Chain Saw recogmendations

[5030]

samisam:

Are you one of those guys who run around with the trailer behind your pickup with no lights or turn signals that work on it?? /forums/images/graemlins/shocked.gif

 

[5030]

Spiker:

Whatever saw you finally get, make sure it has a greaseable roller nose bar and if it comes with anti-kickback chain, loose that and get .404 chipper chain. The only difference between anti-kickback and regular chipper is the projection on the raker's. Get a saw with enough power to run .404. The .380 has a substantially smaller tooth and won't sharpen nearly as many times as the .404.

When you get the saw, get a couple of chain files and a small mill file too. Learn the proper method for sharpening a chain and keep your files with you when you go cutting. I always keep my chains sharp. It's easy to file a chain once you learn the proper method. A good tip as to ascertain when a chain needs touched up is when the wood pitch starts to build up on the heel of the tooth. Also, get yourself a couple of disposable grease guns with needle tips for greasing the roller nose. Grease it before you start cutting and about every hour after that and when you are done. Use a good grade of bar oil, don't use old motor oil. You need a gear type oil with a good film thickness to lube the sliding chain along the bar. Again, I use 85-90 or 85-140 GL4-5 gear oil, but you can buy bar oil.

I have a bench mounted chain grinder that I had leftover from my tree business but I only use it as a last resort, like if I hit a nail and chip a tooth. When you grind a chain, you remove a lot of tooth. Filing is much better and the chains will last a long time. The chainsaw owner that takes his chains to the shop to be ground every time is just wasting money on chains. Your local shop loves that customer, they get to sell him loops on a regular basis.

Watch your drive sprocket too. The rule of thumb is for every 2 chains, replace the sprocket. Watch the wear on the drive plane of the sprocket. When it becomes excessive, replace it. If you use a good bar lubricant, the wear is minimal and a sprocket can last through more than 2 chains.

Every time you switch chains, take the bar off, clean the chain groove with something that will fit to the bottom of the groove like a plastic credit card. The re-install the bar, but flip it over so the top is now on the bottom. That allows the bar to wear evenly on both faces.

Keep the chain tension fairly tight. You want the chain to contact the bar all along it's bottom edge and when you pull the chain away from the edge, you want it to "snap" back. Experience will tell you how tight. A chain that is too loose will tend to track out of the bar groove and come off.

 

[Rip]

Real good chain saw tips..... probably makes much more difference than the specific brand or model of saw (within a particular range of course).

Rip

 

[SPIKER]

Daryle thanks for the info:

so far I've ben following most of that above, though I have seen the toss away lube guns I have not yet lubed the roller tips on the chain saws I have. I bought the 18" as a toss away as I had some land scaping timers (old railroad ties) and have to fit them to each other and I figured on burning up the blade and several chains. (the factory blade is trashed as you well know sawing ties is REALLY hard on them I did hit a couple spikes but the knots in the wood were worse! it would through SPARKS on the knots while the spikes would grab and stop it. the bar cupped pretty bad form the heat not to mention the dang 5/16 pitch puts two right hand cuts next to each other rather than having the corect alternating cuts.

when sharping chains I ALWAYS file in ONE dirrection, that is form the tooth back and not drag the file back as that would dull the upright part of the tooth. I have about 10 files as they are cheap enough and I'm on my 3rd of 4th. I retouch up a chain once or twice per tank, usually less than 3 strokes per tooth. filing all the rights and then swing saw and file the lefts.

I have a NEW Oragen bar for it for WOOD cutting but I'll stick back on the OLD one and flip it for the next bunch of ties. the RR tie are used for landscaping a 5' high drop off for the drive way. much of them are 45 degree cuts near the ends and I have a 1/2 round flower bed on top of that which required a LOT fo cuts now the rest is 99% placement and just a little cutting unless i deciede to do the stpes using the ties as steps and placing them into/on back fill rather than the old treated 2x12 steps I have now...


anyhow I'm leaning twards the 310 sthil as I have actual dealers near by, but no Husky dealers just Lowes and or TSC... though the Sthils I belive are a bit more expensicve they come with the larger chains too, the huskys I've looked at had/have Smaller chain, something between the 5/16 and the 3/8 ... not sure maybe a 7/32?


