Chain Saw Question

[copperhead1967]

Just thinking about it and I have tried and been successful with cutting thru smaller trees in one cut thru the tree. However, I have run into problems with pinching the chain when trying to cut with one slashing cut also. Maybe with this buckthorn, which I am not familiar with, you need to aproach it like a larger tree and notch and make a felling cut???
A somewhat different approach I use to trim trees along the drive in the bucket truck is a cordless reciprocating saw with a real aggressive pruning blade. (Alot safer and easier than a gas saw in a bucket) It cuts thru a 3 inch branch in about 10 seconds flat. Maybe use the recip saw to fell them and then the chainsaw to cut up into managable lengths for the burn pile after the tension is off them.

 

[copperhead1967]

Just thinking about it and I have tried and been successful with cutting thru smaller trees in one cut thru the tree. However, I have run into problems with pinching the chain when trying to cut with one slashing cut also. Maybe with this buckthorn, which I am not familiar with, you need to aproach it like a larger tree and notch and make a felling cut???
A somewhat different approach I use to trim trees along the drive in the bucket truck is a cordless reciprocating saw with a real aggressive pruning blade. (Alot safer and easier than a gas saw in a bucket) It cuts thru a 3 inch branch in about 10 seconds flat. Maybe use the recip saw to fell them and then the chainsaw to cut up into managable lengths for the burn pile after the tension is off them.

 

[SPYDERLK]

Amen!

 

[SPYDERLK]

Amen!

 

[copperhead1967]

off subject reply to Richard about the chain oil.

I use a quart bottle that 80- w gear oil comes in. The kind with the skinny tip at the top. I haven't had to deal with the overflowing oil on the saw and the dirty funnel for a long time. I refill it from the gallon jug and can't cut more than a quarts worth of oil in a day anyway. There's even a little snap cap to put on to keep from spilling it in transit.

 

[copperhead1967]

off subject reply to Richard about the chain oil.

I use a quart bottle that 80- w gear oil comes in. The kind with the skinny tip at the top. I haven't had to deal with the overflowing oil on the saw and the dirty funnel for a long time. I refill it from the gallon jug and can't cut more than a quarts worth of oil in a day anyway. There's even a little snap cap to put on to keep from spilling it in transit.

 

[FamilyFarm]

I have one of these for trimming small trees. It isn't perfect for every situation, but I have been more impressed with it than I expected to when I added it to my DR trimmer order 4 years ago.
Terry

 

[FamilyFarm]

I have one of these for trimming small trees. It isn't perfect for every situation, but I have been more impressed with it than I expected to when I added it to my DR trimmer order 4 years ago.
Terry

 

[Toolguy]

Regarding what size saw is best for a given job; I have worn out two cheap Poulans (14" & 18") and a McCulloch Model 610 with 3/8 pitch chain. I went through 3 bars and about a dozen chains on the MC over the years. The MC was a very good saw for me. It would start easily and no matter how hot I would get it when sawing stumps it never failed me. It finally gave up a couple of years ago. I think the crank seals or the carb is the problem as it will run when cold but quits after it warms up. Anyway, it served me well and is now retired. I now have a Stihl MS310. It is very comparable to the McCulloch 610 except it is a little lighter. I have found that while a larger saw is heavier and a little more cumbersome, it get the work done much faster than a smaller saw. The trade off is worth it to me. I don't use a chainsaw very often anymore but when I need to use it I want it to work well and get the job done without messing around. There is almost nothing you can't do with a larger saw versus a small one. You can't say that about a small saw versus large. The large ones cut big stuff fast and will cut the small stuff, too. I would take the little MS180 back to the dealer and ask to trade it back to him for a larger model. Nothing less than a MS 290 Farm Boss with a 3/8 chain. An 18" bar is just about perfect for most jobs. It will cost more, but you will not regret it after all of the screwing around you have been doing. You won't have to adjust the chain as much and if you keep it out of the dirt it will stay sharp for a long time. Just my .02. Good luck.

