Dogging in vs self feeding - Tooth length too! The truth of it.

[Maintenance Chief]

@Jethro 2t sniffer whats your recipe for sharpening? You cut alot of Australian wood.

 

[davidwyby]

I’m in the camp of matching my chain to wood type. I wish I could run square but it would be dull way too quick for the type wood I cut. I would like to think there is video of a self feeding chain somewhere in wood just as petrified as that stuff you got down under, but maybe not. The moisture content of that log looks the be in the negative

Square can be ground durable.

 

[Woodwackr]

In my experience with NorCal “white” Euc that was dead and dry for 4yr plus, any attempt with chisel chain was a joke. (We pretty much have either red or white/pink and the red cuts like butter). Half way into a 24” round and it was sharpen time as the point quickly rounded. I learned quickly that semi-chisel was the only way to go…and, filed with very little hook or it would dull too quickly. This, of course, was before carbide chain came out. Even with quality semi I’d get maybe 3 rounds between sharpenings. (Stihl 066 west coast Red-eye, modded, 8+hp, 24” bar). Splitting that stuff was an equally insane project. My 8hp, 5” ram splitter would struggle and the only way to split it was to take small chunks off at a time. Any and all oak, dry or not, was no problem.
Ore hasn’t made semi chiz skip in some time so I have been using Carlton with good success in nasty dry or metal impregnated trees.
if I needed to cut this stuff now I would use full comp carbide chain re-filed to standard chain specs. I have done this for a customer (wood yard) who had a bunch of dirty logs to cut up. The standard grind that came on the chains was meant for demolition, not general wood cutting so was way too slow and required a lot of down force to cut. So, added hook, changed angle to 30* and dropped rakers to .030. The chain will now pull itself.
diamond wheel required…

whatever was cut in those vids ain’t what I’ve cut,

 

[ZERO]

I’m in the camp of matching my chain to wood type. I wish I could run square but it would be dull way too quick for the type wood I cut. I would like to think there is video of a self feeding chain somewhere in wood just as petrified as that stuff you got down under, but maybe not. The moisture content of that log looks the be in the negative

1+ Understanding the saw output, fiber to be cut, dryness of fiber, and the tooth/raker relationship took me a few years to grasp.
For hardwoods, a square profile will have a more efficient bite than a round profile, thus to the operator it will seem like the saw performs better/smoother.

Another concept that took me a while to realize is the importance of torque, something that our good friend Steve @Stump Shot lectured me over and over again. That concept became very clear when I had the 550 MK2 SSS torque monster 20" 325 square profile cutting a log just as yours, bone 7 year dry and knotty all over the place. Full bar in and I could not stall her. Let go of the throttle mid way, and she picks up right away.

That is not to say that a round profile cannot cut equally well.
I had a 5 year old Bolivian Cherry, that is some very hard wood to cut.
Only about 10" log, I had the T540 MK2 build by our good friend Mark @Crocky28, 043 325 round filed, I was taking the saw and chain to its limits, eliminating some build in safety features.
I was not ready, the saw bit in and almost left my hands. Glad I was wearing my full protective gear on that one.
No stalling on this one either, let go mid cut and she picks right up.

Both square and round profiles performed well in my dry woods, it all depends on what the operator prefers to run.

 

[Dolkitafreak]

A few hammer taps (something around 16~24 "Yank" ounces) on the end of the log would be interesting to hear.
I can see that this log looks pretty dry.
But I've often noticed you guys wood looks like cutting an old dry American utility pole.
Often even the chips/dust seem to come off like it even. Regardless of the chain!
Quite often looks to be some tough cutting wood in you guys vids.

p.s. What sort of cut and chips does noodling /lengthwise cut give?

p.p.s. I've got a small question for the Raceing Chain guys, if they see this. I'll wait to see if anyone address it.

What questions about race chains do you have?

 

[TheDarkLordChinChin]

I don't know what chains others use around the world but my experience here in Ireland is that Oregon chain isn't worth a *s-worde.
We only seem to be able to get one type of Oregon chain here, I forget what it's called but it always has this double guard raker set up.




It dulls way faster than Stihl chain, the metal is far softer. You can tell the difference in hardness between the two chains when you have been filing one for a while and switch to the other.
I find that Oregon chain goes "wood full" after just two or three tanks of fuel without hitting anything other than timber. Stihl chain hardly goes wood full at all unless you cut really hard dry stuff that had been lying down out of the rain for over a year. Oregon chain also stretches a lot quicker. I also found that on 3/8 chain the cutters are a lot taller on Oregon chain, whatever the significance of that is.

 

[Squareground3691]

I don't know what chains others use around the world but my experience here in Ireland is that Oregon chain isn't worth a *s-worde.
We only seem to be able to get one type of Oregon chain here, I forget what it's called but it always has this double guard raker set up.

View attachment 408449


It dulls way faster than Stihl chain, the metal is far softer. You can tell the difference in hardness between the two chains when you have been filing one for a while and switch to the other.
I find that Oregon chain goes "wood full" after just two or three tanks of fuel without hitting anything other than timber. Stihl chain hardly goes wood full at all unless you cut really hard dry stuff that had been lying down out of the rain for over a year. Oregon chain also stretches a lot quicker. I also found that on 3/8 chain the cutters are a lot taller on Oregon chain, whatever the significance of that is.

Oregon, unfortunately has been bought and sold a number of times in the last decade or so , materials and manufacturing have suffered, it’s nothing like the chain of old ,

 

[IffykidMn]

I’ve found it’s best to have the log parallel to the breeze. I’ll go to the trouble to pick up/move the log with the forklift. We really should be wearing dust masks.

