Archer chain

[CR888]

Yeah, you just want to detune your chains a little compares to what you use normally. Obviously semi chisel or chipper chain then tone down top plate somewhere between 22°-28°, the inner top plate & side plate hook. On super hard wood I find you can drop the rakers more than one would think as the wood won't let the chain bog or be grabby. 7 pin or 6 on a spur is good, too faster chain speed will not help. Don't expect nice big chips, sometimes finer dust means you actually going just fine. Check your cutters, in really hard wood your chain either cuts or it doesn't. I don't believe carbide is essential but it surely has its place in some circumstances.

 

[66Fleetside]

Does someone on here sell Archer?

 

[Ryan Browne]

Does someone on here sell Archer?

@Redbull661 was selling it. Not sure anymore.

 

[3browns]

So I ran some Carlton A1LM chain today that @JimBear very kindly sent me to compare against the Archer I was having issues with

Night and day difference

Despite the Carlton being full chisel vs the Archer being semi chisel, it way outlasted the Archer in some old dirty mesquite, both standing and in a slash pile

I was quite impressed with the consistency of the grind and the lack of stretch compared to the Archer

I retightened it after a few minutes and then ran through a full tank without any further tensioning

Touching it up after I grounded it in volcanic dirt was simple and painless

I got my diamond file today to try and sort out the few ultra hard cutters on my 2 loops of Archer but I haven't tried it yet cause I am digging the Carlton

I will most likely put the Archer back on tomorrow, file it and try the diamond file, and see how it cuts against the Carlton

And on a separate note; is there a downside to a saw using too much bar oil, other than wasting oil and polluting the ground?

This PS-5105 just gushes oil with the pump turned all the way up

I left it cranked up because I am concerned due to the abrasive nature of this environment, but I am wondering if there is such a thing as too much oil?

 

[Jungleman]

25 pages is a lot to go through to find out if archer chains get the thumbs up or the thumbs down. Can someone gimme the short version? If not I’ll take a looksy at this thread and read up on it myself.
I’m just curious cause I ordered some Raisman chains online. My 36” chain was Raisman. My 24” was in a Raisman box.... but it’s an archer chain.
I’ll find out if I like it soon enough I guess.

 

[3browns]

25 pages is a lot to go through to find out if archer chains get the thumbs up or the thumbs down. Can someone gimme the short version? If not I’ll take a looksy at this thread and read up on it myself.
I’m just curious cause I ordered some Raisman chains online. My 36” chain was Raisman. My 24” was in a Raisman box.... but it’s an archer chain.
I’ll find out if I like it soon enough I guess.

Some folks love it and have had great luck with it having sold rolls and rolls of it to happy customers as well as running it long term

And like everything else others have had just the opposite experience

I personally am not impressed with it so far

The issues I have encountered outweigh any $$$ savings

I know that doesn't tell you any more than you already knew but it pretty well summarizes the last 25 pages

I am also becoming more and more hesitant to spend my money supporting China so there's that as well

Sorry but I had to throw that in

Your mileage may vary...

 

[Jungleman]

Thanks for the short version 3brown. I read back 5 pages before falling asleep last night and I got the general feeling that it’s not a terrible chain but it’s also not the one everyone is raving about.
I totally agree with you on your point that so,etimes it’s just not worth saving a few bucks if it merely leads to more headaches.
Best thing for me to do now is put it on a saw and bury it into some wood hehe

 

[3browns]

Thanks for the short version 3brown. I read back 5 pages before falling asleep last night and I got the general feeling that it’s not a terrible chain but it’s also not the one everyone is raving about.
I totally agree with you on your point that so,etimes it’s just not worth saving a few bucks if it merely leads to more headaches.
Best thing for me to do now is put it on a saw and bury it into some wood hehe

Exactly

 

[Wilhelm]

Archer seems to be hit and miss.

I have two loops, different looking, I don't like either.
One is almost done with, the other made a couple cuts and resides in a box.

 

[dahmer]

I got permission to get all the oak and hickory tops from a 30 acre select cut. I’ll be dragging out the tops with a log arch and atv. I just ordered a 100” reel of Archer 3/8, .050 semi chisel since all that wood will be filthy. I’ll try to take pics and report on the Archer performance.

 

[3browns]

I plan on buying a couple of loops when I get back to Alaska and see how they cut my normal species at home

I just downloaded a wood hardness scale and there are only 2 American woods that are harder than what I am cutting now in Hawaii (Kiawe/Mesquite)

I don't think any of my conclusions about cutting ability and longevity are fair given the vast difference in hardness from the woods I cut in Alaska to what I am cutting here

I am not buying any more Archer chain here in Hawaii because I have 6 loops of Oregon and Carlton in addition to the 2 loops of Archer

And I am still undecided on a loop of carbide

The only wildcard on the testing will be the saws

A MMWS PS-5105 here vs a MMWS PS-7900 there

Not exactly a head to head shootout

But I gotta do it for science and stuffs...

