Chain dull in two hours?

[nrc]

I have some three foot diameter by ~21 inch thick Ash rounds that I finally decided to get rid of. The Home Depot rental splitter wouldn't go through them so I decided to start noodling them with a chainsaw as I've seen suggested here.

I have an 18" Craftsman saw so it's a lot of work but it's yielding some very nice chunks of wood. These have been on the ground three or four years so they're at <15% MC and burn really nicely.

The trouble is after two hours of work my chain seems fully dull and I'm making sawdust. I picked up the recommend Oregon S62 replacement chain, and went for round two. I was very careful to let the chain do the work and keep it out of the dirt. Same result - dull after two hours.

Is this typical? I'm fully an amateur at this but I've cut a lot of smaller Ash branches and rounds and never dulled this quickly. Is it just that the heartwood in these large rounds from the trunk is harder?

I guess I'm going to have to hone my sharpening skills. Or maybe sharpen my honing skills.

 

[DodgyNomad]

If they've been on the ground 3 or 4 years, I'm betting theirs a lot of dirt/and debris embedded in them. If you look at soil under a microscope, it's made up of lots of tiny, abrasive rocks.

That's what's likely dulling your chain more quickly than you like.

Try to get the logs up a bit, and if you have access to a stiff broom or brush, knock off any heavy dirt that you might have to cut through. It helps.

 

[SeanBB]

Ash seems to get much harder the more it seasons. I had some ash rounds that had been at the bottom of a stack for a few years and the maul just bounced off them.

 

[kevin j]

not unusual. Two hours is a lot of cutting. I usually put a couple file strokes on the chain every two tanks or so

 

[bholler]

Yeah I would be pretty happy with 2 hours of cutting out of a chain.

 

[Tar12]

2 hours of noodling is pretty good! The Stihl 2-n-1 sharpener is your friend...buy it and master it!

 

[DodgyNomad]

2 hours of noodling is pretty good! The Stihl 2-n-1 sharpener is your friend...buy it and master it!

That's the first thing that came to mind when I read the original post. You typed what I was going to type last night, almost verbatim.

2 hours is pretty good for wood that's been laying on the ground. Stihl 2 in 1 for the win.

 

[JimBear]

2 hours of noodling is pretty good! The Stihl 2-n-1 sharpener is your friend...buy it and master it!

Speaking of mastering it. How goes the square grind learning curve?

 

[nrc]

Great feedback, guys. I feel better knowing that's not atypical. Yes, there's some dirt on these but usually I can just peel the bark off where I'm working. The way the Ash borer infested these trees it's falling off anyway.

YouTubed the Stihl 2-n-1 sharpener and that looks perfect.

 

[peakbagger]

The best trick to a sharp chain is drop the tree on snow and buck it in place. The snow doesn't dull the chain and keeps the chain out of the dirt. I know folks who used to pick log landings after a harvest. The wood that was left was usually full of dirt. I have seen folks have to pressure wash logs there was so much dirt on them. A definitely risk when buying a truck load of logs as the loggers will sometimes get that last buck out of job by selling the dirty stuff.

 

[rowerwet]

back when everything was done with a two man or single buck saw, you cleared away the bark from the cut with a "spud" because bark dulls the saw.
a hatchet would do the job, but really, 2 hours is longer than I would go on my 20" or 24" saws between sharpening. I hit my chain with the Pferd 2 in 1 sharpener every other tank of fuel at most.

 

[SpaceBus]

As others have stated, two hours is a long time cutting, especially with a 50-ish cc saw. My 460 feels like an anvil after cutting all day. I'm glad to have picked up a tiny Stihl 150 for limbing duty and just using the 460 for bucking and felling (when needed). I'm getting up to five chains now, so I'll probably get an electric sharpener.

 

[maple1]

You're sure you're noodling - and not ripping?

 

[GadDummit]

I had a huge 4 - 5 foot thick maple that dulled mine in about 1 hour. You're doing just fine! Just get a sharpener like everyone said and you'll have something to do during those breaks, haha. I have the Timberline sharpener and it's screwproof even for an arthritic bastard like me.

 

[MissMac]

I have some three foot diameter by ~21 inch thick Ash rounds that I finally decided to get rid of. The Home Depot rental splitter wouldn't go through them so I decided to start noodling them with a chainsaw as I've seen suggested here.

I have an 18" Craftsman saw so it's a lot of work but it's yielding some very nice chunks of wood. These have been on the ground three or four years so they're at <15% MC and burn really nicely.

The trouble is after two hours of work my chain seems fully dull and I'm making sawdust. I picked up the recommend Oregon S62 replacement chain, and went for round two. I was very careful to let the chain do the work and keep it out of the dirt. Same result - dull after two hours.

