[Greenbuilding] [BULK] Re: Sawdust for Composters

[Lawrence Lile]

Here is a quote from a site

>Problem: Sharpened chain will not cut.
Sharpening a chain is just half of the job. The depth guages, or "drags"
must be cut also. When a chain is sharpened, some of the tooth is
removed, and makes the tooth lower than the drag. When the drag is above
the tooth, it limits how far down the tooth can bite into the wood, thus
poor cutting. The more powerful the saw, the more of the drag you can
take off. See your saw's instructions for more information

http://www.small-engines.com/chainsaw.html

The "drag" is a dull tooth that rides just ahead of the sharp tooth of
the chain.  As the sharp tooth gets worn down by filing, the drag (it
looks more like a little cam than a tooth) needs to be filed to a
specific depth. When I see my saw spitting out fine dust, I know it is
time to set the drag.  If I can find my drag gauge, I use that, if not I
cheat and just hit the drag with two or three strokes of a file.  The
difference is amazing - you can take a sharpened saw that goes slow,
gets hot, and spits out powder, and make it into a saw that pours out
piles of chips so fast you could fill up your boot in a minute.  Most
chain saw stores have a dozen gizmos for sharpening chains and setting
the drag, just get the simplest one.  



Lawrence Lile, PE, LEED AP
Project Solutions Engineering
-----Original Message-----
From: Keith Winston [mailto:keith at earthsunenergy.com] 
Sent: Tuesday, October 30, 2007 5:19 PM
To: Lawrence Lile
Subject: Re: [BULK] Re: [Greenbuilding] Sawdust for Composters

I'd never thought about the drag piece. You're saying, if it's too 
tight, it will cut dustier, or something like that? Like, the slack 
actually allows the chain to wrap around the wood some? I'd never 
thought of that. Interesting.

Keith