Tungsten-Carbide Chainsaw Chain...

WHat, no enthusiasm for Carbide chain ??

Anyway, so the Rolls-Royce breed of this stuff is called "Rapco". They are in WA state and have many flavors of Carbide chain, from mild to Fireman demolition style. Different pitches and cutter shapes depending upon your particular application. Expensive stuff, about 3 bucks per drive link.

I went with a couple different manufacturers; Stihl (made in Switzerland) and some shop in Missouri that mostly sells welding supplies. I am running mainly two Stihl saws, both with 20" bars. The chains are 3/8" pitch, .050 gauge, 72 drive links. A high-quality full-chisel chain from Stihl in hardened steel runs me about 30 bucks.That's pro-grade stuff, not safety chain. The Stihl Carbide are about 90 bucks. The Missouri test chain was about 60 bucks.

Anyway, why bother with all that spendy stuff ?? My woodlots have a bunch of Black Locust. Great Firewood, with a high BTU content. Typically they grow for thirty+ years and fall over. Because they are extremely rot-resistant, they tend to litter the forest floor. So, they are always in the way. They are also very hard hardwoods and beat up your chain. It is like cutting concrete. 

I can run 3-4 tanks of fuel cutting Oak, Maple, Ash or Cherry before a conventional chain dulls and needs sharpening. Locust is so tuff that my chain is Dead after 2-3 cuts.

Now, I've been field-testing the stuff. The Missouri company sells a product which is conventional hardened steel chain, with carbide teeth silver-soldered to the base carrier. I ran half a tank of fuel through that chain, and was impressed with the aggressive cutting capability through long-Dead Locust.

I cut about 10-12 rounds from a log 16-18 inches in diameter. Was getting dark, so I quit for the day. Next day I ran a full tank through that saw, and cut 18-20 rounds between 18-21 inches in diameter.

However, when it was time to refuel, I examined that chain, and found two busted carbide teeth. They are really brittle.

So the Missouri place already warned me about the brittle carbide teeth. They will sell me a few replacement teeth/drive links for not too much $$.

I'm already thinking, "crap product" for my particular application.

So I put the Stihl carbide chain on the saw and ran a tank of fuel. It is a different beast from that other stuff. No weld/solder joints visible. Here is a link to Stihl's desciption of that stuff...: https://www.stihlusa.com/products/chain-saws/specialty-saw-chains/pd3/

Again, it cut just great through thick Black Locust. At the end of the day, no busted teeth.

Thanks Mr Hillman.

I can tell that this topic is not all that fascinating to the vast majority of VLZ'ers.

However, for me, it  is yet another learning experience.

As they say, "Brother Esau holds a blessing; Brother Esau holds a curse."

I am blessed with megatons of Black Locust, which is gorgeous Firewood and never rots.

Problem is that it kills chainsaw chains. So my adventure into Carbide chain is supposedly going to   make Life a bit easier.

I actually think that ::

A: It is wonderful Firewood, burns like Coal

B: It kills my chain.

C: I must get it out of the way to approach Red Oak & White Ash Deadwood. That stuff is how I earn a few bucks and buy Dog Food.

BigJonnyT, or your new handle here on VLZ..............

I am genuine Disco Stu, not fake DS.

No imitation Disco could tell the Zone '72 Drive Links' and all like that. It is actually me. 

And, the Carbide stuff is liek, Laser Beam compared to dull Hatchet. If I accidentally hack my foot off tomorrow, I still had a Blast raging the Tungsten-Carbide chain.

So Merry X-Mas to you Mr. Jonny 

Mr. Jambone,

Merry Christmas and HNY to your self and Family :)

I hope that we all get to catch up at some near-future Show.

Good Luck to You & Yours for 2017 !!!

Jonny --

H.I.M. is enjoying the Frosty Weather. He barely wants to be indoors, except at night. Then he sleeps until 10 AM or so, except if I wake up at 6:30 or 7:00 AM.

At that point, he is interested in whatever early-morning work projects I pursue. He is a Working Dawg, and wants to be involved in workish projects.

The other hobby which he has been pursuing is ' Chick - Magnet Hüsky ' ...

When I walkies H.I.M. through various retail stores, the Ladies all swarm and say "What a handsome Fellow"; "Can I pet H.I.M.", and all that.

He loves the attention. The Women never ask me for a phone #. It is all about them petting his fluffy coat.

I've not heard any evidence that Locust combustion produces any more particulate than Oak, Ash, or Maple. It actually burns more like Coal in comparison, low purple flame and lots of heat. Probably a good idea to mix with other varieties just so you don't melt your stove or grate.

I hadn't thought of it in terms of renewable resource, but it is a nitrogen fixer like peas & beans. It's also opportunistic, borderline invasive. It will spread from a field's edge into the field if ignored. The young trees have sharp thorns on the branches, making them unattractive to Deer.  

I think your friend is  correct. I harvested a batch of BL's about that age for poles. They had invaded the edge of a field, so they were nice and straight. Forget if I cut them 10 or 12 feet long, but now they are the basis of a chicken enclosure. Popular choice for fence posts as they don't rot.

Anyway, of the rare percentage of folks here who run a chainsaw frequently, it's an even smaller percentage who(m) might benefit from Carbide chain. It's really for extremely dense, hard stuff, or if you are fooling with railroad ties, treated utility poles for landscape projects. One thing to keep in mind; you need a diamond wheel to sharpen it. If you are a file-sharpener, diamond file.

The Missouri chain has enough physical gap between cutting-edge and hind of raker that my local shop's 3/16" diamond wheel could fit in there. The Stihl stuff has a tighter clearance... I had to locate a 1/8" thick wheel which would fit upon Famous Ray's machine. Some nice folks in Minnesota sold me one, a bit over a hundy w/ shipping. diamondwheelinc.com has all yer obscure fancy carbide-sharpening devices.

So now I've got all this ca$$h invested in carbide chain and the gear to keep it sharp. I must say it cuts like Krazy, but I never would have been motivated to spend the equivalent of a weekend at Lock'n (or a few months car insurance) if not for the omnipresent Dead Locust all over the place.

Anyway, here are a couple charts describing BTU's per cord of various Firewood. Locust clocks in around 27-28 million BTU's/cord. White Ash and Red Oak are about 24-25 million BTU's/cord, but are easier to cut & split, less wear on a chain.

http://www.firewood-for-life.com/firewood-btu.html

http://firewoodresource.com/firewood-btu-ratings/

The numbers are a bit different on those sites, but you can get a general idea.The main thing to consider is 'How much Fun is this Firewood to burn? ' Personally, I think Locust has a stinky smoke. Oak and Ash smell nice, Cherry is just wonderful. Black Walnut has a low BTU count in comparison, but the flames are beautiful to watch.

From my point of view, why bother cutting Locust if you don't have to? The only reason for me is "Stuff is in the way". In terms of time, effort, maintenance and all that, Locust ought to fetch double the price of Oak or Ash.  However, people aren't willing to pay that exorbitant fee, so whatever I actually cut goes in my personal stash or to Good Buddies.