Anybody Ever Make Their Own Skip Chains?

[davidwyby]

@Wilhelm

I cut off every third cutter (see yellow cutters in pic above). In hindsight I wish I had left the tail of the cutters as a raker. I will try another chain.

It may just be that the bar I am using is the 24" tsu that I welded back together and haven't filled two of the pockets yet. I will finish the bar and or try some others. But I did have the choking problem on my 28" tsumura felling Athel Pine buried. Maybe something with tsu? I will look at bars and tips closely.

Busted a Tsumura in half...fixed. | Outdoor Power Equipment Forum (opeforum.com)

 

[davidwyby]

I did not get the actual choking/throwing incident on video, but here is the day;

Tuning for elevation videos/question | Outdoor Power Equipment Forum (opeforum.com)

 

[Wilhelm]

@Wilhelm

I cut off every third cutter (see yellow cutters in pic above). In hindsight I wish I had left the tail of the cutters as a raker. I will try another chain.

I did recommend leaving the side plates!

You'll figure it out, You seem much more adamant and stubborn than I am.

Close those open lightweight holes, they can and will cause the bar bind in the cut.
My 36" Iggesund Forest bar has two or three "machining holes", they cause bar binding on a regular basis - I am just too lazy to close them.

 

[davidwyby]

I had some jerking in the cut (you can see in vid) and it was worse yesterday when noodling and cutting notches. So last night I investigated bar groove and driver width. Oregon .050" chain is .050". This other cowboy skip chain is .045". The bar is about .055" at the rear but .068", maybe .070" towards and on the tip. Probably contributing to multiple issues.

 

[Lightning Performance]

You'd be cussing at it on a sawmill

 

[davidwyby]

Stock 2166 noodling pine 3/8” full comp, ran out of gas in the cut.

Same saw felling pine. Did not choke or stall the chain, but would have chips in it whenever I pulled it out. Kinda starting to learn technique to keep the chips cleared out. I like skip and long light bars for reach with small wood and maybe hard wood but in pine it is grabby and jerky it seems. I’m starting to prefer full comp and shorter bars.

 

[davidwyby]

I tried plunge cutting athel pine with skip and had no choking.

 

[Philbert]

I like skip and long light bars for reach with small wood and maybe hard wood but in pine it is grabby and jerky it seems. I’m starting to prefer full comp and shorter bars.

Nobody plays golf with one club.

No reason you can’t have a variety of chains for different applications.

If you are just using the longer bar for reach, and only a small portion of it is actually in the wood, you don’t need skip tooth chain.

Philbert

 

[davidwyby]

Nobody plays golf with one club.

No reason you can’t have a variety of chains for different applications.

If you are just using the longer bar for reach, and only a small portion of it is actually in the wood, you don’t need skip tooth chain.

Philbert

Yeah I think maybe I just like the skip for less sharpening in that case

 

[Wilhelm]

Stock 2166 noodling pine 3/8” full comp, ran out of gas in the cut.
View attachment 292925
Same saw felling pine. Did not choke or stall the chain, but would have chips in it whenever I pulled it out. Kinda starting to learn technique to keep the chips cleared out. I like skip and long light bars for reach with small wood and maybe hard wood but in pine it is grabby and jerky it seems. I’m starting to prefer full comp and shorter bars.
View attachment 292926

Are You possibly having Your chain a little too loose?!
I found that the longer the B&C the tighter the chain needs to be.

On my PS-73xx/7900 with 36" setup I give the tensioner everything it can take (utilizing the OEM scrench) and the chain is NOT too tight.
I had my chain jump off a couple times before I started to tighten it more.

I get wood chip binds like that on my small mount bars, nearly never on large D009 mount though - same chains, same wood logs.

 

[Lightning Performance]

Yeah I think maybe I just like the skip for less sharpening in that case

I gave a guy a skip chain with a new MS310 20" 3/8 050. Told him this is for the big stuff only like 16" plus. Put on a new full comp chain and save this one till you need it. He asked why, I said it runs at higher rpms and clears chip faster but cuts slower. It saves the bar by getting more oil and the power head moves more air while allowing more chain bite and less chip jam. All of that is true and it's much easier on the clutch. Skip makes less heat also all around. That can be important to you in big dry wood and 130 temps. Good for the saw and good for you. Bet the saw burns cleaner with less charge entering per revolution running skip in the big stuff.

 

[davidwyby]

@Wilhelm now that you mention it and I look at pics and think about it, that is a distinct possibility. I have been paranoid about too much tension causing premature wear on the the sprocket bearing, probably not tightening enough after warmed up, I will try tighter. Thanks

 

[Lightning Performance]

@Wilhelm not that you mention it and I look at pics and think about it, that is a distinct possibility. I have been paranoid about too much tension causing premature wear on the the sprocket bearing, probably not tightening enough after warmed up, I will try tighter. Thanks

Does your chain sag?
It's like bag sag, not good

 

[Philbert]

Yeah I think maybe I just like the skip for less sharpening in that case

I guess that that is one of the advantages of using a grinder: a few extra teeth don’t really make a difference, nor do the 'reduced kickback' bumpers. Different than when hand filing each one.

Philbert

 

[davidwyby]

Does your chain sag?
It's like bag sag, not good

I set it when cold so I can't pull the drivers all the way out of the groove in the bottom center of the bar, but it rolls around freely. But I get to working, especially when felling and am not always thinking about tension once hot.

 

[davidwyby]

@Philbert a grinder may be in my future...square or round? Hmmm...

 

[Wilhelm]

@Philbert a grinder may be in my future...square or round? Hmmm...

Both!

 

[davidwyby]

After recent euc job, updates.

green or recently dead euc cuts a lot easier than decades dead petrified euc.

I like the smoothness of full comp chain. Skip seems grabbier, more in softer wood.

the 2159 (357) seems happier wearing 20”. The 6100 rips with 24” full comp. that thing is a monster but kinda heavy with non LW husky bar. I leveled the stump with it almost buried and was reminded how torquey and fast that saw is.


I ran my chains on non tsu bars and tighter. Still had chips between bar and chain when pulled out of the log off the throttle, but no actual choking or chain throwing.


2166 pulled skip 28” pretty well, but still excited to have @huskihl work it over so the 6100 isn’t barking up it’s tree, haha.

I also filled the pockets in the 24" tsumura, still need to sand and paint. Will also close the rails a bit.

 

[davidwyby]

I think the chain throwing when top cutting is because the chips ride out and derail the chain off the nose sprocket.

 

[Liumec89]

Useful and Great info explained..