How to check tire size for chains

Today we would like to talk about how to choose the right bar and chain for chainsaws (power saws). This article will be useful for beginners who have just bought a chainsaw and do not know how tires and chains differ from each other, how to choose a tire and chain, what to look for, as well as experienced users who use a chainsaw in their work at a semi-professional and professional level .

When buying a chainsaw, most likely the seller asked you questions related to buying a chainsaw and asked how often and what you are going to saw. Depending on this, the appropriate models are offered to the buyer. In this article, we will not touch on the choice of the chainsaw itself, but will concentrate on the issue of choosing an additional or main bar and chain.

Classes of chainsaws and electric saws

There are 3 classes of chainsaws: amateur, semi-professional, professional.

Hobbyist saws, as a rule, are designed for periodic work, have low power (up to 2 kW), low weight, low vibration. This is the most common group and chainsaws from this group are most often bought by summer residents and owners of private houses. Chainsaws from this class allow you to cut tree branches, harvest firewood, and do small repairs. Even a not very experienced user can manage and use such a saw.

Semi-professional saws have more power (from 2kW) and are designed for longer work in construction. The weight of such a saw is much more than an amateur one. Such chainsaws are used at the stage of new construction for work related to wood: harvesting rafters, cutting boards for the floor, sheathing the house with timber and other works. Unfortunately, such saws are also not designed for continuous operation for 6-8 hours or more.

Professional saws are used on an industrial scale in enterprises that are engaged in felling and felling trees around the clock. Such saws allow you to work for a long time, and in the most difficult places: hard rocks, thick and gnarled trees. The power of such a saw can reach up to 6 kW. A professional saw weighs more than 6 kg, vibrates and makes a lot of noise during operation, and is also quite difficult to control.

When buying a chainsaw, the bar and chain are included. Pay attention to the characteristics of the bar and chain that come with the kit. These parameters will allow you to quickly find in the future, choose chain and tire for chainsaw , and also buy them with a minimum waste of time.

Choosing a tire for a chainsaw (power saw)

One of the tire parameters is its size. As a rule, tire size is indicated in inches, sometimes in centimeters. We recommend using the size in inches. The most commonly used tire sizes are 11″, 12″, 13″, 14″, 15″, 16″, 18″, 20″, 21″, 22″.

The smaller tire size is used for easier work. For example, a chainsaw with an 11-13 inch tire installed is used as a delimber, and is also used to cut small thin boards. This tire is small and allows you to accelerate the chain at high speed, which allows you to work quickly. The most used and versatile tire size is 14-16 inches. Such tires allow both harvesting firewood and using a chainsaw (electric saw) as a delimber. Tires 18 - 22 "are used for sawing thick trees when harvesting firewood. Such tires are used in semi-professional, professional and powerful saws.

Your saw manual should list the tire sizes you can use. It is not recommended to install a tire longer than the manufacturer indicates, because this affects the engine speed. The longer the tire, the more power the engine spends on rotating the crankshaft to accelerate the chain, and this affects engine wear. This is the most important rule to follow.

For hobby saws use narrow and flat (low profile) tires . Such tires do not give a kickback and are very safe, which novice users will appreciate. There are also lightweight chainsaw tires. These tires have a reduced weight, which allows you to work and control the chainsaw on a canopy, as well as on the roof of the house. Lightweight saw bar consists of 2 steel plates, which are fastened inside with polyamide.

There is another group of saw bars - with replaceable heads. This is necessary for chainsaws operating in heavy duty felling, when the wear rate of the mechanisms increases. For domestic needs, a similar shape of the tire is not needed.

One of the important parameters of a guide bar is its shank (fastening). Each manufacturer has its own tire mount. Therefore, sometimes a bar from one saw may not fit another.

Since the bar is directly connected to the chain that is mounted on it, the chain pitch must be taken into account. Find out what it is below.

Choosing a chain for a chainsaw (electric saw)

In order to select a chain for a chainsaw, you need to know the following parameters (they intersect with the parameters of the saw bar).

Chain size must match your tire size. In case you bought a chain smaller than your bar, you simply will not install it. If you bought a chain larger than your saw bar, the chain will not properly install and stretch over your bar. Both options lead to the impossibility of working with a chainsaw. Chain size is indicated in inches and can be 10″, 12″, 13″, 14″, 15″, 16″, 18″ and above.

