Chainsawing charred hardwood

[OzKioti]

I'm in the process of splitting some hardwood for winter heating. I have a few very suitable felled trees, some years old, which have suffered superficial fire damage over the years, and have charred outers.

Problem - there are few things which dull a chain faster than sawing through charcoal to produce suitable rounds for the splitter. So, what's the answer?

I'm thinking of getting a stiff wire brush on my angle grinder and removing the charring around the circumference where I'm proposing to cut with the chainsaw. Tedious, for sure, but would save a few sharpenings of the chain.

I tried removing the charring with a mattock, and while it works removing loose and flaking charred bits, it still leaves some charcoal on the outer surface of the wood.

Any better ideas please? Or just be prepared for many sharpenings of a chain.

 

[Frankenkubota]

I don't have a solution for you, i burn thru chains because of sand so good luck.

I comment only because I've been noticing stihl is running commercials for their battery powered tools. There is a very brief scene where some real many actor guy cuts a piece of fire wood with the chain saw. It's not 2-3 seconds. I swear the end of the log that supposedly just got cut looks like it's been sitting out for years.

I do not have a dvr or i would record it and look close.

 

[jeff9366]

Tungston-carbide chains are available from Stihl, perhaps others.

I buy T-C for cutting old railroad ties.

T-C chains remain sharp two to three times longer but require special equipment to sharpen which my local Stihl dealer does not have. I periodically take the T-C chains to a larger Stihl dealer 40 miles away with the proper equipment to have them honed.

Mail order sharpening from non-still venders is available but shipping two directions costs more than sharpening.

 

[OzKioti]

Thanks Jeff. I'll assess how much I need to saw vs spending up on a TC chain. I note that the better TC chains have teeth which are full-length TC, compared with cheaper chains which have only TC tips on the teeth.

It's the old cost-benefit-time equation isn't it.

I'll have a closer look at just how much fallen hardwood is actually charred.

 

[Egon]

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[Jchonline]

I just learned to hand file my chains. Cutting charred is going to dull your chain faster than wood, but not like dirt.

 

[oosik]

When we burned firewood it was the volcanic ash lodged in the bark. From Mt St Helens - 1980 eruption. Sparks would come off the tip of the chain saw bar - just like a kids sparkler. Ended up debarking the entire length of each tree. Just another PITA.

 

[OzKioti]

I bought a very sturdy looking "Twisted Wire" attachment for my angle grinder this morning, and tried it out his afternoon removing charred sections from some logs.

It did remove most of the charring, but the chainsaw was dulled a bit towards the end. I'll run a file over it tomorrow, but probably cutting through around two dozen rounds of 22" hardwood is a fair enough ask for a chain between sharpenings.

The last big stump of hardwood I'm processing is a huge hollowed out stump, with charring on the inside, but I reckon that one last go with a freshly sharpened nearly-worn-out chain should do it, and then the chain can go to chain heaven.

Then a fresh new chain installed to do nice clean cuts...

 

[PuffyC]

You can buy a nice electric sharpener from HF for $30. Personally I’d rather do that than angle grind every cut I wanted to make. That sounds like torture.

 

[ArlyA]

You can buy a nice electric sharpener from HF for $30. Personally I’d rather do that than angle grind every cut I wanted to make. That sounds like torture.

Where I used to work had a HF one that I ran. Spend more.