metal spike in my rounds

wood junky · Nov 26, 2006

I am bucking up some rounds I have to split. I am mid cut full throttle chain with about 20 minutes on it.

then I heard some god awful noise and I get hit in the leg with something.

That something was a big hunk of metal-

How do i avoid this in the future and is the chain fixable??

Kevin

Cut4fun · Nov 26, 2006

When cutting up my barn this year (got bored needed some wood to cut) I hit a metal rod in a 11x8 hand hewn beam. Tore a cutter off and bent and dulled others bad. I put a file to the cutters and just by passed the broken off one. You wouldnt know the difference. Just put a good edge and your angles back on the cutters and check your rakers.You wouldnt even know a cutters was missing if I didnt show or tell you.

computeruser · Nov 26, 2006

wood junky said:
That something was a big hunk of metal-

How do i avoid this in the future and is the chain fixable??

Fixable? It depends. Unless the chain is totally stretched and a row of cutters were ripped off or really mangled, you should be able to resharpen and get some more life out of the chain.

As for avoiding it, it's tough without a metal detector to know in advance what's hidden in a log. I reckon it's just a risk that comes with the activity, and a good reason to carry a couple extra chains with you when you go cutting!

Chainsaw Master · Nov 26, 2006

If you get 1 or 2 that are broke...fllat file them flush to the side straps...It won't be a new chain but it will cut. I carve alot of stumps in yards, and hit metal all the time,I've thought about buying a metal detector.

B_Turner · Nov 26, 2006

A lot of the wood I cut comes from yards and streers and therefore nails are a constant problem. No perfect solution but what I rely on is an about $60 contractors metal detector. Zircon 6 or something like that. It reads pretty accurate to 6 or 7 inches. They make better ones, but for 1500$ I can't justify it. I still hit nails occasionally, but usually it was because I was lazy and didn't check the wood -- I try to do a quick scan of each tree once down.

With just bucking, your odds of hitting nails are much less than when you are cutting each round into blocks, which is what I do. If there is a nail, I am more likely to hit it.

It is especially frustrating when hitting nails with a 45 dollar bandsaw blade. At least I can grind a chain. So my small handheld MD goes into my tool kits whereever I go. If a round has nails, it becomes firewood (split it).