than a minute from the last time it was sharpened.

 

[Kneejerk Bombas]

Sometimes, I put a new chain on and run it into the ground on the first cut. That really sucks. As Murphy would have it, this usually happens on a day when all my files are dull as crap. And to further make things bad, it seems to happen when the bars are all closed or I'm too broke to buy any beer.
Then some days, I run the same saw all day and it's still cutting good. It's not the wood so much that dulls it, it's the the other things you hit: the ground, dirt in the bark, foreign objects in the tree, or whatever.

 

[skwerl]

I have no idea how long my chains last, although I would need a calendar to track it. I touch up my chain about every tank of fuel and I usually give it a quick lick first thing before starting a job. I don't keep track of how many times I touch up the chain. When it's filed back to the witness marks I throw it away and put a new chain on the saw.

I also file down the rakers 2-3 times in the life of the chain. Saws get completely cleaned once or twice a week including scraping out the bar groove and blowing out the sprocket area thoroughly. Bar is inspected, filed and flipped as needed. Same chain goes back on unless it's worn out. New sprocket every 2-3 chains, new bar when the old one gets bent or groove gets too sloppy from wear.

 

[Derag2]

I kinda thought it'd be this way, I did all that cutting on one sharpening which was the first sharpening since i got the saw, I don't usually touch the dirt ever but i was noticing some lite sparks from the wood on a couple pieces i cut so that might has done some in, it wasn't cutting real bad but i figured it was time anyways......

 

[Kneejerk Bombas]

Do you ever change the air filter Brian?

 

[kf_tree]

A good chain will have a line on the top of the cutter tooth towards the rear of it. This is the witness mark.

what??????????????

so all other chains that do not have the line is junk? the only cutter i know that has this mark you speak of is 3/8 oregon chain. so i guess stihl, carlton, windor etc is not good chain?

 

[BostonBull]

The TSihl and oregon chains we use have a witness mark. He said he gets his chains from big box stores.

Honestly I have only ever ran Oregon and Stihl chain and was told that all good chain has a witness amrk from the guys I learned from.

 

[skwerl]

Do you ever change the air filter Brian?

Whussat??? Never heard of it!! You mean these saws have air filters???
:bang:

 

[JamesTX]

My Stihl chains have the mark. Of course, I still use safety chain........

 

[skwerl]

All Stihl chain has the witness mark, some of the Oregon does (although I can never find it).

 

[Kneejerk Bombas]

Whussat??? Never heard of it!! You mean these saws have air filters???
:bang:

Serious question. Do you change them, or just clean them?

 

[Newfie]

total weight in the trailer was probly in the neighborhood of 5K, I'd say there is gonna be a couple cords when i get done splitting....

5K in wood weight is likely to give just about a cord.


Like has been said, chain life of a sharpening is only as long as the sh!t you stick it in. Sparks are telling you something, dirt or grit of some nature.

 

[kf_tree]

was told that all good chain has a witness amrk from the guys I learned from.

don't believe every thing you hear.........kind of like a 358xp will be coming to a shop near you.


i've never run stihl chain, all 3/8 oregon lg has it, 3/8 cl does not. 3/8 carlton and windsor do not have it.

 

[Kneejerk Bombas]

5K in wood weight is likely to give just about a cord.


Like has been said, chain life of a sharpening is only as long as the sh!t you stick it in. Sparks are telling you something, dirt or grit of some nature.

If you ever work into the later part of the day, and I don't recommend it because you cut into your drinking time, you'll see as it gets dark, the chain spits out a lot of sparks, just as part of normal operation.

 

[Derag2]

I was cutting in the dark when i saw the sparks, but I don't drink so it don't cut into my drinking at all...... I buy Husqvarna ( which is oregon) and oregon chains thats all they got at bomgars...... What is the acualy demensions of a cord of wood???? all i ever hear is its about a pickup load of wood, and this ammount of wood i think will be over a pickup load......

 

[skwerl]

4'X4'X8' is a cord.

 

[Derag2]

dang, i guess maybe i aint getting much wood out of my sharpenings, it wasn't real dull but it was starting to cut fine shavings instead of big shaving..... Oh well i guess.... I was cutting mostly oak wood so maybe that makes a difference, it was all fairly hard wood..

 

[aokpops]

Iam in a bla bla mood tonight . when the short angle is gone the chain is gone .