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Woodturning (rec.crafts.woodturning) To discuss tools, techniques, styles, materials, shows and competitions, education and educational materials related to woodturning. All skill levels are welcome, from art turners to production turners, beginners to masters. |
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#1
Posted to rec.crafts.woodturning
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Chain Saw chains
Since I know a lot of people cut up their own bowel wood, I have a question.
I was cutting up some pieces from a downed Maple tree in my son's backyard last week. The pieces were already about 15-20" lengths and I used his chainsaw to slice these down the middle to provide more useful starting pieces and allow me to carry them by myself up to my car. In doing this, I noticed that it was much harder to saw the pieces down the middle than to cross cut them. Is this typical? If so, are there chain designs which would cut better when cutting a block vertically down the middle as opposed to cross cutting? |
#2
Posted to rec.crafts.woodturning
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Chain Saw chains
On Sep 13, 3:55*pm, "Bob Daun" wrote:
Since I know a lot of people cut up their own bowel wood, I have a question. I was cutting up some pieces from a downed Maple tree in my son's backyard last week. *The pieces were already about 15-20" lengths and I used his chainsaw to slice these down the middle to provide more useful starting pieces and allow me to carry them by myself up to my car. *In doing this, I noticed that it was much harder to saw the pieces down the middle than to cross cut them. *Is this typical? *If so, are there chain designs which would cut better when cutting a block vertically down the middle as opposed to cross cutting? Hi Bob, the reason is because you were cutting in line with the wood fibres and not across them , cutting in line tends to bind the wood on the saw teeth and makes cutting a log vertically so to speak bloody hard work and will also kill the blade teeths temper pretty quickly making it an expensive or if you sharpen your own chains a real hassle as the metal has lost its temper and will not hold an edge for long anymore . The best way to get around this problem is to either buy or hire a log splitter, you can get one at a pretty modest price nowadays and it will pay for itself very quickly as you can split other guys logs for a small fee to pay for it . |
#3
Posted to rec.crafts.woodturning
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Chain Saw chains
On Sat, 13 Sep 2008 14:55:03 +0000, Bob Daun wrote:
Since I know a lot of people cut up their own bowel wood, I have a question. I was cutting up some pieces from a downed Maple tree in my son's backyard last week. The pieces were already about 15-20" lengths and I used his chainsaw to slice these down the middle to provide more useful starting pieces and allow me to carry them by myself up to my car. In doing this, I noticed that it was much harder to saw the pieces down the middle than to cross cut them. Is this typical? If so, are there chain designs which would cut better when cutting a block vertically down the middle as opposed to cross cutting? Seems to me I recall that ripping chains were available for chain saws. Are they still? I don't know. |
#4
Posted to rec.crafts.woodturning
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Chain Saw chains
I have skip tooth chains on my saw. Don't cut quite as fast as the
others, but take less horse power. I have had no problems with cross cutting or ripping. When cutting them down the middle, you lay the log down and rip it through the middle, not with one end on the ground, and cutting down the end grain. End grain is harder to cut, but flat grain cuts fairly easily. The problem is that you are cutting in the same direction of the grain, and will get a lot of long shavings which can plug up your saw. Just angle the saw a bit, and this will take care of the shaving problem. robo hippy On Sep 13, 8:56*am, Larry Blanchard wrote: On Sat, 13 Sep 2008 14:55:03 +0000, Bob Daun wrote: Since I know a lot of people cut up their own bowel wood, I have a question. I was cutting up some pieces from a downed Maple tree in my son's backyard last week. *The pieces were already about 15-20" lengths and I used his chainsaw to slice these down the middle to provide more useful starting pieces and allow me to carry them by myself up to my car. *In doing this, I noticed that it was much harder to saw the pieces down the middle than to cross cut them. *Is this typical? *If so, are there chain designs which would cut better when cutting a block vertically down the middle as opposed to cross cutting? Seems to me I recall that ripping chains were available for chain saws. Are they still? *I don't know. |
#5
Posted to rec.crafts.woodturning
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Chain Saw chains
On Sat, 13 Sep 2008 14:55:03 GMT, "Bob Daun" wrote:
