Archer chain

[WKEND LUMBERJAK]

So has any one tried any of this chain. here are some pictures

 

[Locust Cutter]

Where did you find those?

 

[Philbert]

Have not used the chain personally.

Australian company; manufactured in China; has US sales office in South Carolina; sold mostly on eBay here in the US (seller 'archerplus' is the US distributor, based here in Minnesota).

Couple threads on this on 'another site' for reference :

http://www.arboristsite.com/communi...-chain-made-in-australia.245018/#post-5897110

http://www.arboristsite.com/community/threads/fast-filer-chain-filing-guide.298686/

Philbert

 

[Philbert]

Sawchain catalog can be downloaded as PDF here:

http://www.pmdinternational.com.au/products/the-archer-range/

No narrow kerf but *catalog shows .404, .063 gauge chipper chain*, which is the only that I know of which is currently being produced and sold.

Philbert

 

[WKEND LUMBERJAK]

Thanks @Philbert

 

[CR888]

On eBay you can select gauge/pitch/chain type. It appears you can order full chisel lo pro chain. Not sure if its a mistake or not but.... I run a fair bit of 'Typhoon' chain that's a copy of Oregon DP & its great, some of mu favourite chain.

 

[WKEND LUMBERJAK]

Where did you find those?

Shopping for some chain saw it on eBay.

 

[jb-chainsaws]

I use quite a bit of it for customers who come in with ms170's and 180's who can't sharpen for **** and want a couple of low cost chains that will last them the year.

3/8LP .050 is the only one I've used mind, but doesn't seem bad for the price.

Would I run it on my own saws? No probably not, but I have the luxury of a lot of cost price bulk reels that most saw users don't

 

[Jon1212]

I use quite a bit of it for customers who come in with ms170's and 180's who can't sharpen for **** and want a couple of low cost chains that will last them the year.

3/8LP .050 is the only one I've used mind, but doesn't seem bad for the price.

Would I run it on my own saws? No probably not, but I have the luxury of a lot of cost price bulk reels that most saw users don't

Maybe you should consider converting some of this to ripping chain.......at least until you're clear of those six inch spikes in that tree you're milling.

 

[jb-chainsaws]

Maybe you should consider converting some of this to ripping chain.......at least until you're clear of those six inch spikes in that tree you're milling.

After that photo was taken of the nails I cut a 4" slab which thankfully cleared the nails. That's a very good shout though, I'd use it anyway for milling but the 3/8 42" bar I have is .063 sadly

 

[Stump Shot]

Was cruising Flea Bay today and came across some of this chain, so I ordered a 16" loop of .050, 3/8LP to put on a Stihl 011 to give it a try. Will give update later when I have something to report.

 

[jb-chainsaws]

You should have said I'd have sent you a loop for nothing if you paid postage! I'll extend this offer to the first 3 people wanting to try this chain on anything up to a 16" bar

 

[Jon1212]

You should have said I'd have sent you a loop for nothing if you paid postage! I'll extend this offer to the first 3 people wanting to try this chain on anything up to a 16" bar

Very generous offer, Joe.

 

[jb-chainsaws]

Always happy to lend favours to fellow CAD sufferers, in denial or otherwise

 

[Stump Shot]

