"ng_reader" wrote in message
. ..
Using my Poulan "Wild Thing" chainsaw this weekend, and a lot of burnt
wood where I made my cuts.

Don't recall the chain being so bad, but a new one --- on Amazon --- is
$20.

My question is, is that the definitive answer of an unsharp chain? Slow
cutting and burnt wood?

And, as a follow up, if I may, youtube showed me how to sharpen with a
tool. Doesn't look that hard, but if the tool is as much as a new chain,
well, you do the math.

thanks in advance.

Chainsaw sharpening IS somewhat exacting, but it ain't rocket surgery.
Those fellas who work day in and day out logging carry a file, and can get
one back into shape in a real hurry. They also carry spare chains that they
have sharpened professionally, or do on a home bench mounted sharpener.

One of the biggest thing you can do is avoid dulling. Blades dull with the
wear of cutting wood, but hitting a rock or the dirt will dull it in about
three seconds. Knowing how to avoid those places is key.

As for sharpening, it all depends on how much you cut. We went and got two
cords last weekend. I took my saw and three extra chains, and didn't have
to switch to the second one. On a bad day, I could have been into the third
one. If you're a weekend tree trimmer, or occasional user to cut firewood,
and are always close to the hardware store, it is wise to just have a couple
of extras. About $20 or less each, and about $4 to have professionally
sharpened. If you go out in the woods, and dulling all your chains will put
you in a bind, then you have to learn how to do it, or buy some kind of
accurate sharpener. Sharpening a chain too much because you don't know what
you're doing is just going to wear all the metal away, and ruin the chain.
One does not need to take a lot of metal off to sharpen a chain, but the
angles are critical.

HTH

Steve