Who needs a 200T...........

...when a little old Poulan can cut like this? Actually, I'm just demonstrating the newish Stihl 63PS3 full chisel 3/8 lopro chain. Everyone here seems to complain about it being a "safety chain". I don't really get it. It doesn't have those huge triple humps like the safety chains of yester years. These are just tiny ramps leading up to the raker. I don't see them hurting performance at all. None the less, I removed them. So, this is now a yellow chain, just like everyone wants. It's super fast and very smooth. It only takes a few minutes to remove these little humps on a bench grinder.

The wood here is Hackberry, actually quite hard wood.

Impressive what some of the older saws can still do with the right chain. Wait a sec... I'm sure its way too heavy for its power. Nobody is going to want to use it now...:msp_wink:

Dang!

Looks like Stihl may have finally done something right again!!!
Proving once again that "Even a blind hog will find an acorn if he roots around long enough".

Mike

Just goes to show that good cutters are as important, or more, important than HP.
Dang. Now I'm gonna have to dig into my Dad's old XXV. Did you port that one ?

J. Walker brought his 2139 to the Main GTG with one of them thar chains wrapped around the bar. That's good chain, pulled rather nice. That thin sharp kerf lets these small saws rip right through limbs.....

Sounds like you could be the perfect buyer for this hunk of metal I've had in my garage for way to long!!!

gcsupraman said:

Sounds like you could be the perfect buyer for this hunk of metal I've had in my garage for way to long!!!

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Whatcha want for it? PM me the details.

Brian VT said:

Just goes to show that good cutters are as important, or more, important than HP.
Dang. Now I'm gonna have to dig into my Dad's old XXV. Did you port that one ?

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Stock minus the spark arrestor screen.

Very impressive Brad. I removed the base gasket on mine, de-carboned the ex port and cleaned it up. Gutsy saws for sure. Sounds good too.

I wonder if Bailey's is gonna carry loops of this? I'd prefer not to give my Stihl-er a cent more than I have to....

Grande Dog?

Shutchomouth Brad. You're letting the cat out of the bag. I like picking these up for cheap. Now they'll be going the way of the 3400-4000 and 4200-8500 Poulans. Everybody here listen up..............that was SOLEY the wonder-chain making that saw cut so well. Those saws are just heavy old pieces of crap.:censored:

I was told you figured out the aftermarket crank seal #'s for these saws. I need to reseal three XXV family saws. Would you mind posting those #'s again?


gcsupraman

That's a totally different saw you have there. Part of the Micro family. Not related to the XXV saws at all other than by Manufacturer and sometimes similar model numbers (there are XXV Micros for example). Good saws too. The best by far of the consumer type clamshell CASE (not clamshell engine) saws (which also includes the Homelite 150, Homelite XL2/Super2/240, Frontier/Skil, and McCulloch mini-mac saws), but not in the same league as the XXV series.

Going to give that chain another go today trimming some Crab apples and Norway maples.
Bought a loop for my partner to try on his 335 Calf. Special.

I tried a loop of that on my 200T and did the same as you, ground the little ramps off with a dremel. It's a nice chain for sure, but the cutters are actually a whole lot bigger than the semi chisel carlton or whatever it is that I get off MCW. I only run a 12" bar on my 200 and it's super responsive and fast. This ends up great for me in the tree because with all that control you can do a lot more different types of cuts - spear cuts, jump cuts, chasing branches off the tree etc. Time is critical in a lot of cuts, gravity acts fast and some trees sure are hard. I spend an average of 4-6 hours a day in the tree so I get a lot of run time on my 200T.

Compared with the semi chisel I was running, the full chisel stihl stuff is agressive, it throws out a lot of big fat chip once you get the rakers right, but it is actually slower in the cut because it's cutting a wider kerf. This is especially noticeable if you're going from a nearly worn out semi chisel with its big long empty gullet and low low rakers with the tooth all narrow now its nearly done, to a brand new full chisel. The tooth width gets wider towards the cutting end, so when new they are wide! And obviously not much gullet.

I've got a bit more than halfway through the tooth now, will see how it goes towards the end of the chain then throw another semi chisel on. It's really noticeable that this chain needs a bit more drive to get it going. You have to have the saw going full revs before cutting, and the wind up is a little slower. It's definitely a conscious effort to wind up to full revs before biting wood. I think I'll end up going back to the semi chisel honestly. This chain is probably excellent for 50cc saws, but for in tree use on small saws it just isnt that fast. Plus, those sharp corners rip the crap out of you while you're climbing, no matter you short or long hang your saw. if you long hang, then every time you hall up she takes a bite out of you

Shaun

Eccentric said:

gcsupraman

That's a totally different saw you have there. Part of the Micro family. Not related to the XXV saws at all other than by Manufacturer and sometimes similar model numbers (there are XXV Micros for example). Good saws too. The best by far of the consumer type clamshell CASE (not clamshell engine) saws (which also includes the Homelite 150, Homelite XL2/Super2/240, Frontier/Skil, and McCulloch mini-mac saws), but not in the same league as the XXV series.

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Thanks for the info!

I got this saw along with a few others and was having trouble finding info on it. Seems information is scarce on that model.

-Greg

Interesting chain option. This thinking may be helpful for me as I'm wanting a new chain for my little Dolmar.

imagineero said:

It's a nice chain for sure, but the cutters are actually a whole lot bigger than the semi chisel carlton or whatever it is that I get off MCW.

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I noticed that it doesn't even look like a lopro chain. It almost looks like a .325.

blsnelling said:

I noticed that it doesn't even look like a lopro chain. It almost looks like a .325.

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Totally agree. The cutters are noticeably taller and wider than lp. If I had some scales I'd weigh both, and I bet you'd see the difference. The chain is quite a lot stiffer too, less twist and flex in it. It gives a good straight cut, but it needs more drive out of a saw.

Shaun

May as well just run the 7 tooth .325 200T option instead. I ran a bush-modded 200T with a cut-and-shortened-and-rewelded-together 16" Stihl .325 bar and a welded-on 026 rim sprocket to 200T drum once upon a time, it's O.K. as heavy duty chain for small to largish branches, but drags too much on, say, 8 inch plus logs. All-round, 1/4 pitch semi-chizel on a 12" 200T can't be beat