Old hard wood trees and chanisaw

I have a bunch of dry hardwood tree's that I need to chop up. They have been laying out in the sun for about 4 years, the bark is long gone.
My problem is that it make my Chainsaw dull after only a few minutes of cutting. Any suggestions would be appreciated.
 
(quoted from post at 14:14:01 09/09/14) I have a bunch of dry hardwood tree's that I need to chop up. They have been laying out in the sun for about 4 years, the bark is long gone.
My problem is that it make my Chainsaw dull after only a few minutes of cutting. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

Obtain a couple of extra spare chisel chains from your local saw shop . Instead of the lawyer approved anti kickback chain the saw was sold with .
When dull have the chains machine sharpened back to new performance instead of trying to hand sharpen the chains.
 
What kid of trees? That makes a big difference.

A couple of years ago, I sawed up a 60 year old pi$$ elm tree a year after it died. I think I spent more time sharpening chains than I did sawing.

On the other hand, I've sawed up dead oak, ash, and walnut, and sawed all day without sharpening a chain.
 
Take your files with you and when they start to dull hand sharpen them. If your saw has an adjustale oiler up the oil to chain. Another thing you could do is buy a chain with carbide teeth but you have to send them away to get them sharppened when they get dull.
 
What species is it or the majority of it ? I know dry wood will dull a chain faster than live/green wood, but I do quite a bit of it, elm, black cherry, hard and soft maple, that has been dead or left in log length awhile, the latter does still hold some moisture which helps. Dry tops of elm seem to be the worst of the bunch as that does dry right out, but the diameter is smaller, seems I get my fair shake out of a sharpening, unless I hit dirt, rock or metal. I'm using yellow marked Stihl chain, nothing special, just not the anti-kickback green chain, does well for firewood cutting around here.
 
Buy quality chain. I used the cheap twin pack Oregon chain and sharpened the chain every fuel fill up. Nothing wrong with hand filing if you follow the directions. I can sharpen a short chain in less time than I can remove and replace one. I never liked machine sharpening unless the chain was severely dull. I have been using chain saws since 1956
 
I cut dead Elm quite a lot, with no problem. The only time I have heard of that problem is with Ironwood, and we don't have that in N MN. Do you have a lot of blowing dust that could be abrasive?
 
Hello tractormarkb,

Like others said, get a chisel chain. Lot more aggressive cut, but that is what you need. Also get oil through that saw! Thin oil with kero or fuel oil if you have to. If you give it full throttle you should see oil squirting out. Pump the manual oil at every cut if you have one. Also, you will have to cut at a much less pressure then green would, and be careful of high speed full throttle. ,

Guido.
 

Here are a few random thoughts from a guy who's run a saw for a day or two.

A full-chisel chain will dull faster than a semi-chisel. Use full-chisel in clean wood, semi in dirty wood (stumps for example).

Another fellow mentioned blowing dust - if these trees lived on the edge of a field all their lives, they probably have field dust all through them, which will dull a chain quick.

You'll find that Stihl chains last about the longest of any commonly available chains. Oregon and others are in second place.

Carbide chains are an option, but an expensive one. I've never had to use one, and hope I never do.

Some farmers I know use motor oil (used and new) for bar oil. Don't do that -- it doesn't stick to the chain well enough at high RPM. Soak up the expense and buy the Stihl or other purpose-made bar oil.

We occasionally run into Osage Oranges, also called Hedge Apples, around here. They're second to none for BTU output but are hard enough that you'll get the occasional spark from your chain when cutting through them. But boy is the heat good in the winter.
 
We had to cut a pile of dirty wood last winter for our orders... wood that had been setting in a bog after it was cut, covered in water and it was just simply entrained with dirt/dust/rocks.
We dulled chain after chain, all full chisel. Semi-chisel is slightly more hardy. It would make 2 cuts instead of 1. Ended up getting a carbide coated chain. Not a full carbide cutter... just tungsten carbide coating on a standard chain. This chain is about twice the money of your standard chisel chain. Full carbide cutters... that's expensive.
The coated chain worked well in this application. It does dull but since it's only coated it can still be hand sharpened with a file. IIRC, we were cutting about a cord per sharpening. Chain might have done 15-20 cord or so. Just make a point of sharpening it once you notice it starting to dull. We're running it on a processor and that will wreck a bar in about 20 seconds if you force it with dull chain...

Rod
 
Forget chisel chains. You are depending on the "point" to start all the cut. SO as soon as that point is dull the chains will not cut well.

Get a good hardened regular tooth chain. The entire curved edge cuts. So you have a lot more area working so it will stay sharper longer.

I have some shag bark hickory on my place. That bark will knock the point of a chisel chain in about 4-5 cuts if the log is dead or frozen. Also if there is any dirt, gravel or debris on the log the chisel chain will dull fast.

