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Had a guy at the saw shop tell me to stop using the same chain pitch for everything | Arborists - Free To Speak

Had a guy at the saw shop tell me to stop using the same chain pitch for everything

He said my small saw was getting beat up running full chisel on residential trees around Pittsburgh. Switched to semi chisel for that saw and the cuts are smoother and I file half as often - has anyone else found it makes that big a difference?

3 comments

3 Comments

shane_park923mo ago

I ran full chisel on everything for fifteen years including a little 40cc saw. Never had a problem with it beating itself up. That vibration stuff is mostly in people's heads. A sharp chain is a sharp chain whether it's semi or full chisel. The real issue is people letting their chains get dull and blaming the pitch. You're filing twice as often with semi because you're cutting less efficiently and the chain has to work harder. More passes through the wood means more time with a file in your hand.

rowanhernandez3mo ago

That "small saw getting beat up" line hits home. I swapped to semi chisel on my homeowner saw and noticed way less vibration and smoother cuts in dirty wood. It really does cut down on filing time more than you'd expect.

samflores3mo ago

Wait wait wait - you filed HALF as often with semi chisel? That's the exact opposite of what I'd expect. I always figured more aggressive chain = more filing, not less. That just doesn't compute in my head. Shane over here saying a sharp chain is just a sharp chain no matter what, but if you're filing half as much with semi chisel there's gotta be something going on with the geometry or the way it bites. I've run full chisel on everything forever too and never thought about the small saw angle. Maybe the smaller engines just can't push that aggressive hook as well in the soft stuff around here. Gotta admit now I'm curious enough to grab a semi chisel loop for my little Echo and see what happens.