Technical Saw Chain Discussion

[PLATINUM12]

FWIW, in my 35 years of running chainsaws, I've NEVER had to remove a link from a chian because it stretched so much that my tensioner ran out of adjustment. If you're running a 25" bar on a 362, your oil tank should be almost empty when you run out of fuel.

As far as chains go, like other have said, you are waiting WAY to long to sharpen that chain. If it touches dirt, even for a fraction of a second, its dull and needs sharpened immediately. Otherwise, it should be sharpened at least every other time you fill up with gas and oil. Just like with a regular knife, you should never ever need to make it sharp. It should already be sharp, you are just keeping it that way.

If you've run it to the point that there's a downward slope on the top plate, and you've had to take a link or two out of it, you've ruined it. Its trash, throw it away. You've worn it so bad that the pitch is no longer 3/8 which is now damaging the tip on your bar as well as the drive on your sprocket. Throw those chains away, replace your rim or sprocket, and have someone who knows what they are doing take a look at your bar to see if its toast or not.

Better yet, don't throw those trashed chains away quite yet. Get a couple of new files and sharpen the living crap out of them. Take 10 strokes on each tooth. Then go back and take 3 to 5 off each tooth until you've filed the top plate down to the witness line. Take a look at Buck'n Billy Ray's sharpening videos. I'm not a huge fan of his, but his videos DO show what the top plate and side plate should look like. Try do make your cutters look exactly like his. By the time you've sharpened away 2 entire chains, you should have the hang of it. More importantly, you should have learned your lesson to NEVER let a chain get that dull again. If you're hands aren't cramping when you're done, you still haven't learned your lesson so put another trashed chain on and get back to sharpening.

As far as cleaning chains, I've never cleaned one. Then again, all of my cutting is in hickory, locust, oak, and ash with an occasional silver maple thrown in just because I need the tree out of the way. If I were cutting pine, I suspect I'd need to clean my chains quite a bit.

This answers a lot of the questions I had. When my fuel tank is empty, my bar oil is down to minimal remaining (I have the setting on max oiling).

It sounds like I am cutting WAY too long before sharpening, which is causing excessive wear and other issues. My original bar lasted a hell of a long time considering the abuse I put it through. I shaved it smooth and kept it around as a backup.

Well, yesterday, I grabbed this bar and my carbide chain, and began cutting some stumps at ground level (running in the dirt). The chain was cutting fine, but it heated up tremendously. The sprocket of my bar got super shiny, to the point the sprocket basically ceased up. I decided to retire the bar for good. So I popped on my newer bar, started running it, and the chain wouldn't stay tensioned. Now, this carbide chain already had 2 links removed from it, and before I knew it, I was already at full tension and the chain was still drooping down considerably.

It sounds like this chain's rivets are just way too worn out for the chain to work effectively, causing excessive heat and wear. Sucks because there is still a TON of carbide cutter remaining.

Last winter, I cut up about 50 dead pine trees WITHOUT SHARPENING, (including a few minutes of running through dirt to cut rotted wood) and the carbide chain still had some bite. Is it possible that even though the carbide chain continued to cut flakes, that it was still heating up too much because it needed sharpened long before I actually got it sharpened?

I don't need to cut through wood incredibly fast for my applications. Mostly, I value durability which is why I tried out the carbide chain. It's a slower cutter, but it cuts super fine and smooth because of the thin kerf. Even when it showed signs of needing sharpened, I wasn't dogging it hard into the dead pines I was cutting. What would be a way to tell when the carbide chain needs sharpening? They are super expensive and it pisses me off that there is still 90% of cutter remaining on the chain.

Also, how important is it to loosen chain tension after running the saw, including in winter months? I've seen posts and videos talking about chain stretch caused by the bar and chain heating up, then when the bar cools down, the chain is stretched?

I've played around with chain tension and I much prefer it to be on the tighter side. I tried Buckin Billy Ray's strategy where its quite loose, and when you pull up, a dozen or so drive links come out of the bar groove. But when I try that, within seconds, the chain is drooping down on me.

Also, can excessive wear on the drive sprocket potentially be the cause of my issues too?

 

[HumBurner]

This answers a lot of the questions I had. When my fuel tank is empty, my bar oil is down to minimal remaining (I have the setting on max oiling).

It sounds like I am cutting WAY too long before sharpening, which is causing excessive wear and other issues. My original bar lasted a hell of a long time considering the abuse I put it through. I shaved it smooth and kept it around as a backup.

Well, yesterday, I grabbed this bar and my carbide chain, and began cutting some stumps at ground level (running in the dirt). The chain was cutting fine, but it heated up tremendously. The sprocket of my bar got super shiny, to the point the sprocket basically ceased up. I decided to retire the bar for good. So I popped on my newer bar, started running it, and the chain wouldn't stay tensioned. Now, this carbide chain already had 2 links removed from it, and before I knew it, I was already at full tension and the chain was still drooping down considerably.

It sounds like this chain's rivets are just way too worn out for the chain to work effectively, causing excessive heat and wear. Sucks because there is still a TON of carbide cutter remaining.

Last winter, I cut up about 50 dead pine trees WITHOUT SHARPENING, (including a few minutes of running through dirt to cut rotted wood) and the carbide chain still had some bite. Is it possible that even though the carbide chain continued to cut flakes, that it was still heating up too much because it needed sharpened long before I actually got it sharpened?

I don't need to cut through wood incredibly fast for my applications. Mostly, I value durability which is why I tried out the carbide chain. It's a slower cutter, but it cuts super fine and smooth because of the thin kerf. Even when it showed signs of needing sharpened, I wasn't dogging it hard into the dead pines I was cutting. What would be a way to tell when the carbide chain needs sharpening? They are super expensive and it pisses me off that there is still 90% of cutter remaining on the chain.

Also, how important is it to loosen chain tension after running the saw, including in winter months? I've seen posts and videos talking about chain stretch caused by the bar and chain heating up, then when the bar cools down, the chain is stretched?

I've played around with chain tension and I much prefer it to be on the tighter side. I tried Buckin Billy Ray's strategy where its quite loose, and when you pull up, a dozen or so drive links come out of the bar groove. But when I try that, within seconds, the chain is drooping down on me.

Also, can excessive wear on the drive sprocket potentially be the cause of my issues too?

Check your needle bearing on the clutch (and circlip if it's an inboard), if it's getting that hot.

Is your bar burr-free and square? Can you show photos of your clutch-sprocket? Photos of the bar sprocket?

 

[PLATINUM12]

Check your needle bearing on the clutch (and circlip if it's an inboard), if it's getting that hot.

Is your bar burr-free and square? Can you show photos of your clutch-sprocket? Photos of the bar sprocket?

Bar is in great shape, I looked it over and there is absolutely no edges or anything worn on it yet. (Stihl ES Light bar)

Needle bearing on the clutch = ?

Using the saw yesterday during those stump cuts had my front hand getting super hot even with a glove on, so there was some serious heat being generated.

 

[buzz sawyer]

Can you post close pics of carbide and reg. chain, drive sprocket, bar rails, and nose sprocket? You may not be in a hurry to cut but the saw doesn't like to be overloaded for long periods. It should take very little pressure for the chain to cut. Too much pressure could also cause the clutch to slip and overheat.