Pre-made or make oyur own chains?

[Philbert]

but someone said the pre-made loops at Bailey's are the same or lower price of bulk? Perhaps in SOME pitches, . . .

Absolutely.

You have to be a careful shopper if you are trying to get the best price. And, you also need to figure in the costs of shipping, as well as your time, etc. Depends on the popularity of the chain, the length of the loops (drive link count), etc. Also, depends upon how picky you are about brand (STIHL, Oregon, Carlton, WoodlandPro, etc.), and how many loops you actually need.

If you are planning on making your own, I would recommend investing in a bench mount spinner and breaker set over the Granberg tool. You can get a modest set for a little over $100. from places like Bailey's. The Granberg is more of a field repair tool - do a search and check out members's comments about using it for more than occasional use.

Philbert

 

[pdqdl]

http://www.arboristsite.com/commercial-tree-care-climbing/185455-2.htm

The tech was telling u the truth, I don't understand why anyone would want to make their own.

It's the only way to go, if you are doing this for a living. If you just have a saw or two, and you don't really work them hard, it might make sense for some folks to just buy pre-made. I bought a rivet breaker and spinner about 1987, and they are still mounted on my bench, working as good as the day I bought them.

I can buy 3-5 rolls of different chain, and I will always have the right chain for each saw. Not only do I save money on each chain, I can make a new chain faster than you can drive to the store to buy one.

I keep professional chain in inventory, not that stupid anti-kickback crap that doesn't cut well. If all you do is buy pre-made chains, you frequently can't even get the right chain from the store you drive to. Down the road again...

Furthermore, if a chain gets broken or damaged, I can put it back together since I have all the tools.

 

[pdqdl]

Not trying to start a pissing match or anything but all the costs everyone is posting for what it costs to make a loop are higher or the same as what a pre made loop costs from baileys.

Not when you add shipping and the inconvenience of not having it when you need it.

 

[tree md]

It's the only way to go, if you are doing this for a living. If you just have a saw or two, and you don't really work them hard, it might make sense for some folks to just buy pre-made. I bought a rivet breaker and spinner about 1987, and they are still mounted on my bench, working as good as the day I bought them.

I can buy 3-5 rolls of different chain, and I will always have the right chain for each saw. Not only do I save money on each chain, I can make a new chain faster than you can drive to the store to buy one.

I keep professional chain in inventory, not that stupid anti-kickback crap that doesn't cut well. If all you do is buy pre-made chains, you frequently can't even get the right chain from the store you drive to. Down the road again...

Furthermore, if a chain gets broken or damaged, I can put it back together since I have all the tools.

My local Stihl dealer will not even sell full chisel chain to the public. They will only sell it to tree services and they have to make them up to order upon request. They don't even advertise that they sell it, you have to request it... It's time consuming to buy and wait for them to make it up.

 

[MacLaren]

I recently scored a Silvey 600 grinder, and since have bought a 100' reel of Stihl RS as well as a breaker and spinner from Baileys. I got the chain for 315 shipped. I can get 20 20" chains. That comes out to 15 bucks a loop I believe. Sure beats 30 bucks at Ace. At any rate I really look forward to using the grinder and makin my own chains. - btw, ill get the tapatalk sig turned off before i post again....

Sent from my MB855 using Tapatalk

 

[treemandan]

Never have done this before, but I was gonna order a spool of chain for my chain saws ( Stihl top handle and pole pruner)from Baileys and start making my own, but the tech guy said it's much cheaper to get the pre made ones. is that true, and if not from there where should I get them from?

for top handles no, its probably cheaper to buy pre-made. For multiple long bars it make good sense to be able to make a chain... and fast. If i didn't know for a fact I couldn't whip up a new chain for the 44 at any given time I don't know what I would do.

From there you can see if you want to hand sharpen on the bar or stockpile a few to grind.

Some saw shops offer a 3 chain for the price of 2 deal.

 

[Philbert]

My local Stihl dealer will not even sell full chisel chain to the public. They will only sell it to tree services and they have to make them up to order upon request. They don't even advertise that they sell it, you have to request it... It's time consuming to buy and wait for them to make it up.

Some saw shops offer a 3 chain for the price of 2 deal.

I think that there is a big difference between individual STIHL (and other) dealers as well. My local dealer told me that it does not pay for him to make up standard size loops for the common sizes, compared to what he pays for pre-made loops. He has a dozen or so reels of chain (that I can see from the counter) from which he will make up special sizes, or loops of less common types of chain.

