You can tell by the sawdust, but people who really know what they're doing sharpen their chain long before they're producing anything that could be accurately described as "dust". By the time you're making fine dust, the chain and possibly the bar are probably junk from being overheated. There are lots of variables but you should count on sharpening at least once a day. If I'm cutting a bunch of firewood it's not uncommon for me to sharpen 3-5 times a day. When I was doing tree work full time the only saw that didn't get sharpened every day it was used was my climbing saw. It stayed sharp longer because it very rarely saw dirt since it generally wasn't used lower than 10+ ft. off the ground/dirt.
Sawdust Is there a standard way to determine the Sharpness of A Chain
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Canyon Angler
Addicted to ArboristSite
Be that as it may, I have NEVER had a sharp chain give anything even approaching "dust" from any kind of wood.
If you get "dust," that means the chain is either backwards, or more "ball pein hammer" than "chisel."
Or somebody filed the teeth down to nothing without touching the depth gages.
The Oregon Shaker Box.
Mark
Mark
Dangerous
ArboristSite Lurker
Thank You all for the info on when to sharpen or replace. The three tank rule of thumb seems to make the most sense and easiest to Apply .
Kind of explained why Oregon sell Two packs of chains. D
Kind of explained why Oregon sell Two packs of chains. D
If you smell wood burning is one indicator of a dull chain.
I have to be careful about this one though because sometimes if I get into deep thinking when cutting with my saw the smell of wood burning is coming from my head.
I have to be careful about this one though because sometimes if I get into deep thinking when cutting with my saw the smell of wood burning is coming from my head.
Huskybill
Addicted to ArboristSite
When I first open up the gullet on a new chain with a round file, I count how many passes I make on each tooth to keep the cutters even. I make one pass with the file n guide on the top cutting edge. With the rakers if it’s too high I make one or two passes with a flat file. So there all even. Counting the passes keeps the chain as even as possible l
Thanks for going that extra flight of steps. I hadn't seen (Sawn?) those before.
Like others said, chip size (relative to type of wood, hardness, frozen versus not, etc.) is a good way to test. However, simply looking at the chain is also a really good way to assess things, assuming you're running round-filed chisel chain and not semi-chisel.
When the leading tip of the cutter is not crisp and sharp, it's time to run a file over it. Peened and rounded out? It's gonna take a few passes with the file, at least!
The Stihl/Pferd combo sharpener tool thing works well. Not great, but well, and it is easy to use so you're more inclined to use it more often and not wait until the chain is dull. A swipe or two on each cutter is easy and fast to accomplish when you're topping off your tanks.
If you're cutting clean standing timber or tops that are still up in the air, you can go many tanks without needing a sharpening. Three or more is not unheard of. Cutting skidded wood or wood laying on the ground, I usually end up sharpening every tank full.
One other observation I made is that when I run a very short bar, I can get more tanks per sharpening because I'm not inadvertently sticking the tip of the bar into dirty things - the ground, the bark of an adjacent skidded log, etc.
When the leading tip of the cutter is not crisp and sharp, it's time to run a file over it. Peened and rounded out? It's gonna take a few passes with the file, at least!
The Stihl/Pferd combo sharpener tool thing works well. Not great, but well, and it is easy to use so you're more inclined to use it more often and not wait until the chain is dull. A swipe or two on each cutter is easy and fast to accomplish when you're topping off your tanks.
If you're cutting clean standing timber or tops that are still up in the air, you can go many tanks without needing a sharpening. Three or more is not unheard of. Cutting skidded wood or wood laying on the ground, I usually end up sharpening every tank full.
One other observation I made is that when I run a very short bar, I can get more tanks per sharpening because I'm not inadvertently sticking the tip of the bar into dirty things - the ground, the bark of an adjacent skidded log, etc.
Chips are only one indicator and are dependent upon what you are cutting.
Yesterday, I spent several hours cutting a number of large dead ash trees, a few live poplars, a couple dead red oaks, a small dead walnut, and miscellaneous small live trees. On several of the ash trees there were times of lots of powder and slow cutting but put it to the others (especially a live tree) and chips would flow again. After two tanks, I changed to a fresh chain and had better but very much similar results. The replaced chain had many cuttings left, it was just not quite sharp enough to maintain the speed I wanted in the dead ash.
