Scrounging Firewood (and other stuff)

[JimR]

Dang, if I tried that length of grind time with my Oregon grinder the entire tooth would blue, lol

I would be willing to bet that your grinder rpms is much higher than this unit. I'll check today to see what it is.

 

[JimR]

The wheel angle looks too steep. I use 55 degrees on my 520/120.
Too much hook will cause the chain to grab and dull more quickly than it should.

I did match the wheel angle up to a brand new H48 Husqvarna 3/8 chain. Changing to 25* would make that less steep.

 

[JimR]

I never heard of a Stihl flippy cap coming loose, except from you. Mine haven’t come loose.

That usually means it’s the operator.

I've had wet leg disease from a Stihl before.

 

[JimR]

Do you have the little tool that shows the proper shape the wheel should be.
I believe it's a combination of the wrong profile on the wheel, and you are going too deep. When you grind there should be no straight line on the side plate, only a curve. Your files should fit as closely as possible into that curve for ease of filing in the field. If there is a straight line from anywhere below where the file would rest and down into the gullet, that will be fine, but then you won't have a shelf to rest your file onto and you will either need to hold your file up manually or use a tool such as the husky roller guide.
Just because the factory can grind the gullet that low, doesn't mean you will be able to. When a chain is new getting the gullet is many times a second part of the process when grinding/ filling depending on the type of chain and the wheel/file size.
Hope this helps.

Okay, now I understand what you mean. I'll bring that up on my next chain that I do.

 

[Squareground3691]

Not a bad ******* ,

 

[MustangMike]

OK, Stihl Flippy Caps:

As I have stated before, if I designed them, they would drop every 1/3 turn, I don't see any purpose why they only drop once ever 360*. (I forgot how to do that degree sign)

Secondly, overfilling is mostly a problem on the oil side, and is FAR WORSE on saws like the 261 that have a smaller oil cap. (The larger caps are far less problematic).

That said, any saw will piss on your leg if you forget the cap! If you understand how the Stihl caps work and make sure they are on right, you won't have any problems with them.

 

[MustangMike]

Speaking of not overfilling with oil, I've been meaning to thank you (Chipper) for your excellent advice on making holes in the foil oil cover instead of removing it. A slot across also works very well.

Every time I put oil in my saws I say: "I'll have to remember to thank Chipper for that great idea". See, I did get to it!!!

 

[Squareground3691]

Speaking of not overfilling with oil, I've been meaning to thank you (Chipper) for your excellent advice on making holes in the foil oil cover instead of removing it. A slot across also works very well.

Every time I put oil in my saws I say: "I'll have to remember to thank Chipper for that great idea". See, I did get to it!!!

Ur not filled , unless ur over filled , Lol El Chapo

 

[chipper1]

Will they fit a Stihl?

No, unfortunately.
They do make adapters that will make them a standard screw design, the bummer is they are made in China(insert trump video here ).

Once you get pissed on you will be forever more careful with those stupid caps.

I'm a little slow, it happens a few times a yr. I should probably run a lot more tanks in the huskys, then it would happen less.
The best story I've heard on it was a guy my buddy worked with doing concrete walls, he was running the demo saw and the fuel cap popped off and he was cutting rebar, he was alright after he started rolling on the ground and the guys threw sand on him. Before that he looked like this .

OK, Stihl Flippy Caps:

As I have stated before, if I designed them, they would drop every 1/3 turn, I don't see any purpose why they only drop once ever 360*. (I forgot how to do that degree sign)

Secondly, overfilling is mostly a problem on the oil side, and is FAR WORSE on saws like the 261 that have a smaller oil cap. (The larger caps are far less problematic).

That said, any saw will piss on your leg if you forget the cap! If you understand how the Stihl caps work and make sure they are on right, you won't have any problems with them.

If they dropped in at 180⁰(push and hold the zero for the degree sign on a phone) and into actual threads like the husky flippys, they would be perfect!
I still like the stihl flippys better than the earlier screw caps, and I like the husky old school caps better than the stihl screw caps.
I also dislike the little lip on the stihls that holds the cap string out of all the debris; if it wasn't there, there wouldn't be any debris because you could easily wipe it off with your hand. I've seen quite a few of those lips broken off/chipped, I had a 441 that was like that. My 241 is missing a bunch of the bottom of the case on the front side, doesn't seem to effect the oil cap though .
I don't forget the cap, if you look back at that picture you can see it was flipped down. Sometimes they don't catch/lock in, and if you don't pull on them to check then they piss on your leg. I don't always get pissed on, but when I do, it's by a stihl.
That being said, those little stihls are awesome saws, wish husky would step up to the plate with some ultra lightweight 35-40cc saws .

