I see guys halving large logs- -ripping down the center. Are 'rip' cuts harder on a blade than x-cuts, or do they dull a chain much faster? Is there a special chain for doing rip cuts? I also see 'chainsaw mills' and wonder how many cuts one can get from a blade before needing to sharpen it.
Terminoligy,it's a chain not a blade.
Some people like rip chain because it's smoother but it's slow as a snail. You'll do better with chisel chain attacking the cut at about a 45 degree angle .
Set the saw slightly rich because the cuts are long and with a slightly richer mix the saw will be less prone to over heating .Ripping is nothing but work on both the saw and the sawyer.
Time to dullness on a Lucas slabber has everything to do with the wood. I have gone thru 6 or 8 cuts on one maple, and only gotten 2 or 3 from the next before dull. Last large red oak I cut was 48in wide 10ft long. One slab per chain, then a changeout.
45 deg is great, like Al says, when using a chainsaw.
Ripping chains are the same chain sharpened at 10deg or 12 across the cutter, rather than 25 or 35deg. My 02
Frank
With my Peterson slabber, I usually get about 125-150 square feet of sawn area from each chain in hardwoods before putting on a fresh one. The chain will still be cutting but at slower speed with more pushing and vibration. Loops are 196 drive links and the chain is 404/063.
I've tried Carlton B3 ripping chain and OR 27RX, but now modify OR 16 harvester chain first to a "5-skip" sequence, then grind the cutters to 15 degrees top plate angle, 75 degree from horizontal tilt, and 10 degree tilt of the gullet toward the wheel. Afterwards, I always file the chains by hand, and file them to resharpen unless they need grinding because of damage. They're not as sharp off the grinder (I use an ABN wheel, maybe a pink wheel would get them sharper, I don't know).
Is there any difference between a chisel chain and a regular change?
Quote from: Lnewman on July 10, 2013, 07:17:05 PM
Is there any difference between a chisel chain and a regular change?
Change like nickles dimes and quarters ?
Well it takes about 20 dollars worth of quarters to get a 20" loop of Oregon 3/8" chisel . ;D
Enough of that .Many people run what's called semi chisel which has rounded corners .Chisel chain has a sharply defined working corner .In other words the junction of where the side of the chain meets the top of the chain .
It's a faster cutting chain but it requires more frequent sharpening .I prefer it myself over semi chisel but some do not .FWIW it takes about 5 minutes with a file to touch up a 20"chain loop .If you know how to file that is but that's another subject all together with as many opinions as there are in the oil wars .Great sport though just like using two periods at the end of a sentence to rile the English professor ..
Chisel chain (there are 2 kinds), dulls faster but generally cuts faster than semichisel chain. One kind files and grinds with a round file/round wheel, the other requires square file/wheel grinding. I use the former.
Which is better for ripping?
I think the OP was NOT asking about the ripping you-all covered.
Meaning, his topic is normally referred to as "noodling", where the chain cuts parallel the grain, thus "halving large logs." That's pretty easy on a saw. Just gotta watch for clogging the clutch cover with the "noodles." Some saws are much better than others at clearing the "noodles." (PP5020 is really good.)
To shorten the noodles, and thus reduce clogging, it helps to periodically tip the bar nose down and/or up in the cut.
To reduce the amount of wood converted into noodles, I typically noodle in about the width of the bar, then set some wedges and pound them in with the poll of a maul. Of course, you only noodle a round if it's american elm/red gum/sycamore, or has knots/forks, or is really really big and difficult to get out of the woods. smiley_old_guy
I avoid the "noodles" by not sawing exactly parallel to the grain. Doesn't take much of a different angle of the bar to that grain to not have them as a clogging problem.
As to the OP, we haven't heard back from plaindriver if his question was answered or not. ;)
I didn't interpret his question as sawing parallel to the grain, but chain sawing the long axis of the log to make lumber for example, like a band sawmill.
the Oregon chisel works fairly well with my 362, but does get clogged with noodles, most definitely a sweat breaking task, david
If you get the attack angle just right so it doesn't pull big french fries you can rip an entire log with out a clog up.Chisel chain will cut the fastest.
Yes, about angling the bar. Echo, echo. ::)
There's also a big difference between saws' ability to clear noodles. Clutch cover, seems to me. You still can have a big clog when the noodle pile gets up to the saw.
Anyhow, seems like this was a drive-by on the part of the OP, plaindriver.