Chain Advice

[1legwoodchopper]

Hello,
I am sure that this has been covered but I was hoping to get some advice on which chains to buy.

First the saws. 028 WB with an 18" bar. Currently running a safety chain for limbing but I hate those things. It's what came with the saw. Anyway, the 028 is acting a little power shy lately and I need to look into why but past that I do most of my limbing and close to the house work with this saw. 038 Mag with a 24" bar. Felling, bucking, and cutting out the stumps.

I am not biased to one brand of chain or anything. I just want them to be durable and work well. The less stretch the better as hate to stop to mess with tightening a chain every 10 minutes. Safety chains are great but Stihls I feel is over the top and I would rather risk kickback just a bit more to be cutting a bit faster. Most of what I am cutting is oak, hickory, pine and in that order.

So, on the 028 who's chain, what style, and why?

As for the 038M I have a couple of Stihl full chisel loops and they cut fine. I do have a question for cutting out the stumps. Would you go with a carbide tipped chain for this work. We are fairly sandy here and when I am doing this work I can't help but get the chain in the dirt some. If so, who's and which style?

Is there a chain out there that is just plain better than anyone else's? Staying sharp and stretching are the two biggest things it seems and I am not opposed to spending a little more for something that works better or lasts longer.

Thanks and I look forward to the advice.

Cheers,
Jason

 

[fwf]

IMHO, you area already using the best chain for the job. Stihl makes great chain -- one of the best. And since you are doing mostly limbing, the safety chain is a good option because limbing is where you will have the most chance for an accidental kickback situation. I love the RS chains on my big saws, but for limbing I stick with RM and accept the slight speed loss.

If you want the best of both worlds, use RM chain and keep it sharp.

As for stumps, I don't use my chainsaws as stump grinders. Carbide chains may help but require very specific sharpening tools.

 

[Lawn Masters]

Personally, I like Carlton Chisel chain, its a nice middle ground between hard metals, and good ablility to hold an edge. oregon chain isnt too bad, I just dont like the soft cutters on it, Stihl, holds its edge the best, but is harder than anything else I know of as far as chains go. as I said, I prefer Carlton chain, which is also not extremely pricey either.

 

[tony marks]

sorry to hear u 028 is mabe failing . must have a lotto time on it. i put 95 vp on my saw that size . but the 16 inch comes with 66 drivers and stihls bars call for 67 links.
i had to order an special bar to make the change. although it would have been easier to just buy an link and make the 95 vp 67.dr. links.
still with the micro bar. the chain works better.