Chip Clearance, what is it?

[Terry Syd]

The amount of chips couldn't get carried out of the cut so they compressed and made their way sideways up the bar sides, chain and bar binding was the result.

Great set of pictures. "The amount of chips couldn't get carried out of the cut, so they compressed..."

So how do you increase the chain's ability to move the chips out of the cut? We come back to one of my observations about race chains, that is, using a flat face on the raker to push the chips. Take a look at the picture with all the chips in the chain. A flat faced raker might be a better choice, I don't know.

Hmm, further imagine a 'dummy' cutter that wasn't a cutter but a 'pusher'. A solid faced 'wall' that would periodically push all the chips out. That would likely work, however using all the rakers to do their part in pushing may work as well.

 

[Wilhelm]

The issue with Full House sequence is that the chips have no where to flow as there is no free space/link behind the cutter but rather another tooth that also creates and pushes chips.
Making "scoring" teeth negates the point of having a Full House chain.
Reshaping the rakers might help.
I think clipping each cutters heel (more room for the chips to flow) and filing each cutter back a bit (less bite, thinner and lesser chips) might make this chain perform better.

For now this Full House chain of mine is untouched, no mods were done to it.

 

[B440]

I like this topic. I don't have much to add. I did remove some of the rear clutch cover on my 025 (had marks already there to cut along). It carries less chips back around the chain and into the cut now.

 

[rogue60]

The issue with Full House sequence is that the chips have no where to flow as there is no free space/link behind the cutter but rather another tooth that also creates and pushes chips.
Making "scoring" teeth negates the point of having a Full House chain.
Reshaping the rakers might help.
I think clipping each cutters heel (more room for the chips to flow) and filing each cutter back a bit (less bite, thinner and lesser chips) might make this chain perform better.

For now this Full House chain of mine is untouched, no mods were done to it.

What's Full House chain for? Why do they make it seems there is no room for chips to go they just pack in around the chain and bind it up in the cut? would be a PITA trying to block firewood with it I reckon.

 

[Philbert]

What's Full House chain for?

It is a specialty chain for carving.
Someone once posted an ad stating that it is also used for cutting bamboo in Asia. Not a general firewood chain.

Philbert

 

[rogue60]

It is a specialty chain for carving.
Someone once posted an ad stating that it is also used for cutting bamboo in Asia. Not a general firewood chain.

Philbert

Ok yeah carving makes sense no big gaps between teeth using the nose of the bar for carving.

 

[Bigmac]

Chip clearing is a big problem on long bars buried. My poor old macs suffer from a bad clutch cover design(imho) and even with a 50” bar it will
Shoot a roster tail of the top side of the bar on the far side. If I bury the bar it will load up bad! If the bar tip is clear on the other side it’s fine. I also noticed that .404 will load up worse than 3/8 on the same bar. I have tested same bar chain combo on at a few different saws, and clutch cover design is as much of factor as power in some cases. I have noted that over 36” bar like 42”+ is the point when it really becomes an issue, especially when buried. If the tip is clear on the other side It doesn’t become as much of a problem. The second problem is chips getting stuck it the grove and plugging the oilers slot!

 

[Al Smith]

A lot of plugging up can be based on what you are cutting and the condition of the chain .Partly dull ,buried making sawdust not all chips it will load up .Oak chips well ,soft maple does not .That's hardwoods .I have no idea about soft woods ,don't have any but yard trees .It's only once in a blue moon I cut a pine or spruce .

 

[Terry Syd]

Partly dull ,buried making sawdust not all chips it will load up

Good observation, in such a case it wouldn't be an excess of chips not getting carried out of the cut, it is the sawdust dropping down along the outside of the chain. The sawdust takes up the clearance in the kerf and creates extra friction.

 

[Al Smith]

If I'm not mistaken the original so called "full house " chain was a brain storm of west coast saw racers .They spun those chains up a part at a time which would take forever .Those old timers (my age ) said it cut real fast but took a lot of power to do it .It's not something you can trot on down to your friendly local chainsaw dealer and buy it .

 

[Skeans1]

A lot of plugging up can be based on what you are cutting and the condition of the chain .Partly dull ,buried making sawdust not all chips it will load up .Oak chips well ,soft maple does not .That's hardwoods .I have no idea about soft woods ,don't have any but yard trees .It's only once in a blue moon I cut a pine or spruce .

Doug fir is horrible for plugging up a whole cut solid with chips plus the bar and chain.


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[Philbert]

It's not something you can trot on down to your friendly local chainsaw dealer and buy it .

It's specialty chain, but available.

Oregon 25F 'Sculptor' chain is available in 1/4" pitch from a lot of US vendors.


Oregon 91F (3/8" low profile) is sold in Asia.

"91F-46E 1 Motoiri so chain saw Chan 91F046E Chan so spare blade blade chain blade OREGON (Husqvarna H35-46E steel 63PM3-46) for the running out of Oregon chain saw spare blade bamboo"

Other brands (Carlton, TriLink, Archer, Forester, etc.) may be available in different markets.

There are always specialty uses ('Soft Metals'? This is an old ad, but the application may still apply?):

They spun those chains up a part at a time which would take forever .

That's pretty much how @Wilhelm got his!

With woodworking and circular saws, more teeth usually provide a smoother, but slower cut for finish work, and fewer teeth usually provide a faster, but coarser cut for rough work.

Philbert

 

[Bigmac]

A lot of plugging up can be based on what you are cutting and the condition of the chain .Partly dull ,buried making sawdust not all chips it will load up .Oak chips well ,soft maple does not .That's hardwoods .I have no idea about soft woods ,don't have any but yard trees .It's only once in a blue moon I cut a pine or spruce .

I have had a different experience, and maybe that’s the softwood part of it..but large chips will pack up they will get under the chain in the rails and you have to remove it and clear everything out. Here is a screenshot of a 125, look at the long chips coming out the far side of the log, there are some 3/4+ long chips! If the bar was buried it would have loaded up with chips in no time, probably in less that a 1’ to 1.5’ deep into a 36” bar cut

 

[Al Smith]

Long time ago at a GTG we were cutting 10" and 12" cottonwood cants .Just farting around I ran a 650 Mac geardrive with a 2 to 1 reduction that threw chips like a wood planer with 1/2" chipper chain .Brent Combs who was 16 or 17 years old at the time and had been around chainsaws all his life had never seen that .That old larger chipper would roll up a big old chip before the cutter rocked out .Brent BTW went on to be one of the best hotsaw operators in the eastern portion of the USA .At Chardon for example he out run piped saws with a muffler saw .That takes some talent .