When is a Chain at End of Life

[WinterDeere]

I suspect that, scaled for inflation, chains must be much cheaper today than 40-50 years ago. Increases in offshore manufacturing and automation essentially ensure that.

As to how far to take them down, it seems to me nearly every chain I have ever owned has a scribe mark across the top of each tooth, that I've always assumed was the "end of life" indicator. Your chain, just guessing from the photo, must be right at that mark on most teeth if not beyond it on a few.

Keeping one or two along with an old bar around for "dirty" jobs, probably isn't a bad idea, for some. But I never cut roots with my saws, what I can't get with a hatchet or shovel is hired out to friends with stump grinders or excavators.

 

[xyz123]

My experience is opposite the OP. Back in the old days saw chains were expensive and difficult to get. You used them until pretty worn out. Nowadays they are cheap and easy to buy online. I sharpen them until 1/2 worn down and toss them.

No sense in being penny wise and pound foolish.

Just lower your rakers or drags whatever you want to call them. Depending where from. Just set them right as you file the cutter back.

But half is where a chain starts cutting good IMHO.

Why you think race chain is taken to the back rivet area. Where they start cutting best and chip clearance etc.

New chain I took back to there on purpose.

 

[xyz123]

At end root cutter chains.

Now I have stihl carbide chains so dont have to keep sharpening them.

 

[WinterDeere]

Just lower your rakers or drags whatever you want to call them. Depending where from. Just set them right as you file the cutter back.

But half is where a chain starts cutting good IMHO.

I also take my depth gauges (“rakers”) down below stock, but when you have a forum full of relative notices recommending 20” bars on tiny 50cc saws, that doesn’t work so well. Every thousandth of an inch you reduce that raker height increases the bite accordingly, and takes a little more horsepower to drag it thru the cut.

When people think I’m nuts for recommending a bar no larger than 18” on a 63cc saws, it’s because I’m filing my rakers 20% below stock for a faster cut, and often cutting large diameter hardwoods with the nose of the bar buried. All of that really increases horsepower demand for a given bar length.

Why you think race chain is taken to the back rivet area. Where they start cutting best and chip clearance etc.

Some of those saws have more horsepower than small motorcycles.

 

[Jstpssng]

I had 7 teeth left on my chain and the foreman told me to keep cutting. He barely got out of sight before the bar tip blew up.

 

[blehmann]

They are shot when the rivet holes have worn to the point that the pin to pin length is long enough to start wearing out your drive sprocket. Chains are fairly cheap, if you shop around. Don't bother with the big box stores or most outdoor equipment shops. I bought a half dozen Oregon chains for about a hundred dollars. There probably will be a couple new ones in the chainsaw tackle box when I'm too old to cut wood.

 

[Little Red Tractor]

I guess I'm the odd man out on this thread, as I have my chains sharpened commercially. I did a lot of hand sharpening in my younger days and have had enough of it.

Also, I have enough chains on hand to keep me running and can take two or three in at a time. My shop charges a reasonable rate and the chains last me quite a long time. Since I often cut Christmas trees, right at ground level, one side of my chains are often worse than the other, so the machine sharpening tends to keep them more even than doing it by hand.

 

[TugHillDog]

Filing the same number of strokes on each side seems to be a myth to me. I sharpen each side until each cutter is fully parallel to the etch mark on the cutter and the gullet is sharp. The saw cuts straight. Learnt in the Buckin' Billy Ray youtube school.

And when ther is not tooth left to sharpen, its time to think about replacement. But I don't mind missing a tooth or 3 on a chain if the other teeth still cut. But I typically have a new chain in the saw box in case...

 

[xyz123]

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.

 

[Hoho223]

Back in "ye olde days" chainsaw chains were cheap and many folk who didn't know how to sharpen a chain or couldn't be bothered would just buy a new one when they got blunt.

These days decent chains aren't cheap.

I'm no pro or expert but cut a fair bit of firewood from fallen trees mainly and they are mostly quite dirty so sharpen my chains after every tank and do the maintenance on my dozen or so collection of old saws.

There's a lot of info (good and bad) about sharpening chains on the internet. I just use files in a holder to do the cutters and do the rakers with a burr in a Dremel by eye, no guides or gauges or 2 in 1s. The experts say each cutter should only get a certain number of strokes with the file and each cutter must be kept at the same length but when my chains hit a rock or some dirt any damaged cutters get filed just as much as needed.

Anyhows often friends and neighbours ask when has a chain got to a stage that isn't worth sharpening so thought to show one of my chains which was still chomping nicely through hardwood but is now ready to throw into the metal scrap bin. I reckon I got my money's worth.


View attachment 3849045View attachment 3849047View attachment 3849048

Looks like you are massaging the logs with you “saw”.