Let’s talk chainsaws

[Biggredchev]

Our local Ace charges $8 to sharpen a chain, i take my full house 28” chains there and they do a dang good job. Might look into that. If you dont get your angles and rakers set properly youll end up cutting at an angle. Westcoastsaws.com has really nice raker gauges also.

 

[BigRed]

Our local Ace charges $8 to sharpen a chain, i take my full house 28” chains there and they do a dang good job. Might look into that. If you dont get your angles and rakers set properly youll end up cutting at an angle. Westcoastsaws.com has really nice raker gauges also.

I've been doing the same....local place has a guy that knows his stuff.

I learned early on to have several quality chains on hand. I'll "sharpen" in the field when needed, but still rotate them through the guy that knows more about it than me. At least for me, it's better in the long run....I've learned a few things from that guy.

 

[BigRed]

Well, went to fire mine up for the first time in a while....no go.

So now I'm chasing fuel, spark, carb, etc.

I have a love / hate relationship with chainsaws

Ran it for several hours today.....Followed some of the input from folks here. Ran like a top.

So I am now back on the "love" side.

The AV stuff worked VERY well. I can see a few minor tweeks to the carb are in order. Should be able to do that myself before the next outing which will be soon.

This place has some folks that know what they are talking about and are willing to tell. Thank you very much!

 

[Biggredchev]

I've been doing the same....local place has a guy that knows his stuff.

I learned early on to have several quality chains on hand. I'll "sharpen" in the field when needed, but still rotate them through the guy that knows more about it than me. At least for me, it's better in the long run....I've learned a few things from that guy.

I can sharpen chain with the best of them but i got problems lol. If its a long full comp chain ill loose interest and hurry through it or go squirrel on something else. That’s 99% of the reason why i run skip tooth chain most of the time. $8 is worth the time savings on the long runs though lol.

 

[ancjr]

Skip tooth makes a lot of sense on long bars and cutting wide logs.

 

[Bugzilla]

My old McColloch 510 is still a beast even being about 45 yo. My dad bought it new. But use my Stihl MS250 90% of the time. lighter, but not as powerful as the 510. Bought an Echo 670 with a 27” bar at an auction about 5 years ago for the big stuff. It’s a beast and opened my eyes to Echo. Only time I got short chain life was when I lived near Romney. Wind took down a hickory tree. What a bear to cut up. Give me oak any day. Got chains sharpened for $5 last year. Have a HF sharpener that has paid for itself but for $5 a chain, not worth the time to sharpen them myself.

 

[Biggredchev]

Skip tooth makes a lot of sense on long bars and cutting wide logs.

Yep. Ive not noticed much if any time difference in cuts. Plus not as many teeth to file.

 

[BigRed]

There is a whole next level of chainsawers beyond me in this world!

 

[wcd]

My vote goes for the Stihl as well. Have had one for about six years has not let me down yet. Although keeping E15 away from it seems to have played a role in ease of starting.

 

[JTClark]

Ran it for several hours today.....Followed some of the input from folks here. Ran like a top.

So I am now back on the "love" side.

The AV stuff worked VERY well. I can see a few minor tweeks to the carb are in order. Should be able to do that myself before the next outing which will be soon.

This place has some folks that know what they are talking about and are willing to tell. Thank you very much!

I used to have 3-4 chains for the first and only saw I had at the time. By the time I half wore out that little Efco I got it stuck in a tree to the point I had to take the saw off the bar and come back with another saw to get it out. Right around there I learned the real value of owning two saws and soon learned the down falls of having two DIFFERENT saw. It means twice as many chains, twice as many files, 2X everything.

By the time they said the Efco wasn't worth fixing any more I had two TWIN Stils. The chain on each saw, plus a spare in case one breaks or something but usually I don't even take the spare in my saw bucket. If I get dust or even cutting don't seem right I'll hammer in the vise and go around the chain once with the file. I don't normally ever take a chain off unless it is wore out or something breaks.

 

[thelefthand]

I used to have 3-4 chains for the first and only saw I had at the time. By the time I half wore out that little Efco I got it stuck in a tree to the point I had to take the saw off the bar and come back with another saw to get it out. Right around there I learned the real value of owning two saws and soon learned the down falls of having two DIFFERENT saw. It means twice as many chains, twice as many files, 2X everything.

By the time they said the Efco wasn't worth fixing any more I had two TWIN Stils. The chain on each saw, plus a spare in case one breaks or something but usually I don't even take the spare in my saw bucket. If I get dust or even cutting don't seem right I'll hammer in the vise and go around the chain once with the file. I don't normally ever take a chain off unless it is wore out or something breaks.

This is why I run an 026 and an 036 both with 18" bars and .325 chain. 026 limbs and cuts stuff that's 8" or less. 036 runs a 9 pin rim and has the rakers dropped down. It pulls hard, but cuts through hickory like a hot knife through butter. If I run into an issue with one, I can rob the bar/chain from the other.

