Thread: Chain saw Chain Quality

Come on now boys, play nice or you can both have a time out

Exador, I notice you are looking at this one, you use Carlton don'
t you, do you think it last significantly longer than Stihl or Oregon?

Originally Posted by Exador

Lots of hire places supply a new chain with each hire and get rid of the old chain. A couple of my lopper mates get their chain for next to nothing that way.

I get my 18" chains from a hire store in adelaide for $0 so at that price can afford to file some of to make them sharp. best chain so far had no name or brand mark but we think may be mcculick cut very well and stayed sharp for long time even through dirt. worst chain GB which is on saw now, won't hold edge, and steel is different hardness on each tooth.

It Really is a Ford & Holden thing each chain make has its pro's and con's while it does seem some are softer than others, there all good to do the job they do, i thing how the chain is sharpened and maintained is probley the most critical aspect of how well it cuts and last, me i pefer to hone with file rather than grind, and then there's grind and grinding, many a chain has been destroyed by a heavy hand on the bench.

Some consideration has to be given to the shape of the tooth on the chain as well. Some have a preference for chisel others like semi-chisel and some the round.
The best way I think to tell quality is to do a metalurgical analysis of the materials used in the chains construction then a true blind test using 3-4 different makers and one chainsaw and a variety of timbers. Otherwise subjectivity creeps in and emotions run high.
Just my 2 cents worth.
Ive got a semi-chisel on my Jonsered 62 and its' done 10 trailers of wood from a brushpile and will do 1 ton of blocks before needing sharpening. Its' half worn out.
See thats told you nothing.
What density was the wood?
What is it's natural abrasiveness?
How hot did I allow the chain to get?
How often did it encounter abrasive materials?
What chain oil do I use?
What speed does the chain run at?
What angles did I sharpen at?
Can I sharpen it properly?

I have over 40 chains , all sharpened with a grinder , none of this amature hand filing buisness , which is nice and inconsistent , never getting the same results , as they say , anyone that can do a good job fileing by hand , can do a better job with a grinder . I have mainly full chisel and semi-chisel chains and a few round chisel chains , Stihl , oregon and Carlton , I mainly have Carlton semi-chisel chains now , eventually thats all I will have , full chisel cuts fastest , but goes blunt quickest , semi-chisel is the best all round chain , holds its edge better , round chisel holds its edge best , but cuts slower and needs more power , if you do a search , the experts will tell you the same thing . I mainly used Stihl and oregon chains for years , then I tried Carlton chain , as I said thats all I will have eventually , Stihl and oregon chains are good , but I have found Carlton to be better .

After a lot of mucking about I finally got around to testing the hardness of standard Stihl, Oregon and GB chain.

All are 3/8, regular comp semichisel.

I measured a range of cutters, ties and drive links, at least 3, but typically 6 readings for each link ~ 100 measurements in all. The hardness of the ties, cutters and drive links for the same make of chain are reasonably consistent.

Stihl is the softest, Oregon was on average 3% harder, while GB was on average 4% harder. My measurement tolerance is +/- 2% so there is technically NO difference between the Stihl and Oregon chains, and the difference between Stihl and GB is borderline and would require more testing to confirm this as a real difference. I would like to be more definitive but this would take far longer than I have time to devote to this activity.

Remember this scientific hardness data and does not necessarily translate into how easy chains are to file or how long they take to wear - this depends on many other properties of materials. For example a material can be softer than a another material but more abrasive resistant - so the overall wear is less.


Cheers

Very interesting Bob , good effort mate. Cheers MM

For completeness the chains I tested were

Oregon Chain numbers 72 (tie), 75 (cutter and driver) and 91 (driver)
It was all pretty much the same.

The Stihl was a chain number 3991 (driver, tie and cutter)

The GB was and A3EP (Carlton) driver, tie and cutter

I just happened upon this thread and I wanted to make a comment about it from my own experience too.....

I purchased a homeowner Electric chainsaw (Hey - it starts every time....)... but the chain only lasted about 2-cuts.... Literally - the steel was just horribly soft.... The cutting edges literally rolled over in Oak and Pear....

Carried it over to the local Chainsaw shop... After they got done laughing at my "Little green toy" and "Hey, look, a Lego Chainsaw" - they went ahead and sorted it out... which included a Brandy-New Oregon Professional Cutting chain...

Holy Cow - what a difference... I cut down 13 trees in the yard - and cut them up... The largest one was a 24" Red Oak tree..... and all the chain needed was some touching up with the round file.

Later on, I talked it over with the guys at the shop... They said it's a common thing on Homeowner saws... Their belief is that it's because of the liability.... Some idiot will go and run saw into steel and concrete.... A Pro chain will chip and break - and the idiot homeowner will sue the chainsaw company... where their Soft, mushy "Homeowner" chain will just round over and bend the teeth and jam up the saw - but it won't break and throw chips....

So... You go put on a Professional Cutting chain - and you now have abdicated your legal recourse - because you modified the saw outside the manufacturer's "Spec" for the chain on it...

Never mind that the "Good" cutting chain costs about 50% less than a replacement mushy Homeowner chain at the box store.....

So.. Yes - there is a difference.. Even within well known "Name Brands"

Thanks

I never thought after 3 -1/2 years I would still be getting replies to this thread. I have reread it some interesting things have been said or yelled here.

Pete