Homelite SuperXL

[Bret4207]

28" is an awful long bar for an Super XL in hardwood.

 

[Cruelsun]

28" is an awful long bar for an Super XL in hardwood.

28 is too much for the Super XL but if you must, at least go to skip tooth chain. Yes, that full chisel cuts great until you hit a little dirt. Keep it touched up.
How's your hearing now? [emoji23]

Yes, 28 would be. Hoping 24 will be workable, maybe with a skip chain as suggested by buzz Sawyer. The 28-in reference was a typo(now corrected). The bar on order is 24-in Oregon with an Oregon full chisel chain. If that is way too much, I can order a Forester or Archer 24-inch skip chain on flea bay(The only 81 link skip chains I have found so far).
The 16-in blade cut oak beautifully until I put some down force onto it. The motor bogged a little and the clutch stopped the chain.

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[Matt Coolen]

Anyone see Buckin’ Billy’s XL76 with a “32 and full skip? I know the saw is ported, but it’s only 58cc. It’s works pretty good

 

[Mad Professor]

I've used my Super XL with a 24" bar quite a bit with full comp chisel. You can't lean on it or take the rakers down too much but it's workable. The reed valve engine has a lot of mid-range and you don't have to scream it to cut. Just feed it wood at it's own pace.

 

[Cruelsun]

Amazon says the 24" bar and chain is on my front porch so I'll update this thread in the next few days. I should be able to do some cutting with it Thursday or Friday.

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[Cruelsun]

Okay, so you're right, I couldn't wait. I had to end up out there in the dark to make this cut but it was worth it.

This is the bitter end of the trunk. Largest cut I needed to make. Blade made it through the bark on the other side by like a millimeter...
No problems cutting the full 24-in oak. As long as I did not exert any downforce on the bar. That's with a full compliment, full chisel chain.
This tree was taken down by a storm in August when I was out of town of course. Had to fly back to cut up most of it with the Super XL 16-in because it had shattered a pole and taken out the power for the neighborhood and was still laying across all the wires. I delimbed and bucked up most of it, cleared the wires my first day home. Unfortunately it took the electric company another 5 days to get there to put up the pole... I supported the trunk with cinder blocks and eventually carved up the 32" base of the tree till it separated and the root ball fell back into its hole.

The 16" saw was not going to be a good solution to cut up the rest of the 20"+ trunk which is supported by its branches laying across the yard. All of the above is what brought me here.
Thanks to all of the expertise on this forum, I can now make short work of the rest of this tree and have nice rounds to split into firewood. Instead of a lot of little triangles. Lol. [emoji16]

Thanks to everyone!

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[Mad Professor]

For bucking stuff thicker than the bar is long, try starting at the top and cutting down on the far side. Then finish the cut on the near side.

 

[Cruelsun]

For bucking stuff thicker than the bar is long, try starting at the top and cutting down on the far side. Then finish the cut on the near side.

Well that sounds easy, but unfortunately when I would cut real big wood with the 16-in bar and existing chain I had great difficulty making a straight cut. The cuts tend to curve away from the motor side of the saw. So matching that cut on the opposite side of the log would not work.
That is why I asked questions early in this thread about whether the bar could be worn. I have not tried to make a big deep cut with the 16-in bar and new full chisel chain yet. It may have just been my poor sharpening techniques with the semi-chisel blade I had.
I just discovered that the original Homelite bar is slightly warped. If I lay it on a flat surface the two ends touch the ground but the center has a gap under it. Enough to slide a few small slips of note paper under without binding under the bar. I don't know if that much of a warp is terribly significant, but there is also some slight mushrooming and burrs around the edges that I need to file off.

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[buzz sawyer]

Glad that worked out for you. Looks like it's cutting well. A slight bow on the bar shouldn't make a difference. When you dress the bar, be sure to make the edges/rails are perpendicular to the sides. You can use a good file and a square to check it. You can also out a sanding disc on a table saw and grind the rails flat and square.

 

[Cruelsun]

Other than the slight bow and a couple of small burrs along the edges, the rails look straight and flat, square edged to the sides. I don't have anything to check it more precisely than that but it looks good visually.
Once I get several more cuts under my belt with that 24-in bar and chain, I'll put the 16 and the new blade on again and see if it cuts straighter now with the new blade in some big wood.

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[Mad Professor]

Well that sounds easy, but unfortunately when I would cut real big wood with the 16-in bar and existing chain I had great difficulty making a straight cut. The cuts tend to curve away from the motor side of the saw. So matching that cut on the opposite side of the log would not work.
That is why I asked questions early in this thread about whether the bar could be worn. I have not tried to make a big deep cut with the 16-in bar and new full chisel chain yet. It may have just been my poor sharpening techniques with the semi-chisel blade I had.
I just discovered that the original Homelite bar is slightly warped. If I lay it on a flat surface the two ends touch the ground but the center has a gap under it. Enough to slide a few small slips of note paper under without binding under the bar. I don't know if that much of a warp is terribly significant, but there is also some slight mushrooming and burrs around the edges that I need to file off.

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What I suggested was to start at top and cut down into far side. Then start cut at near side with the tip already in the previous cut at the top of the log, The tip will follow the existing cut.