The wood cracks and gets dust blown in. Pressure washing washes lots of dirt out…soaking the log pretty well keeps the dust down too.

Maybe a water supply off a concrete saw.

 

[TheDarkLordChinChin]

I don't know what chains others use around the world but my experience here in Ireland is that Oregon chain isn't worth a *s-worde.
We only seem to be able to get one type of Oregon chain here, I forget what it's called but it always has this double guard raker set up.

View attachment 408449


It dulls way faster than Stihl chain, the metal is far softer. You can tell the difference in hardness between the two chains when you have been filing one for a while and switch to the other.
I find that Oregon chain goes "wood full" after just two or three tanks of fuel without hitting anything other than timber. Stihl chain hardly goes wood full at all unless you cut really hard dry stuff that had been lying down out of the rain for over a year. Oregon chain also stretches a lot quicker. I also found that on 3/8 chain the cutters are a lot taller on Oregon chain, whatever the significance of that is.

2 hours and 3 tanks of fuel since I posted last when I was sharpening.
Didn't hit any rocks, metal or the ground. This is what happened.

 

[Squareground3691]

2 hours and 3 tanks of fuel since I posted last when I was sharpening.
Didn't hit any rocks, metal or the ground. This is what happened.



View attachment 408459

I run pretty much Stihl or Husky chain,

 

[davidwyby]

2 hours and 3 tanks of fuel since I posted last when I was sharpening.
Didn't hit any rocks, metal or the ground. This is what happened.



View attachment 408459

Three tanks is great! I get 1/2 or 1/4.


@IffykidMn on the water thing….i tried it one milling. It created a slurry that did not lube well. Like the cottonwood sap the gent posted about above.

 

[Loony661]

2 hours and 3 tanks of fuel since I posted last when I was sharpening.
Didn't hit any rocks, metal or the ground. This is what happened.



View attachment 408459

Same happens to me, and it’s very annoying. I’m in the habit now of filing the chain 2-3 strokes at each fuel up (2-3 trees worth) no matter what… When I used to run Stihl chain, it would last all day without being touched up if I did my part and avoided rocks, etc.

 

[TheDarkLordChinChin]

I run pretty much Stihl or Husky chain,

What is husky chain like?

Same happens to me, and it’s very annoying. I’m in the habit now of filing the chain 2-3 strokes at each fuel up (2-3 trees worth) no matter what… When I used to run Stihl chain, it would last all day without being touched up if I did my part and avoided rocks, etc.

That's what I do when I'm the whole day felling even with Stihl chain. Moss holds a lot of dirt.

 

[Squareground3691]

What is husky chain like?

That's what I do when I'm the whole day felling even with Stihl chain. Moss holds a lot of dirt.

Husky X Cut , C-83 is very good quality

 

[legdelimber]

What questions about race chains do you have?

Dolkitafreak. I got a close family member who went into the critical care unit late Sun night.
Let me come back to this when things are a bit more sorted out.

 

[Dolkitafreak]

Dolkitafreak. I got a close family member who went into the critical care unit late Sun night.
Let me come back to this when things are a bit more sorted out.

You can always message too! Hope everything goes well.

 

[IffykidMn]

2 hours and 3 tanks of fuel since I posted last when I was sharpening.
Didn't hit any rocks, metal or the ground. This is what happened.



View attachment 408459

Left side of the chain looks like it took a lot more abuse for some reason?

 

[drumbum]

I have a question in relation to hard wood as in this thread.......

Last summer I was finishing splitting about 8 +(IIRC) cords and got tired of splitting crotches and knots to a stringy mis-shapen blob of wood.

Went through several saw rotations fer the heck of it and ended staying with three Poulan 5020's that I changed to .325 NK 18" bars......

The point of this being,.....several times noodling crotchy rounds down,....The chain would stop dead, at full song, and stall engine....like I hit a block of steel. VIOLENT!

Seriously concerning, knowing the weak crank at clutch end.....

Nothing found in the wood and no damage to chain. Just super hard, dense oak knots that could be polished to look like a chunk of bowling ball.

Have you ever experienced this?

 

[Woodwackr]

I have a question in relation to hard wood as in this thread.......

Last summer I was finishing splitting about 8 +(IIRC) cords and got tired of splitting crotches and knots to a stringy mis-shapen blob of wood.

Went through several saw rotations fer the heck of it and ended staying with three Poulan 5020's that I changed to .325 NK 18" bars......

The point of this being,.....several times noodling crotchy rounds down,....The chain would stop dead, at full song, and stall engine....like I hit a block of steel. VIOLENT!

Seriously concerning, knowing the weak crank at clutch end.....

Nothing found in the wood and no damage to chain. Just super hard, dense oak knots that could be polished to look like a chunk of bowling ball.

Have you ever experienced this?

Never had a saw just stop but have cut plenty of wood like that

 

[Loony661]

I have a question in relation to hard wood as in this thread.......

Last summer I was finishing splitting about 8 +(IIRC) cords and got tired of splitting crotches and knots to a stringy mis-shapen blob of wood.

Went through several saw rotations fer the heck of it and ended staying with three Poulan 5020's that I changed to .325 NK 18" bars......

The point of this being,.....several times noodling crotchy rounds down,....The chain would stop dead, at full song, and stall engine....like I hit a block of steel. VIOLENT!

Seriously concerning, knowing the weak crank at clutch end.....

Nothing found in the wood and no damage to chain. Just super hard, dense oak knots that could be polished to look like a chunk of bowling ball.

Have you ever experienced this?

Yep, happens all the time when noodling oak crotches when I buck logs and shape accordingly. That grain is so dense, and going 2 different directions at minimum, and it binds the chain in a hurry.