Saw chain

Its key differences are sharp cutting teeth on the outside of the chain loop, and flat drive links on the inside, to retain the chain on the saw's bar and allow propulsion by the engine or motor.

Saw chains operate by being propelled around a guide bar, removing material from the kerf by cutting chips from the side and bottom.

In order to operate properly, the depth to which each tooth cuts must be limited to avoid it binding in the wood.

Skip or semi-skip chain has a further reduction in the number of teeth and is used for applications where much debris is produced, such as ripping or cross-cutting very large sections of wood.

Very early chainsaws used tooth configurations very similar to conventional hand saws.

They required great skill and a lot of time to sharpen in the field leading to extended downtime between sessions.

Chipper used a tooth that was curled over the top of the chain, with alternate teeth pointing left and right.

The semi-chisel chain has teeth with rounded corners formed by a radius between the top and side plates.

They are similar to semi-chisel design but have a small 45 degree chamfer between the plates rather than a radius.

Alternates having one or two drive links between pairs of cutters, for performance in between that of full complement and skip arrangements.

Cutting chain comes in a large number of configurations, but these are reduced to a few key dimensions for replacement or specification purposes.

This number is determined by the length and type of bar, the sprocket size and the overall configuration of the saw.

The operator can feel the vibrations in the handles and the engine runs harder while cutting.

The length, gauge and number of drive links is punched on the side of the saw bar.

Owing to the difficulty of resharpening the multiple teeth, these are usually made of long-lasting tungsten carbide.

The adjustment also permits enough slack to allow a chain to be installed, so there is no need for a "split link" when fitting, as for bicycles.

Large scale operators and retail shops may buy bulk chain on reels.

As this peening is done with a bench-mounted rotary tool, rather than hammering, it is referred to as "rivet spinning".