Ripping Chain

Smitty316 · April 28, 2014, 09:43:46 PM

I had a friend with a chain grinder regrind my new chain to ten degrees for ripping with my chainsaw mill. As I was watching, I had a sinking feeling that I was making a mistake by letting him do this. Since he was grinding off so much material to make the ten degree angle, each tooth got super hot, and each had a huge bur. When I got it back in my shop, I tried to use a file to remove the burs and touch up the cutting edges. Then I realized that every tooth is hard as glass.

I have sharpened all my chains with a file for more than 35 years now. I'm worried that this bran new chain is ruined. Any thoughts?

Thanks, Smitty

sawguy21 · April 28, 2014, 11:05:21 PM

He was in too much of a hurry. You have nothing to lose by trying it but once it dulls you might as well scrap it.

clww · April 29, 2014, 08:09:47 AM

I'll bet the metal was discolored, too?

Smitty316 · April 29, 2014, 08:20:36 AM

Oh Yeah, it was cooked. I'm wondering if it's just hard right on the cutting edge, and if I had it reground a time or two, it would get back to metal I could file again. As hard as it is, I guess it'll stay sharp for a while. Just wondering if anyone else out there has had this experience, and what the result was.

Thanks, Smitty

Oliver1655 · April 29, 2014, 08:52:11 AM

I would give it a try as it is. Burrs will general flake right off. If you can't sharpen it by hand, when it is due be re-sharpened, give a grinder a try using very light brushing strokes. This will be a good learning chain to work on. If you can save it great, if not, you are still learning to sharpen without burning. (Have your friend let you grind/learn.)

I have a Harbor Freight grinder that works fine for me. Very cost effective when bought on sale.

Smitty316 · April 29, 2014, 09:04:34 AM

Sounds like a plan. This is the first time I've seen a chain ground as a ripping chain. I was surprised that by going from 35 degrees to 10 degrees, how the cutting edge got so blunt. The ground surface is practically square with the top of the tooth. Is that how it's supposed to look?

thecfarm · April 29, 2014, 12:05:49 PM

Ayup. google should have it. Maybe Bailey's,sponsor on the left will show a picture. I brought a ripping chain to split some pine for pulp. :

That lasted one 4 four stick.

Jim Spencer · July 19, 2014, 08:48:51 PM

I buy RP chain and use a Dremel tool to re sharpen it. I have a Harbor Freight grinder but find that the Dremel works much better. Just need to stay on tooth for a couple seconds. You should be able to re sharpen with a Dremel grinder.
I have sharpened and wore out at least 25 RP chains.
Dremel works best.

Jim Spencer · July 19, 2014, 08:50:42 PM

Forgot to mention I have a Logosol for last 10-15 years with a Stihl 066.

hamish · July 19, 2014, 09:57:22 PM

10 degrees is 10 degrees and yes it looks pretty blunt. When converting a regular chain to a milling chain it is best to do it progressively with each sharpening, thus to not remove too much material or work harden the tooth.

d1hamby · July 22, 2014, 01:05:25 AM

When I use an aluminum oxide wheel for sharpening my chains I take off a little on each tooth. Then when I've worked my way back around to the first tooth I adjust the wheel for the next pass. I've noticed if I try to take off too much on the first tooth the wheel wears down before I make it all the end of the chain. This results in a bad sharpening job because the first tooth is sharpened way more than the last tooth.

SawTroll · July 22, 2014, 02:17:54 PM

Quote from: Smitty316 on April 28, 2014, 09:43:46 PM
I had a friend with a chain grinder regrind my new chain to ten degrees for ripping with my chainsaw mill. As I was watching, I had a sinking feeling that I was making a mistake by letting him do this. Since he was grinding off so much material to make the ten degree angle, each tooth got super hot, and each had a huge bur. When I got it back in my shop, I tried to use a file to remove the burs and touch up the cutting edges. Then I realized that every tooth is hard as glass.

I have sharpened all my chains with a file for more than 35 years now. I'm worried that this bran new chain is ruined. Any thoughts?

