Ripping Gives Finer Sawdust

[WarmGuy]

I had a few impossible-to-split pieces of wood, such as Y shaped logs, so I used my chainsaw to cut them. At one point I noticed that instead of little wood chips, it was throwing out finer saw dust. I thought "Wow, that chain got dull fast." and sharpened it, and then realized that that's what you get when you're ripping rather than cross-cutting.

Anyone else notice this?

 

[nshif]

Same applies to dimension lumber. When ripped it produces a much finer sawdust then when cross cut.

 

[Highbeam]

Then you can get the shredded cheese effect when cutting along the grain. Makes a huge pile of cheese.

 

[Sandor]

Special chains are available for ripping. I imagine they are mandatory for those who want to create lumber from logs with a chainsaw.