Chain pitch (distance “a” in the figure) is measured in inches and marked 0.325″, 0.375″ and 0.404″. In order not to confuse similar numbers, the chain pitch 0.375 ″ is most often denoted 3/8. Why is that? If we divide 3 by 8 we get 0.375. You need to understand that the higher the chain pitch, the more professional and powerful the saw. The most used and popular chain pitch is 0.325″. This chain pitch is used in amateur and semi-professional saws. If you are using a saw for delimbing and felling thin trees or construction work, then a chain pitch of 0. 325" would be more appropriate. A chain with this pitch will make your work smoother, more comfortable and will not “tear” the wood when you start cutting. The 3/8 pitch chain is used when felling thin trees and for cutting medium thickness wood. And the chain pitch 0.404″ is used only in professional saws and we will not talk about it in this material, because it is not very popular and our readers will probably not come across it.

Shank thickness saw chain (drive link thickness) is one of the important chain parameters. The drive links are designed for different tires, so pay attention to this parameter. The thickness of the shank is available in the following sizes: 1.1 mm, 1.3 mm, 1.5 mm, 1.6 mm and 2 mm (0.043”, 0.05”, 0.058”, 0.063” and 0.08” respectively) . The 1.1 mm chain is used in small saws and it is impossible to do serious work with such a chain. A chain with a drive link thickness of 1.3 mm - 1.6 mm is able to withstand heavy loads. The chain is quite popular and is used on amateur and semi-professional saws. If the thickness of the shank is 2 mm, then you can immediately say that the chain is used in professional saws. The conclusion can be drawn as follows: the greater the thickness of the drive link, and accordingly, the wider the groove of the chainsaw tire, the higher the chain quality and able to withstand heavy loads.

The number of chain links (chain tails) is a parameter by which the length of the chain can be determined. That is, when choosing, you can name the number of links or the size of the chain in inches. For some chain manufacturers, the number of links, and not the length of the chain, is indicated in the product article. Therefore, it is better if you know both parameters of the saw chain when buying.

The following specifications are used to select a saw chain for a professional saw. Those who use household and semi-professional saws may not read our material further. We will touch on the rest of the parameters in passing, without going into depth.

Types of cutting links are different, we will touch on the main ones - chisel (in the picture on the left) and chipper (in the picture on the right). In the figure, we see what shape the chisel profile carries. In the context of such a profile resembles the number seven. In the people, this type is called the "seven". It is believed that this profile is designed for fast and high-quality work with a saw. The fact is that the entire working surface is strictly straight and evenly cuts into the wood. This type of link is mainly used on professional saws. However, it also has disadvantages. For example, sharpening such a chain is quite difficult, because even with a slight deviation from the correct angle, the work completely loses all the advantage of a chisel. The chipper type in section is very similar to the shape of a sickle, from which this profile received the name "sickle type" and "sickle". The contact area of ​​such a link is larger, which entails higher loads and worsens cutting performance. However, the chipper type of the link tolerates dirt much more easily, and when sharpening, it is not necessary to observe the angles too precisely.

It is very important to know the material from which the cutting links of the saw chain are made. Mainly for saw chains, high-alloy chromium-nickel steel is used in the manufacture of cutting teeth. Therefore, when buying a new chain, it is necessary to visually check the workmanship of the cutting elements and their sharpening. But in order to use the tool when processing especially hard, frozen or heavily contaminated materials, it becomes necessary to harden the teeth. For such purposes, options are offered, on the teeth of which hard-alloy special soldering is made. They have increased wear resistance. The presence of soldering is marked on the surface of each cutting tooth.

