.325 nk chain on a 60cc saw? Any benefit?

[CoreyB]

Got a 20" speedcut bar sent to the shop but it is a 78DL which all of what we stock is 80. So I am thinking about spinning up a few loops and throwing it on the 6100 and play I mean test out.
But I figured some of you guys have had to of already thrown some .325 nk on a 60cc ish saw like a 562? What are your thoughts? Is it even worth it. It is not like the 6100 has any teouble pulling a 3/8 chain even 24" buried in hard woods.

 

[weedkilla]

Because there is no full chisel 325nk, not really.
NK bars are quite light for their length, so if there is enough clearance then running 325 full chisel on them does make a bit of sense.
A 325 8t rim is needed to get the same chain speed as 3/8 7t, but comes at a cost of going blunt faster. The 6100 might even pull 325 9t.

It does make an awesome limbing saw - and it isn't uncommon to see a 560/2260 set up this way as a bucket truck saw.

 

[Terry Syd]

I've got a 20" Husky NK bar on my 64cc MS029. Yes, it does cut faster, but the nicest thing is the weight and balance. The saw went from being nose heavy to tail heavy. With both hands carrying the powerhead, the saw feels lighter than it is.

I had a 9-pin on it for a while and like Weedkilla says it makes an awesome limbing saw. I kept using the saw for everything, including bucking big Aussie hardwood, so I dropped it back to an 8-pin.

VP95 used to be my favorite chain, old reliable. However, I got some VP95 that the chrome didn't hold up, so I decided to try again some Carlton NK. It has a tighter corner on the cutter that is close to being a full chisel chain. The Carlton (at least from that roll) is now my preferred chain. I use the Husky roller guide on it to put a 10 degree down angle on the top plate. It cuts well with around a 6 degree cutting angle (softwood setting on the raker plate).

NK chain is made for smaller saws, as such, it comes with a very small cutting angle (raker height) so the smaller saws can pull it. If you want it to cut with the big boys, you have to increase the cutting angle.

I suggest you give it a go. You'll probably appreciate the weight reduction and nimble handling of the saw.

 

[sawfun]

I know if a forester that uses a strong Husky 262 running .325 9 pin. He says it's lightning fast for limbing here in the PNW where limbs are often 8 + inches and numerous of for and spruce trees.

 

[Termitebuffet]

I'm tossing the idea around now 24" , 325 , 9 pin on a 6100

 

[Termitebuffet]

I'm tossing the idea around now 24" , 325 , 9 pin on a 6100

Of course it'll be ported ...baseline stock vids was done today

 

[Dub11]

I'm getting ready to try a 18" 10pin .325 square for fun on a 670.

 

[Dub11]

I'm tossing the idea around now 24" , 325 , 9 pin on a 6100

Were did you find a 24" .325?

 

[Termitebuffet]

Were did you find a 24" .325?

Oregon , 24" 3/8 , and a 325 tip ...[emoji106]

 

[Dub11]

Oregon , 24" 3/8 , and a 325 tip ...[emoji106]

That explains alot. Was looking for one for a while but decided on a 3/8 skip set up.

 

[Termitebuffet]

That explains alot. Was looking for one for a while but decided on a 3/8 skip set up.

I got the setup in a 32" also ....

 

[Dub11]

I got the setup in a 32" also ....

Are you looking for a faster cutting speed or just wanting to use a smaller saw for weight reasons?

 

[Termitebuffet]

Are you looking for a faster cutting speed or just wanting to use a smaller saw for weight reasons?

Weight reasons ...then super fast on little light sabers [emoji106] [emoji2]

 

[Terry Syd]

Are we still discussing .325NK? I understand that the longest bar in NK is just 20". The NK bars are thinner and I expect that at 24" there would be too much flex.

 

[Dub11]

Weight reasons ...then super fast on little light sabers [emoji106] [emoji2]

I like it.

Are we still discussing .325NK? I understand that the longest bar in NK is just 20". The NK bars are thinner and I expect that at 24" there would be too much flex.

Nope strayed probably my fault lol.

 

[Termitebuffet]

Are we still discussing .325NK? I understand that the longest bar in NK is just 20". The NK bars are thinner and I expect that at 24" there would be too much flex.

My fault Terry I saw 325 and got excited. ....my bad

 

[Terry Syd]

Yeah, I thought that we must have got side tracked on regular .325 bars. Some of the NK bars (the straight ones) can go into resonance in certain cutting conditions (like during ripping cuts) and you have to shift the bar a bit in the cut to stop the resonance otherwise the kerf opens right up to a regular .325 bar.

The Husky bar and I expect the Speedcut bar that Corey mentioned have more 'belly' in the bar to prevent the resonance. I've never had the Husky bar go into resonance.

The difference in the .325 chains and NK is that regular .325 has cutters and links that are 1.25mm thick. The NK is only 1mm thick. I expect that the thinner cutters is the main reason the NK cuts faster, it enters the wood with less resistance. - It is also a lighter chain than regular .325.

 

[Terry Syd]

I know if a forester that uses a strong Husky 262 running .325 9 pin. He says it's lightning fast for limbing here in the PNW where limbs are often 8 + inches and numerous of for and spruce trees.

I had a mounted tach on my saw when I was using the 9-pin. I had to wait until I was cutting a limb 6" or bigger (Aussie hard wood) to get a tach reading otherwise the bar went through the limb too fast to get a reading. I was cutting the limbs at 11,000 rpm with the 9-pin overdrive.

 

[sawfun]

I'm guessing raker height will particularly play a big roll in regards to cutting behavior and efficiency using this combo.

 

[Terry Syd]

Yeah, the whole point of using NK is to cut DEEPER rather than WIDER. You can have the same resistance, but you are removing more wood in the direction you want to cut.

I think the stock NK chain has a cutting angle of less than 4 degrees. That works for the smaller saws as it doesn't load them down. However, if you want the NK to work on a bigger saw, you HAVE to increase the cutting angle. I like around 6 degrees as it still allows me to have a smooth limbing chain.

There is no problem with chip removal as the longest bar you can get in NK is only 20". I have taken the cutting angle out to 6.4 degrees, which tended to grab the limbs a bit, so I backed down to around 6 degrees for smoother operation on the smaller limbs.