Chain Saw Carving Takes Real Talent

It is amazing what some folks can do with a hunk of wood and a chain saw. Producing a chain saw carving that is sculpted from a log is a talent that a few people have. Whether it is a small owl about two or three-feet-tall to an eight-foot-tall bear, it is sometimes difficult to tell it started out as a log.

When you watch an experience wood sculpture create a chain saw carving the woods chips are flying and it does not take long for the basic shape to reveal itself. A larger chainsaw may be used to make the initial shape, but smaller saws are used for the detail work by most.

People who perform chain saw carving also use bars and chains that are a little different than they would use to cut down a tree. Typically, a 14-inch bar and chain would be used, and it can be fitted with a few different cutting chains. Additionally, there are a variety of bar sizes used in chain saw carving that will serve no other purpose in cutting firewood.

Measuring Cutters And Drivers

Cutters and drivers come in a few sizes, regardless of the chain length, and different people into chain saw carving prefer different chains. For example, to measure the pitch of the cutters, measure center-to-center to three blades and divide by two. If you measure the distance from the first cutter, skip the next one and go to the center of the third one it may be one-half-inch. The cutter measurement, divided by two, is one-quarter-inch, known as one-quarter pitch.

Typically a chain will have half as many cutters as it has drivers. The driver is the protrusions on the opposite side of the chain that ride in the sprockets near the engine and on the tip. They also ride in the groove of the bar to keep the chain running straight. The normal thickness of a chain saw carving bar is .50, said as oh-five-oh. Placing the cutter pitch into the equation, as in the sample above, it would be said as one-quarter pitch oh-five-oh.

Normal variations for chain saw carving are one-quarter pitch, three-eighths pitch and .325-pitch. While most chains have the anti-kick cutters, required for smaller, farm-use chainsaws, they can be special ordered for chain saw carving as, for most people, they make smaller cuts and end cutting easier and neater.

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