Chainsaw Ripping Question and some help please......

Stuart Ablett

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Tokyo Japan
OK, in >> this thread << you can see that I'm ripping logs into bowl blanks.

The saw I'm using is an older electric beast of a saw, this thing weighs a ton, but it is quiet and boy does it cut!

Thing is, when I'm ripping like this, the saw packs up with long strips of wood, in about 15 seconds :doh:


This is it, packed up, fairly badly, not REALLY badly.... :doh:

I think the handle is not in the best spot, and I'm thinking of moving it further back, so the chips may fall easier.


Here it is all cleaned out, I made up this little "hook tool" to help remove the chips, but it is still a pain. I'm not kidding when I say I cut for 20 seconds, stop, and clean it out :bang:

I was wondering a few things, one, anyone else who rips wood like this, with a gas chainsaw, do you have a similar problem? I did not have a problem like this with the Tokyo Log Hog, slicing planks of wood.... :huh:

Also, how about some sort of a block that the chain would run through, to limit the amount of chips that wrap around the drive cog and stuff themselves up into this thing? I know that the block would eventually get eaten up, but I don't use this saw daily, so, maybe that is an idea?

thought's...? :D

Cheers!
 
Stu, I'm not an expert, but at Bill Grumbine's Robust party he talked a little about the differences between ripping chains (I think he used a skip tooth ripping chain) and crosscutting chains. I think you might be ripping with a crosscut chain.

Hopefully someone else will chime in on this matter.

The other thing I remember is that ripping chains are often not sold through "consumer" outlets.

Good luck!
 
Mark, I have a ripping skip tooth chain on my gas saw, and it works well, but it would just cut more, the problem is not the cutting this saw cut fine, and I need it to cut cross cut too, so a different chain would be a pain, the problem is the chips, the long stringy ones from ripping, are jamming up in the saw, the volume is just too much!

Cheers!
 
Same here

Hi Stu,

The same thing happens to me when ripping wood with a crosscut chain with both an electric and gas saws. I just stop, clean it out and keep going. A PITA for sure but I don't know of a cure for the stringy chips. My little McCulloch electric is much slower than a gas saw but it works OK. It doesn't get as jammed up as yours though. It actually drags the chips all the way around the drive gear and spits them out the front when the bottom gets clogged. Wish I could be more help.
 
Stu,

The reason you're getting long shavings is because you're cutting "along" the grain. If you were cutting into an end grain (across the end grain), you'd get very small shavings. While a ripping chain does help, a cross cut chain will work just fine (as you already know) for doing small jobs like bowl blanks. Cross cutting is really "cross" in both dimensions whereas ripping is never across the diameter, but can be across the end. Ya...I know...clear as mud:)

How to solve the clogging problem? Every saw is different, but opening the exhaust area behind the chain will certainly help I think.

cheers eh?
 
Stu,
The reason you're getting long shavings is because you're cutting "along" the grain. If you were cutting into an end grain (across the end grain), you'd get very small shavings. While a ripping chain does help, a cross cut chain will work just fine (as you already know) for doing small jobs like bowl blanks. Cross cutting is really "cross" in both dimensions whereas ripping is never across the diameter, but can be across the end. Ya...I know...clear as mud:)
This about sums it up... I mill a LOT of lumber, both with a csm (chain saw mill) and a Ripsaw handheld bandmill, and those "rooster tails" that clog your saw like that are just the nature of the beast when your cutting along the grain like that. All my saws do the same thing when I'm cutting in that orientation. I have a powerful enough chainsaw (Husky 395XP) that it can take quite a bite without wimping out, so I tend to go to fast, and those long stringy tails then clog in the sprocket area, so if I go slower, I can go longer before having to stop and clean them out. If I'm extra patient and careful sometimes it doesn't even clog to where I have to stop and clear it. In my case though, with that saw, I just have to reach down and pull the "wad" sticking out the bottom out of the way with my hand and doing that every 10-20 seconds clears it. Yes, my saw continues to run while I do this, but it's just idling, and I'm never actually putting my fingers up into the sprocket area where the chain is, as enough sticks out after it clogs that I can just pull the wad sticking out out of the way to clear it.

Nature of the beast.
 
Yer chain's too sharp. Bury it at full speed into the dirt a few times, and you won't have to worry about the clogging. :rofl: Asphalt or concrete will work too, but you won't get the cool rooster tail of dust that dirt can provide.
 
Man, I know I can always count of you for such great advice Vaughn, thanks buddy! :D :thumb:
Always here to help. :rofl:

Seriously, I've seen the same stringy stuff when ripping longwise. My Poulan would bog down pretty quickly, but the new Stihl seems to pretty much blow through it. It ends up spraying quite a few strings all the way around the sprocket and out the front of the saw.
 
Saw mods and chain stuff

Looks like that antique yer runnin was made for cross cutting only. Ripping chain is made for cutting perpendicular to the end grain of a log. ( Cutting across the ends of the wood fibers.) What you are doing is cutting along the length of the wood fibers- a lot like planeing. Most chain saws are designed for cutting across the sides of the fibers. Ripping chain is mostly the same chain as regular chain except it is ground with 0 to 10 degrees instead of the usual 30-35 degrees. Some ripping chains are low profile, narrow chains to decrease the kerf.
I would caution you about moveing the handle. That may change the balance of the saw and increase the risk of kickback. What I would do is change the attachment location but preserve the handle position by angling the handle back to clear the chip exhaust area. This may be possible if you make a plate that would bolt to the existing holes and have the secondary mount holes for a handle mount rearward. :huh: That sentance may be as clear as mud..........good luck.
 
I have ripped a bit of stuff freehand and get the same problem. Because you are cutting exactly along the fibres you get the noodles like that which stay intact.

I find I get a better result if I angle the bar a little away from the grain, only needs to be about 10 degrees. This creates shorter noodles that dont clog the chip chute as badly.

Cheers

Ian
 
Ian, with the 10 degree tilt, do you notice much difference between cutting with the grain (i.e., starting on the end of the log closest to you, with the tip of the bar angled up) versus cutting against the grain (starting on the end away from you, with the bar angled down)?
 
Ian, with the 10 degree tilt, do you notice much difference between cutting with the grain (i.e., starting on the end of the log closest to you, with the tip of the bar angled up) versus cutting against the grain (starting on the end away from you, with the bar angled down)?


Haven't noticed any big difference. But what I normally do is set the bucking spikes into the end of the log with the bar at an upwards angle then rotate the saw down into the log. As it gets close to horizontal, the chips start getting long and stingy, raise the bar and reset the spikes a little lower. Repeat untill you are though.

The trick is to still be pulling out the long grain chips, but not the long really long noodles that clog the saw.


Ian
 
Haven't noticed any big difference. But what I normally do is set the bucking spikes into the end of the log with the bar at an upwards angle then rotate the saw down into the log. As it gets close to horizontal, the chips start getting long and stingy, raise the bar and reset the spikes a little lower. Repeat untill you are though.

The trick is to still be pulling out the long grain chips, but not the long really long noodles that clog the saw.


Ian
Thanks...it makes sense. That's pretty much how I've been doing it too, but it's good to get confirmation from someone who cuts more in a week than I do in a year. ;)
 
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