So I have had the best long term results with GOOD hardened regular chains. One key is to keep them sharp. I usually change them out as soon as they don't cut well. This way you can keep your bar and saw from struggling pulling/pushing a dull chain through the wood.

I never have had much luck hand filing a chain. It may last a few more cuts after that but not real long. So I just sharpen them with a chain grinder. When the tooth/chain is not dulled back real far it does not take very long to touch a chain up. IF you wear it back and do a poor job filling it then it takes longer to sharpen the chain.
 
If you are chopping the wood up you should't be getting a chain dull. Only the ax would get dull. I cut my wood with a chain saw.
Sounds like your wood was rolled in the dirt and that will dull your chain fast. Most wood will not dull your chain dry or wet.
Brian
 
I suspect you've got a chain-quality problem unless those trees are covered with dirt and gravel. I cut up a bunch of very-old red oak and pignut-hickory awhile back. It had been on the ground for over 10 years. Hardwood doesn't get much harder then pignut hickory and I cut it all up with some semi-chisel chain I got from Bailey's on sale. I also don't agree with any complaints about chisel, semi-chisel - versus round chipper when it comes to actual cutting. Yes - chisel relies more on that sharp point and dulls faster if it hits debris. If not though, it can cut a lot faster in hardwood then round chipper.
 
I use nothing but used Shell Rotella 15W-40 on all
my saw chains. Been doing that for many years.
Never bought new "bar" oil in my life. Also have
zero bar and chain lube problems including my
Shihl 045 Suoer with a 30" bar. I can see maybe
having an issue if a saw had a small volume pump
and no output adjustment.
 
(quoted from post at 13:16:45 09/10/14) I use nothing but used Shell Rotella 15W-40 on all
my saw chains. Been doing that for many years.
Never bought new "bar" oil in my life. Also have
zero bar and chain lube problems including my
Shihl 045 Suoer with a 30" bar. I can see maybe
having an issue if a saw had a small volume pump
and no output adjustment.

Jdemaris,

From what I've seen, you're one of the few people on here who when they say something, it can pretty much be taken to the bank. I don't say that lightly - there are about 10 people on the internet whose words I trust and you are one of them.

However, no offense meant but I'm going to agree to disagree with you on this one.

Bar oil has the tack to it to stay on a chain, in the pivots and down in the bar groove while running at high RPM where engine oil is slung out of the bar groove and out of the pivots, reducing lubrication and increasing wear. The problem is made worse by modern saws' higher chain speed. For example, your 045 (great saw by the way -- I had an 056 Mag II once upon a time) tops out at several thousand RPM less than my MS660.

Symptoms of improper oil type being used include more wear in the bar groove and fairly regular tightening needed on the chain as it wears at the pivots. Casual users or people who're only cutting up firewood now and then may not even notice the difference, but it's there.

Not to say that there isn't one out there somewhere, but I've never worked for any logging company or arborist who didn't use real bar oil. Heck, for what Rotella T is going for these days, you might as well buy a gallon of Stihl bar oil anyway.
 
(quoted from post at 09:16:45 09/10/14) I use nothing but used Shell Rotella 15W-40 on all
my saw chains. Been doing that for many years.
Never bought new "bar" oil in my life. Also have
zero bar and chain lube problems including my
Shihl 045 Suoer with a 30" bar. I can see maybe
having an issue if a saw had a small volume pump
and no output adjustment.

I was going to say that's some darn expensive bar oil, but on reflection realized it's a lot LESS expensive than bar oil. Myself, I'm still buying whatever bar oil is on sale and mixing it with drain oil. Seems to work.
 
T and B&D pretty much covered the "back yard consumer type" anti-kickback chains. If you have one on the saw take it off the saw throw it on the ground, jump on it, and then throw it as far as you can.

Everybody else had pretty much covered the advantage/disadvantage angle of the two most common types of real saw chain.

You state you are being careful about dirt/rocks. Elm isn't any tougher to saw than any other hardwood and the length of time it has been down shouldn't make that much difference.


I'm going to throw something out here that hasn't been covered as a possiblity. Have you checked your rakers (depth gages)? A chain that has a few hours on it will seem like it is dull and won't cut and you keep sharpening the chain and it still doesn't cut properly usually means you rakers need to be filed down because they are preventing the tooth from taking a decent cut. On saws under 5hp. .035-.040 is enough. On 5hp and larger .045-.050 is about right for most conditions. Your preference may vary a bit, but those are good quidelines to start out with.

If your raker clearance is under .030, it doesn't matter what type of chain you use or how sharp the chain is, it isn't gonna cut for crap. I have a neat little gage that is adjustable from .015 to .075 that I use to file the rakers with.
 
One other thing while I think of it, too. Chain saw files (especially the cheaper ones) don't last all that long. If the file is the least little bit dull, trying to get a chain sharp is an exorcise in frustration.
 

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