Carbide chain, ever used?

[livemusic]

I have a bunch of big, dirty, oak logs that excavators muddied up when they pushed the trees over. I have been using a scrub brush and then I used a small, portable pressure washer but it quit working. Now what. (No power, no water line out in the woods.) So, wondering about just getting a carbide chain. Do they cut ok? Cleaning the dirt off takes time. Sandy dirt, caked on. Some of these logs have quite a bit and the rains are not coming; this area is in a severe drought, never seen anything like this in winter!

I bought a semi-chisel thinking it would be better but I really can't tell any difference in how long it lasted before dulling. I also do know one can do a plunge cut to help but I haven't mastered that yet. I wish a carbide chain would be the answer. Expensive, I am sure, but the labor in this is quite a bit.

 

[Wilhelm]

Stihl Rapid Duro 3, 3/8" semi chisel.
Will set You back about 110$ for a 20"/72DL loop.

The chain performs similar to a regular "steel" semi chisel chain when factory new.
I have a couple videos up on YouTube.
It will work very well in sandy and muddy logs, but it will shatter the carbide inserts if it encounters stones or other hard foreign objects.
Unless You have Your own grinder with special (diamond) wheel, You will have to get the carbide chain sharpened at a shop.

I found that cheap chains like TriLink do OK for bucking dirty logs.
They cut poorly and get dull quick, but at 15ish$ per 20"/72DL loop I don't mind to much - in the field, just keep spares and swap them out as they dull.

 

[Wilhelm]

 

[Wilhelm]

 

[Wilhelm]

 

[livemusic]

Thanks for info. I saw your videos, including where you bucked a real dirty log with caked on mud.

How long will it buck big oak logs decently do you think? Hours? Days? I know that is impossible to answer, but do you have a feel for it. Or would you chuck that idea and buy some of those cheap chains. After the cheap chains dull, do you sharpen them and go again? I have heard of people only using chains once, that is why I ask. As for Trilink, do you buy full chisel or semi chisel?

I just saw a Trilink chain online... "full chisel safety" chain. That seems contradictory using "full chisel" and "safety" as a descriptor.

I am not so concerned about longer buck time per cut, I am most concerned about the time required to clean up the logs best I can and then the other concern is dulling a good chain and have to swap. I don't worry about damaging the good chains, I quit before they get super dull and in bad shape.

And, of course, cost. For one rapid duro, I could obviously buy multiple regular chains.

 

[Oldbuzzard]

I run carbide chains on most of my saws and I’m a big fan, BUT, my saw work is not typical. I’m retired and all my saw work is volunteer basis and runs a wide variety of tasks. Some is pretty normal chainsaw work like fuel mitigation - fancy way to say thinning out trees - felling, bucking, limbing, and making burn piles. Other work can be something like cutting up massive cotton wood tree trunks (462CM with 32” bar) that have fallen into waterways or cleaning out old drift wood piles. Waders are included in my PPE. At any rate I am frequently running close to the ground and/or cutting in old lumber with unknown hazards in the wood. Also I am loaning my saws to other volunteers who are likely to put the bar in the dirt.
I find Forester carbide chains to be reasonably priced but prefer Stihl RD chains, which I can usually find on eBay at good prices.
My experience is they cost three times as much but will last three times as long in a dirty environment. Then you have to take them to someone who can sharpen carbide chains. I have run them through nails with no apparent damage, but I have also busted teeth on imbedded barbed wire. Fortunately, just one or two missing teeth on an otherwise sharp chain doesn’t seem to be noticeable. OTOH run the chain into the river rocks beneath the surface of the water and you probably toss a $75 chain.
Bottom line for me is the additional cost is a wash but they save LOTS of time on chain maintenance.

 

[davidwyby]

@Oldbuzzard thanks!

 

[Wilhelm]

Thanks for info. I saw your videos, including where you bucked a real dirty log with caked on mud.

How long will it buck big oak logs decently do you think? Hours? Days? I know that is impossible to answer, but do you have a feel for it. Or would you chuck that idea and buy some of those cheap chains. After the cheap chains dull, do you sharpen them and go again? I have heard of people only using chains once, that is why I ask. As for Trilink, do you buy full chisel or semi chisel?

I just saw a Trilink chain online... "full chisel safety" chain. That seems contradictory using "full chisel" and "safety" as a descriptor.

I am not so concerned about longer buck time per cut, I am most concerned about the time required to clean up the logs best I can and then the other concern is dulling a good chain and have to swap. I don't worry about damaging the good chains, I quit before they get super dull and in bad shape.

And, of course, cost. For one rapid duro, I could obviously buy multiple regular chains.

That Stihl Rapid Duro 3 did not come off my Dolmar PS-6400 for a whole year - refuel, basic maintenance, keep cutting.
I have bucked anywhere between 30 to 50 cubic meters of firewood logs with that chain, and it still has life left in it, I just need to sharpen it or get it sharpened.

On cheap chains, I sharpen them.
I prefer full chisel as it is faster cutting as long as it cuts.
I have semi chisel too, it is painfully slow but it will cut a little longer than chisel given identical conditions.
Get one of each and try what works best for You.

On the question whether carbide or cheap regular steel chain, it depends how far You are willing to go.
Maybe try both options since a cheap chain won't set You back too much price wise.

There are also more affordable carbide chains than Stihl RD3, but I have never tried any.
I do have another carbide loop in 3/8" Picco/LowProfile, also Stihl, Picco Duro 3 - those chains are very well designed, they have a big chunk of carbide which is round ground like a regular chain tooth would be.