History In The Making

Representatives from Indigo Innovators, Inc. are presented with a
$25,000 check from the 2003 Ben Franklin Business Plan Competition.
From left, Jennifer Szymanski, Dave Szymanski, Congressman John Peterson (R-5), Senator Joe Scarnatti (R-25), Representative Dan Surra (D-75),
and Greg Magaro, tooling specialist.

 

Have you heard that out of crisis comes opportunity? It’s true for the inventor of Chain-Serts, Dave Szymanski. While a young boy cutting wood several miles into the woods, he broke his dad’s only file to sharpen the saw chain.  He decided then that there had to be a better way: a way that wouldn’t require sending the saw chain to be sharpened or relying on your skill and file sharpener…..out of this, he designed Chain-Serts™

Upon graduating from college, Dave started a machine shop.  Soon he realized that time was money and that meant; making steel chips FAST. The best way to do this was to use replaceable cutting inserts, instead of silver soldered cutting tools or high-speed steel which had to be re-sharpened. The replaceable cutting tools provided hi-speeds, feeds and longer wear (maintained their sharpness). Bottom line $ using replaceable cutting inserts saved time and money. 

Reflecting on the wood cutting incident of his childhood, Dave wondered if the same idea of a replaceable cutting insert could be used in wood cutting applications, specifically saw chain. He began pursuit of his designs with a patent firm in 1991, but ultimately it had to be put on hold while he built his machine shop business.

In 1999, Dave approached the idea again, making a replaceable cutter for wood cutting saw chain. By this time he had garnered enough experience working with metal and living in the heart of hardwood cherry capital of the world he believed it was time to marry the two industries; metal and wood. Thus began, Chain-Serts. He took his knowledge of cutting, grinding, milling and turning metal to make chips and applied to making a new kind of chip – wood chips. He utilized his knowledge of metal working to make a revolutionary change in the saw chain industry: Chain-Serts.

“Ultimately, the wood cutting and machining businesses are the same,” said Dave. “Your machine is only as good as what cuts the wood or metal. It’s all about making chips.  Why would you invest in a brand new machine, yet still use an antique cutting tool? I’ve designed a tool holder with a replaceable cutter for cutting wood. When you are sharpening you are not cutting; therefore you are not making money. As always, time is money, and there is no time for downtime in this economy.”

Dave’s invention won the Big Idea Business Plan Contest of North Central Pennsylvania and he received an Honorable Mention for placing in the top 100 out of 4200 applicants in the History Channel’s, Modern Marvels’ Invent Now Challenge. At this time he has a Canadian Patent # 2,497,185 and several patents pending in the United States and Canada.

 

 

 

Made in the U.S.A.