026 vs 028 For First Saw

[Courage]

Hey guys, well, it seems you were right, @ZeroJunk and @Marley5. I brought the saw in to start getting it taken apart to do a vacuum test, (I had forgotten to check the tank vent), and when I got the airfilter cover off, I was amazed and disgusted by how covered in silty sawdust everything was. That's what reminded me to check on the tank vent. I pulled it off, and blew through it as hard as I could. I also tried sucking air through it. I didn't think I was successful in either attempt, so I put it back on, and put it back together and went and ran the saw for about 20 minutes. I could not get it to run lean no matter what I did. I was hoping I could get it to do it again, so I could open the gas cap when it died, and see if that fixed the issue temporarily. I'm thinking my "futile" attempt, must have dislodged enough sawdust to make it so it could run again.
The other interesting thing, is that it used to not really like to idle after it warmer up, but tonight, after 20 minutes pretty much straight full throttle cutting, it idled perfectly. Not sure if that could even be related at all, or not, but it seems to be running better than it has in a LONG time. It also didn't used to like to restart after it had warmed up, but it started back up first pull each time tonight... curious to hear if yall think it could be related, or if it's kinda just random.
Also, what style of chain do y'all recommend running on it for mainly limbing and smaller tree work? Now that I have my 044, this saw will be relegated to smaller wood, but it's time for a new chain...

 

[fields_mj]

Sounds like you need to a better job of cleaning the saw up when you're done. I'm VERY guilty of this myself. I'm glad that it was something so simple.

As far as chain for limbing and smaller stuff, I don't think you could go wrong with a semi chisel .325 chain. Personally, I use full chisel, but some might find it to be a little grabby on really small stuff.

 

[Gord404]

is the 261 a clam?- had a 260 for about 10 years- very reliable but a bit slower than the 026- got 2 026's- one ported one not , lots of power and a very easy saw to work on - old style engineerig called quality- put new seals in both of them

 

[Courage]

Sounds like you need to a better job of cleaning the saw up when you're done. I'm VERY guilty of this myself. I'm glad that it was something so simple.

As far as chain for limbing and smaller stuff, I don't think you could go wrong with a semi chisel .325 chain. Personally, I use full chisel, but some might find it to be a little grabby on really small stuff.

I would 100% agree with you on that! I need to get an adapter to nosle down from 1" jack hammer hose on my air compressor for blowing off equipment. Then it'll be easier to keep stuff clean.
Thanks for the chain reccomendation! Does semi chisel stay sharp longer than full chisel? I'm running full chisel on my 044, so I guess it shouldn't be any worse as far as being too grabby... I think it's running ⅜" chain though, which would you say has the advantage between .325 and ⅜ on a ms260?

 

[fields_mj]

On an 026, I'd run .325 especially for limbing and smaller stuff. I don't recall what length of bar you're running. If you're running a 16" you could probably get away with an 8 pin drive sprocket or rim, 18" or 20" would be better off with a 7 pin. Semi-chisel is supposed to stay sharper longer when you're cutting in less than ideal conditions (ie dirty wood). The idea is that the wear gets spread across the radiused cutting edge rather than focused on the sharp point, which is true. My problem is that when the chains are sharp, the pointy tooth penetrates into the wood a lot easier even if its just a little bit dull (ie after ONE tank of fuel). That means I can tweek my rakers/depth gauges to take a bigger bite and/or use a larger drive sprocket to increase my chain speed in the cut so I get a lot better performance out of a full chisel chain. Since I sharpen after ever tank or two of fuel, my full chisel chain doesn't get dull enough for a semi-chisel to keep up. Another advanage of a semi-chisel is that in theory you don't have to remove as much material to make it sharp again, but I've not noticed this to be an issue either. 3 or 4 strokes per tooth is normally all mine takes to be back in top condition.

The reason that I recommended the semi chisel is because the sharp point on a full chisel IS more grabby than the slightly radiused profile of a semi chisel cutter. I normally run 18" .325 full chisel on almost everything. I don't personally find it to be TOO grabby. If its a concern for you, you might like the semi chisel better.