Carbide Chains

[Khntr85]

I have never personally used a carbide chain; I don't think that I have the right applications for them. Clearly, firefighters who have to quickly cut building materials; cutting special stuff, like old railroad ties; unusually abrasive, exotic woods come to mind. Look through the thread and be sure to pick the style and type best suited for your application (e.g. 'bullet chains' don't do as well in trees as they do on roofs).

For occasional tree roots, I think that these are the best solution: about $2-3 each. Disposable. Lots of brands: 'reciprocating saw pruning blades'

View attachment 71430

Philbert

Hey thanks philbert....I remember back when I did construction, we used a battery powered sawzall for tree roots.....I will probably just do it agian!!!!

 

[Philbert]

I remember back when I did construction, we used a battery powered sawzall for tree roots.....

You can use any coarse wood cutting blade, but the pruner blades work really well.

Also better for pruning small trees and shrubs than a chainsaw.

Philbert

 

[Master Bud II]

This Was A REALLY Great Thread !!!!
Bud

 

[mitchm1]

[emoji106]


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[mitchm1]

I sharpen a few carbide chains for customers
But when do you quit or stop sharpening and throw it away?
Before you get into the base strap ?
I haven’t got that far on any of the chains that I have been sharpening and really not wanting to hit steel strap with my Stihl diamond wheel


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Philbert]

With carbide, my understanding is that you sharpen unless the carbide is chipped; then you replace that cutter.

Philbert

 

[Wilhelm]

I have to get my Stihl Rapid Duro3 back to working condition/sharp.

 

[Wood Chopper]

I have to get my Stihl Rapid Duro3 back to working condition/sharp.

Well. I found some Rapid Duro 3 at a local Stihl dealer. Got to do sumptin ,as I am in a honey hole of fire wood again, but it’s been skidded and it’s dirty. This is the second winter in a row where this is happened there is a but load of wood and it’s the dirty stuff and it’s frozen to the side of the wood. Going to go grab it tonight I’ll report back later this week after Christmas. They can sharpen it there also. $40 bucks for a loop of pico 55 driver. I also reached out to Rapco to see how much that would but me back.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Nutball]

Just cut in such a way so that the dirt is not dragged through the whole cut, and ideally is just pushed off the surface.

 

[Nutball]

I don't know how well Cobra chain would go through wood, I wouldn't expect very fast, and you wouldn't want fast if the intended use for us carpenters is to cut through any metal or potentially stone in a stump... But I looked into it a bit and found that 3/8 full house Cobra chain should have the same TPI as a 14" steel cutting cold-cut/non-abrasive carbide saw blade. And since you want a slow feed rate when cutting metal compared to cutting wood, naturally the saw rpm would stay on the high side, right in the same ft/s range of the same 14" steel saw if you run between 10-13krpm with a 7t rim. So, maybe the Cobra chain might be a worth while way to cut stumps full of metal.

It might cut too slow to be worth using Cobra for a full cut when you don't know metal is in there, so a person could start the cut with a normal saw, and any skilled operator should be able to detect hitting metal, or a dull chain very quickly before much damage is done to then switch to the Cobra to finish the cut. It's when you try to continue forcing a normal chain through metal that you really lose because the dulling effect will reshape the tooth to where it just bounces off the metal, making continued efforts useless, and the teeth will get so damaged that it will take a very long time to resharpen. For a long time I've wanted to see if the Cobra chain would make a good time and money saver, or at least make the job more pleasant when metal in trees becomes a problem. The only problem being a 32" chain would cost around $350-550.

 

[Moparmyway]

I have to get my Stihl Rapid Duro3 back to working condition/sharp.

Working condition ..............

 

[Wilhelm]

That looks great.
Diamond wheel?
How does the chain cut?

My loop is living in its box, I can not get a good edge on it with any free hand sharpening method.

 

[Moparmyway]

That looks great.
Diamond wheel?
How does the chain cut?

My loop is living in its box, I can not get a good edge on it with any free hand sharpening method.

Diamond wheel
Hopefully going to be cutting with it in the next few days, but it’s slightly more blunt than my settings for 375 RM

I’ll sharpen yours, just gotta take care of the shipping

 

[Philbert]

Working condition ..............

Same question as that other guy: what

Diamond wheel

Looks like it is supposed to!

Just 'copied' the OEM angles?

One of the basic diamond wheels (like these: https://www.diamondwheelinc.com/diamond-chain-saw-wheels-carbide.html)?

Inquiring minds want to know!

Thanks.

Philbert

 

[Moparmyway]

Not RM outta the box, but closer to the angles that I sharpen RM to, my apologies, I should have been more specific about that



What I mean by “working condition” is this:

To me, RD outta the box sucks. It needs work to cut like semi-chisel should. It does come with a trade off though:

Durability and speed are inversely related with any chain, including a carbide chain. The sharper one makes it, the easier it is to chip. The more “meat” you leave on the edge, or the less angle you sharpen it to, the more durable the carbide is when you hit metal or rocks. Carbide isn’t indestructible. The angles outta the box will cut, I just want mine to cut faster

 

[Philbert]

Interested to hear how it holds up.

Also good to hear that the modest priced diamond wheels work.

Philbert

 

[Wilhelm]

Diamond wheel
Hopefully going to be cutting with it in the next few days, but it’s slightly more blunt than my settings for 375 RM

I’ll sharpen yours, just gotta take care of the shipping

No deal, unfortunately.
Shipping TO the US is reasonable, but shipping the same weight and size box FROM the US to Croatia is unreasonably expensive.
But thank You, I will keep Your offer in mind.

Not RM outta the box, but closer to the angles that I sharpen RM to, my apologies, I should have been more specific about that

View attachment 214586

What I mean by “working condition” is this:

To me, RD outta the box sucks. It needs work to cut like semi-chisel should. It does come with a trade off though:

Durability and speed are inversely related with any chain, including a carbide chain. The sharper one makes it, the easier it is to chip. The more “meat” you leave on the edge, or the less angle you sharpen it to, the more durable the carbide is when you hit metal or rocks. Carbide isn’t indestructible. The angles outta the box will cut, I just want mine to cut faster

I really liked the out of the box performance of my Stihl Rapid Duro 3 loop.
I used it for a whole Year on my Dolmar PS-6400 bucking logs before it dulled beyond my liking.

Stones and metal are a big no-no for this chain, it handles sand and mud very well though.

 

[CR888]

You hit a nail or stone with regular steel/chrome semi chisel and it ain't such a big deal you just file/grind away the damage. Do it with carbide and you have an expensive repair. Sure it has its place, but you need to be set up to sharpen it too. Stihl was offering small homeowner saws with 'Picco duro' and other models with carbide which I thought was a mistake. To the new saw buyer they only see the benefits of such a chain setup not the costs, performance and sharpening realities.

 

[Philbert]

Helps to have a spinner/ breaker set to replace badly chipped carbide cutters, instead of trying to grind some back.

That's what I have heard from guys who maintain fire / rescue chain.

Philbert

 

[Philbert]

Shipping TO the US is reasonable, but shipping the same weight and size box FROM the US to Croatia is unreasonably expensive.

I found that out recently.

I forget whether or not you have s grinder. Would you consider one of these $100 (US pricing) diamond wheels?

Philbert