NewBeeNY
ArboristSite Lurker
What type of chains do you use and why ? Trying to learn about different brands and types people run on their saws ….cheers
Chains
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LoneOak
ArboristSite Operative
Oregon CK72 is my absolute favorite chain, but will also buy Stihl 33RSLH; both of them for my bigger saws. It is a SEMI-Skip, full chisel, square ground chain. Fewer cutters than full comp. Cutters are arraigned in cutting pairs. It cuts faster, smoother and for a longer period of time than full skip; While requiring less power than full comp! The best of both worlds!
sand sock
ArboristSite Operative
i'm pushing professional firewood cutter status. i cut hardwoods primarily, i have done some softwood stuff and my chain, destroys soft woods. to the point they spoil you.
my big saw i run a .050 72 driver 20 inch full chisel. this has only 1 raker. [stihl 361] its a chance of a high kick back . but only seen 1 . i simply didnt see the threat, it went like a bore cut into another branch and tried to walk on me. . but most of the time this is the chain i want. this was out of position, way over my head and wasnt another way to do it.
my small trash saw is a stihl 251. i never liked it, but it was free from my dad. its a .325 .050 16 inch. it has a double raker. side by side. it really calms downs teh speed of the saw. i've never had anything nice to say about it, becasue its just not a prouctive saw and chain combination. BUT. i found a recent application for it. i was cleaning up a feew fence lines, cleaning multa flora rose bushes around fence post. that chain i s less grabby. and was cutting through crap and bumping woven wire fence and post. think for pruning trees, this would be a good chain for it. its just more forgiving on kickbacks. but your going to be running a smaller cc saw also.
when i was younger. i ran a bunch of .325 stihl green link triple bumps. while be ing a good learner chain. it never cut fast enough. i always felt like i was getting to much vibrations in my hands. i felt worn out aftewards . it might be good for fruit tree pruning. but not production firewood. when i was trying to clear brush, like above or trimp up shrubs. teh chain always went loose way to quick. because you had 4 point of contact on a cutter section.
i asked a stihl shop. when was someone experienced enough to go from a .325 to a 3/8 full chisel. basically they were referred not to volunteer. teh more agressive chain. unless people were actually asking for it. tehy would start you out at a triple bump green. then get you a double raker. then a single raker. letting you get some saw time. so you dont hurt yourself.
there is carbide chains, but i'm not going to run any of them. i know of a guy that had a few teeth rip off and get him. when he hit steel. those are more for trees drug through mu and crap full of stone. i'd rather wear 1 to nubbins quick. than havea tooth rip off.
thats my thoughts and experiences. but if your a american. you can do what ever you want
my big saw i run a .050 72 driver 20 inch full chisel. this has only 1 raker. [stihl 361] its a chance of a high kick back . but only seen 1 . i simply didnt see the threat, it went like a bore cut into another branch and tried to walk on me. . but most of the time this is the chain i want. this was out of position, way over my head and wasnt another way to do it.
my small trash saw is a stihl 251. i never liked it, but it was free from my dad. its a .325 .050 16 inch. it has a double raker. side by side. it really calms downs teh speed of the saw. i've never had anything nice to say about it, becasue its just not a prouctive saw and chain combination. BUT. i found a recent application for it. i was cleaning up a feew fence lines, cleaning multa flora rose bushes around fence post. that chain i s less grabby. and was cutting through crap and bumping woven wire fence and post. think for pruning trees, this would be a good chain for it. its just more forgiving on kickbacks. but your going to be running a smaller cc saw also.
when i was younger. i ran a bunch of .325 stihl green link triple bumps. while be ing a good learner chain. it never cut fast enough. i always felt like i was getting to much vibrations in my hands. i felt worn out aftewards . it might be good for fruit tree pruning. but not production firewood. when i was trying to clear brush, like above or trimp up shrubs. teh chain always went loose way to quick. because you had 4 point of contact on a cutter section.
i asked a stihl shop. when was someone experienced enough to go from a .325 to a 3/8 full chisel. basically they were referred not to volunteer. teh more agressive chain. unless people were actually asking for it. tehy would start you out at a triple bump green. then get you a double raker. then a single raker. letting you get some saw time. so you dont hurt yourself.
there is carbide chains, but i'm not going to run any of them. i know of a guy that had a few teeth rip off and get him. when he hit steel. those are more for trees drug through mu and crap full of stone. i'd rather wear 1 to nubbins quick. than havea tooth rip off.
thats my thoughts and experiences. but if your a american. you can do what ever you want
Carbide requires special tools to sharpen so you have to take that to a dealer. I prefer to do it myself. I've not yet tried square filed chain. I have files, guides and a grinder to round file.
My larger saws 60cc and up run 3/8. Usually full chisel though I have some semi chisel for especially dirty wood. Lots of Carlton chain from Baileys. Some Stihl safety chain. Up through 24" bars I run full complement, over that full skip. The Stihl chain stays sharp a bit longer than the Carlton but costs more so it's a wash.
The small saws are 3/8 LP. Stihl 63PS3 on the MS241 and I think it's Carlton semi chisel on the brush saw. The 63PS3 is amazing for small chain.
My larger saws 60cc and up run 3/8. Usually full chisel though I have some semi chisel for especially dirty wood. Lots of Carlton chain from Baileys. Some Stihl safety chain. Up through 24" bars I run full complement, over that full skip. The Stihl chain stays sharp a bit longer than the Carlton but costs more so it's a wash.
The small saws are 3/8 LP. Stihl 63PS3 on the MS241 and I think it's Carlton semi chisel on the brush saw. The 63PS3 is amazing for small chain.