Depth of cut and profile height of chain . The depth of cut is the height of the profile, which indicates the depth of cut of the saw (it is worth adding that the size in height also plays a role, but the depth of cut is the main parameter). The higher the profile, the deeper the chain “takes”, which means higher performance. The smaller the profile, the thinner the chips are removed, that is, the chain does not bite deep into the wood. This depth can be adjusted by grinding the stops located at each cutter, but in the new chain these dimensions already have a certain type. There are two types of profile: 0.025” (0.635 mm) low profile chain and 0.03” (0.762 mm) high profile chain. This information should also be written in the characteristics of the saw (often they simply indicate the brands of chains that fit, but they already correspond to the desired size). The choice here is not great, this information is given more for review. Indeed, when sharpening chains on your own, you need to know the type of profile in order to bring them into the appropriate form when sharpening the limiters. But at their core, both types are divided into professional and amateur chainsaw profiles. True, there are nuances here. Professional chainsaws do not always have high-profile chains, but household chainsaws are always equipped with low-profile options. And if everything is clear with the low profile types, then the high profile requires clarification. After all, it makes the chain highly productive, which means it increases the vibration and aggressiveness of the chain, as already mentioned. And strong vibration will not allow you to work with the saw for long hours at the logging site. This is where the developers did some kind of trick, they take into account the chain pitch in order to maintain low aggressiveness. After all, if the step is large (and this entails vibration) and the profile is high (this is also increased vibration), then in the end the saw, although it will cut quickly, will simply become inconvenient for long-term work. And this balance is maintained by choosing not the two most effective parameters, but by alternating them. That is, if the step is large, the profile is low, if the step is smaller, you can make a high profile. This balancing allows the chainsaw to work less aggressively and efficiently at the same time. But it’s difficult to say which chain is better (with a large profile and a small pitch or a small profile and a maximum pitch), it all depends on the wood, working conditions, and everything is individual for each case, you just need to try. We also note that on highly professional saws when felling large trees, chains with a large pitch and a high profile are used, since speed is extremely important here. It happens that the profile is produced even more sounded, even 0.07” (1.778 mm), but this is extremely rare and is often used on machine units for felling. In general, this entire item can be attributed to the professional use of serious chainsaws. For an ordinary user, this parameter is important only in one case, when the saw is sharpened at home. You can cut the depth limiters only with voiced knowledge, otherwise your household chainsaw will not cut at all and will definitely get tired of high loads.

Rip and cross cut . The longitudinal type chain is designed for sawing wood along the grain, and the transverse type chain is designed for cutting across. Masters understand that the difference in wood resistance in two cases is different and for working across - you don’t need an acute angle, but for working along - the tools are sharpened very sharply. For chain saws, these parameters are: 25-35 degrees - for cross cutting; 5-15 degrees - for a longitudinal cut. These characteristics can be read on the chain and even seen with the naked eye on the cutting teeth themselves. By the way, each tree also loves different angles, so it’s worth looking into these parameters separately if you work professionally with wood.

Everything is trite, chainsaws are often used for cross cutting. If sawing along, then this is most often done with a circular saw, which is more efficient for this. And that is why the demand for chains of the longitudinal type is so scanty that the market is not particularly involved in their development. Therefore, even finding a longitudinal type chain on the market is very, very difficult. Most choose the transverse type, and it was for these reasons that we discarded it to the very, very end. And this was the last parameter for classifying chains for chainsaws.

For a household chainsaw (not professional), this approach will be relevant, and only professionals should re-read everything written again. So, it’s worth starting the choice of a chain for a chainsaw from the disclosure of the instructions. If it is not there, we look for the model of our saw on the Internet and find all the important characteristics there. And in order to go buy a chain for your household tool, it is enough to write down the following: chainsaw brand (to buy a chain from the same manufacturer), the number of leading links (namely, leading, not cutting), the width of the groove of the tire (or the width of the leading link, tail) and the length of the tire (if we have the number of leading links, this can be discarded). Knowing all these parameters, we will definitely buy the right chain. If you know only the brand, you can suffer. After all, there are technological features of even well-known brands, where the sprocket, tire and chain are replaced for some reason with similar, but distinguishable types. And it is especially important to know all the indicated figures, if we saw cheap domestic production or from China (perhaps a fake brand), here it will not be difficult to buy a completely different chain, we see for ourselves, there are a lot of characteristics. Be careful! And professionals should definitely re-read everything that has been said a few more times. Having penetrated into the essence, everyone will learn to understand everything stated as correctly as possible, which in the future will certainly help to make even a good chainsaw even more efficient and reliable.