Is this typical? I'm fully an amateur at this but I've cut a lot of smaller Ash branches and rounds and never dulled this quickly. Is it just that the heartwood in these large rounds from the trunk is harder?

I guess I'm going to have to hone my sharpening skills. Or maybe sharpen my honing skills.

if you're ripping wood, then you want to use a ripping chain. otherwise it will be really hard on your chain and your bar. also dirt on the wood will really dull your chain quickly. always a good idea to give your teeth a couple of quick strokes frequently rather than waiting until you're shooting out ferry dust.

 

[bholler]

I always just carry extra chains with me. I dont like to waste time sharpening in the feild when i can do it in the shop sitting on a stool infront of the chain grinder. Yes doing it thatway shortens the life of the chain but it saves so much time it is well worth it to me

 

[Woodsplitter67]

Id be upset if i had a chain go dull in 2 hours. I just sharpened a chain this past weekend that iv been using sence january. Iv touched up the chain 3xs with a hand file.
Wood thats been on the ground sucks to cut as alot of times theres alot of dirt on the rounds
One key thing is that as soon as you think the chain is getting dull run the file on it and touch it up.. the duller the chain gets the harder it is to bring back

 

[Corey]

Dunno, two hours seems pretty good to me - especially in a hard wood, and noodling where it's harder to rock the saw. In hedge, I can definitely tell some performance drop after a tank of gas or two. Sure, in small rounds you can rock back-n-forth to keep a point contact, high 'per tooth' loads and decent cutting. But noodling always seems to lead to long flat saw cuts, load spread out over a bunch of teeth and slower cutting.

If using any power sharpening, be sure not to blue the teeth with heat, that will take out some of the hardness and make them dull faster. But I usually hit the chain after every tank of gas or two.

Also - what is up with a splitter than can't do a 20" round? Must have been something wrong with that splitter - hope you got your money back!

 

[bholler]

Id be upset if i had a chain go dull in 2 hours. I just sharpened a chain this past weekend that iv been using sence january. Iv touched up the chain 3xs with a hand file.
Wood thats been on the ground sucks to cut as alot of times theres alot of dirt on the rounds
One key thing is that as soon as you think the chain is getting dull run the file on it and touch it up.. the duller the chain gets the harder it is to bring back

It really depends how much you cut in that time. In 2 hours I will have gone through 5 or 6 tanks of gas. And I switch chains about every hour of cutting.

Btw I haven't sharpened a chain since jan either but that's just because my saw has just been sitting on the bench.

 

[SpaceBus]

It really depends how much you cut in that time. In 2 hours I will have gone through 5 or 6 tanks of gas. And I switch chains about every hour of cutting.

Btw I haven't sharpened a chain since jan either but that's just because my saw has just been sitting on the bench.

I've got three chains to sharpen and haven't run the saw since Jan either. I go back and forth with getting an electric sharpener.

 

[bholler]

I've got three chains to sharpen and haven't run the saw since Jan either. I go back and forth with getting an electric sharpener.

I like the electric sharpener. It saves a ton of time. But you do have to be carefull you dont burn the chain or it will dull very fast.

 

[blacktail]

When comparing the chain's performance to when you cut branches and small logs, just think about how much work your chain is doing. Bigger wood requires your chain to remove a lot more material per minute.

 

[Woodsplitter67]

It really depends how much you cut in that time. In 2 hours I will have gone through 5 or 6 tanks of gas. And I switch chains about every hour of cutting.

Btw I haven't sharpened a chain since jan either but that's just because my saw has just been sitting on the bench.

Iv been doing alot of cutting sence january.. i didnt post what i cut.. iv cut well over 4 cords to rounds and now have 2.5 cords in log lenth and a bunch of other miscellaneous cutting. I would estimate that i have atleast a mimium of 12 hourd on that chain. It could have kept going, but i had the time to clean up the saw, so i did a full service.

I dont think id be super happy if i would have had to change my chain 6 times over the course of that time.

 

[bholler]

Iv been doing alot of cutting sence january.. i didnt post what i cut.. iv cut well over 4 cords to rounds and now have 2.5 cords in log lenth and a bunch of other miscellaneous cutting. I would estimate that i have atleast a mimium of 12 hourd on that chain. It could have kept going, but i had the time to clean up the saw, so i did a full service.

I dont think id be super happy if i would have had to change my chain 6 times over the course of that time.

What wood are you cutting? What chain are you running? I have neer heard of anyone cutting that long with that little sharpening.

 

[maple1]

Yes, 12 hours on one sharpening seems pretty out there, even for clean as a whistle softwood. I am usually touching mine up every second tank, and that's if I don't knick the ground or otherwise get into something dirty. Might get the third tank in if I'm lucky.