Mailman brought my new loop of chain this afternoon. After dinner I decided to put it on the saw and give it a go. These are my initial thoughts and findings on the Archer brand chain:
Taking a look at it, the teethe were ground and sharp. I put a .025" raker gauge on it and could not touch a raker. Put an .030" and could, so raker height was good. Rivets did not seem too loose, or too tight. Drive links are grooved for oil retention. Raker shape was a little different in that it swooped forward like most modern rakers do, the top is flat instead of coming to a point. Looks like when you take them down and don't re-profile them. This I liked to see. It was getting pretty dark by the time I got the loop on and the saw fired up to make a test cut. Comparing it to the freshly ground and .025" raker Stihl green label Picco chain, I'm going to say the Archer did cut a bit faster and was very smooth cutting, straight out of the package. To start with the Archer is a non safety chain while the Stihl is. The log tested in is only 10" or so in diameter, so chip clearance should not have been a major factor, the biggest difference I could see was the tooth design, The archer was much tighter with the radius than the Stihl tooth.
What I did not like about this chain was more about the packaging than the chain itself. Tooth design is not given at all. Also no sharpening angles are provided. Once the container is opened it can not be reused to keep a spare chain in. While none of these things are a big deal to me, it may be to someone else, like Joe Home Owner for example.
To summarize overall my first impression is, I like this chain. Think I will order some 3/8" that I'm more familiar with and give that a go too. Obviously more cutting time will be necessary to make a thorough evaluation, once fully vetted I think for the price this will be a nice chain to have plenty of loops around handy like. Just happen to have a good sized Maple down to do some independent laboratory testing on. More to follow.

 

[huskihl]

Mailman brought my new loop of chain this afternoon. After dinner I decided to put it on the saw and give it a go. These are my initial thoughts and findings on the Archer brand chain:
Taking a look at it, the teethe were ground and sharp. I put a .025" raker gauge on it and could not touch a raker. Put an .030" and could, so raker height was good. Rivets did not seem too loose, or too tight. Drive links are grooved for oil retention. Raker shape was a little different in that it swooped forward like most modern rakers do, the top is flat instead of coming to a point. Looks like when you take them down and don't re-profile them. This I liked to see. It was getting pretty dark by the time I got the loop on and the saw fired up to make a test cut. Comparing it to the freshly ground and .025" raker Stihl green label Picco chain, I'm going to say the Archer did cut a bit faster and was very smooth cutting, straight out of the package. To start with the Archer is a non safety chain while the Stihl is. The log tested in is only 10" or so in diameter, so chip clearance should not have been a major factor, the biggest difference I could see was the tooth design, The archer was much tighter with the radius than the Stihl tooth.
What I did not like about this chain was more about the packaging than the chain itself. Tooth design is not given at all. Also no sharpening angles are provided. Once the container is opened it can not be reused to keep a spare chain in. While none of these things are a big deal to me, it may be to someone else, like Joe Home Owner for example.
To summarize overall my first impression is, I like this chain. Think I will order some 3/8" that I'm more familiar with and give that a go too. Obviously more cutting time will be necessary to make a thorough evaluation, once fully vetted I think for the price this will be a nice chain to have plenty of loops around handy like. Just happen to have a good sized Maple down to do some independent laboratory testing on. More to follow.

View attachment 33958

So is it chisel or semi? Or is that what you meant by the tight radius- still round, but not quite full chisel? Looks like decent stuff

 

[jake wells]

looks like copy cat carlton.

 

[Stump Shot]

So is it chisel or semi? Or is that what you meant by the tight radius- still round, but not quite full chisel? Looks like decent stuff

Should have said, it is a semi-chisel, and why I was talking about the radius. At first glance you think for a second that it's a chisel tooth, until you look at it a bit closer.

 

[Philbert]

Thanks for the detailed report. Look forward to hearing how it holds up, takes an edge, etc.

Philbert

 

[Stump Shot]

Finally got around to pulling that wind blown maple out with the crawler and getting it chunked up into firewood. It had a split top so was double the fun with the small chainsaw with the Archer chain on it. Saw cut really well with this chain. After the initial stretch and subsequent adjustment, none further were required. Figured on using this set up just for limbing, ended up working the trunk down to about nine inches or so, as it was still cutting extremely well. No dirt was encountered and is still factory sharp ready to go again. Another thing I noticed when I adjusted for tension, it pulls extremely smooth around the bar, no clicking around the sprocket. I could not fault this chain in any way shape or form. From what I see this chain is just a bit better than what I'm used to. That being Husqvarna, Stihl, Oregon, Carlton and Laser chain. This is nothing like the crude Chinese chain I've tried in the past and discarded because it was so bad. I will buy more of this brand of chain and if everything stays the same, be my go to brand.