Leylandii - Chainsaw Blunting & Clogging With Swarf

[Zirynx]

Hello,

 

Hoping someone might be able to cast some light on a peculiar issue I'm having. I've felled a series of mixed-type trees recently without issue, but today I made a start on felling a Leylandii (approx 18" diameter, with nominal cut point approx 15" - 18" above ground) with a relatively fresh chain (one tree fell on this chain) and, within just 20 - 30 seconds of making the first 'face' cut in the Laylandii (at 60 to 70 degrees, so more akin to a rip than a cross-cut, I suppose) the relatively fresh chain felt completely dull and, on removal from the kerf, the cutting teeth faces appeared to be thoroughly 'clogged' with swarf that seems too stubborn to remove. I'll attempt to add a picture.

 

I've not experienced this before but this is the first Leylandii I've tried to fell. Having done some googling, I do seem to find posts which connect Laylandii with accelerated blunting of the chain. In your collective experience and wisdom, does this sound 'normal' for Leylandii and if so, is there a particular type of chain or approach to avoiding this?

 

Many thanks in advance.

Edited May 28, 2018 by Zirynx

[Steve Bullman]

Can you take a photo from the top of the chain?

 

No leylandii won't take the edge off a saw anymore than any other type of wood.  Its likely you hit some dirt or wire that may have been inside the timber.

[Ty Korrigan]

It took me 3 old chains to cut through a large but dirty leylandii last week. I never found the source of whatever blunted my throwaway chains but they all clogged with resin once the bar got hotter as they got blunter.

  Ty

[White Noise]

It doesnt help if the trunks are slightly twisted or are under pressure  .   Multi stemmed Leylandii almost always hold crap in the voids .

[Zirynx]

Steve,

 

Many thanks for the reply. I've attached an overhead image of the chain as well as an overview of the initial tree cut I referred to above - I'll concede that was different from my previous approach.

 

This particular tree has been a completely different experience than the others - no swarf whatsoever clogging the chain with those - and all I could think of was that this tree was so much softer and 'wet' compared to the others, hence the question about Leylandii specifically.

 

Previously, I did however fall foul of making contact with soil and I found out very quickly that soil blunts a chain - hence this being a relatively fresh chain and me being cautious to keep it clean this time! No evidence of wire anywhere near to work site and no contact with the ground. All I can imagine is that the bark might be contaminated with dirt - but would that be sufficient to completely dull the chain? Looking at the tree just now, I overstimated the nominal height of the cut - more like 10" - 12" off the ground.

 

The chain was know to be good at the start, as I took down a tree only a couple of days ago and it was behaving and cutting very well at the end of the cut. I'm still very curious about all the swarf build up in the chain, which I've never experienced before.

 

Thanks.

[skyhuck]

Included unions filled with crap.

[Zirynx]

Ty, W/N,

 

Thanks for your replies - I've added a couple of shots - one of the build up on the chain and another of the work site.

 

Thanks.

[Steve Bullman]

It doesn't look the sort of trunk that would have any crap inside.  Have you checked the saw is oiling properly?

[Zirynx]

5 minutes ago, skyhuck said:

Included unions filled with crap.

Skyhuck,

 

Thanks for your reply. What is meant by 'included unions'?

 

Thanks.

[skyhuck]

1 minute ago, Zirynx said:

Skyhuck,

 

Thanks for your reply. What is meant by 'included unions'?

 

Thanks.

Sorry I posted at the same time as you posted the picture, thats not Leylandii, its some sort of pine. It looks pretty clean.

 

Leylandii is often multistemed, with tight unions that collect soil and grit.