Breaking chains

[jwillett2009]

Guys, I've been milling pretty near every weekend of the last two months with my Mark III Alaskan CSM. I'm sawing hemlock mostly for an order to build a post and beam horse barn. I'm running my mill with a Stihl MS660.

To get a break off the mill or if I've got less time to work certain days, I am also cutting firewood for this fall. It's for myself and is 1/2 and 1/2 white birch and sugar maple.

In 20+ years working part time forestry, in sawmills, and with my dad (very small scale with ponies)... I had never broken a chain on my saw. I had knocked a few off but never cleanly broke one right off. Well last week, I broke one one my firewood saw (455 husky). Chalked it up to bad luck. I reviewed the cut, nothing foreign in the log.... So I moved on.

Last night I'm cutting with the mill (making boards out of the hemlock slabs) and I break another chain. Now I'm not so sure it's bad luck anymore. I bought both chains from my local Stihl dealer who sells Oregon... So it shouldnt be cheap crap.

Where the chain broke on both of them the metal looks dull, almost like when you break cast. I'm wondering if might be bad batch..... Ever heard of anything like that ???

Btw, both chains were fairly new, sharpened each no more than 5 or 6 times. I look forward to hearing your opinions my friends.

Jamie

[Kansas]

You might talk to the Stihl dealer and see if anyone else has had complaints. Also if you know any loggers or such that get chain from him. They would have to be using the same chain as you are. In all the time we have run chainsaws, I can't really remember breaking a chain. It may have happened, but its very rare.

[customsawyer]

I have broken a few but they were very well used before they broke.

[terrifictimbersllc]

I've broken new chains by chain sawing logs on the mill. Inadvertently touching the mill with the chain, after the saw breaks through the wood,  seems to snap them in an instant. 

[tyb525]

I've only broke one chain, it was well used also.

[barbender]

I've only broken one, after I pinched it really bad and pried it out of the cut. My fault.

[jwillett2009]

I stopped today and the dealer agreed to repair both chains no charge. They told me they had received one other complaint this week re: broken chain.

[sawguy21]

Is the dealer buying loops from Stihl or making his own off rolls? They will break if not properly joined.

[jwillett2009]

This stihl dealer is also the Oregon rep. I believe both were Oregon. The chain of my firewood saw may have been shortened by them if I remember right. They didn't have mine on the shelf so they shortened a longer one for me. The second was a ripping chain that came with my 660.

Theyre taking care of it so I'm happy. 55$ in chains in one weekend would have been hard to take.

[thecfarm]

Glad to see the problem fixed. I don't think I ever broke a chain and I use mine until the teeth are just about gone.

[sigidi]

I've not broken a chain on my chainsaw, but have pushed a slabbing chain too far on my lucas and it broke while in use, the tie strap wore down to the rivet and it let go.

But as most others have said, was may fault, I saw the chain was worn and didnt have another at the time, so kept using it. I was quite surprised because up until then I had visions of a chain on the slabber wrapping around your legs and 'ringbarking' your leg if it broke while in use, but it didnt, essentially it dropped to the ground, hardly 'flew' anywhere.

[jwillett2009]

Just a little update... I broke the ripping chain again on the second or third cut after getting it back from the dealer. I took my whole saw back into the shop and had them look everything over. They checked the sprocket and bar etc... Conclusion was that the chain was too weak for the saw. They upgraded me to a Stihl chain (from an oregon) at their cost. Its just a regular chain though. Im going to try running it as is but if i need to i will modify the chain as per Malloff method. Hopefully, its behind me now! Ill have a real good go this weekend

[Al_Smith]

Sounds to me like you got some bad chain .Now maybe a 660 Stihl might pull a chain apart  but there's no way a little Husqvarna should do it .BTW I've never broken one but I have sheared 3 cutters off in a row hitting metal .