Thanks, Smitty

That is very likely - and the grinder operator should of course have known better than doing it that way......

jwilly3879 · July 22, 2014, 07:48:54 PM

It's much easier to start with a ripping chain.

bandmiller2 · July 22, 2014, 08:26:02 PM

Smitty, if your going to be a chainsaw miller you might as well buy a decent grinder. Other than buying ripping chain the suggestion of taking several sharpenings to reach 10 is a good one. Why waste all that tooth. Frank C.

Oliver1655 · July 22, 2014, 10:32:58 PM

When I grind, I don't try start with the worst cutter & then try to make all the rest match it in one pass. Use light brushing strokes & make more than one pass taking off more as needed will greatly reduce your chance of "burning" the cutters.

If there are only 2-5 cutters that have been really "rocked" I will give them an edge with a file & not even try to make the others match. You waste too much chain life.

Jemclimber · July 23, 2014, 08:11:51 AM

A good cbn wheel will help also. It doesn't clog and burn the teeth nearly as easily and doesn't need to be dressed/profiled. They are worth the money.

Al_Smith · July 23, 2014, 09:36:08 AM

In regards to all cutters being the same length ,that would be ideal .However in the real world that practice is seldom adhered to .

SawTroll · July 23, 2014, 01:55:59 PM

Quote from: Al_Smith on July 23, 2014, 09:36:08 AM
In regards to all cutters being the same length ,that would be ideal .However in the real world that practice is seldom adhered to .

Right, it doesn't really matter if some cutters are shorter than the others, as long as there aren't too many short cutters on the same side of the chain.

Jim Spencer · July 27, 2014, 09:03:40 PM

I don't know why anyone would not buy ripping chain. Baileys sells ripping chain and I buy mine already made into a loop for my Logosol. Most of the loops I buy are 60 DL x .050 x .375.
I can mill most of my Red Oak (30") and under with a 16" bar. I generally pay about $.20 per DL. When already made into a 60 DL loop.
By the way the Pico chain does not hold up as good as the regular rip chain.

SawTroll · July 27, 2014, 09:14:24 PM

Quote from: Jim Spencer on July 27, 2014, 09:03:40 PM
I don't know why anyone would not buy ripping chain. Baileys sells ripping chain and I buy mine already made into a loop for my Logosol. Most of the loops I buy are 60 DL x .050 x .375.
I can mill most of my Red Oak (30") and under with a 16" bar. I generally pay about $.20 per DL. When already made into a 60 DL loop.
By the way the Picco chain does not hold up as good as the regular rip chain.

There really aren't any .375 chain, as the original 3/8" designation isn't accurate - the actual pitch is .366-.367.
The .375 designation likely is just something that some marketing people that didn't know what they were doing came up with.

Grandedog · July 28, 2014, 02:41:44 PM

Quote from: Smitty316 on April 29, 2014, 09:04:34 AM
Sounds like a plan. This is the first time I've seen a chain ground as a ripping chain. I was surprised that by going from 35 degrees to 10 degrees, how the cutting edge got so blunt. The ground surface is practically square with the top of the tooth. Is that how it's supposed to look?

Howdy,
It's really important to get the top plate of the tooth all the way onto the side of the grinding wheel. It usually requires relieving the bottom of the wheel so it doesn't grind into the frame of the chain.
Regards
Gregg

Jim Spencer · July 28, 2014, 08:14:33 PM

I agree that the 3/8" chain is not really .375 and the 5/16" chain is .325 pitch when 5/16 is actually .3125.
To most people this has no meaning or affect on their cutting of wood.

HolmenTree · July 29, 2014, 01:54:13 AM

Quote from: Jim Spencer on July 28, 2014, 08:14:33 PM
I agree that the 3/8" chain is not really .375 and the 5/16" chain is .325 pitch when 5/16 is actually .3125.
To most people this has no meaning or affect on their cutting of wood.

Well said Jim,
I have to disagree with SawTroll's comment on sawchain marketing people didn't know what they were coming up with in designation of pitch sizes.
They were only trying to simplfy chain pitch sizes seeing manufactures had "many" different sizes of sawchain pitches throughout history.
The differences in the .375 and 3/8" Lo Profile pitch was more of a manufacturing cost saving process then to worry about the confusion of " exact" pitch measurement.