I am sure that if I called ahead, he would have what I ordered waiting for me to pick up.

I have a spinner and breaker that I use for repairing chain, re-sizing salvaged loops, etc. That use can pay for those tools by itself.

Philbert

 

[Firewood Dave]

I go to my local Stihl dealer. If i buy enough loops to make up a 25 roll (about 5 chains) he gives me a darn good price by the driver.My last batch was 3 x 24 inch and 2 x 20 inch Stihl full chisel chains and it cost about $120 plus tax. They had them all made up ready to go.
When I worked at the tree service we made our own. My dealer tells me the bench mounted spinner etc is about $400.00 he says its like $100.00 for the vice grip tool. I just get the loops and keep em sharp. I usually file my saw every time I fuel it.
Dave

 

[F6Hawk]

Bailey's has the Granberg vise-grip breaker/spinner combo for $50, and the bench-mounts for about $109. $400 for a bench one must be a real pro model.

 

[Philbert]

My local STIHL dealer recently raised prices for a 16" loop to around $24. So you are getting significantly longer chains for the price of my shorter loops, which is a good deal. Some local shops periodically have 'buy 2 get on free sales', but I don't know what their base prices are. I think that there may be a bigger variation in chain prices, between stores and regions, with more more dealer discretion, that there is on MSRP saw prices.

I go to my local Stihl dealer. My dealer tells me the bench mounted spinner etc is about $400.00 he says its like $100.00 for the vice grip tool.

Maybe with the STIHL logo on them.

As F6Hawk notes, Bailey's and a number of other stores sell the Granberg Break-N-Mend for $50. I am sure that other site sponsors also sell these for a similar price, Bailey's is just a key reference for me.

I have the Bailey's spinner/breaker pair (made in Taiwan?) that I bought for $100 on sale, which work good - although, they may be discontinuing or changing these models.
You can buy the basic, Oregon pair (made in Italy) for about $180 (models 24549A and 24548A).
If you buy the Oregon extra heavy duty spinner and breaker (models 24549SI and 24548SI), that can run you over $300, but is overkill for normal chain - might be something to buy if you run harvester chain.

These things can sometimes be even less expensive if you watch for a sale, or have a discount coupon or code. There are also a number of 'no-brand' spinner and breakers at stores like HF, or on eBay that I cannot personally recommend, but you could take you chances on, for a lot less.

Philbert

 

[Firewood Dave]

At the price I'm paying for loops I am not worried about getting the tools to make chains. The last batch of chain lasted me almost a year. As long as my buddy still works there I will get a good deal. I've been getting chain from him for like 25 years
Dave

 

[Iustinian]

I can buy 3-5 rolls of different chain, and I will always have the right chain for each saw. Not only do I save money on each chain, I can make a new chain faster than you can drive to the store to buy one.

I keep professional chain in inventory, not that stupid anti-kickback crap that doesn't cut well. If all you do is buy pre-made chains, you frequently can't even get the right chain from the store you drive to. Down the road again...

Furthermore, if a chain gets broken or damaged, I can put it back together since I have all the tools.

Good points -- most local dealers I've been to only carry one aggressive chain and the anti-kickback stuff. Not one of them has carried the other Stihl chains: Super L, Klassic, full or half skip patterns, etc.

I also got tired of explaining/arguing that my modded 260 Pro has a larger bar than whats "recommended" and uses 3/8" 50 gauge chain and not the 325 thats "supposed" to be on it. lol

I found one dealer that would order any of the stihl chains for me, made to order, but the wait time was unacceptable to me so; its true, really hard to beat being able to go to the bench anytime I want and build my own chains w/e I need them. Doesn't take that much effort to see what the inventory of parts and chains looks like on the bench and order ahead of time.

 

[Arbonaut]

Make Your Own.

I've been slowly graduating out of building construction to get in tree work full time. I have enough tree work now to be full time if not for prior commitments. My buddy bought out his Uncle's boom over and chipper etc. He was looking for a climber with good saws. I was looking for someone with equipment, some goodwill in the industry who can rig. Perfect opportunity.

Here is how I do chain.

[video=youtube;1kETQg0b5NI]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1kETQg0b5NI&list=UUOsW3VE1FyuFwb0P9OEBNsQ&index=2&feature=plcp[/video]