We got gifted a load of logs yesterday mostly softwood, been felled some time ago and stored outdoors not undercover, so pretty damp.

Set to cutting them down to length this morning and my dinky little electric Stihl absolutely wouldn’t touch them. 10 secs held in contact with the wood eventually caused smoke, but at best a 1/4″ deep groove.

Now normally I’d call it “blunt chain” but its only a few sessions old and the last time I used it (+/- a year ago) it was cutting perfectly (to the point I’ve not bothered buying sharpening kit yet). There’s no obvious signs of dulling on the edges of the teeth either. I have used saws with blunt chains before (my father-in-laws, mostly) and they usually cut, just slowly and without the nice big chips. This wasn’t doing anything.

I’ve always been a bit suspicious of the oil feed – it seems to block very easily and the chain was pretty dry, but for the 10 or so cuts I needed to make I couldn’t bothered to do a strip down there and then – could that be the culprit?

Otherwise – any ideas? Is it just the wetness? Did it with the bowsaw in the end…

Cheers!

Live trees seem to cut down ok with chainsaws and they’re quite damp, all things considered.

I’d sharpen it. And fix the oil feed if its knackered, or the chain will die quickly.

Depends on the wood. I’ve got a couple of serious saws but I was struggling with some buckthorn trees. They just didn’t want to cut.
What wood is it? (If you know)

Easy to check the oil feed. Start the saw and put it on the garage floor. Give it some revs and see if there’s a thin oil stripe on the concrete.

sharpening the saw would be the obvious starting point surely ?

if the chains spinning then thats your only real variable.

do not test with your fingers……

FYI electric chainsaws are sensitive to a chainsharpness. – even with a blunt chain the stihl ms170 still cuts but my makita if i dont sharpen the chain regular it lets me know by pretty much refusing to cut.

ive just got into a habit of making sure i sharpen it before i put it away and being sure to sharpen it every 45 mins/hour of use….. since it doesnt have a fuel tank to remind me to fill up and sharpen it.

Is the chain on backwards?

My dad’s old electric chainsaw really struggled with some branching joints of well-dried softwood (cypress style I guess) and my petrol saw went though them like butter.

Chain is definitely on the right way round. It’s been used maybe 5 times for 30mins or so a time.

Yes sharpening it would be an obvious place to start, but that would involve me having to buy the stuff to do it, which isn’t a immediate thing. I would like to know how it went from cutting perfectly to blunt as **** with no external intervention though…!

The oil feed is an annoyance. It was clogged solid when I got the saw (a hand-me-down from the FIL’s girlfriend). I unclogged it and it worked fine for about 10 mins. Then blocked again. And again. And again…. Basically as soon as sawdust gets near it, it clogs up.

Yes sharpening it would be an obvious place to start, but that would involve me having to buy the stuff to do it, which isn’t a immediate thing

If you have a chainsaw, you really need a way to sharpen, just buy the right kit and get it sharpened.

Btw, just because something has been stored outside and not covered, doesn’t mean it’s still wet, Holz hausens an obvious example. It may look wet, but that’ll just be surface moisture, and some woods are a bastard to cut when dry as well.

oh if it’s not been sharpened in that time then definitely start there (or just buy a new chain, they are hardly expensive).

now, this is somewhat embarrassing. I had a little lopping electric chainsaw.

It wouldn’t cut for anything. Not a dicky. Made a lot of noise, but the smallest groove known to mankind

Finally worked out I had the chain in the wrong way around. Works fine now!

Had similar issues with an electric chainsaw and oil was the answer. Night and day.

Chances are you’ve caught something abrasive with your chain. If the wood’s been stored outside, it can get quite dirty with rain bouncing soil about. Electric saw chains aren’t that aggressive, so a little damage can cause poor cutting even if you think it looks sharp. I normally test them by shaving my finger nail on the cutter (with the saw switched off obvs).

Smiffy’s got the answer. Blunt chain will cut, badly, reversed chain won’t

I sharpen my saw every couple of tanks of fuel, more often if the wood is dirty. Your chain is blunt.

+1 joat. If you have cut through soily logs, maybe from close to the stump/roots, or wood that has been stored so that it could get muddy. Also, more rarely, bits of grit and stone(and fencing wire)can get trapped in growing wood, then the tree grows round them and they are impossible to spot.This will blunt a chain very quickly. Maybe when you used it last time?

Does saw produce saw dust or large flakes? A blunt chain makes dust sharp makes big flakes. Perhaps the rakers,(depth gauges), need reducing,

A saw sharpening file and angle gauge costs next to nothing. Will do a good job as a put on. If you want it properly sharpening then you need a proper rig. The easy option is to buy a brand new chain. That way you’ll know the chain is performing as well as it ever will. Won’t cost a lot more than having it properly sharpened. If you can’t cut the logs with that, and the oil is flowing then what sort of logs are they?
File here…
https://www.screwfix.com/p/oregon-5-32-4mm-chain-sharpening-file-guide/8566v
Machine here…
https://www.screwfix.com/p/oregon-compact-mini-chain-grinder-230v/7448v

Smoke and a groove says either chain on wrong or blunt.

Another vote for chain on wrong, I checked and thought it was correct, I was halfway through resharpening it before I realised it was on backwards.

Also I took some timber from a neighbour, looked like a softwood tree but it took some cutting and a nice sharp blade, the saw found it quite tough! Ancient 6″ oak fenceposts cut easier…

If you want it properly sharpening then you need a proper rig.

Nope, never used any grinder to sharpen chains, and don’t know anyone who does. File and gauge is more than adequate.

Take a close look at the groove, a buried nail, or brick or fnece wire or such like will blunt the chain instantly. its amazing how chains are attracted to buried objects.

Are you really, really sure it’s not been put back on backwards? If the right way around sharpening is the answer. It runs away on the top of the bar, and back on the bottom.

Some softwoods like Sitka spruce can season quite hard relatively quickly and be quite punishing.

The oil situation isn’t ideal, but wouldn’t limit cutting ability. It is there to lubricate the chain on the bar and prevent wear. Some chain oils are prone to gumming pumps and some pumps are prone to stripping gears.

Edit: Stones in bark are a pain for taking the edge off. We mostly hand sharpen, but the firewood processor benefits from the hardening process of grinder sharpening.

If you’ve not taken the chain off (good practice to flip the bar and clean the oiler hole as well in same task) then I’d suggest you’ve either hit a stone or nail or something and blunted the cutters.

Or it could be a combination of teeth sharpness and wood hardness.

For the small investment I’d purchase the appropriate sharpening kit, spend some time sharpening it up and then after every 30 min session give the chain a quick tickle – stitch in time and all that.

Also if time is short, and it’s definitely blunt I’d buy a new chain and swap between the two after you’ve brought the other one back up to spec

So, you held your saw on for TEN seconds and saw smoke. You expect it to cut efficiently after that.
As the Op´s have stated a sharp chain and an oil supply to lubricate the cut are a must.
People seem to sharpen there chains a little too often on here Tbf.


Five trailer loads cut and the brought home then cut to fit in my splitter. No chain sharpening required and still cutting fine. I used to sharpen with a file but they don´t last long and my local Husky dealer charges two euro´s for a machine sharpen.