Do you prefer a 7 or 8 pin sprocket, and why?

[Maintenance Chief]

Some older saws only had a 8 pin option like the Homelite super 1050A in .404 .
The older saws flat torque cure is a good use of the 8 pin sprockets even with full comp.
Other than that I usually only run an 8 pin with skip tooth and a longer bar which is a good combination for me in pitchy pine for clearing chips.
I also went to a 9 or 8 pin on my 028 super with a 20" .325 for small limbs which worker well for me, the old gear style oil pumps in those stihls really push some oil!

 

[tek9tim]

8 pin for bore cutting is too fast! Can actually outrun the nose in deep bores. Experience taught me that.

What do you mean by this? I've never had trouble boring full length with long bars (28, 32, 36) and 8 tooth sprockets.

Not saying your experience is invalid, I'm just saying that in my cutting conditions with my saws I haven't ever had mechanical problems boring, so I want to understand your situation and what the phenomenon is that you're experiencing.

 

[Duce]

Are you cutting timber, limbing, bucking into log lengths, firewood or racing? Just cutting firewood for me, have run 7&8 pin on my stock 365,372s,385,390s, ported 372, ported miller mod 390 and 572. Don't see a big difference, but am in no big rust, I hate brushing out. Like everything else run what you like.

 

[kneedeepinsaws]

View attachment 326548


The larger the sprocket, the easier it is to throw a chain. 8 pins are fine, but once you get into 9’s and above you really should look at modifying the tail to accommodate.

I like the way that the 8 pin transitions the chain on the tail of a bar, seems more natural. Weather that makes a difference I’m not sure at this point

 

[Cat 525]

What do you mean by this? I've never had trouble boring full length with long bars (28, 32, 36) and 8 tooth sprockets.

Not saying your experience is invalid, I'm just saying that in my cutting conditions with my saws I haven't ever had mechanical problems boring, so I want to understand your situation and what the phenomenon is that you're experiencing.

Logging walnut and grade hardwoods is a lot different in many circumstances.

 

[Deets066]

None of this stuff solely depends on the sprocket. The saw and chain are much bigger factors than the difference between 1 sprocket size.
My opinion anyway

 

[tek9tim]

Logging walnut and grade hardwoods is a lot different in many circumstances.

Yeah, that's some high grade, hard stuff. What does the sprocket outrunning the tip mean though? I literally can't make sense of that collection of words.

 

[davidwyby]

None of this stuff solely depends on the sprocket. The saw and chain are much bigger factors than the difference between 1 sprocket size.
My opinion anyway

Totally…looking for combo info…more like how much bar can you run on 8 pin with x power head. I always assumed 8 was short bar stuff but it seems bigger powerheads will pull longer bars 8 pin.

anyone noticed if 7 or 8 leaves a smoother cut? (For selling the ladies cookies)

@Duce some of everything…tree removals in or around town, desert, all different kinds of wood, and big pines or oak in the mountains.

 

[Maintenance Chief]

I think a 70cc is good for 24" /28" skip
80cc 28-34"
90cc 34-36" or skip above.
6 cube and above would depend on your saws modifications?
For all around, from my experience .
A gear drive would certainly be a game changer for any sprocket swapping but difficult to source.

 

[Cat 525]

Yeah, that's some high grade, hard stuff. What does the sprocket outrunning the tip mean though? I literally can't make sense of that collection of words.

Cut timber a few more years and you'll understand a lot of things betterer!

 

[Deets066]

Cut timber a few more years and you'll understand a lot of things betterer!

If you bore rotten trees then you don’t have to worry so much about outrunnin your tip.

 

[Terry Syd]

My three saws started out with 7-pins. Then I started modding them, which changed the power, then I started to increase the cutting angle (raker depth) until it got a bit grabby. - Then I went to an 8-pin and ran a more conservative (6 degrees) of cutting angle.

If I was running a longer bar on the 77cc saw (presently with a 24") then I might drop to a 7-pin. - I just figure run what works with your saw with the wood you're cutting.

