Picco Duro

[bonner1040]

Anyone use the Carbide picco chains? I am thinking on a trim saw?

How much is a 14" loop? Any idea?

Is it worth it?

http://www.stihldealer.net/videolibrary/OnePlayer.aspx?v=51&vt=51&vb=2&id=51

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/ooAlNzRwndg" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

 

[squisher]

I wouldn't bother myself. Trim saws stay pretty sharp.

 

[MasterBlaster]

Same here.

 

[woodworkingboy]

The brazed on carbide chip chain I have does hold up better in dirty conditions, but the reduced cutting speed in clean conditions makes me hardly ever use it.

 

[bonner1040]

But what if I cut through a log with 3 strips of sand and concrete running through it? Seriously though sometimes my trim saw gets used on the ground / at the chipper. I also invariably end up using it to remove shrubs and chit which gets it dull pretty easy.

 

[Tucker943]

I've run that crap on a trim saw. Don't bother. Those little saws sharpen up so fast as is that if you do dull them, you can have them sharp in less then 2 minutes.

 

[bonner1040]

Well, thats plenty of resounding no's ... Thanks for the info guys.

 

[FJR]

I think last time No Bivy checked in, he said he was using the duro and liking it a lot. Not sure if it was picco chain though.

 

[woodworkingboy]

Do you need a diamond wheel or hone of some sort to sharpen that chain?

 

[squisher]

I'm betting you do. I doubt it handfiles. I've never run it myself.

 

[bonner1040]

A diamond wheel. It is $90+... I assumed you would have to send them out

http://www.ebay.com/itm/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=260876472856#ht_500wt_977

 

[woodworkingboy]

I use a diamond grinding wheel on my carbide chain, but I think they make little diamond grinding hones that fit in those hand held rinky dinky grinders that burn up. Probably work too.

 

[treesmith]

About the only time my trim saws are used on the ground is if I get down and have to cut a path out from the tree. I almost NEVER use a trim saw on the ground. And they almost never get dull.

 

[Tucker943]

Need a wheel.

 

[Al Smith]

A couple weeks ago I bought both a standard semi chisel and a full chisel 14" loop of pico chain . They asked if I would be interested in carbide which I was not .

The reason I bought two new loops was to test the cut speeds with a non ported standard Ms 200T for cut times .Yesterday that task was done and resulted in approx 1 second difference in cut times on 8" cants of either poplar or cottonwood which ever it was .

So that said it's up to whoever owns and operates the saw if it's worth paying about 1 dollar more per loop to get chisel .Carbide is considerabley more expensive and is not nearly as fast .That plus the fact for all intents it needs to be machine sharpened .

 

[Al Smith]

Here's another thing I've never used a carbide chain but of the material I can speak volumes .Carbides take abrasive conditions well ,maybe concrete but if you hit a nail ,old horse shoe or some other buried treasure it will come apart like Humpty Dumpty .Carbide cannot take much impact such as a delayed cut on a metal lathe or some such thing .

Those rescue chains for example will go through a shingled roof,sheet metal ,slate etc .I'd bet a dollar to a doughnut if they hit a bar joist or an I-beam with them they would shatter the teeth off .

 

[wiley_p]

Carbide chain isn't really sharp to begin with, and in shitty wood takes just a bit longer to get really dull. Unless you are working on ventilating burning roofs, cutting railroad ties, or working forest after a volcanic eruption, it aint worth the time or money.

 

[sotc]

I keep a 28" loop in the shop just in case. It runs $130 a loop and as Dave says, It really is not a sharp tool. Works good when no one else can get the job done and you name your price.

 

[Al Smith]

Someone obviously had their head in butt building a foundation that close to a tree or letting the tree get that large .

 

[top_notch]

Or, they sold carbide chain

 

[flushcut]

I know a guy who runs that duro stuff on a 020 for shrub removals and it lasts a lot longer than standard but I have not used it.

 

[SkwerI]

I prefer a saw that's 100% sharp and will tolerate a saw that's 90% sharp. Running carbide chain is like having a chain that's 80% sharp but it never gets any worse. Unfortunately even at its best it isn't sharp enough for me.

 

[woodworkingboy]

Carbide is sharp in it's own fashion, but you can't put much of a hook or steep angle on it, so it seems less sharp compared to steel cutters. It moves through wood easy enough on a table saw blade, but there are generally a lot more cutters per inch. I don't know if the Pico has brazed on carbide, but the stuff I have seems to toss the cutters at the braze, rather than the carbide shattering so much. I have a short reel of the chain, probably enough for four or five additional loops. A guy bought it with a diamond wheel, and since I spun and sharpened his chains, he left it all with me. He has stopped doing tree work, so for all practical purposes it is mine to do with as I please. I should try and figure out some way to get more use from it, but it is so darn slow cutting compared. I dug up a few stumps and found some use for it there, and i have put it on when hacking through bamboo groves like being sentenced to work on a chain gang.

 

[Jack]

Several years ago I had a bad experience with a carbide chain. First time out, first cut, one tooth caught an included rock (??). The tooth came off and jammed in the cut. It, in turn, took off every tooth on that side of the chain.

$125 gone in one revolution ... never again ...

 

[Al Smith]

My point exactly .