Chain Breakers and making homemade chain

[bertfixessome]

I have been toying with the idea, but when a roll is just as much as buying the loops, I don't see any advantage.

Interesting
Now to be fair I buy my chain wholesale in OZ where prices are vastly different to the USA
However in 100' rolls the chain is around 1/3 the price per cutter as pre-made loops in popular sizes.
When you get to 25' rolls then you add the price of the joining link there is SFA difference between the roll & the pre-cut loops in very popular sizes, but odd sizes that don't have volume discounts are always more expensive .
And of course there is less counterfit rolls than there are loops
I had a saw that supposedly had genuine Oregon chain & bar.
Now the bar was obvious counterfit as it had the wrong paint job for the style of bar
The chain OTOH did have Oregon stamped into the cutters and then it twigged
This size Oregon chain has the name & code stamped into the plain links .
Loose Oregon cutters are the ones with Oregon stamped into their sides
Then I had a look at the pins and they were rivet over with 2 flats which is standard for industrial chain
So some one has sat down & made this chain by hand, one link at a time .

 

[bertfixessome]

You can sometimes pick up part reels of chain and packs of presets and tie straps cheaply on eBay. Better than paying the full retail price.

You can also modify chains with unpopular drive link counts and make them fit your bars. And you can splice in sections of good chain to replace badly damaged cutters.

You can pick up a lot of counterfit chain on ebay as well .
Seen lots of supposed brand name chain loops bought off ebay / amazon that were fake .
But you just can not educate people that a $ 40 retail price chain sold on evilpay/scamazon for $ 5 can just not be genuine unless it is stolen.

 

[Philbert]

If you plan ahead, and watch for sales / specials / etc., it can sometimes be cheaper to buy finished loops of chain.

The real advantage of a spinner and breaker set, is the ability to repair and resize loops of chain, extending their usable life considerably.

If you are ‘frugal’ (like me), it also allows you to take advantage of used chains at very low cost.

Chains: Used Once, Never Sharpened?

Many participants in these forums know the interest that I have in 'saving' / salvaging used saw chains. So, you can imagine the type of chest pains I feel, even typing this, but thought it might make for interesting discussion. Most of us routinely discard 'single use' blades, for: razors...

opeforum.com

I have learned a lot about chains, including variations, types, small differences, etc., since acquiring a spinner/ breaker set several years ago. I have saved many, many times the $100 (then) cost of the set.

Philbert

 

[isaaccarlson]

Used chains in my area are either too burned out to use. I had a pile of chains that people gave me, and I looked through them a few days ago only to find that maybe 3 out of about a dozen were salvageable. Sure they're "free" chains, but I still had to drive to get them.

 

[Maintenance Chief]

I bought a 185' roll of 75 LGX at a considerable discount. Since I have a spinner it's gives me one hell of a deal.

 

[mrxlh]

So i had been considering this for a while, stopped by Harbor Freight and picked up their breaker/spinner combo. For $74.99 I’d say it’s a bargain even if Chinese made. Spun up a loop of 28” from 2 16” loops I purchased off here last year or so. Don’t run a 16” bar much so I figured I’d make a spare loop of 28”. I don’t know if I’ll ever buy a 100’ roll of chain, but making up my own bargain shopping will probably save me some money. FWI .050” oregon presets work just fine on Carlton chain.

Spun up 2 more chains today from unused loops of lengths not used often. One more 28” and a 32”, I’m no expert but it repeats results, thinking I will go ahead a buy a 100’ roll of EXL.