Breaking chains

wannaergo · March 16, 2014, 03:48:28 PM

Question for the CTL guys. I've been having a lot of trouble with 3/4 pitch chains breaking. sometimes they'll break while the bar is retracting after making a cut, but more often than not, they'll break while cutting the tree off the stump. some days i'll break 3, and I'm not quite sure why they're breaking so often. I've got an auto bar tensioner, and we turned the pressure down to see if that helped, but it didnt make a difference. they seem to be sharp and cutting fine. i'm not sure if there's something i can do different? any ideas?

shelbycharger400 · March 16, 2014, 04:44:53 PM

ive broke a few stihl .375 chains, tie bars are weak and snap. Dealer said its due to me dropping the rakers, their designed to fail with the notches in them by the rivets. Ive dropped the rakers to around 35 thous. I said i dont have all day to cut wood at 25 thous rakers (factory setting) . Ive never snapped an oregon chain with excessive rakers . Maybe the homeowner chain aint so bad.

snowstorm · March 16, 2014, 04:56:37 PM

i had a 404 sthil harvester chain break last week. but its only happened a few times. i have had all or most of the rakers break off several times. i had a new one do it and the dealer replaced it

justincase · March 16, 2014, 05:03:49 PM

not sure if it is related but a few years ago we were breaking stihl .325 chain left and right out of the box. I complained enough and my dealer sent them some of my chains and Stihl agreed there was a problem with straps being brittle. I haven't had a problem for three years and this past week we broke three more .325 chains and my dealer just sends them back and I get a new one.

Corley5 · March 16, 2014, 05:16:45 PM

When they break on the return there's not some unseen debris/obstruction that they're catching? Is your feed too fast for the frozen wood? I've broken three with the Fabtek the last couple days. Always on the falling cut. I ran a lot of wood through it with no issues and the last few days on the new job I've had trouble. It's possible that mine need the rakers cut. The chain isn't keeping up with the feed rate ??? I'll check that when I fix them and grind if needed. These are chains I fixed up late last fall and have just gotten into them. Now I need to repair some again.

snowstorm · March 16, 2014, 05:19:15 PM

Quote from: Corley5 on March 16, 2014, 05:16:45 PM
When they break on the return there's not some unseen debris/obstruction that they're catching? Is your feed too fast for the frozen wood? I've broken three with the Fabtek the last couple days. Always on the falling cut. I ran a lot of wood through it with no issues and the last few days on the new job I've had trouble. It's possible that mine need the rakers cut. The chain isn't keeping up with the feed rate ??? I'll check that when I fix them and grind if needed. These are chains I fixed up late last fall and have just gotten into them. Now I need to repair some again.

are you using the pink wheels on your grinder or something else?

1270d · March 16, 2014, 05:22:50 PM

I have a few 404's break a week. Usually its due to getting pinched and a driver cracks. How do they break, drivers, side straps, cutters?

BargeMonkey · March 16, 2014, 05:33:48 PM

Ive broken a few 3/4 oregon lately when slashing down tops and small stuff, never felling. My dealer said the chain will bind when cutting a large pile of slash. Are you guys buying premade chain or putting your own together ? Now with the slasher im thinking of grabbing 2 boxes of 3/4 and doing my own, dont know if I will save anything in the long run.

Corley5 · March 16, 2014, 05:34:48 PM

CBN for cutters. Pink flat wheel for the rakers.

Corley5 · March 16, 2014, 05:44:14 PM

I get premade loops of Oregon chain and presets for repairs. It cost about the same as buying bulk chain. I've got donor chains for straps, cutters and drivers when repairing/building

loggah · March 16, 2014, 05:51:16 PM

The only ones i ever broke on my timbco bar saw were ones i had bent a bit and straightened,after a while they gave up.

snowstorm · March 16, 2014, 06:15:21 PM

Quote from: Corley5 on March 16, 2014, 05:34:48 PM
CBN for cutters. Pink flat wheel for the rakers.

dose the cbn work a lot better? where did you get it?

Corley5 · March 16, 2014, 06:21:00 PM

I much prefer the CBN. No profiling and seem to last forever. I've been using them for a long time on .404 chain for the firewood machine and have sharpened miles of chain with one wheel. I switched it out to a new one and didn't see any difference in performance so I put the old one back on

I got them from Foley/Belsaw. The 3/4 wheel I got from my local saw shop. I don't know what brand it is but it's doing fine.

smwwoody · March 16, 2014, 08:35:17 PM

what chain are you useing? I use 11H on my slasher and they seem to be breaking a lot lately

Southside · March 16, 2014, 09:49:12 PM

How is the sprocket tip on your bar? I was breaking chains then realized the tip was actually binding a bit slowing down the chain, not enough to realize it but enough for the chain to bind and break. Replaced the tip and fixed the issue outside of when I do something stupid. >:(

snowstorm · March 17, 2014, 08:22:02 PM

i tried something different as far as grinding chains. 404 chain i used the 1/4" wheel. used a couple old chains just in case it didnt work out. one chain the rakers had been ground the other not. they bolth cut good the lower rakes better. i wount say its as fast as a new chain but its good. the 1/4" wheel has a square edge. the chain looks a bit odd but it stayed sharp all day

ABTS · March 19, 2014, 08:42:30 PM

I'm with Corley was there debris or something . Mine usually will only break if you cut small brush or something like that 3/4 pitch is to big for that. brush will raise hell with them . I use the carlton g7 chain seems to hold up alright .

JLeBouton · March 20, 2014, 11:10:41 PM

I agree that small brush and sticks will cause problems with 3/4 chain. Also, make sure the sprocket is lined up with the bar. Check for play in the auto tensioner swing arm.