CHAINSAW ADVICE NEEDED

[CT_Tree_Guy]

Tposts -

Prepare for Vulcan Mind Meld! Dang, I wish I knew how he did that. /forums/images/graemlins/tongue.gif

I'm sure that sounds like hogwash, that a brand-new chain doesn't really cut as well as it could. After all, the cutter is laser-cut, and practically razor sharp!

Thing is, the rakers are almost always WAYYYYYYY too high. They should be .025" lower than the leading edge of the cutter, and are often more like .012" "out of the box". PLUS, I just prefer the side plate angle (and associated "hook") that is achieved by filing with a round file, as opposed to the more vertical "hook" that you get "out of the box". To those who advocate the more vertical "hook" - show me how to achieve it with a round file, and I'll consider it. Meantime, I'll race ya. /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif (Safely, of course).

Check out more sharpening tips at:

Starting a Stihl saw , including the two gizmos that will let you sharpen your saw better than 90% of the "pros" out there. One costs 8 bucks, the other 6 bucks. Super easy.

As always, be careful with that thang, chainsaws are nasty beasts.

John

 

[tposts]

I am not the best at sharpening a chain,although I try.What do you use to sharpen your chains ??? Do you use guides etc ..or do you just free hand file ?

 

[SkyPup]

Hey John, that is an excellent post!!! And I certainly enjoyed reading it.

Here's my little chainsaw story....

I love my twenty year old Stihl 026, it takes a licking and keeps on ticking, but last year I just wanted to trade it in on the new model 028. My good Stihl saw shop told me they would not take it in on a trade as it is still in great shape and I should keep it. So I did and also purchased the new Stihl 028 for mounting onto my L-3130. Both have been running 20" Stihl Duromatic bars with .325" RS chisel chains.

But, I also have a Husky 346 and 350 for my lite duty saw work as well. With 20" Arbor-Pro bars and Carlton Woodsman Pro narrow kerf .325" chains from Bailey's. This setup really rips with the extra narrow kerf and I highly recommend it! It is second to none.

For medium work I have a Husky 359 with 3/8" chisel on a 20" bar, but it doesn't get used too much as it generally is a backup saw.

For large duty work, I have a Husky 372 with 28" bar and Oregon 3/8" LG chisel and a Stihl 046 with 32" bar and 3/8" Stihl RS. Neither of these saws have ever let me down and they both go like nobody's business though my largest and most dangerous tree work, felling very large tress and dismantling very large trunks and limbs.

However, 95% of ALL my extensive chain saw work is with the Stihl 026 & 028 and the Husky 346 & 350.

Why?

Because 95% of all my work is clearing brush and understory trees and maintaining our properties. All four of these saws are extremely lite weight(<11 pounds), very powerful (3-3.5BHP), lots of torque (50-55cc), and with the narrow kerf bars and full chisel .325 chain they are a dream to use on 95% of all the wood they come in contact with.

My two favorite saws are the Stihl 026 (beacause I have used it for twenty something years of very hard work, it is lite and reliable) and the Husky 346 (bacuse this baby revvs out to the moon and back and then some.....plus it is also lite and very fast & very powerful... /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif )

 

[CT_Tree_Guy]

Thom - Great post yourself! Good lord, is there ANYTHING you don't know EVERYTHING about? /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif Good info on the narrow-kerf bars and chains - my MS192T is .043 gauge, and it really helps with the cutting speed. After all, when you stop and think about it, how wide a kerf do you really NEED? /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

tposts - I do all my sharpening with a good sharp file, in a good file holder, with the saw held in two nice rubber-faced magnetic vise pads, on a nice workbench, using the two nice gizmos from that other thread, and always get a nice result indeed. /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

A chain sharpened this way will outperform just about ANY "new" chain on the planet.

Kubotafan: As for the 390 vs. the 361 - same old story: the 390 weighs 3/4 lb. more, has a bigger displacement, less power, no decompression valve, and probably won't last as long as the 361. I will pretty much give the same answer for every Stihl saw that is not an 026 Pro, MS361, MS460. MS660 or (gulp) an MS880/088. That said, let me repeat that Stihl does not make a crappy saw, no matter what model it is. /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

John

 

[CT_Tree_Guy]

<font color="blue"> CT Tree Guy, you ... are an expensive person to know! </font>

LOL - Well, maybe short-term I am ... but I keep coming back to my great-grandmother's expression, "I can't afford to buy cheap shoes". I don't really like spending money, but I do like making money, and I LOVE saving money! Sometimes the savings take a while to materialize, but if you buy right, they usually will.