Speaking of not overfilling with oil, I've been meaning to thank you (Chipper) for your excellent advice on making holes in the foil oil cover instead of removing it. A slot across also works very well.

Every time I put oil in my saws I say: "I'll have to remember to thank Chipper for that great idea". See, I did get to it!!!

Welcome.
I use that trick on oil for the vehicles and the mowers and tractors too. Depending on where the fill hole is I just change it up to work best. It's also nice to be able to tip a new gallon jug up with your fingers covering the holes(I'll just make 2 holes for this) so you can get it on the valve cover without spilling all over the engine.

And everytime I get pissed on by a stihl I say "I need to remember to pull on that before flipping it down", sometimes I remember to .
Lots of learning in this thread, I've learned a ton thru the yrs. It's always nice to be able to give back, that's one of the main reasons I joined AS .

 

[MustangMike]

If they dropped in at 180⁰(push and hold the zero for the degree sign on a phone) and into actual threads like the husky flippys, they would be perfect!

The reason I say 1/3 turn is because they have 3 lugs (like my Ruger American Rifles), so it would make sense. Using 180* with 3 lugs would not work.

 

[chipper1]

Not a bad ******* ,View attachment 1115607

Looks good, but a bit aggressive . You cutting softwoods now .

Okay, now I understand what you mean. I'll bring that up on my next chain that I do.

Harder to say it than show it for sure.
Unless a chain is worn back a ways I like to remove the gullet as another step from sharpening the cutter, once they wear down a bit, the file will get both the cutter and the gullet all the way to the bottom.
Look at the cutter in squaregrounds picture above, he removed the gullet back behind the sideplate, which is fine to do(and what many do on a race chain). I like to leave a little shelf to hold the file up under the cutter when I handfile both round and square.

Tip some may not be aware of; if you cut the heals(back side of the cutter) at a slight angle going from the back bottom towards the front versus more straight up and down like from the factory, it will help the chain to be much smoother in the cut when boring. I haven't done it much in a while, but I used to do it on a lot of my chains. I'd flip them in the grinder when they were new and just give the head a little tilt with it set at an angle equivalentto the witnessmarks on the top of the cutter.. This way I could still use the backstop on the grinder. I just don't grind very machine for myself these days, but I can sure go thru a bunch of files. One nice thing about this mod is you do it when the chain is new and then you don't have to do it again on that chain. That being said, you can't utilize the chain all the way back to the witness mark as there is no material left. When a chain gets close to the witness mark it will just be a thin sliver instead of a triangle. They sure cut smooth this way.

 

[chipper1]

The reason I say 1/3 turn is because they have 3 lugs (like my Ruger American Rifles), so it would make sense. Using 180* with 3 lugs would not work.

Oh I get that, but with them at 180 and going back to threads works awesome.

 

[Squareground3691]

Looks good, but a bit aggressive . You cutting softwoods now .

Harder to say it than show it for sure.
Unless a chain is worn back a ways I like to remove the gullet as another step from sharpening the cutter, once they wear down a bit, the file will get both the cutter and the gullet all the way to the bottom.
Look at the cutter in squaregrounds picture above, he removed the gullet back behind the sideplate, which is fine to do(and what many do on a race chain). I like to leave a little shelf to hold the file up under the cutter when I handfile both round and square.

Tip some may not be aware of; if you cut the heals(back side of the cutter) at a slight angle going from the back bottom towards the front versus more straight up and down like from the factory, it will help the chain to be much smoother in the cut when boring. I haven't done it much in a while, but I used to do it on a lot of my chains. I'd flip them in the grinder when they were new and just give the head a little tilt with it set at an angle equivalentto the witnessmarks on the top of the cutter.. This way I could still use the backstop on the grinder. I just don't grind very machine for myself these days, but I can sure go thru a bunch of files. One nice thing about this mod is you do it when the chain is new and then you don't have to do it again on that chain. That being said, you can't utilize the chain all the way back to the witness mark as there is no material left. When a chain gets close to the witness mark it will just be a thin sliver instead of a triangle. They sure cut smooth this way.