IMO paying attention to performance in your cutting environment is more important than looking at chips. To properly gauge performance requires beginning with a sharp chain which is why a newbie should start with factory fresh chains or chains sharpened by someone who knows how to sharpen. With experience the typical cutter won't need to look at chips. Someone trying to up their sharpening skills might test for a sharper chain by comparing chips, but they don't need to look at chips to know if a chain is dull.
Ron
Yesterday, I spent several hours cutting a number of large dead ash trees, a few live poplars, a couple dead red oaks, a small dead walnut, and miscellaneous small live trees. On several of the ash trees there were times of lots of powder and slow cutting but put it to the others (especially a live tree) and chips would flow again. After two tanks, I changed to a fresh chain and had better but very much similar results. The replaced chain had many cuttings left, it was just not quite sharp enough to maintain the speed I wanted in the dead ash.
IMO paying attention to performance in your cutting environment is more important than looking at chips. To properly gauge performance requires beginning with a sharp chain which is why a newbie should start with factory fresh chains or chains sharpened by someone who knows how to sharpen. With experience the typical cutter won't need to look at chips. Someone trying to up their sharpening skills might test for a sharper chain by comparing chips, but they don't need to look at chips to know if a chain is dull.
Ron
I like to pick up a handful of chips, now and then, to see how a chain is cutting.
As noted, with really dry or punky wood you may get a lot of powder, even with a sharp chain. Species will vary, as well as whether you are cross-cutting, ripping, or noodling.
But the shape of the chips can be as instructive as the size. Are the edges cut cleanly, or do they look torn? Are they uniform?
I tell students that, in general, they want chips that look more like cole slaw than corn meal.
Philbert
As noted, with really dry or punky wood you may get a lot of powder, even with a sharp chain. Species will vary, as well as whether you are cross-cutting, ripping, or noodling.
But the shape of the chips can be as instructive as the size. Are the edges cut cleanly, or do they look torn? Are they uniform?
I tell students that, in general, they want chips that look more like cole slaw than corn meal.
Philbert
Canyon Angler
Addicted to ArboristSite
Ah, ya know, I didn't even think of that. But I don't cut punk wood (or not more than a couple seconds)...
Really dry wood has always given me chips, not powder. But maybe I'm holding my mouf wrong.
Or maybe what's "dry" to me at sea level ain't what others would consider "dry."
?sand sock
ArboristSite Operative
If its dust, its dull. I want chunks 1/2 to 1/3 the size of my pinky nail. If your putting pressure downwards your working to hard. Camming the saw, using your dawgs on the log, is good.
Mainestah
New Member
Interesting bit about chips and raker height from the USFS Chain Saw and Crosscut Saw Training Course—Instructor's Guidebook:
"The saw should produce shavings and not sawdust. The longer and more abundant the shavings, the better the saw is performing. Green logs produce longer shavings than dry logs. The shavings should be long and thick with smooth edges. If the edges of the shavings have whiskers or irregularities, the rakers are probably too long. If the shavings are paper thin, the rakers are too short."
https://www.fs.fed.us/t-d/pubs/htmlpubs/htm06672804/page05.htm#fig5_9
"The saw should produce shavings and not sawdust. The longer and more abundant the shavings, the better the saw is performing. Green logs produce longer shavings than dry logs. The shavings should be long and thick with smooth edges. If the edges of the shavings have whiskers or irregularities, the rakers are probably too long. If the shavings are paper thin, the rakers are too short."
https://www.fs.fed.us/t-d/pubs/htmlpubs/htm06672804/page05.htm#fig5_9
December before it snowed bucked this one off at a 45 degree to match trail. I noted that one side had chips while cutting at angle from other side had more powder. I guess just the way the grain was laying.
( Stihl 500i, 36" lighweight, fresh sharpened chain)
( Stihl 500i, 36" lighweight, fresh sharpened chain)