 

[dahmer]

I plan on buying a couple of loops when I get back to Alaska and see how they cut my normal species at home

I just downloaded a wood hardness scale and there are only 2 American woods that are harder than what I am cutting now in Hawaii (Kiawe/Mesquite)

I don't think any of my conclusions about cutting ability and longevity are fair given the vast difference in hardness from the woods I cut in Alaska to what I am cutting here

I am not buying any more Archer chain here in Hawaii because I have 6 loops of Oregon and Carlton in addition to the 2 loops of Archer

And I am still undecided on a loop of carbide

The only wildcard on the testing will be the saws

A MMWS PS-5105 here vs a MMWS PS-7900 there

Not exactly a head to head shootout

But I gotta do it for science and stuffs...

View attachment 225130

I don’t know if I’m right but where you’re at a large majority of that dust would be volcanic lava dust, very hard and destructive.

 

[3browns]

I don’t know if I’m right but where you’re at a large majority of that dust would be volcanic lava dust, very hard and destructive.

You are 110% correct

It wrecks stuff soooo fast

That's part of the problem here with getting a REAL sense of what Archer can do

That's why a test in Alaska will be more in line with you guys and how you cut

 

[3browns]

Back in the spring of 1989 or 1990 Mount Redoubt in Alaska blew and covered the Kenai Peninsula with volcanic dust

They used road graders in Homer to clear the roads

All the timber on the peninsula got coated in the dust and for a couple of years it took 2-3 times the normal amount of chains to make the same number of cuts

The spruce bark held onto that stuff like velcro

 

[dahmer]

You are 110% correct

It wrecks stuff soooo fast

That's part of the problem here with getting a REAL sense of what Archer can do

That's why a test in Alaska will be more in line with you guys and how you cut

Alaska might be way better, volcanic dust is high in metallic dust. If you’re hitting dust in Alaska hope it’s gold. Where you at in Alaska? Wife and I are giving ourselves a retirement gift, a 14 day Alaskan cruise. I even booked a fishing trip in one port.

 

[3browns]

Alaska might be way better, volcanic dust is high in metallic dust. If you’re hitting dust in Alaska hope it’s gold. Where you at in Alaska? Wife and I are giving ourselves a retirement gift, a 14 day Alaskan cruise. I even booked a fishing trip in one port.

Our home in Alaska is in Peter's Creek, 25 miles north of Anchorage

Sounds like a dream cruise for you guys and congratulations on retirement

Cruise ships rarely come all the way to Anchorage

What port will you be fishing in?

 

[dahmer]

I think Ketchikan I think, it’s for halibut. We make a ton of stops. Another thing I booked is the narrow gage rail train trip. Also 3 days in Denali. Can’t remember it all right now.

 

[3browns]

I think Ketchikan I think, it’s for halibut. We make a ton of stops. Another thing I booked is the narrow gage rail train trip. Also 3 days in Denali. Can’t remember it all right now.

That sounds like you are going all the way up to Skagway and doing the White Pass and Yukon railway

Awesome

Denali is unbelievable

You should see grizzlies, black bear, moose, caribou, wolves are possible, etc

I love to fish but for some reason I ALWAYS get seasick in Alaska when we go halibut fishing

In Hawaii I never get seasick

Just one of those things

 

[dahmer]

Our home in Alaska is in Peter's Creek, 25 miles north of Anchorage

Sounds like a dream cruise for you guys and congratulations on retirement

Cruise ships rarely come all the way to Anchorage

What port will you be fishing in?

That sounds like you are going all the way up to Skagway and doing the White Pass and Yukon railway

Awesome

Denali is unbelievable

You should see grizzlies, black bear, moose, caribou, wolves are possible, etc

I love to fish but for some reason I ALWAYS get seasick in Alaska when we go halibut fishing

In Hawaii I never get seasick

Just one of those things

I’ve never ocean fished but have fished the Great Lakes many times, if I take Dramamine the night before and again that morning I’m good to go. Skagway is on the trip too, I Remember that name.

 

[Lightning Performance]

I’ve never ocean fished but have fished the Great Lakes many times, if I take Dramamine the night before and again that morning I’m good to go. Skagway is on the trip too, I Remember that name.

Always wanted to fish for the big flaties. The steaks are delish!

My wife's uncle did a 14 day cruise trip up from Washington when he retired a few years back. They were gone from here for twenty days out west and up the coast. Great pics they took.