Green oak , but that just a play chain , here’s the real cutter , RS Pro

 

[Squareground3691]

Looks good, but a bit aggressive . You cutting softwoods now .

Harder to say it than show it for sure.
Unless a chain is worn back a ways I like to remove the gullet as another step from sharpening the cutter, once they wear down a bit, the file will get both the cutter and the gullet all the way to the bottom.
Look at the cutter in squaregrounds picture above, he removed the gullet back behind the sideplate, which is fine to do(and what many do on a race chain). I like to leave a little shelf to hold the file up under the cutter when I handfile both round and square.

Tip some may not be aware of; if you cut the heals(back side of the cutter) at a slight angle going from the back bottom towards the front versus more straight up and down like from the factory, it will help the chain to be much smoother in the cut when boring. I haven't done it much in a while, but I used to do it on a lot of my chains. I'd flip them in the grinder when they were new and just give the head a little tilt with it set at an angle equivalentto the witnessmarks on the top of the cutter.. This way I could still use the backstop on the grinder. I just don't grind very machine for myself these days, but I can sure go thru a bunch of files. One nice thing about this mod is you do it when the chain is new and then you don't have to do it again on that chain. That being said, you can't utilize the chain all the way back to the witness mark as there is no material left. When a chain gets close to the witness mark it will just be a thin sliver instead of a triangle. They sure cut smooth this way.

Then if the wood has a problem, bring the big guns .404

 

[JimR]

Going too deep, imo…
too much hook

I setup another new H48 3/8 chain in the sharpener. My top angle is right on. The downward angle is right on. The depth of the cut is right on for a round file. What is off is the curvature of the stone to match the rounded gullet. Tomorrow I have a diamond stone tool coming in. I will try to match the wheel to a new chain. With a round file against the cutter there is a space between the backside of the file and the gullet. The gullet is too far back in the middle.

 

[Sierra_rider]

OK, Stihl Flippy Caps:

As I have stated before, if I designed them, they would drop every 1/3 turn, I don't see any purpose why they only drop once ever 360*. (I forgot how to do that degree sign)

Secondly, overfilling is mostly a problem on the oil side, and is FAR WORSE on saws like the 261 that have a smaller oil cap. (The larger caps are far less problematic).

That said, any saw will piss on your leg if you forget the cap! If you understand how the Stihl caps work and make sure they are on right, you won't have any problems with them.

I don't love them, but I don't exactly hate Stihl flippy caps either. They're pretty simple as long as you line them up correctly. What I see happen with some of my cap-challenged co-workers, is that they turn the flippy piece without actually getting the cap to drop down into the slot. Of course the cap falls off as soon as they start to run the saw.

IMO, the flippy caps are much better than the threaded caps on the old 0-series Stihls. I don't have a threaded capped Stihl that doesn't leak fuel from around the cap. Even tried new O-rings and caps and my 044 and 066 stihl leaked...it's actually a problem with the lip on the fuel tanks. I ended up with some Chi-com aftermarket tanks that cost $30 each, problem solved.

My only beef with the flippy caps, is it's easy to get debris around the O-ring and hard to clean it off unless you carry a brush with you(I don't.) It seems like all it takes is one wood chip and they slowly seep oil from the cap.

 

[Sierra_rider]

I'll add that I'm not a huge fan of the flippy thread caps on my 550 mk1. They're good in concept, but the hole is way too small. I'm of the opinion that the manufacturers should put the largest diameter caps that they can fit.

 

[mountainguyed67]

It does get old. I've been using them since they first came out. Never any trouble with them except very occasionally forgetting to put them on or incorrectly doing it. Someone a week or two ago complained about having to clean them - never happended to me. Another that if you overfill you can't put them on. BS. Just push down and turn, the excess fuel is pushed out and cap installes with normal force.

Egg Zachary!

 

[mountainguyed67]

I'm not saying it isn't operator error, because I realize it is, but I've never had that problem with any other cap design.

So you’re saying you’re not smart enough to run a Stihl?

 

[mountainguyed67]

I've had wet leg disease from a Stihl before.

You forgot to put it on, or didn’t put it on correctly?