 

[pbillyi69]

i have run an 8 pin on my 372xpw the 75cc one with 32" bar semi skip 3/8 square chain from the second week i bought that saw. it came with a 7 and it didnt seem like it cut as good as the 71 cc 372xpw that my partner had so i switched. i have never ran timed cuts with both to compare and its been on ther for so long i dont really remember the difference. i also have an 8 on my jonsered cs2188 which is the same saw as a 390xp it cuts really well. i dont remember right off hand if my 357 has a 7 or 8 i think it has an 8 with a 20" bar full comp 3/8 square it also cut really well although until i had the muffler opened up it didnt cut nearly as good as i hoped it would

 

[tek9tim]

Cut timber a few more years and you'll understand a lot of things betterer!

I grew up in a logging town in Western Washington, fell my first tree at 12 years old.

I've been running saw professionally in the woods of the pacific northwest for 21 years. I have been responsible for certifying the top tier of fallers for my employer for 12 years.

Your use of eastern terminology does not mean I don't understand saws and felling.

If you're talking about how the tip tends to dive toward the top of the bar in a bore cut, that's just the physics of how the bar is reacting to the force of the chain going around the tip of the bar, happens in softwoods whether you have a 7 or an 8 tooth sprocket on. Just something an experienced cutter has to account for, and out here we never bore with the top of the bar facing our holding wood. When you're used to full wrap handlebars, a lot of things don't cross your mind, like why would you ever bore with the top of the bar facing your holding wood.

It's easy to assume that everyone on this forum is an idiot, but even someone with a low post count might be a fair hand at running and porting saws.

 

[jakethesnake]

I grew up in a logging town in Western Washington, fell my first tree at 12 years old.

I've been running saw professionally in the woods of the pacific northwest for 21 years. I have been responsible for certifying the top tier of fallers for my employer for 12 years.

Your use of eastern terminology does not mean I don't understand saws and felling.

If you're talking about how the tip tends to dive toward the top of the bar in a bore cut, that's just the physics of how the bar is reacting to the force of the chain going around the tip of the bar, happens in softwoods whether you have a 7 or an 8 tooth sprocket on. Just something an experienced cutter has to account for, and out here we never bore with the top of the bar facing our holding wood. When you're used to full wrap handlebars, a lot of things don't cross your mind, like why would you ever bore with the top of the bar facing your holding wood.

It's easy to assume that everyone on this forum is an idiot, but even someone with a low post count might be a fair hand at running and porting saws.

To be fair I didn’t understand the meaning of it either. I’m not a logger but I’ve cleared plenty of trees

 

[DEastin]

To be fair I didn’t understand the meaning of it either. I’m not a logger but I’ve cleared plenty of trees

Sounds like the drive sprocket is throwing the chain faster than the nose sprocket can pull it and it comes off the bar?

 

[justoldsaws]

I recently tried a 8t sprocket on my 572xp running 3/8 and 20" bar cutting Aussie yellow and greybox, I wasnt impressed. When cutting around 20" timber the saw lost a lot of rpm in the cut, I have gone back to a 7t and will leave it like that. I will try the 8t on my 394xp with a 24" and see how that goes.

 

[Int1968]

Black walnut and butternut are soft easy cutting woods I don’t know why people think otherwise .

 

[tek9tim]

Sounds like the drive sprocket is throwing the chain faster than the nose sprocket can pull it and it comes off the bar?

Yeah, the premise that overspeeding the chain causes this problem isn't real valid. In that case, a ported saw would "out run the tip" because it holds more RPM in the cut.

9 times out of 10, the chain derails from the heel of the bar, then comes off the tip. Now, bigger sprockets make this more likely because their larger diameter makes for a longer distance before the drivers get into the heel of the bar. And with boring, there's a greater chance of the chain chattering in the cut, increasing the odds of the drivers missing the heel of the bar as they come out of the sprocket.

Yes, absolutely higher chances of a larger sprocket causing you to throw your chain more.

If "outrunning the tip" is what you easterners call "throwing your chain" then that's a new one on me.

 

[B440]

Are any new chainsaws sold with an 8-pin? I bought a couple new saws and they had 6 or 7 pin sprocket or spurs. Maybe it's more of a safety thing; slower chain speeds.

I like the 8-pin on all my saws 45cc 14" up to 122cc 36". I can always let off the throttle if slower becomes better. 9 or 10 pin require modding the bar, or more chain, so my use for those are limited.