 

[Toolguy]

Regarding what size saw is best for a given job; I have worn out two cheap Poulans (14" & 18") and a McCulloch Model 610 with 3/8 pitch chain. I went through 3 bars and about a dozen chains on the MC over the years. The MC was a very good saw for me. It would start easily and no matter how hot I would get it when sawing stumps it never failed me. It finally gave up a couple of years ago. I think the crank seals or the carb is the problem as it will run when cold but quits after it warms up. Anyway, it served me well and is now retired. I now have a Stihl MS310. It is very comparable to the McCulloch 610 except it is a little lighter. I have found that while a larger saw is heavier and a little more cumbersome, it get the work done much faster than a smaller saw. The trade off is worth it to me. I don't use a chainsaw very often anymore but when I need to use it I want it to work well and get the job done without messing around. There is almost nothing you can't do with a larger saw versus a small one. You can't say that about a small saw versus large. The large ones cut big stuff fast and will cut the small stuff, too. I would take the little MS180 back to the dealer and ask to trade it back to him for a larger model. Nothing less than a MS 290 Farm Boss with a 3/8 chain. An 18" bar is just about perfect for most jobs. It will cost more, but you will not regret it after all of the screwing around you have been doing. You won't have to adjust the chain as much and if you keep it out of the dirt it will stay sharp for a long time. Just my .02. Good luck.

 

[Bird]

Terry, I had the Beaver Blade for my DR, too. I noticed in your link that the front end on that DR appears to be wider than my older DR, and the link says the Beaver Blade can cut trees up to 3" while I think mine said 4.5". It sure was handy when I was clearing out the old fence row across the back of our place.

 

[Bird]

Terry, I had the Beaver Blade for my DR, too. I noticed in your link that the front end on that DR appears to be wider than my older DR, and the link says the Beaver Blade can cut trees up to 3" while I think mine said 4.5". It sure was handy when I was clearing out the old fence row across the back of our place.

 

[Ob1kubota]

This guy is on to your problem. Number one you are cutting saplings ( soft wood & gum) at odd angles due to your height and angle of approach of the blade. This phenomenon can only occur when your drive links are not cleaning you bar. This combination of angle and the condition you are putting the cutters in twist the chain and raise it off the bar packing saw dust in between the rails. This is 101 chain saw information. Your chain manufacturer designed the cutters to chip away the wood at 90 degree angles or perpendicular to the trunk or limb. Now, to prove this to yourself get your specs for clearance between your drive links and the root of your bar rail guides. Measure this clearance with the use of a material that will leave an impression to determine the distance called for in the drive link to root relationship for clearing saw dust. If this distance including pitch to rail is greater than design you have discovered your problem. As the rail wears this clearance will close but remember you must change your rim or spur sprocket with each new chain or this design relationship because of pitch will allow dust to accumulate between the rail and root clearance. The other members have covered your tension problem well, my above reply assumes your tension is correct. Old Ob1 has cut between 5 to 10 cords per heating season for the last 25 years. Happy to say with the same Homelite 360 Pro saw purchased in 1978 rebuilt three times to date. Twenty or so bars, hundreds of feet in chain. 3/8 .50 pitch And lots of sprockets too and the only time I have ever bent drive links to the point they wouldn't fit between the rails was caused from packed saw dust in the root of the bar. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

 

[Ob1kubota]

This guy is on to your problem. Number one you are cutting saplings ( soft wood & gum) at odd angles due to your height and angle of approach of the blade. This phenomenon can only occur when your drive links are not cleaning you bar. This combination of angle and the condition you are putting the cutters in twist the chain and raise it off the bar packing saw dust in between the rails. This is 101 chain saw information. Your chain manufacturer designed the cutters to chip away the wood at 90 degree angles or perpendicular to the trunk or limb. Now, to prove this to yourself get your specs for clearance between your drive links and the root of your bar rail guides. Measure this clearance with the use of a material that will leave an impression to determine the distance called for in the drive link to root relationship for clearing saw dust. If this distance including pitch to rail is greater than design you have discovered your problem. As the rail wears this clearance will close but remember you must change your rim or spur sprocket with each new chain or this design relationship because of pitch will allow dust to accumulate between the rail and root clearance. The other members have covered your tension problem well, my above reply assumes your tension is correct. Old Ob1 has cut between 5 to 10 cords per heating season for the last 25 years. Happy to say with the same Homelite 360 Pro saw purchased in 1978 rebuilt three times to date. Twenty or so bars, hundreds of feet in chain. 3/8 .50 pitch And lots of sprockets too and the only time I have ever bent drive links to the point they wouldn't fit between the rails was caused from packed saw dust in the root of the bar. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

 

[proudestmonkey]

My drive links are .043. I'll have to check again (tomorrow), but I think my bar is .050. If that's true, and they are not matched up correctly, this could indeed be the problem. It would explain both why the chain pops off the bar so easily, and why it gets bent when it does, while my poulan rarely jumped off the chain (unless I really got it pinched) and when it did, it didn't bend the chain.