Sequence of cutting chain links

Looking at any standard saw chain, there will always be two tails (two drive links) per cutting link. This is a standard and is followed by all chainsaw chain manufacturers. However, there are chains on the market where there are fewer cutting links, these are the so-called chains with half-pass and pass. In the first case, one more additional connecting link is inserted into every second pair of cutting teeth. In the second case, an additional link is already installed between each cutting tooth. As a result, a standard chain with 64 leading links (tail) should have 32 cutting teeth, that is, 50%. But in the case of a half pass, we will already get 40% of the working teeth, and with a pass - 37.5%. Who needs such chains? In the chain, only cutting teeth are valued, they are made using a special technology, they are coated and they are much more expensive than connecting links. If you can’t make the chain shorter, then skipping the cutting elements can significantly reduce the cost of the chain itself.

As a result, you can sell it cheaper and earn money at the same time. But there is only negative from such a chain, it makes the saw more aggressive, reduces its performance and even increases the wear of both the entire saw set and the chainsaw itself. It is not recommended to buy such a chain, its cheapness does not at all justify further repairs and work efficiency. In addition, no factory makes such chains, everything is made up at home from factory chains (at best), so it is clear that the build quality and durability of the chain itself is reduced several times. And when buying a chain on the market, we carefully study the sequence of links so as not to accidentally ruin our new device in such a popular way.

When it is necessary to buy a new chain and chainsaw bar

The simplest and most basic criterion that fixes chain wear is its stretch. If you cannot tighten it with the tension screw on the saw, you need to replace it. However, installing a new chain on an old worn sprocket and bar will cause even more wear. It is known that the chain wears out 2-3 times faster than the bar and sprocket, so to increase the durability it is worth resorting to trickery. For example, you have a new chainsaw, you are going to work with it a lot and for a long time (if a saw is bought for five-minute work once a year, then one chain will last a lifetime). And in this case, we buy three chains at once for efficiency (it is possible with different pitches or with different types of cutting teeth relative to strength, if you have a professional tool). Further, after several hours of work with one chain, we make a replacement for another and so we constantly alternate the entire set (and do not forget to turn the tire over, it also requires uniform wear). As a result, all three chains will gradually stretch and grind at the same time as the tire and sprocket, and after the impossibility of stretching, it is already possible to safely change all the chains, the tire, and the drive sprocket. Believe me, with this approach, the gain in durability will be an order of magnitude higher than putting a new second chain on an already worn tire. In addition, a chain stretched almost to the limit will behave more quietly and more efficiently than a new one on an old tire and sprocket.

Everything about the saw chain - construction, sharpening, maintenance

Gasoline and electric saws are a convenient and productive tool that, with proper care, can work for many years. How to properly monitor the tool, we told in the article "Maintenance and care of chainsaws", and now let's talk about how to care for the saw chain, which needs to be sharpened from time to time.

You can sharpen the chain at a service center or specialist workshop, or you can sharpen it yourself. Being far from the benefits of civilization, in the forest, in the village, in the country, in order to continue the work process, you will have to sharpen the chain yourself.

When should the chain be sharpened?

The chain becomes blunt from hard work, if the cutting part touches the ground, sand, gravel - this causes severe damage to the saw blade.

Many users in the early stages do not notice a change in the operation of the saw, a deterioration in the quality of the cut. Which often leads not only to a drop in performance, but also to the destruction of the guide rail and its elements. The deterioration of sharpening reduces the life of the tool, so the sharpness of the chain must be monitored.

Do not use a saw with a blunt chain, because it creates an unnecessary load on the engine, increases fuel consumption and accelerates the wear of chainsaw components.

If in the process of sawing the falling chips become finer, the bar does not go deep into the workpiece, the operator has to press hard on the tool to make cuts - all this indicates that the teeth of the saw chain have worn off and need to be sharpened.

It is not difficult to notice a deterioration in saw performance, after which you should start sharpening the chain as soon as possible. To bring the chain into working condition on your own, you need to know the geometry of the cutting part of the saw blade, understand the nuances of sharpening and have the right tool at hand.

Structure of the saw chain

The saw chain consists of the following elements: driving links, cutting links - have a depth gauge and a cutting tooth with sharpening marks, a connecting link and a swivel or rivet. The lower part of the drive link is called the shank. Between the connecting links there are channels into which the lubricant enters.

