The real POLL

[klickitatsacket]

what are you using and why too. YOu can answer more than one answer that fits.

 

[klickitatsacket]

bars and chain POLL

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Curious at to what every ones favorite Bar and chain combos are.

What is your favorite brand of bars, length and favorite style of chain. Why you use this combination and what you would like to see would be great as well.

 

[SawTroll]

I prefere Stihl & Stihl when I have a choise, but have no problem with Oregon/Husky stuff either.....

 

[Eccentric]

Checked every box except 'safety' as I've got all the others for at least one of the saws...

I just cut firewood, along with a little clearing for friends/family. No climbing! I leave that to the pros.

12-14" bars for pruning with my Poulan XX.

16-18" for the bulk of the cutting on my 031AV and XL12s.

20-24" for the majority of the bigger stuff.

One OLD hardnose 26" bar (off of my Original EZ) that goes on the C-Series saws once in a blue moon, mostly for ripping.

I use both semi-chisel and round-chisel. When cutting on BLM and USFS land I mostly use semi as most of the wood's been on the ground for a while and is pretty dirty.

 

[Austin1]

I am not too fussy as to what bar I run. Heck bought a bunch of those Carlton Pro Champs on Bailey's clearance sale, but have not used them enough to form a opinion.I like Stihl chain but it costs too much, so use Oregon and Woodsman the most.

 

[oldsaw]

"All of the above". I have one loop of safety chain that came with the bar I bought for the Super XL. The bar/chain combo was on closeout for a couple of dollars more than buying the bar alone.

That is my "bad stuff" chain.

Mark

 

[Four Paws]

For firewood cutting, I run primarily 16" 20" and 24" on my saws. I have a 28" and a 36" for the bigger trees, but for a guy cutting on USFS land, I don't like to handle the wood that requires more than a 24" bar. I run round filed Carlton full chisel chain - I like the way it cuts, I like the affordable price, and don't mind sharpening a bit more than semi-chisel in return for the added performance. It just comes down to personal preference - all of the major brands make good stuff...price and availability are likely the two biggest factors in most of our selections.

 

[Cut4fun]

All the above, depends on situation of cutting. Right now I am using safety chains in 10" 12" 14" 16" 3/8LP cutting up 4 wooden corn cribs after my barn was blown down last year. Hitting nails and etc in the wood in unseen areas. So far several cutters broken off chains and even broke a drive link in-two on a 12" Windsor chain.
So there is a place for everything imo, even a good Oregon race chain.

 

[BostonBull]

Try to run all Stihl bars, especially on my own stuff. The co. uses a mix of Stih and Husky so at work is kind of tough. We use all round chisel, and only VERY small amount of semi chisel on the climbing saws.

I feel Stihl chain stays sharper longer than oregon when cutting in ????e conditions.

 

[Haywire Haywood]

16" Bailey's China Cheepie and a 20" Husky for the 346xp, 18" Stihl and a 24" Windsor Speed Tip for the 361 and 18" and 28" Windsor Speed tips waiting for the 372xp. The long bars for each saw are the "once in a blue moon" bars.

Ian

 

[SWE#Kipp]

Oregon, Husky and GB bars.
Oregon and Stihl chain but mostly Oregon due to price and availability.
semi-chisel on the smaller saws (346-357) that I use for felling and limbing and chisel on the felling saw (372) I think it's a smoother ride to limb with a semi-chisel chain, at least with the trees I mostly cut spruce and pine.

 

[chowdozer]

ES and RSF
20" on the 034
24" and 28" on the 441 I have one 24" GB Titanium
36" on the 056
015, dad's old saw, I don't use it, I keep it because
011 is gone
210, I think it's PM with a 14"
One other unmentioned saw that I haven't run yet. Should be a screamer.

 

[computeruser]

I use 'em all at some point or another.

Big saws - 41" Cannon, 25" GB ProTop, and 25" Stihl hardnose. Round chisel on the shorter bars, semi-chisel skip on the 41". These saws are rarely used for any productive purpose. Sometimes use the 25" GB setup to rip firewood rounds in half to make hand-splitting easier.

066 - 28" Carlton(Tsamura), 20" Windsor SpeedTip. Full-comp WoodsmanProX and GB semi-chisel in 20" and full-comp WP-X in 28", plus some ripping chain and some milling-only bars up to 36", too. 28" sees the most use.

7900 - 20" Cannon, 28" Oregon PowerMatchPlus. All sorts of square chisel, round chisel, or semi-chilsel on the 20" bars, GB round chisel skip on the 28". Dolmar 7900 + Cannon 20" sees the most use of any of my saws, past or present.

154 - Bailey's 16" Carton TimberChamp B/C combo. WoodsmanPro round chisel chain.

238 - 13" Oregon MicroLitePro NK, 95vp and 20nk. This setup is really, really growing on me as a limber and a firewood saw - what it lacks in speed (which isn't as lacking as you might think) it makes up for in being very light and nimble.

3400 - 14" Oregon Pro91, Stihl PM and GB 3/8"LP semi-chisel. GB holds up really well when abused (after hitting the feed wheels while cutting stuff that is not feeding into the chipper, for example). This is the only saw that is stored bar-on at home, and as the go-to saw at home it gets used for all kinds of tasks - cutting boards, cutting stuff that won't fit in the trashcan, making starter holes for wedges when splitting, etc.

 

[wood rat]

I like full chisel but once it bites into dirt it seems to go fast.

And as the trees I drop go to the ground and some point or another I'm in the dirt. Not to mention when I hit the occasional stone.

Semi chisel for me.

 

[Gologit]

Stihl saws and Oregon B&C. I usually just buy powerheads when I buy saws. I've had better luck with Oregon bars and chain than anything else. I know what to expect from them and the price and availability is what it should be. Stihl makes good stuff but there isn't enough extra longevity to make up the difference in price. I've tried the Woodsman Pro chain from Bailey's and it's also good but I haven't run enough of it yet to make an informed decision. It seems to be working out pretty good, though.

 

[Former Saw Builder]

Dean, Glad to see some activity from you seems you've been missing in action lately... As for the pole, I run a 24" bar most of the time, and buy bulk Oregon chain in the semi-chisel version... 3/8 .050 for most of my saws, there are exceptions depending what I'm doing of course.


:greenchainsaw:

 

[Tree Sling'r]

Oregon Reduced Weight bars, Stihl chain.

 

[SawTroll]

Oregon, Husky and GB bars.
Oregon and Stihl chain but mostly Oregon due to price and availability.
semi-chisel on the smaller saws (346-357) that I use for felling and limbing and chisel on the felling saw (372) I think it's a smoother ride to limb with a semi-chisel chain, at least with the trees I mostly cut spruce and pine.

I believe that semi on the 357 is not a good choise, unless the wood is dirty, try Stihl RSC or Oregon LP, 3/8" pitch. :hmm3grin2orange: :hmm3grin2orange:

Well, not on the 346 either, unless it is 95VP/H30/S30 (narrow kerf).....

 

[Bowtie]

20'' Stihl bar and Carlton round ground full chisel on the 034, I like Carlton chain for the price

16" Stihl bar and Stihl round full chisel on the 026

16" Stihl bar and Stihl round full chisel on the 290

Im gonna try some Woodsman chain upon the ratings you guys have gave.