Since I know a lot of people cut up their own bowel wood, I have a question. I was cutting up some pieces from a downed Maple tree in my son's backyard last week. The pieces were already about 15-20" lengths and I used his chainsaw to slice these down the middle to provide more useful starting pieces and allow me to carry them by myself up to my car. In doing this, I noticed that it was much harder to saw the pieces down the middle than to cross cut them. Is this typical? If so, are there chain designs which would cut better when cutting a block vertically down the middle as opposed to cross cutting? I realized this too. Chain saw cross cutting is easy, but they don't rip well. |
#6
Posted to rec.crafts.woodturning
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Chain Saw chains
Larry Blanchard wrote:
On Sat, 13 Sep 2008 14:55:03 +0000, Bob Daun wrote: Since I know a lot of people cut up their own bowel wood, I have a question. I was cutting up some pieces from a downed Maple tree in my son's backyard last week. The pieces were already about 15-20" lengths and I used his chainsaw to slice these down the middle to provide more useful starting pieces and allow me to carry them by myself up to my car. In doing this, I noticed that it was much harder to saw the pieces down the middle than to cross cut them. Is this typical? If so, are there chain designs which would cut better when cutting a block vertically down the middle as opposed to cross cutting? Seems to me I recall that ripping chains were available for chain saws. Are they still? I don't know. Ripping chains are available but they are not recommended for use with a hand held saw. They're designed for chain saw mills. See: http://www.loghomestore.com/tools-ch...#ripping-chain -- Jack Novak Buffalo, NY - USA |
#7
Posted to rec.crafts.woodturning
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Chain Saw chains
Thanks everyone for your responses. At least I know the whole thing was not
my imagination. Bob "Phisherman" wrote in message ... On Sat, 13 Sep 2008 14:55:03 GMT, "Bob Daun" wrote: Since I know a lot of people cut up their own bowel wood, I have a question. I was cutting up some pieces from a downed Maple tree in my son's backyard last week. The pieces were already about 15-20" lengths and I used his chainsaw to slice these down the middle to provide more useful starting pieces and allow me to carry them by myself up to my car. In doing this, I noticed that it was much harder to saw the pieces down the middle than to cross cut them. Is this typical? If so, are there chain designs which would cut better when cutting a block vertically down the middle as opposed to cross cutting? I realized this too. Chain saw cross cutting is easy, but they don't rip well. |
#8
Posted to rec.crafts.woodturning
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Chain Saw chains
Yep - rip chains are there for professionals. Some times they have
to rip logs to make them smaller. And some for sawmills that use them... Martin Martin H. Eastburn @ home at Lions' Lair with our computer lionslair at consolidated dot net TSRA, Endowed; NRA LOH & Patron Member, Golden Eagle, Patriot's Medal. NRA Second Amendment Task Force Charter Founder IHMSA and NRA Metallic Silhouette maker & member. http://lufkinced.com/ Larry Blanchard wrote: On Sat, 13 Sep 2008 14:55:03 +0000, Bob Daun wrote: Since I know a lot of people cut up their own bowel wood, I have a question. I was cutting up some pieces from a downed Maple tree in my son's backyard last week. The pieces were already about 15-20" lengths and I used his chainsaw to slice these down the middle to provide more useful starting pieces and allow me to carry them by myself up to my car. In doing this, I noticed that it was much harder to saw the pieces down the middle than to cross cut them. Is this typical? If so, are there chain designs which would cut better when cutting a block vertically down the middle as opposed to cross cutting? Seems to me I recall that ripping chains were available for chain saws. Are they still? I don't know. ----== Posted via Pronews.Com - Unlimited-Unrestricted-Secure Usenet News==---- http://www.pronews.com The #1 Newsgroup Service in the World! 100,000 Newsgroups ---= - Total Privacy via Encryption =--- |
#9
Posted to rec.crafts.woodturning
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Chain Saw chains
On Sep 13, 7:55 am, "Bob Daun" wrote:
Since I know a lot of people cut up their own bowel wood, I have a question. I was cutting up some pieces from a downed Maple tree in my son's backyard last week. The pieces were already about 15-20" lengths and I used his chainsaw to slice these down the middle to provide more useful starting pieces and allow me to carry them by myself up to my car. In doing this, I noticed that it was much harder to saw the pieces down the middle than to cross cut them. Is this typical? If so, are there chain designs which would cut better when cutting a block vertically down the middle as opposed to cross cutting? I have used both a splitter and a maul with a sledge hammer. Thry both work but you need to be careful with both or you will lose one or both halves. Well, not really lose but they become firewood. |
