clearing saw/brushcutter blade.

[TopJimmy]

I have an FS250 that I use as my primary trimmer and as a clearing saw. I have been using the Stihl chisel tooth blade, always had pleanty of power, but not the fastest cut and the blade dulls quickly.

I was on the Windor site and found they had a better selection of blades than Stihl, but no dealers in my area. I was happy and suprised when I walked into a local dealer and they had a full selection of the blades.

I purchased one that is more like a circular saw blade. They reccomend 40cc as a minimum size for this blade. Wow, now I can see where a FS550 would be nice. It still works well on the 250 and stays sharp a lot longer.

This is not like the scratcher tooth blade that Stihl sells, it has fewer teeth, closer in number to the chisel tooth.

If you use a clearing saw, check out this blade.

I am open to any other reccomendations as well, but I am quite happy with what I have found.

Now I am going to consider a dedicated clearing saw, I missed a FS550 a month ago on Ebay that went cheap. Has any one tried the Dolmar brushcutter? It is only 45cc vs 56 for the FS550 so I think that the Stihl is the way to go, but I am quickly becoming a Dolmar fan.
Better get back to the trees.

Jim

 

[stckciv]

I havent used the Dolmar yet, have used the 265 Husky though, tons of power.

But anyway, Honda has brushcutter blades that range from 3 tooth to 80 tooth. Prices are about $7 - $18. They are a 1" arbor though so you would need an adapter for the 20mm.

 

[Lakeside53]

Stihl's arbors are 1 inch.

 

[HiOctane]

Did you buy the Maxi model blade ?They are tougher and cut better than original Sthl or Husky blades.If you want to try a bigger one,try the FS 480 instead 0f 550.The 550 is heavy and hard on gas and are less smooth than 480 or 450.Good ones also are the new 45cc from Husky and Jonsered,i use an Husky 45 and she is so smooth to run.They are coming with a 49 cc pretty soon built on the 45 frame.

 

[Haywire Haywood]

I have a Husky 232R, and use a Beaver Blade. It works great, and it comes in different diameters to match engine size. http://www.drpower.com/prdSell.aspx...ow&Chap=FieldMeadowTools&src=AW51567XE2553829

 

[Four Paws]

I have a Husky 232R, and use a Beaver Blade. It works great, and it comes in different diameters to match engine size. http://www.drpower.com/prdSell.aspx...ow&Chap=FieldMeadowTools&src=AW51567XE2553829

I also have a 232R. How do you like it Haywood? What size beaver blade do you use? Currently using the 4 point grass blade and a T35 Trimmy head. I do need to get a clearing saw blade for it as I have some creek clean-out to finish around my property. My 232R had some carb issues after about 3-4 tanks of fuel. Warranty covered it, but it has an off idle bog that I can't seem to tune out. Maybe they all do as they try and get that blade spinning? Once she is up in the revs, it is unstoppable in thick grass.

Have you done any work on the muffler? It is supposed to have a catalytic convertor, but if it does, it is unlike any I have ever seen. The inside of the muffler looks to only have a perforated plate in it, not the brick of fine passages like an automotive cat. I drilled another exhaust hole in it, next to the factory hole. I might drill 1 more hole and build a larger deflector for it...we'll see.

I do like that the 232R can be upgraded to a 235R with just a piston/cylinder.

 

[HiOctane]

. but it has an off idle bog that I can't seem to tune out. Maybe they all do as they try and get that blade spinning? Once she is up in the revs, it is unstoppable in thick grass.

Yes,its probably the only the weight of your blade,before she got spinning,it bogs the engine until she got a certain rotation speed .Install the nylon head to make a test,you should see the difference right away.

 

[Haywire Haywood]

I had to go out to measure it, I've had it for 5 or 6 years. It measures 10". In all reality, the 8" model would probably be better for the 232. Mine is really too much for the engine. It takes a couple seconds to spin up.
I just got mine back from the shop a couple days ago. I got it tuned up. I totally forgot about the screen. I've been running it with it in there for 6-ish years. It's the first thing I chuck with a chainsaw, but it didn't dawn on me that the trimmer had one. It runs like a different trimmer now. That screen must have been partially clogged after 6 years of trimming. It sounds "throatier" now. I'm a little gun shy about modding the muffler. I did open the factory hole one drill size larger than stock, but it really didn't amount to much. I'm no good at carb adjusting and don't want to kill it.

Ian

 

[Four Paws]

I had to go out to measure it, I've had it for 5 or 6 years. It measures 10". In all reality, the 8" model would probably be better for the 232. Ian

Thanks! I was thinking a 7" or 8" would be about right - and I really like the looks of the eager beaver blades. How do they do with grass/bruss intermixed? I would think the circular saw type blades would work better for that. If I had my druthers, and about $300 more when I bought my 232R, I would have sprung for the Shindaiwa 450...BUT, I didn't and I am pleased with the 232R for the money I spent!

. Yes,its probably the only the weight of your blade,before she got spinning,it bogs the engine until she got a certain rotation speed .Install the nylon head to make a test,you should see the difference right away.

Nylon head you mean the trimmer head? Yeah, it spins up faster when the line is the proper length. There is no 'cutter' to trim the string to the right length, so you can easily get so much string out that it will bog the machine really bad. I am going to rewind it with a single string, and try to install a homemade string cutter so I can set the length of the string for the optimum performance of the machine. I think that will work better!

 

[Haywire Haywood]

I was running thru a lot of string with my bump feed head from accidental bumping, so I switched to a Rino-Tuff push button head. www.rino-tuff.com I think I'm going to like it.

The Beaver Blade runs thru thick grass like a hot knife thru butter, but it's a chainsaw essentially, so it pays to keep it out of grit.

Ian

 

[NWCS]

if you want a good blade get the Windsor XRT. i have been using one similar to the XRT on my 21cc echo for 5 years now with no problems clearing brush and hillsides. my 21cc echo is one of the speedo cable type cable drives also, not the solid shaft model. never had to replace or fix a thing on the old bugger.


here is a picture of the blades i have been using, the long discontinued Oregon Cobra. http://www.nwchainsaw.com/cobrablade.jpg

 

[Four Paws]

Ben, what do those 8" Windsor XRT and EIA blades cost? Always looking for good quality stuff! That beaver blade looks impressive, though!