Let us know how you like that saw, and be sure to tune up that new chain. At the very least, get the rakers down to .025". As far as the ring job is concerned, we can talk about that when the time comes, which I estimate to be right around 2026. /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

John

 

[MadDog]

I wholly agree. IMHO, buying the best quality equipment you can afford, maintaining it dilligently, and keeping a log of your use and maintenance, minimize the cost of equipment ownership in the long run, compared to buying cheap/poorly made stuff and either spending more time/$ keeping it running or just running it until it cr*ps out.

Case in point was my Honda Snowblower, which I bought, used for 3 years and sold for more $ than I paid for it ('course, new prices had gone up substantially in the meantime).

 

[tposts]

<font color="blue"> This afternoon I got to try the MS-361 </font>

I have had a few Stihl saws loved everyone,prior to my getting the MS-361 I had two of the 026 pro's, great saws,but the MS-361 is the best yet for my particular applications. I keep an 18" bar and a 20" bar.

 

[Cottonhawk]

"....CT Tree Guy, you give great help and advice, but are an expensive person to know!...."
John, I sure agree with kubotaguy on both 'great help' and 'expensive person to know'. I read most if not all of your recent post (TBN). Today I ordered all the sharpening tools you recomanded and I brought home a brand new MS361. The first thing I did was 'flooded' my new MS361. Well, here it sits, I will try to get it going again tomorrow. When the sharpening tools arrive I hope I can learn the 'hand sharpen' technique......
Honestly, thanks for all the information you shared with us.

 

[arthr31]

um, i don't know, he shouldn't be too expensive to know...

I've been cutting wood (and at times working as a logger / tree person) for over 18 years. All I have to sharpen is a round and flat file. In the field, i can use the round file to crop up the edge and get back to work. When at home, I might take the chain off and using a small vice fine file (again with the round file) and take down the rakers with the flat.

and, sadly enough, last spring in a wood cutting frenzy i didn't have time to file, so I brought the chains to a local shop and had them sharpened. to say i was disappointed was an understatement. I was angry. I ended up changing each chain after a tank of fuel and then sharpening by hand once again. They then cut welll...

Sharpening by hand is something you need to practice. When you get it right, you'll know immediately the satisfaction of a sharp chain.

To this day, I've only spent 100s of dollars (at the most) on chain sharpening stuff... (and I remember tuning the chains up in tree tops which is real fun stuff... ).
good luck. -art

 

[CT_Tree_Guy]

Cottonhawk, Arthur, kubotafan et al:

Here's the info on the sharpening tools. I had posted this in Starting a Stihl saw, but I'll put it here too to make it easier on y'all.

<font color="blue"> Just wanted to post some pics of the sharpening gizmo's that I use, and supply some info on where to get them. This attachment shows the filing jig that goes onto the chain (with chain on saw). They are super-convenient and do a great job.

Here's a link to Sherrill Arborist Supply. They're a great outfit with an incredibly informative catalog. If you call them (800-525-8873) they'd be happy to send you one. It has all kinds of great info about knots, ropes, rigging devices, slings, pulleys, weights of green logs, chain, chain sharpening, recreational tree climbing, etc.

Sherrill Arborist Supply

To get to the page with "my" filing gauge and raker gauge, click on Professional Arborist/Shop/Tools/Chainsaws/Chainsaw parts & accessories. They don't show a listing for the filing jig in 3/8" pitch, but I'm sure they carry it.

And here is a link to Bailey's. They are THE place to go for chains, files and lots of other cool stuff. Their number is (800-322-4539). The guys answering the phone will know what your saw had for breakfast this morning.

Bailey's

I'll attach a pic of the raker gauge to the next post. </font>

On starting a flooded saw: this happened to me the first day I owned an 066. Could not get the d*** thing started. The bigger Stihls, while not at all what I would call "hard-starting", get increasingly particular about starting procedures the bigger they get. Full choke, pull til you get a kick, half-choke til it starts, squeeze trigger to put choke fully off, vroom. If you think you've flooded it, set the choke completely off and pull until your arm is ready to fall off. This should clear the carb out, and you should get a kick somewhere along the line. If not, try full choke again and see if you get a kick, or maybe half-choke if full choke doesn't give you a kick after a few pulls. Please don't take this to mean that your saw is finicky; it's just particular. /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

An almost sure-fire method is to take the plug out, pull a bunch of times with the choke off, put in a fresh plug, and start as normal. You usually won't have to resort to this though.

Hope this helps, John

Oops - almost forgot - Cottonhawk, congrats on your new 361, I'm anxious to hear how you like it when it's actually running! /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif