ms460rs chain

[kevlar]

Anyone had any experiance with this chain? I work on saws all day long have not come across it.Wondering about converting my 460 for chewing through an old shed.Any comments?

 

[J_Ashley]

I assume you're talking about the Stihl RD, Duro Carbide Chain? it's extremely expensive yet hold's an edge much much longer than standard steel chains. Downside is, obviously price, and all sharpening has to be done with a diamond grinding wheel. It's also available in the Stihl RDS, the 'rescue version' of the Carbide chain. The RDS chain has the carbide cutter tip soldered to two chassis for added strength. The Stihl chain is only available in 3/8" Pitch, .063 guage.

Also, if you're interested in Carbide saw chain, check out RapCo Industries. They offer a large variety of carbide chain based on your needs. You can also get their chain in different pitch, guage, lenght, cutter type, carbide type, and cutter angles. www.rapcoindustries.com

Justin

 

[kevlar]

That's the stuff.Have you cut with it?I just like the fact that you can cut through almost anything!

 

[Diesel JD]

I noticed that rapco offers no warranty, probably Stihl doesn't either. They also say it will be damaged by hitting hard objects. What about *when* (not if) you hit a nail cutting through that shed? have you just wasted your $120 carbide tipped chain?

 

[kevlar]

No this stuff is tuff it was intended for fire and rescue crews to ventilate roofs,steel garage doors even nails are only going to dull it very little.

 

[Diesel JD]

Yeah that's what I was thinking even as I wrote it....but why then do they say don't hit hard objects? Does a nail not qualify as a hard object? Or do they only mean don't try to go out and saw a piece of concrete in the parking lot?

 

[WRW]

Nails are pretty soft, far as metals go. The Stihl RD chain will loose cutters in short order when hitting nails. The Rapco chain is better protected, with more backing and double depth guides. It will still chip the carbide tips when cutting nails, but will continue cutting. It also (subjective) seems to cut faster than the RD chain.
Cutters Edge has even more protection for the cutters, and is less grabby but is not quite as fast as the other chains. Their description is that it files rather than cuts. I believe that it has a longer service life because of this. If you are cutting up a shed and then retiring the chain, that probably isn't a factor.

 

[J_Ashley]

For doing demolition work, you'd select a less conventional style cutter tooth. You'd want one much like RapCo's 'terminator' chain. This chain would have a less agressive cutter tooth for better impact resistance, as well as a pair of cutting chassis for added strength. I'd imagine this type of chain wouldn't be very usefull for regular wood felling/bucking.

For conventional wood cutting, the only real benefit to the Carbide chain would be it's ability to hold an edge after cutting dirty wood, as well as longer sharpening intervals. Hitting a foreign object would still pose a great danger to the Carbide, as it is extremely brittle.

Make no mistake, Carbide chains are very application specific. You can tear up a $120 carbide chain, just as easy as your $20 Oregon chain if you use it for the wrong reasons.

Justin