The thing that would be strange if this were the problem is that these dimensions are those that came stock with the saw, out of the box, which is why, when I bought my second bar and second and third chain, I bought the same thing.

 

[proudestmonkey]

My drive links are .043. I'll have to check again (tomorrow), but I think my bar is .050. If that's true, and they are not matched up correctly, this could indeed be the problem. It would explain both why the chain pops off the bar so easily, and why it gets bent when it does, while my poulan rarely jumped off the chain (unless I really got it pinched) and when it did, it didn't bend the chain.

The thing that would be strange if this were the problem is that these dimensions are those that came stock with the saw, out of the box, which is why, when I bought my second bar and second and third chain, I bought the same thing.

 

[proudestmonkey]

Everything you are saying makes sense to me. Besides, there must be something to explain why I have gone through three chains in two weeks. Stihl has a great reputation for saws, and everything else about the saw seems flawless, in terms of performance and design.

I can also tell you that, after using the saw, before using it the next time, I clean everything out, and often find plenty of sawdust in the bar groove, even when the chain hasn't popped off or bent. So, maybe the chain links aren't wide enough for my bar groove. That would mean the saw was setup incorrectly in the first place, that the JD dealer from whom I bought the second bar and chain, and the dealer when looking things over, all had it wrong. Seems pretty unlikely, but then again the explanation makes a lot more sense than "this is kind of what happens when you cut thin trees--you go through a ton of bent chains."

 

[proudestmonkey]

Everything you are saying makes sense to me. Besides, there must be something to explain why I have gone through three chains in two weeks. Stihl has a great reputation for saws, and everything else about the saw seems flawless, in terms of performance and design.

I can also tell you that, after using the saw, before using it the next time, I clean everything out, and often find plenty of sawdust in the bar groove, even when the chain hasn't popped off or bent. So, maybe the chain links aren't wide enough for my bar groove. That would mean the saw was setup incorrectly in the first place, that the JD dealer from whom I bought the second bar and chain, and the dealer when looking things over, all had it wrong. Seems pretty unlikely, but then again the explanation makes a lot more sense than "this is kind of what happens when you cut thin trees--you go through a ton of bent chains."

 

[Berniep]

I want to chime in here on a side topic that got raised.
My echo trimmer and a saw blade work much better for trimming saplings or even limbing out the small limbs on a tree than my little 16 inch Husky.
The first time I tried it I was amazed. On 1 to 2 inch stuff it cuts faster than the sapling can pinch the blade, you do have to watch the lean on the bigger stuff. And it's much easier on the back. I cut them off about a half inch from the ground and don't have to worry about the little stumps. (the property was logged several years ago so there is an abundance of saplings)
I am just using a regular circular saw blade with fairly fine teeth, not quite as fine as a plywood blade but finer than what comes on most circular saws. I tried a carbide tooth one but even they don't stand up to rocks very well /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif I can sharpen the regular ones on an old Belsaw sharpener that I have in the shop.

 

[Berniep]

I want to chime in here on a side topic that got raised.
My echo trimmer and a saw blade work much better for trimming saplings or even limbing out the small limbs on a tree than my little 16 inch Husky.
The first time I tried it I was amazed. On 1 to 2 inch stuff it cuts faster than the sapling can pinch the blade, you do have to watch the lean on the bigger stuff. And it's much easier on the back. I cut them off about a half inch from the ground and don't have to worry about the little stumps. (the property was logged several years ago so there is an abundance of saplings)
I am just using a regular circular saw blade with fairly fine teeth, not quite as fine as a plywood blade but finer than what comes on most circular saws. I tried a carbide tooth one but even they don't stand up to rocks very well /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif I can sharpen the regular ones on an old Belsaw sharpener that I have in the shop.