Cutting links are divided into right hand and left hand. The upper wide part of the tooth is designed for cutting. Chains from different manufacturers can vary greatly in tooth shape. There are two main tooth configurations - chipper and chisel. But there are also incisors of other shapes.

Top and side - the cutting edges of the tooth have a certain sharpening. The sharpening angle for rip saw chains is 10 degrees, for lateral sawing chains 30 degrees. Rip chains are rarely used.

The chain pitch is the distance between the centers of the first and third connecting rivets, divided in half. Chain pitch is measured in millimeters or inches. The most common chains with a pitch of 0.325 and 3/8 inches, 8.255 and 9.525 mm, respectively. If you use a chain with a smaller link thickness and a smaller pitch when sawing, the cut will be cleaner and more accurate. Powerful chainsaws are equipped with 0.404 inch chains. Such circuits are more efficient.

An important characteristic of the chain is the thickness of the shank. There are five standard shank thicknesses: 1. 1; 1.3; 1.5; 1.6; 2 mm. The thickness of 1.3 mm or 0.05” is the most common and is used on household and professional models of chainsaws. The thickness of the drive links must match the width of the guide bar groove.

The durability of the chain is determined by the impact resistance and toughness, too hard teeth are difficult to sharpen by hand. In the manufacture of chains, wear-resistant alloyed steels are used. To increase the surface hardness, the cutters are chrome-plated, and the viscosity of the teeth is increased by applying shot blasting.

Depth gauge distance

The cutting link consists of a cutting tooth and a depth gauge, also called a control tooth. The difference in height between the top of the depth gauge and the back of the tooth is the distance of the depth gauge that the saw chain cuts into the wood. Therefore, the chip thickness is equal to the distance of the depth gauge.

The distance of the depth gauge is set according to the chain pitch. The norm is a distance from 0.5 to 0.8 mm, an average of 0.6 mm. An increase in this indicator will lead to strong kickback and vibration when working with a saw. Values ​​that are too low will result in reduced sawing performance. The distance of the depth gauge with each sharpening of the chain decreases, because the upper edge of the tooth is ground down, the depth gauge also needs to be sharpened periodically. Approximately after every 2 - 3 sharpening of the tooth.

Sharpening the chain

The sooner teeth that have begun to dull are sharpened, the less material will have to be removed during sharpening, which will extend the life of the chain.

When sharpening a chain, several rules must be observed and the following parameters must be taken into account: the height of the cut limiter and the sharpness of the corners of the cutting link are set by the chain manufacturer. It is also important that the dimensions of all chain links are the same, otherwise the performance may decrease, the vibration level will increase and the load on the saw motor will increase, cracks may appear on the chain, which will eventually lead to a chain break.

The saw chain can be sharpened with a hand file or with an electric sharpener. Each tool has its own characteristics of work.

Sharpening a chain with a file

Before sharpening a chain, it is necessary to know its parameters, because the file is selected depending on the pitch of the chain.

The chain brake must first be installed. If you are in the field, the saw is clamped between the knees. Most importantly, do not forget to mark with chalk the tooth with which you start.

The inner contour of the tooth is close to a circle and is therefore sharpened with a round file of the appropriate diameter. Before sharpening, the top edge of the file should be slightly above the cutting edge of the tooth.

Sharpening a chain requires precise positioning of the file and controlled movements in relation to the edge being sharpened. It is necessary to place the file in the mouth of the tooth at an angle of 90 degrees with respect to the chain in the vertical plane, and from 30 to 10 degrees in the horizontal plane. File movements should be carried out only in one direction, away from you. The number of strokes for each tooth should be the same. The size of all chain teeth must be adjusted to the size of the worn tooth itself.

Depth gauge or reference tooth can be ground down with a flat file if necessary.

To ensure the correct sharpening of the chain, it is recommended to use special sets that come with the chainsaw. A chain sharpening kit can also be purchased separately. Sharpening set includes: file, gauge, accessories.

It should be noted that if the user does not have certain skills in sharpening saw chains, you should contact the professionals at the appropriate service center.

Manual chain sharpening

Not every craftsman will be able to sharpen a chain with a file. If the cutting part of the saw is hard hit by gravel or sand, it loses its working shape, simple sharpening with a file will not help bring the chain into working condition. In these cases, sharpening on a special machine is used.

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