Just my luck with nails...

[MAF143]

I dropped a 20" maple out by our driveway over the weekend and while making the first cut for the wedge I got to wondering what the heck was going on...  I had just sharpened that saw a couple days before and was beginning to wonder if I had become one of those people who should not own tools...

After getting the first cut about half in, I thought I better go sharpen this thing...  I came back to the tree and finished removing the wedge and spyed the culprit...  Just my luck.  one nail in a tree and I have to saw it in half, lengthwise...  grrrrrrrr...  All went well with a freshly sharpened chain,  :D  It was a slight leaner, the wrong way of course but with a line and wedges, it went right where it was supposed to.


 

[DelawhereJoe]

What brand of chain do you use cause it did a good job cutting that nail ?

[Fishnuts2]

You could not have done a better job on that nail, even if you'd tried!  The surest way to look for metal in trees is to install a new chain on the saw.
Thanks for the pics!

[thecfarm]

Aup,your luck is like mine. Looks like something that would happen to me. 

[sawguy21]

 :D :D I won't tell you about my experience cutting metal with a chain saw.

[realzed]

Hell of a chain you are using there..
I know I would never -  ever get that kind of durability out of any of the ones I presently use!
I'm even more impressed with the fact that by the sound of it you still managed later to get it back to a condition where it worked.

[mrcaptainbob]

Reminds me a tree from Mom's yard in Detroit. It was a GIANT American elm. You could spot her house from a mile away, as that tree was the tallest around. The city had to take it down when it died from the blight. This was close to forty years ago and was the last remaining elm in that area. They took the branches and cut the log into two foot pieces. I've often wondered how many chains the sawyers went through, as it was, after all, a yard tree. In the city. it was filled with nails. Even on the splitter, almost each piece came off looking like a pin cushion. Can only imagine the blue air in the yard when the sparks just kept on coming. Of course, the nails probably gave out after eight or so feet up but by then the chains must have been replaced a good ten times! Diameter was close to 36". Thanks for the memory jog.

[MAF143]

Standard Stihl full chisel on my 391 with a 25" ES bar.  I just file by hand with a guide on the file.  This chain is getting toward the end of life, but still has a few more sharpenings left in it.  I have another chain for it and one of those grinders for my chains, but I find it MUCH quicker and the chains last longer when I do them with a file on the saw in my wood block on the truck tailgate.  This time took about 15 strokes on each chisel to get it back, and usually only go with 3 on a routine sharpening.  I only used the grinder one time.  It was one of those impulse buys that was gonna make my life soooo much easier, but...  file works best for me.  I can have 5 chains sharpened with a file by the time I get that grinder out and set up to get started...

I can't believe I didn't notice it while I was cutting it...  But I was more concerned with dropping the tree where I wanted it than anything else and getting the notch lined up where I wanted it.  House, garage, shed, wife's garden, and power line were all around me and it was leaning toward the power line.  Normally out in the woods I take them where they want to go and don't have to worry about hitting anything expensive.  

By the time I got through the nail it was still cutting, but had slowed down enough that I looked at the chips coming out of the cut (or lack thereof) and thought, WOW, I did a crappy job on that chain yesterday...  I couldn't cut another nail like that if I was trying... even with the proper tools...

And yes, I'm still using that chain, I never changed it, just sharpened it and it's slinging nice chips just like a new chain.  I used it again today on some blow downs back in the woods that I'm just now getting to.  I usually go through 2 to 4 tanks of gas between sharpenings depending on what I'm cutting.  This time was probably a couple thimbles full...