I filed by hand for years. 2 or 3 strokes per tooth after every tank of fuel. One chain usually lasts through at least 12 cords of hickory. I now use a timber ridge and love it. Especially with 404 chain on long bars for my big saws.

If your chain is sharp, but won't cut, your rakers need do be filed down. As others have said, touch the dirt one time for a split second and your chain is dull. If you can see an edge on it, it's dull and needs touched up.

 

[tmschuller]

There are many opinions on chain tightness, so just remember, too tight and you ruin the crank bearings prematurely or stress the shaft, too loose and you may have a chain jump but this would have to be pretty loose. Most people end up tightening them more than necessary.

When adjusting the chain tensioner, pull UP on the bar, as this is the position the bar will assume in the cut. If you are not sure what tension to run, then tighten up the chain until it just touches the bottom of the bar. That is a good starting point for a cold chain.

Chains will stretch when hot, this will result in them sagging a little on the bottom after being run. This is normal, and should not require readjustment. If you do then the chain will be too tight once it cools.

New chains will stretch more, so after the first use they may need adjustment again.

Never leave a chain tight when putting a saw away.

The stihl 2-1 (copy of the pferd) is a great system for touching up chains. But if you have never filed down the rakers, I suspect it will not be of use until you address those back to a reasonable level. A standalone depth gauge filer would be beneficial here. Or if you have a quality shop that addresses all aspects of the chain, it might be easier and faster to have them do it.

Those both will file the depth gauge as you sharpen the chain. I get the chains sharpened and use the pferd/Stihl to keep it sharp. A few passes on it before I go to the woods keeps thing going well. Saves time, fuel, oil and headaches. I always take two saws and run 25” or 20” bars on both. I rarely use a 16” bar any more. Easier to swap bars and chains in a pinch.

 

[thelefthand]

For what it's worth...
My local dealers all sharpen chains. With no traffic, I can be there in 5 minutes. In the time it takes me to load the saws, drive them to a dealer, have them sharpened with their grinder, and drive back home, I can sharpen them all be hand. Sharpening by hand produces a sharper cutter than a grinder.. It also allows me to keep the cutters sharp instead of having to wait until I have time to take them to someone during normal business hrs. This means that my saws are always easier to use. As an added benefit, I haven't ruined the temper on the teeth by accidentally grinding on them for too long, and I've only taken a few thousandths off each cutter, just enough to get them sharp, where as the dealership will remove 3x to 4x more material than they need to with their grinder. So my $35 chain will last me for several seasons which is over 2x what I'd get out of them if I were taking g them in to be sharpened. Since I run the same bar and chain on most of my saws, having one spair chain is enough. I don't have to have a hundred dollars or more wrapped up in several chains just to make sure I have a sharp one ready to use.

If you don't use a chainsaw very often, it may be hard to sharpen often enough to learn and maintain the skill. it might be better to pay someone else to do it. Otherwise, learning to sharpen by hand is just part of owning a chainsaw. Things don't have to be perfectly the same on every tooth, just close. So long as the cutters are sharp, pretty close to the same length, and the rakers are 0.020" to 0.025" below the cutters, the chain will cut just fine.

 

[ndawoods25]

Any model recommendations? For Stihl I was looking at the 271.

I have a stihl 251ms, 20" bar. Cuts what I need. When it won't, I've got a stihl 291, 24" bar. It gets heavy fast

 

[thelefthand]

Any model recommendations? For Stihl I was looking at the 271.

I'd recommend a well used MS261 over a new 271. Same weight as a 251, same displacement as a 271, noticeably more power than both, and a more durable saw.

 

[duanewade]

I've got a 455 Husqvarna Rancher with a 20" bar and it is a beast. I use nothing but TSC chains as I have found them to cut better than anything else I've used and they hold their edge and they are cheaper too. The saw has been used and abused (fell off the truck and was driven over) and never fails me.

Sent from my SM-G991U using Tapatalk

 

[Spring1898]

If you ever burn up the cylinder, you can drop on a 460 cylinder and piston. Helps the power to weight ratio.

 

[ancjr]

I have a buddy with a 500i Stihl. A nice saw, but a bit spendy for the weekend warrior.

 

[Biggredchev]

My birthday present to myself came in, 32” Tsumura light bar. Its gotta be pretty close if not a little less weight than the 28” Stihl bar.

 

[BigRed]

Well, went to fire mine up for the first time in a while....no go.

So now I'm chasing fuel, spark, carb, etc.

I have a love / hate relationship with chainsaws

Now I'm back on the hate side.

One more thing to check in the morning....put it aside this evening before my patience got thin. If that doesn't work, looks like a tear down coming

Grrr.