Sawdust Is there a standard way to determine the Sharpness of A Chain

[Dangerous]

Can you determine when to sharpen your chain by examining the type and size of the sawdust being produced ?
as a complete new guy I came to the realization not only was I not making no progress I was producing pure dust .
at what point does the sawdust tell me sharpen the chain ?
before I get flamed I never noticed the difference in sawdust. Im sure professionals know when to sharpen the chain what should amateurs look for in the sawdust at what point is it time to sharpen other than a complete failure to cut.

 

[atpchas]

Can you determine when to sharpen your chain by examining the type and size of the sawdust being produced ?

If what your saw is producing is accurately described as dust, the chain is in dire need of a sharpening.

as a complete new guy I came to the realization not only was I not making no progress I was producing pure dust .
at what point does the sawdust tell me sharpen the chain ?
before I get flamed I never noticed the difference in sawdust. Im sure professionals know when to sharpen the chain what should amateurs look for in the sawdust at what point is it time to sharpen other than a complete failure to cut.

Beyond that, much depends on whether you are cutting wet or dry wood, soft or hard wood. Most of the time you will likely be cutting wood of the same state - wet soft wood, dry hard wood, etc. Best thing is to monitor the chips produced. If you see them getting smaller and the chain/bar seems to be getting hotter, time to sharpen or switch chains.

 

[holeycow]

The chain should draw itself through the wood. You shouldn't have to apply any pressure, only guidance.

 

[bwalker]

The chain should draw itself through the wood. You shouldn't have to apply any pressure, only guidance.

Yes and it's long gone before dust is produced.
With that said certain woods dont produce good chips. Red oak being one.

 

[cscltd]

We always say anything more than a couple pounds pressure, it’s getting dull. If your putting your shoulder into it- it’s really dull.

 

[HarleyT]

Look at the chain. Put up a pic or two of the chain.

 

[Canyon Angler]

You generally want big fluffy chips. Dust = dull AF

 

[ken morgan]

except for frozen wood. the one major exception is frozen wood. wood was cut during the spring and laid up wet+ dust. wood cut middle of winter with no sap running I get large chips occasionally drawing so hard and sucking the chain too deep while applying no pressure.

so if the wood is not somewhat dry and is frozen then you will get dust as I did last week.

 

[John Lyngdal]

If the rakers are too high, you'll generate more dust than you should even with sharp cutters.

 

[ken morgan]

If the rakers are too high, you'll generate more dust than you should even with sharp cutters.

if at me: the same chain in a frozen log vs a non frozen dried log of the same species of tree cut significantly different. If not at me my apologies.

 

[Canyon Angler]

IME, green wood, even frozen IIRC, gives bigger chips than dry wood if the chain is sharp. Maybe Japanese wood is different?

 

[rwoods]

With experience one should be able to judge by how the cut is progressing if the chain and bar are still good to go. To gain that experience, start with a factory fresh chain or four. You will soon learn when the performance tapers off. Then replace the chain with a new or properly sharpened chain, or sharpen it while on the saw. Routinely check and dress your bar for burrs.
Just my two cents.

Ron

 

[link]

If it feels like biting like a shark - its good. If it feels like filing with a... file! thats not good at all.

 

[Dangerous]

Thank You about the saw dust shavings vs real dust,
when I did figure out how to sharpen by hand matching the file to the gullet , filing inside of the gullet to the outside one direction only ; and filing the same distance on the file each stroke. The rakers I filed with a flat file carefully again in the same amount of pressure and same length of draw. Good hand filing to sharpen a chain always took time and kind of a trance trying to make each stroke identical. Enjoyable and making me eager to try out the newly sharpened chain to see how much better it cut.
I also became a believer in a sharp chain is a safer than a dull chain forcing a saw through the work wore me out and less able to really control how I was cutting.
thanks again to the wiser Heads.

 

[link]

 

[bwalker]

IME, green wood, even frozen IIRC, gives bigger chips than dry wood if the chain is sharp. Maybe Japanese wood is different?

IME too.

 

[link]

The hand that disrupts the picture is providing a wet cloth to cool the edge.
I would not do that on my own chains, but when someone is paying you to do something - that will resemble your name.

 

[cookies]

start with a sharp chain, when you start thinking "this seems to be cutting a little slower" thats when I stop and file, by the second tank of fuel its going to be very dull even if you keep it out of the dirt etc. Most saws will run around 45 minutes on a tank, the chain seems to dull about 65 minutes in if your careful. Its just more productive for me to change chains or re sharpen when the gas tank needs refilling as its a proven stopping point that reminds me no matter what else is happening. A sharp chain self feeds and holds a good pace at cutting without your help. A new high quality chain out of the box is at approx 80-90% of what it can do compared to hand sharpened.

 

[heimannm]

At one time Oregon supplied a "shaker box" with a new chain that had a kind of screen built in. You were supposed to load it with the chips you were making, shake it around to sift out the fines, and measure the volume of the chips left to determine if the chain needed sharpening...

I'm not making this up, I have a few up in my attic in the new building. If I can remember I'll post some photos.

Mark

 

[thenne1713]

You generally want big fluffy chips. Dust = dull AF

The size of the chips, esp. when bucking, can be VERY misleading as indicator and vary greatly w/ the wood type, tree age/size/ environment= Growth ring size. Wide growth rings will give larger chips than small, tight rings. LOGOSOL says "sharpen BEFORE than chain is dull.." in that letting it go too far wears the CHROME coating back away from the cutting edge, leading to a poor cutter performance. Learn TO SHARPEN PROPERLY, I have seen men file to end of cutter life, and never filed rakers, and never understood WHY saw never cut properly when cutter was sharp?