The Forestry Forum

What damage could I expect to be done to be done to a chainsaw cutting hardwood that has been burned and charred in a forrest fire?

As I suspect you already know, that soot is very fine and abrasive. It will be very hard on all cuttings components including the clutch bearing if it is not regulary flushed with clean grease. It will also eat at the internals of your engine if it is ingested through the air filter.

If it is worth cutting or needs to be cut, try to plunge through clean/cleaner parts of the bark and cut with the top of the bar so that the chips and soot are thrown away from you and the saw. Same as you would with muddy logs.

Russ

From my limited experience, it dulls chain fast. If you have a lot to do, then Bailey's sells chain to cut in dirty conditions. I believe the stuff made for cutting burnt trees is ##DP. Anyway, you can find it on their website.

Cutting burned trees is extremely demanding on a chain saw. It is very abrasive and fine particles. Check the air filter often. It will need cleaning or replacing on a regular basis. Expect much bar and chain wear as well as accelerated wear to the drive sprocket and sprocket bearing. Clean out the debris from under the sprocket cover, cylinder fins, starter housing, air filter housing and carb area on a daily basis. Watch for debris getting into the the fuel and oil tanks and keep an eye on your fuel tank vent to make sure it does not plug up with debris.