#10
Posted to rec.crafts.woodturning
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Chain Saw chains
Bob
Stay with the regular chain. I can sharpen the thing for cutting straight down the log on end, but rarely do it as I then need to either change the chain or resharpen for regular cuts or make do with the changed edge. It is sort of like using a general purpose grind on a saw blade when a rip is better. The best thing to do is rip down the side with the saw at a 60* angle. This is better described he http://aroundthewoods.com/firewood01.shtml Hope this helps. -- God bless and safe turning Darrell Feltmate Truro, NS Canada http://aroundthewoods.com http://roundopinions.blogspot.com "Bob Daun" wrote in message . net... Thanks everyone for your responses. At least I know the whole thing was not my imagination. Bob "Phisherman" wrote in message ... On Sat, 13 Sep 2008 14:55:03 GMT, "Bob Daun" wrote: Since I know a lot of people cut up their own bowel wood, I have a question. I was cutting up some pieces from a downed Maple tree in my son's backyard last week. The pieces were already about 15-20" lengths and I used his chainsaw to slice these down the middle to provide more useful starting pieces and allow me to carry them by myself up to my car. In doing this, I noticed that it was much harder to saw the pieces down the middle than to cross cut them. Is this typical? If so, are there chain designs which would cut better when cutting a block vertically down the middle as opposed to cross cutting? I realized this too. Chain saw cross cutting is easy, but they don't rip well. |
#11
Posted to rec.crafts.woodturning
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Chain Saw chains
I have used a ripping chain and it does work better for what you want to do than a standard (crossuctting) chain does. But, the cutter design makes them pretty hard to resharpen; for me at least. This is the style of chain that works best for those log sawing gadgets that clamp to the chain saw bar. I had to special order that chain. Someone else already mentioned splitting the log with a log splitter, but here's the cheapest and best answer: A Froe. It is like a large knife with a handle at a right angle to the blade. You drive it into the end grain as far as you can then twist the handle to open up the split. Here's one: http://www.woodcraft.com/depts.aspx?...FSemQQodUjB-YQ If you were going to use it a lot for bowl turning, where you might be using woods that are less prone to splitting than cedar, I'd get one with a "deeper" blade. That'll give you more twisting ability, but the one on that webpage should work well. (I make my own from old car leaf spring). A decent Froe won't cost any more than a ripping chain and it give you very good control of the split. This tool works particularly well on short rounds such as you have there. A friend of mine makes his living demonstrating wood turning on a spring pole lathe. He uses the froe to even split off sections for platter turning. The only caveat as I see it is that if you were splitting an Elm or other really stringy wood, the normal Froe might not totally part the round. In that case, I'd get a couple of steel (or wooden) wedges, remove the Froe and complete the split with them. Very satisfying method and makes hardly any noise. Pete Stanaitia ------------------------------ |
#12
Posted to rec.crafts.woodturning
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Chain Saw chains
One thing to watch for is that if you switch to a special ripping chain it
may no longer be an anti kickback chain. Just something to watch for. Also you didn't mention what saw you used. I have used smaller saws for cross cutting without a problem but they are slow on ripping everything but the smallest logs. I bought a larger saw with more power and now regularly rip and cut logs as big as I can haul easily, it still isn't as easy as crosscutting. But with a sharp chain it really does move through the wood. Also you didn't mention how long your bar was. Your logs should be shorter than the bar length so that your chips can eject better. Have Fun. "Bob Daun" wrote in message et... Since I know a lot of people cut up their own bowel wood, I have a question. I was cutting up some pieces from a downed Maple tree in my son's backyard last week. The pieces were already about 15-20" lengths and I used his chainsaw to slice these down the middle to provide more useful starting pieces and allow me to carry them by myself up to my car. In doing this, I noticed that it was much harder to saw the pieces down the middle than to cross cut them. Is this typical? If so, are there chain designs which would cut better when cutting a block vertically down the middle as opposed to cross cutting? |
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