Mark M

 

[Egon]

Are you comparing apples to apples or oranges to apples or ????

Egon

 

[Egon]

5030:

Good advice but what does one use in place of credit cards? Mine were all recalled; something about payment.

Egon

 

[5030]

Egon:

I just suggested a credit card, preferrably an expired one. Gatorboy probably has many, expired and otherwise. I guess a girl could use her fingernail. Mine aren't that long, however. /forums/images/graemlins/crazy.gif

 

[PhilNH5]

Daryl,
I am a weekend warrior when it comes to wood cutting - just enough to heat my house. I thought your tips were excellent.

Regarding the nose roller. If Spiker goes with a Stihl they specifically tell you not to grease the roller. My dealer told me this and I checked it on their web site as well.

Also the replacable nose roller may offer little economic incentive for a non-professional.

Phil

 

[5030]

Phil:

I never heard of not greasing the roller nose. I use rollmatic bars (Stihl). There is a grease hole on each side of the roller nose. No grease is news to me, but then, my saw is at least 25 years old. It will probably outlast me. That is the powerhead. I am sure a few more bars, chains and drive sprockets are in order.

 

[Typhoon]

Hello. You should head over to arboristsite.com and do your research on chainsaws there. It is the biggest chainsaw site on the internet. I have been using saws for years and years, and for alot of the time, 6-8 hours per day. I can tell you that as far as brand is concerned, it doesnt really matter as long as you pick from one of these... Husky, Stihl, Jonsered, Dolmar, or Echo. Those are your top 5. And as far as which brand is best, I would have to say all of them are. Pick the saw based on what feels best to you, the one that has the best power-to-weight ratio, and the one that meets the needs of the application. Also price is a governing factor as well. Unless you are going to be cutting huge stuff, an 18" - 20" bar will be plenty big. I use a 24" bar on the saw that I use to drop trees, but both of my bucking/limbing saws have 18" bars on them. I personally use Huskys, but that is just preference. With most of the brands mentioned, there is a "homeowner" version and a "pro" version. HOWEVER, I can tell you that the difference is so small that it will not be a factor. For example, for my firewood business, I use a Husky 350 (so-called homeowners model) and a Husky 346XP (so-called pro-model). I can tell you, both saws are top-notch, and I am confident that the 350 will last just as long. The only difference in the two saws is that the xp model has a steel crankcase and the other has plastic. But if you know anything about saws, you will know that it doesnt make hardly any difference anyways. Also, some ppl were talking about bars. Depending on what you are doing, the stock bar that comes on it should be fine. You dont need to get any fancy kind of bar end or "replaceable-nose" bar. And I have bars that I have been using for 5 years on a daily basis and I have never greased the tips. And all of the guys I have worked with never grease theirs either. Plenty of oil gets down on the bearings from the chain oiler. If you are going to be doing heavy duty cutting, look into a GB Pro-Top bar or similar. It is a solid bar as opposed to laminated and made of high carbon steel. I can cut daily with one for 2 years before replacement. They are great. As far as chain, I have yet to run a chain that is higher quality than Carlton chain. The only chain other than that for me would be Stihl RS chain. It is also good stuff. Oregon chain has been going downhill (especially this last 2 months) with their steel quality. Their chains are getting much too soft so they dont hold an edge long at all. Also someone mentioned that the Jonsereds are "Turbo". They are not really turbo at all. They simply have a centrifigul-force air feed system that keeps the intake air much cleaner than a standard saw. Husky started this, with what they call "Air Injection". It is the same principle. It keeps the air filter much cleaner for longer. Its a nice feature. Hopefully this helped you a little. LIke I said before, check out arboristsite.com.
Good luck in your search!
-Brad /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif