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Ripping With Chainsaw

Started by plaindriver, July 07, 2013, 07:43:27 PM

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plaindriver

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.
Kubota L4600 DT w/FEL, John Deere 750 4WD w/FEL, PH Digger,RotoTiller,Box Scraper,Disc;16, 18, 20" chainsaws;Troy Built 27T splitter; table saw, radial arm saw,turning lathe, chipper, small backhoe, Isuzu NPR 14' stakeside diesel truck; a wife that still likes me.

Al_Smith

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.

Seaman

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
Lucas dedicated slabber
Woodmizer LT40HD
John Deere 5310 W/ FEL
Semper Fi

terrifictimbersllc

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). 
DJ Hoover, Terrific Timbers LLC,  Mystic CT Woodmizer Million Board Foot Club member. 2019 LT70 Super Wide 55 Yanmar,  LogRite fetching arch, WM BMS250 sharpener/BMT250 setter.  2001 F350 7.3L PSD 6 spd manual ZF 4x4 Crew Cab Long Bed

Lnewman

Is there any difference between a chisel chain and a regular change?
Stihl 170, 210MS, 290MS, 441MS and Hudson bandsaw

Al_Smith

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  ..

terrifictimbersllc

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.   
DJ Hoover, Terrific Timbers LLC,  Mystic CT Woodmizer Million Board Foot Club member. 2019 LT70 Super Wide 55 Yanmar,  LogRite fetching arch, WM BMS250 sharpener/BMT250 setter.  2001 F350 7.3L PSD 6 spd manual ZF 4x4 Crew Cab Long Bed

Cedar Savage

Which is better for ripping?
"They fried the fish with bacon and were astonished, for no fish had ever seemed so delicious before."         Mark Twain

CTYank

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
'72 blue Homelite 150
Echo 315, SRM-200DA
Poulan 2400, PP5020, PP4218
RedMax GZ4000, "Mac" 35 cc, Dolmar PS-6100
Husqy 576XP-AT
Tanaka 260 PF Polesaw, TBC-270PFD, ECS-3351B
Mix of mauls
Morso 7110

beenthere

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.
south central Wisconsin
It may be that my sole purpose in life is simply to serve as a warning to others

drobertson

the Oregon chisel works fairly well with my 362, but does get clogged with noodles,  most definitely a sweat breaking task,   david
only have a few chain saws I'm not suppose to use, but will at times, one dog Dolly, pretty good dog, just not sure what for yet,  working on getting the gardening back in order, and kinda thinking on maybe a small bbq bizz,  thinking about it,

Al_Smith

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.

CTYank

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.
'72 blue Homelite 150
Echo 315, SRM-200DA
Poulan 2400, PP5020, PP4218
RedMax GZ4000, "Mac" 35 cc, Dolmar PS-6100
Husqy 576XP-AT
Tanaka 260 PF Polesaw, TBC-270PFD, ECS-3351B
Mix of mauls
Morso 7110

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