 

[Cruelsun]

I apologize for the misread. Actually thought about it and reread it again after I replied but then life got in the way and I did not get a chance to repost. Yes that makes a lot more sense than me trying to start two different cuts .

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[Cruelsun]

It's a bit of an engineering project to keep this thing off the ground. But it's worth the effort cuz I can make beautiful cuts without bending over or turfing the blade!

Now I'll just need a crane to move them... The wood is for my brother who lives 20 minutes away.

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[Mad Professor]

Good to hear saw is cutting well.

Be careful. There is a lot of weight and tension on that tree. The limbs holding it up too. If it shifts you don't want it to land on you.

Instead of cinder blocks, you might try some large sections of limbs laid under the trunk. That is get it closer to the ground to work on it, and if you touch a limb with the chain it won't hurt it.

If you can't get equipment to move the rounds, some steel wedges and maul/sledge would work to 1/4 them.

 

[Cruelsun]

I was joking. They're plenty round and will roll nicely. I've actually moved bigger and heavier wood than this that I did not cut myself. Have a good utility trailer with ramps. Did you mean using big hunks of oak like this? [emoji16]

I'm using the floor jack and pinch bar to be sure I have enough weight off the bitter end of this thing before I make my next cut. Next cut is going to be 25", so it should take a couple hundred pounds off the end of this but I will wedge open the top of the cut and be ready to beat feet.
Not sure this 30+ year old floor jack is really designed for this, but it lifted my 62 Pontiac years ago. [emoji3]

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[Mad Professor]

I was joking. They're plenty round and will roll nicely. I've actually moved bigger and heavier wood than this that I did not cut myself. Have a good utility trailer with ramps. Did you mean using big hunks of oak like this? [emoji16]

I'm using the floor jack and pinch bar to be sure I have enough weight off the bitter end of this thing before I make my next cut. Next cut is going to be 25", so it should take a couple hundred pounds off the end of this but I will wedge open the top of the cut and be ready to beat feet.
Not sure this 30+ year old floor jack is really designed for this, but it lifted my 62 Pontiac years ago. [emoji3]

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No I was thinking of laying some 4-6" X 5-6' long limbs, perpendicular under the trunk, in several spots, and getting the whole tree closer to the ground to buck up.

Be safe.

P.S. rolling them on a trailer and letting your brother split them is a good idea.

 

[Cruelsun]

I see what you mean, but I'm not sure I can safely lower this thing until I've made the rest of the big cuts on the trunk. And most of that is around waist high.

I do have a pile of long cut limbs that I could use to supplement the 4x4 on this side of the tree. Although strangely, the tree did roll an inch or so away from this 4x4 when I made the last cut off the cinder block pile. Was not expecting that considering how many branches are supporting it on the opposite side of the tree.

All right, the rest of life is calling me, so the chainsaw games must end for the day.

Thank you again for all your advice.

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[SAWTECH1]

Enough reading here about chains/bars, sharpening to keep you busy for a week.

I've used the dremel tool attachments. You have to make sure they are setup proper to get the right profile on the cutter (hook and gullet). The diamond stones are the best.

The Pferd 2 in 1 file holders work decent. I've been a hand filer and just use a simple holder, sometimes just a file with a handle on the tang. Mounting the saw by the bar in a vice will help hold things steady.

For practice, take a sharpie and black out the cutting/filed surface. Then observe when you get all the marker off as you file the cutter. It should clean up to bare metal and have sharp edges. Read up on what a proper filed cutter looks like.

Bars you need the rails true and square, and the groove clean and not hogged out so the chain flops. They make tools to square the bar rails. A vertical belt sander works for really out of shape rails. A large flat file also works; put the bar in the vice and draw file it. You can check the groove with a stack of feeler gauges, check whole length, it should not be much wider than the chain gauge.

Also make sure your rakers are the right height, use a guide, do not file to much off. rakers should be checked every time you sharpen your chain, also flip the bar if possible, that will ensure the rails wear evenly, and sharpeners work well with practice, and can be used in the field.

 

[SAWTECH1]

Hmmm, got the new chain for the original 16" bar the other day, cleaned the bar and spooled up the new chain.
The new full chisel chain is way more aggressive than the existing (original?) Semi-chisel chain. Faster cuts for sure. Cut up several 4"-8" oak logs quick and clean. Way bigger chips.

Even after the cuts, the chain was well lubricated.
However, a couple times cutting through an 8-in oak log the chain stopped if I put a little pressure on it. Bogged the motor slightly but the chain stopped and the motor kept going. I do not recall this happening with the semi-chisel chain that was sharpened by me...
I am now concerned that a full chisel blade on a 24-in bar (on order) is going to be problematic.
I am guessing that there may be some clutch maintenance in my future?

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(Typo fix.. Edited new bar length 12/8/20)

I never use full chisel chains on small saws, demands to much power, semi chisel chains stay sharper longer, without having to sharpen so much.

 

[a. palmer jr.]

My saw doesn't get run much. I prefer saws with the muffler on the front because it cuts down on ringing in the ears. Ear plugs help a lot..