We have sandy soil here, and squirrels will take sand particles up the tree on their paws - I've seen chains spark at dusk when limbing trees that haven't touched the ground. I use a semi-chisel, and while some people will laugh, I also have the chains cryogenically treated. I think they last a bit longer before needing to be sharpened. I just took the whole spool of bulk chain and whatever chain loops I had and had them all done at once - it was a 50# minimum processing fee. I use Oregon brand chains.
50cc and 79cc saws use .375x.050, (changed bar and sprocket on the 50cc) and the 30cc saw uses a low profile chain (I think). The small saw is an Echo CS340.
50cc and 79cc saws use .375x.050, (changed bar and sprocket on the 50cc) and the 30cc saw uses a low profile chain (I think). The small saw is an Echo CS340.
I'm not familiar with this.
What does it do?
LoneOak
ArboristSite Operative
Extreme freezing of metal, is believed to alter its elemental structure in a way that increases its hardness and durability.
Oh heck!! Now you've opened a can of worms!
Everyone has their own opinions and pretty soon personal threats are going to emerge and you'll be banned from the internet for starting it all!!!
That being said, perhaps someone with more insight than myself can clarify the fundamental principles but there are various categories and types. I'll do my best to give a rundown of the basic principles, but I'm sure others will jump in to correct any info I get wrong.
One category is safety chain, semi-chisel, and full chisel.
The safety chain cuts slower, but stays sharp longer, and is safer to use. It's what comes with your saw and what you buy in the hardware store.
The full chisel cuts the fastest but dulls quicker, so you don't want to use this in dirty wood where the dirt will very quickly dull the chain.
And the semi-chisel is in the middle. It's what I use on all my big saws. I use full chisel on my top handle saw and smaller saws which are used for working in wood that is generally not dirty.
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Another category involves size - regular and picco (or low-profile). The picco is best for smaller saws, the regular is best for bigger saws.
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Then you get skip tooth chains, semi-skip, and full-comp. I don't know much about that, so perhaps someone else can comment on this area, but generally the full-comp are the 'general purpose' chains, while the skip-tooth are better for larger bars/saws.
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You also get into gauge - the width of the drive links. I don't see that there's much difference between the various gauges, so I run .050 in all my saws, big and small. Since I make my own loops off of big spools of chain, I don't need to buy so many different big spools. I suppose the thicker gauge would be better for larger saws, and the thinner for smaller saws, but I don't seem to have any difficulty with .050 in everything.
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As for brands, well, them's fightin' words, but I run whatever is on the cheaper end but still has a decent reputation.
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Then there is sharpening style, specialty chains, and the various and sundry different kinds of chains within each brand that will drive you batty. That's a world where I don't go anymore. I stuck my toe in that water one time and nearly burned it off. I decided that any sharp chain will cut wood pretty well, and for those who wish to split hairs over those finer points are welcome to do so while I go out and cut wood.
So there's my summary. Perhaps others will correct any errors, but I would basically say to learn the basics, pick a chain and learn to keep it sharp.
LuDookie
ArboristSite Guru
I’m loving the Oregon EXL POWERCUT for full comp and EXJ(skip) for the bigger saws in 3/8. Nothing but a full chisel cutter and a depth guage. For the small saw I’m using a 3/8 low profile Oregon 91VXL. Same deal, cutter and depth gauge, but semi-chisel. Most aggressive chains.
Safety chain can be semi chisel or full chisel. It's not it's own category. The chisel/semi chisel refers to the shape of the tooth. Semi has a rounded leading corner, full comes to a sharp point. That corner of the tooth is what cuts the wood fibers. Semi chisel spreads the load across the rounded curve so there's more cutting area. But it's not as efficient for cutting as the sharp point of full chisel. The sharp point of full chisel cuts better but wears faster.
The "safety chain" anti kickback feature is a modified raker (actually it's on the link ahead of the raker). When the chain is bent over the nose of the bar the anti kickback feature sticks up past the rakers. This reduces the depth of cut and thus the kickback force. On the straight runs along the bar the anti kickback feature does not stick up so the rakers control depth of cut and the chain cuts like a normal chain. When sharpening anti kickback chain you may need to file down the anti kickback feature when you file the rakers.
Properly sharpened safety chain cuts just as well as non safety chain. Except for bore cuts where you're cutting with the nose of the bar. Then it's slower.
The "safety chain" anti kickback feature is a modified raker (actually it's on the link ahead of the raker). When the chain is bent over the nose of the bar the anti kickback feature sticks up past the rakers. This reduces the depth of cut and thus the kickback force. On the straight runs along the bar the anti kickback feature does not stick up so the rakers control depth of cut and the chain cuts like a normal chain. When sharpening anti kickback chain you may need to file down the anti kickback feature when you file the rakers.
Properly sharpened safety chain cuts just as well as non safety chain. Except for bore cuts where you're cutting with the nose of the bar. Then it's slower.
LuDookie
ArboristSite Guru
Most likely true. I’ve just come to the pinnacle of my sharpening and chain maintenance skills while using these EXL chains. Hopefully the process will continue to evolve.
Generally the heavier gauges ,.058,.063 will have less streching & take a little more punishment in the 3/8 pich group. Most be something to that as a lot of of .325 pitch units I see are .058.
LoneOak
ArboristSite Operative
This is only true for chain manufactures other than Stihl. While the bottom half of Stihl drivers are what ever is indicated by the number stamped into it, the top half their driver (the portion between the tie straps) will always be .063 gauge.
Oregon may have caught on to this style of driver, maybe others as well. If so; then chain stretch is a non-issue regardless of gauge. I only buy Oregon and Stihl chain and the roll of Oregon 72CK chain that I have is .050 gauge top to bottom.
Is the kerf narrower than Stihl .050?
LoneOak
ArboristSite Operative
Yes, slightly! That is also why it is my favorite chain!!
