Oregon EXL chain

[Philbert]

25 years ago when I was heavily involved doing carving exhibitions I made up Stihl 1/4" full house chains. Just sat in a comfortable chair with 2 loops of chain and did the whole process with a Break N Mend pliers.

You are a patient man!

I can get the Break-and-Mend to break chain satisfactorily, but never been as happy with the spun rivets. Prefer a full-sized spinner . breaker set.

Philbert

 

[RI Chevy]

I bought a saw from a guy that only used box chain. He did not own a file. When chain got dull, he bought a new chain. I got saw and about 15 chains. lol
Essentially new chain to me. All Stihl RS loops.
So I know what you are talking about regarding people and box chain performance.
@Philbert

 

[Willard]

The chain marketing guys seem to be really focused on out-of-the-box ('OOB') performance right now. Problem is, that some of the newer chains are ground on multi-axis grinders, which means that it can be hard to duplicate at home. Might take positioning of the file or grinding wheel to come close. I hope that they share their 'secrets'!

Philbert

Oregon has been basically making aggressive out of the box chain when they introduced the LGX with the anti-vibe cutter almost 20 years ago.
I got a roll here I bought from Bailey's about 15 years ago and who knows how long it sat in their warehouse.
We never got those angles back in the 1970's 1980s or '90s

 

[Willard]

You are a patient man!

I can get the Break-and-Mend to break chain satisfactorily, but never been as happy with the spun rivets. Prefer a full-sized spinner . breaker set.

Philbert

That was at the time when mechanical harvesting replaced my 20 year timber falling career and I took a transfer to the companies lumber division.
Kept the pliers and chain in my lunch pail and made up the loops in the lunchroom on breaks.
That was my day job, I did residential treework on my time off.

 

[Willard]

Here's a 1982 pic of me running my first year Jonsered 630 bush saw, that 630 was in the very first shipment to Canada.
Look close you can see my bar is a Oregon prototype PowerMatch bar with a 9T Guard tip. PowerMatch bars were introduced a few years later in 1984.
I also got a prototype loop of Oregon 72 LG on that saw which was introduced later that summer. That chain had .030 stamps on the depth gauges.

 

[usmcbuckwild]

'Full house' (no spaces between cutters) is used by some chainsaw carvers, to get smoother cuts. I have also seen it in an advertisement from Japan, for cutting bamboo.

Philbert

This i know and understand, the “tree guys” around here could break an anvil with a Fisher Price hammer.

 

[Philbert]

Look close you can see my bar is a Oregon prototype PowerMatch bar with a 9T Guard tip.

Banana bar!

Philbert

 

[Willard]

Banana bar!

Philbert

Yep one of a kind PowerMatch bar with a (banana nose) GuardTip° nose which never went into production.
The GuardTip in the 1970's were originally with a 1/4 moon medium contour joint then onto the slimline joint around 1980.
Never sold as a PowerMatch nose.
Starting later that summer of 1982 I field tested the PowerMatch Double Guard° introduced in 1984.

Our forestry company policy was from 1978 to 1995 that all cut and skid crews must use a small radius 9T 3/8 sprocket nose bar.
Our safety records with zero kickback injuries and near zero cut injuries along with no fatalities over those 17 years, enabled chainsaws to stay working without the introduction of feller bunchers full time until 1995.

Pic here of 9T and 11T sprocket nose 3/8" tips. I used 9T DoubleGuard full time on my 18"-20" bars 630, 034S , 044, 064.
11T years later to present.
Marked area shows the difference in size of kickback zone on each nose quadrant. Bigger zone produces bigger kickback energy.

 

[Jts trikes]

I've only used a couple loops of exl so far, but it is definitely harder. I do think it cuts a tad bit smoother. So far I haven't noticed any speed difference from lgx.

 

[ManiacalMark]

I wonder why oregon quit making CLX, CKX, CJX

 

[old guy]

25 years ago when I was heavily involved doing carving exhibitions I made up Stihl 1/4" full house chains.
Just sat in a comfortable chair with 2 loops of chain and did the whole process with a Break N Mend pliers.
View attachment 161660

I got one just like that, mine's probably 50 years old.

 

[Semotony]

Different angles of the cutter face dictate how the chip is cut/peeled away from the wood. A higher numerical angle takes a more ‘slice’ of the wood, while the lower numerical angle is more like using a chisel against the wood. Different wood types respond better to different angles. IIRC low angle for hard wood and higher angle for soft wood. Very low angle teeth are for milling as going across the end of the fibers requires smaller chips be taken from each of the fibers to prevent tearing/pulling of the fibers.

The memory ain’t what it used to be, so I might have the angles/wood types reversed.

In milling the lower angle assists in smoother slab surface. Near zero causes less side porpoising of the chain than 25°. Square chisel skip chain milling a 3 foot or more diameter log throws chips where comp chain throws smaller bits, and travels down the log slower in my experience.

 

[N8TE]

I just scooped up three 20" loops of 3/8, .050 for 15 bucks per. Seems reasonable enough? Hope it performs and cutsa da wood

 

[usmcbuckwild]

I just scooped up three 20" loops of 3/8, .050 for 15 bucks per. Seems reasonable enough? Hope it performs and cutsa da wood

it cuts da wood good

 

[BlacknTan]

I've tried EXL and liked it. I don't think it's a quantum leap beyond my beloved LGX, but the jury is still out for me.

 

[huskyboy]

I've tried EXL and liked it. I don't think it's a quantum leap beyond my beloved LGX, but the jury is still out for me.

I agree. Long live LGX lol.

 

[huskyboy]

I can do several tricks to LGX out of box and get it to cut faster and clear chips better. EXL you can’t touch the rakers or gullet for a couple filings. It’s set up more aggressive, yes it’s a bit quicker than LGX both NIB stock. But handfile the LGX properly... and it’s a wonderfully smooth and fast cutting chain that’s easy to file. For me the only real advantage EXL has to offer is that it’s a bit more durable. Both are faster than stihl RS chain handfiled though .

 

[huskyboy]

I’ll sum it up for the PSP’s... if your running late to the GTG with no time to file... pick up a loop of EXL or RS chain. If you got some time on your hands... grab a loop of LGX and file it nice and proper .

 

[RI Chevy]

EXL is much harder steel than LGX.

 

[Semotony]

Forget chip clearance on the mill. It does not matter imo.

Semi-skip runs faster along the guide while throwing larger chips. Oregon off the reel gets faster when the gullets are round filled on an angle, taking away the standard square edge. Chips binding in the cut ears power! In my experience. 37" Ash 3 years ago. Semi-skip square chisel was noticeably faster than comp ripping, and faster yet when the gullets got filed.