When is a Chain at End of Life

[Hoho223]

Nope no need to be perfect unless your into selling chain to folks. I see some crazy stuff come in from folks. Way out of wack and not even close.

Sometimes chains come in and a guy has a few really messed up.

IMHO no reason to take them all back to the shortest cutter. I just mark them and do those if 1 or 2 by themselves.

An uncle of my b.i.l. used to work for Monkey Ward. He sharpened his own chains. I asked him to sharpen mine. He did and also ground down the “drag teeth” as he called them. Said they were not needed. Bad idea?

 

[xyz123]

Ya bad idea IMHO. Set them as needed for wood being cut and saw being used.

SMH at folks that still do that.

 

[xyz123]

Straight from a husky.

The height difference between the position of the depth gauge and the tip of the tooth (depth gauge clearance) determines how much the cutting tooth will cut. It works much like a plane. When a plane is set up with minimal cutting blades, it cuts a very small amount of wood. The same thing happens with the saw chain if the distance between the depth gauge clearance lip and the tip of the tooth is too small. Also, it’s never good if the depth gauge clearance lip has been filed down too much. This will make the cutting tooth cut too deeply into the wood. The cut will then be more aggressive with high vibrations as a result. The risk of kickback increases and the chainsaw is exposed to unnecessary stress.

 

[Fields_mj]

I heat with firewood and cut mostly Hickory with some occasional oak, locust, and white ash mixed in. I've found that I usually break a tooth off before I get down to the indicator marks on the top plates, but that really depends on the saw. 45-50cc saws not so much, but 60cc saws with .325 chain yes. Once I break a tooth, the chain goes in the trash. When it starts getting "close" I set it aside for stump'n.

I've used hand files, dremels, and carbide burs to sharpen my chains over the years. When I hand file, I use the guides like the OP has. If I don't I've found that I have a tendency to let the file go a little too deep. It produces a really sharp edge, but the edge dulls pretty quick. Those guides ride on the top plate and keep me from making that mistake.

For the past few years, I've been using a Timberline sharpener that uses a carbide cutter/bur. Several years ago, my dad had given me an old Arnold Precision sharpener that he got back in the 70s. It used the same carbide cutters as the Timberline, but his cutter was dull and he stopped using it because he couldn't find replacements. His 3/16 cutter still had some life in it so I used that on my .325 chains for a while. When he gave it to me, the Timberline wasn't out yet. I looked into having some custom carbide burs made, but it wasn't going to be cost effective for the small quantities that I would need. The Arnold Precision has a lot more adjustment to it, but the simpler design of the Timberline makes it a lot more cost effective to build. I can't imagine what the Arnold Precision would cost today. If it I didn't already have the Arnold, I wouldn't have spent the money for the Timberline, but I'm glad that I did. I think there are some Chinese knockoffs of the Timberline available for a lot less. Often times, the pictures of the clones have the Timberline name and log on them (ie some of the pics aren't even pictures of their own device). If you buy a clone, pay attention to ANY possible differences to the Timberline. You want to make absolutely certain that the guides will accept a carbide cutter with a 1/4" shank. I put the cutter/bur in my cordless drill and run it on low speed. It leaves an absolutely RAZOR sharp edge, its quick, there's NO heat build up, and it keeps the same angle and depth on all the teeth. The only thing I really needed to do to it was to drill the guides out and install a 1/4" hardened drill bushing. The (replaceable) guides on the Timberline are aluminum and it doesn't' take long for that round hole in the aluminum guide to become an oval. They offer them now with a bronze bushing installed, but the hardened drill bushings that I installed are MUCH better. The only warning I'll give is NEVER spin the carbide bur backwards. It will instantly chip the teeth on the burr. Also don't drop them. They are VERY brittle. You can get replacement carbide cutters on ebay from the same company that makes them for Timberline. I need to get 6-8 them (lifetime supply) in the sizes I use so I'll have them if they ever go out of business. I've gone through 4 chains with them and only worn out 1 cutter, and that was largely because I spun it backwards by hand shortly after I got it.

 

[WinterDeere]

IMHO no reason to take them all back to the shortest cutter. I just mark them and do those if 1 or 2 by themselves.

You touch more saws and chain that probably any of us, so you definitely have better methods worked out from sheer repetition. But for a DIY'er / home user, I'm cutting a crap-ton of wood, 10-20 cords per year. This makes my time a big factor in each step of the operation.

So, excepting some very rare case of one tooth somehow way shorter than the rest, I simply eyeball the shortest cutter I can find (quickly check with dial calipers) when setting up a chain on the grinder. Then I set the grinder to that tooth, and just knock all of them back to that same length. I find that faster than re-adjusting the grinder for a few teeth that are of different length than the rest.

If there were a chain where just one or two that are way shorter than the rest, I guess I'd do them individually, but otherwise I find it faster to just set all the same.

 

[bgr]

There are very good combination sharpeners which cut the raker and the depth gauge at the same time. Don't require you to be an expert with a gauge and a vise. You can sharpen a chain on the saw in 10 minutes. I use a Stihl version, but German Pferd makes one too. I get about 12 to 13 sharpenings on a 3/8 low profile chain before discarding it.

I paid about $45 for one, but they use regular files which you can replace. Stihl sells the square file for them by itself, too. Very good to have, as you can use it in the field to sharpen a chain on the bar and have it cut very well. You do have to buy one for each specific chain size you use.

 

[mjonesnh]

There are very good combination sharpeners which cut the raker and the depth gauge at the same time. Don't require you to be an expert with a gauge and a vise. You can sharpen a chain on the saw in 10 minutes. I use a Stihl version, but German Pferd makes one too. I get about 12 to 13 sharpenings on a 3/8 low profile chain before discarding it.

I paid about $45 for one, but they use regular files which you can replace. Stihl sells the square file for them by itself, too. Very good to have, as you can use it in the field to sharpen a chain on the bar and have it cut very well. You do have to buy one for each specific chain size you use.

Have the Pferd version. So easy to hit cutter 2-3 times and drop the raker down a little at same time. Picked mine up on Ebay a few years ago for $28. Some of the best money I have spent for saw maintenance

 

[xyz123]

You touch more saws and chain that probably any of us, so you definitely have better methods worked out from sheer repetition. But for a DIY'er / home user, I'm cutting a crap-ton of wood, 10-20 cords per year. This makes my time a big factor in each step of the operation.

So, excepting some very rare case of one tooth somehow way shorter than the rest, I simply eyeball the shortest cutter I can find (quickly check with dial calipers) when setting up a chain on the grinder. Then I set the grinder to that tooth, and just knock all of them back to that same length. I find that faster than re-adjusting the grinder for a few teeth that are of different length than the rest.

If there were a chain where just one or two that are way shorter than the rest, I guess I'd do them individually, but otherwise I find it faster to just set all the same.

See if I did that on some of these guys chains that would take a basically newer chain and take it back at least a 1/3 of it's life. Not worth it to do that to their chain.
Then you have several passes so not to over heat cutters with a big bite.
You just want to kiss the cutters.

Can have most chains done on grinder with adjustments, with rakers done in 10min range give or take so isnt really a time thing IMHO.

Not going to waste a guys chain like that being lazy IMHO.

Most chains I would say 90% are the normal way. Start with shortest and rest right there with it. Do all the same.

 

[mjonesnh]

All the chains that I use have a scribe line on them, When the cutter gets to that line I toss it. Cutters breaking off chain is not something I want to be around.