Hours on a chain before needs sharpened

[junkman]

I have never paid attention before till i got an hour meter on the mill ,got 3 hours on a square chain before i felt it needed touched up ,was still cutting decent at that point ,but not self feeding ,did i do good ? or avg ?

 

[Warped5]

Yep, Brian's account is definitely hacked.

Poor guy.

 

[junkman]

Yep, Brian's account is definitely hacked.

Poor guy.

I bet the stock muffler made it last longer ,lol

 

[Jimmy in NC]

I think you are probably average. I have gone for all the cutting I want to do in a day and the chain still cut fine, normally 2.5-3 hours. If you keep it out of the dirt and rocks, they last pretty good.

 

[Definitive Dave]

milling for 3 hours without a touch up?!?!
sheeeeaaaiiiit I call shenanigans

 

[junkman]

milling for 3 hours without a touch up?!?!
sheeeeaaaiiiit I call shenanigans

.404 square is pretty durable actually Dave ,My outside corners were still pointy when i resharpened it ,wood was fresh fell ,not drug in dirt .

 

[jake wells]

yeap hacked i might get three tanks running full chisel round ground
in hardwoods

 

[Chainsaw Jim]

Maybe it took him three hours to burn three tanks?

 

[junkman]

Maybe it took him three hours to burn three tanks?

Roughly 10- 15 min milling to a tank in the 660 depending how wide the slab is .

 

[SawTroll]

I have never paid attention before till i got an hour meter on the mill ,got 3 hours on a square chain before i felt it needed touched up ,was still cutting decent at that point ,but not self feeding ,did i do good ? or avg ?

I don't know about ripping chain, but "normal" chain really needs to be sharpened before it is used at all. I know nothing about square chain though.

 

[bikemike]

.404 square is pretty durable actually Dave ,My outside corners were still pointy when i resharpened it ,wood was fresh fell ,not drug in dirt .

Must not be a oregon lol carlton or still both hold a edge for a while imo

 

[SawTroll]

Must not be a oregon lol carlton or still both hold a edge for a while imo

It is mandatory with Carlton to sharpen before use (it is crude chain, in more ways than that), not quite as much with Oregon or Stihl - but they still can be improved.

 

[Iron.and.bark]

Depending on what I am milling 15/20 mins max with 404

Feel distinctly jealous of 3 hours!

 

[fearofpavement]

I'd have to say there is no predictable time for a chain to stay sharp unless you're cutting debarked, clean wood of the same specie. I've had chains go dull before I got through one cut and other times I can go a couple tank fulls before they need sharpening. I usually touch them up at least every other fill up or as required. I don't think wood dulls the chain that much, it's the sand, dirt, foreign objects, etc that dulls them.

 

[MustangMike]

Brian, when I milled the Ash logs into post & beam for my cabin I did not know about square file and I have still never used 404. I was using a narrow kerf Rip Chain that Stihl makes specifically for Logosol (you can not buy it at a Stihl dealer). You need a 5/32 stone for them, and I got very used to using a 12V sharpener (much faster than doing it by hand).

I will tell you I never got anything close to that before they needed to be sharpened. If I did 2 20 minute cuts w/o it needing any sharpening, (approximate time to take one side off a 27' log) I was very happy. As soon as you sharpened it again, you could see a gain in cut speed. Regular RS chain did not cut as fast.

 

[treesmith]

I don't know about ripping chain, but "normal" chain really needs to be sharpened before it is used at all. I know nothing about square chain though.

And there was me thinking you'd be running Stihl chain...

[emoji23]


I find how long a chain stays sharp is also related to who sharpened it, there are boys at work who can get a chain really sharp but because they file free hand their angles are well off, my chains stay sharp much longer and I use a guide
,

 

[CR888]

I want my chains to stay sharp 3 hours . I got through a whole tank cutting Redgum and it was still cutting half OK. I was wrapped! Redgum is lot softer than what I normally cut. Full chisel chain sadly is off the menu.

 

[MustangMike]

I hand file, but I keep my angles conservative. My square file at 45/45 holds up well in Hardwood. I usually like to touch it after two tanks, but sometimes it will go for four. I like to touch it before I notice it has lost cutting ability.

 

[junkman]

Depending on what I am milling 15/20 mins max with 404

Feel distinctly jealous of 3 hours!

You must have dirty wood or real steep angles ,i was using ripping chain off the usg grinder ,but tried square one day ,full skip ,same chain i fall with or cut firewood ,at 15 degree top plate i am getting a decent finish with square ,i looked at my round and the cutting edge is thinner than my square and more fragile ,may be why the round is dulling faster ,cutting edge not as thick or strong ,granted i am cutting softwoods ,doug fir and western red cedar ,and it was freshly fell so wet inside still ,not a bit of dirt on the logs ,was moved with a skid loader with forks right away .
This is not the same chain ,but same grind angles i was using

 

[SawTroll]

And there was me thinking you'd be running Stihl chain...

[emoji23]


I find how long a chain stays sharp is also related to who sharpened it, there are boys at work who can get a chain really sharp but because they file free hand their angles are well off, my chains stay sharp much longer and I use a guide
,

I prefer Oregon LP/LPX, but happily use Stihl RS/RSC and Oregon LGX as well - and I prefer to not use a guide for the cutters. I use the progressive Husky guides for the rakers though - the ones that has a fixed depth setting and rides on two cutters are pretty useless, except on new chain.