New Greffardized 372XP & Chain Question

[Randy J]

I am the proud owner of a Greffardized 372XP that I received after much trials and tribulations for both Dennis and myself. Boy, do I have to say this saw was worth the wait! This thing will flat cut!
Now for the question though. I want to get a new chain (20 inch bar), and I would like to know what would be the best for it. I currently have an Oregon 72LG. Should I just replace with another 72LG, or go with something else? I'll be cutting mostly hardwoods, tend to get in the dirt sometimes (I know I'm trying to be better 'bout not getting in dirt with this new saw!), and not too much frozen.
Thanks for any help, and thanks Dennis for a great saw!

Randy

 

[jokers]

Hi Randy, congrats on the new saw, you should be very happy. The 72LG is as good as any chain you can run on your saw. There isn`t any chain available that will tolerate being dirted or rocked out so just be more careful and learn to file. You will probably get some Stihl nuts coming out of the woodwork saying that Stihl chain is superior, well I haven`t seen enough benefit to running it to justify the expense. Russ

 

[treeslayer]

Ever ran a double full skip? I'm not real familiar with the oregon numbers.

 

[treeclimber165]

LMAO Russ! My nuts are rarely stihl.

 

[jokers]

Stihl Chain

Hi Brian, glad you took my remark in the challenging way that it was meant! I just bought one loop of Stihl 3/8 pitch round chisel chain to try it again but it is literally double the price of the LG chain for a 20" bar where I buy it, it had better be d@mn good. Past experience tells me not to get my hopes up too much. For some reason the 3/8 pitch Stihl chains have not impressed me but I can`t see why they would be any different than Stihl`s smaller chain. I have been using some Rapid Micro on the 260 to buck up some nasty dirty firewood logs and it does hold an edge slightly better than the comparable Oregon .325 semi chisel and it is only a few dollars more per loop so I will probably continue to use it when I need a semi chisel chain, just hate those goofy guard links. Thankfully I have grinders. My buddies over at CCD recently set me up with some .325 RS chains for the 260 for eleven bucks a loop, shoulda bought more than four, so I`ll be checking those out soon but I remember your results were that it was better than comparable Oregon which I would guess to be the .325 LG, although the smaller LG works good for my dad. I still prefer the larger profile Oregon LP chains for my .325 saws but maybe it`s just perception because of the larger cutter but I haven`t noticed any difficulty in keeping it sharp. How`s this fr a confusing and non-commital reply? Russ

 

[treeclimber165]

You post a very good confusing and non-commital reply. I haven't owned anything that uses full size 3/8" pitch chain in a couple years, most of my work is smaller cuts. But for 3/8" pitch I'd think the Oregon would be as good as anything else available.
I still like the Stihl .325 RS for my lil 026 though. Russ- you can get the Stihl RM without the safety bumpers. Just remove the '2' from the part number for the non-green wank chain. 26RM- *link count* instead of 26RM2- *link count*.

Back to Randy's original question, I'd probably run the Oregon LG. In my experience there isn't much noticable advantage running the Stihl chain on the full size 3/8" pitch. Oregon just cheaps out on the smaller pitch chains. There are several lesser-known brands but my limited experience with them has not been good enough for me to recommend any of them.

 

[Gypo Logger]

Hi Randy, 33RS and 72LG are about as good as it gets. You can also square grind them, but it is best to learn to free hand file.
RS being harder than LG, requires that you use a 13/64" file to get the most out of it. Cleaning out the gullets from the bottom of the cutter to the back of the raker without touching the cutter, will give you a fast smooth cut.
John

 

[Randy J]

Thanks to all for the advice. John, I'd like to learn how to free hand file, but haven't had much success with it in the past.

Randy

 

[tony marks]

tell u the truth randy ,if u can get it passable,with file guides an such. u might better count u blessings.i actually got three semi sharp,good cutting chains yesterday.tell u one thing ,getting somebody that knows how, to get a chain really to cut rite,
for 5 bucks is starting to look like the deal.
as far as freehand,u got to remember ,climber dont let his get normal dull, to start with.u can tickle one by just following the
cutter. but buildin a sharp edge by hand gonna take a while to get the hang of.jmo

 

[Dennis]

Randy...glad you are enjoying the saw!! I personally like the Oregon chain...find out what is easy to get locally...and go with it...

(owners manual is on the way)

 

[Randy J]

Dennis, to say I like the saw is an understatement - I LOVE IT! To give you an idea, even if this does demonstrate my stupidity, I was helping a friend cut down a (aprox. - it was about as big as my bar) 20" Mesquite tree. I was cutting the felled trunk, which was laying on a chain link fence, being (so I thought) careful not to get into the chain link. Unfortunately, I did get into the fence, which munched my chain, hence the need for the new chain. The point I want to make however, is that I never knew it hit the fence, it went right through it without even a hiccup - that's how much power it has!
I went ahead and ordered 2 73LG/72's today. It was cheaper than getting Stihl locally, and I couldn't find anyone close by that carried Oregon.
Thanks for sending the manual, and tool kit?

Randy

 

[HUSKYMAN]

Stihl chain has one advantage. The yellow link so I know where the heck I am at in my filing. Why can't Oregon do that?

 

[Dennis]

Randy...didn't we have this discussion about cutting steel?? lol...yep kit is there too... When filing, mine is usually done in the shop so I usually mark the tooth with a marker...when in the field...one can usually tell where they started just by looking at each tooth as you file...