Two saw plan

[WI_Hedgehog]

@Wilhelm : Since you're a speed guy, what's faster in clean wood with a big powerhead (90cc and up), 3/8" or .404"? I'm hearing .404 if there's enough power to pull it even though it has wider kerf.

 

[Wilhelm]

@Wilhelm : Since you're a speed guy, what's faster in clean wood with a big powerhead (90cc and up), 3/8" or .404"? I'm hearing .404 if there's enough power to pull it even though it has wider kerf.

Wrong, IMHO!

You want half-life 3/8" full chisel!
It is super fast and doesn't pinch.
Talking hardwood, turkey oak in my case.
It is lightning fast in fresh beech.

.404" is a power hog, cutting a too wide kerf and fewer teeth.

Round ground/filed in any scenario!

From what I gather out of this forum many favor .404" for its extended "stay sharp" properties.
I will rather swap out 2-3 saws than pretend a chain is still cutting at the expense of wear & tear of the PH.
I don't swap chains!

P.S./Edit:
Keep in mind that for now 90cc is the largest I own/run!

 

[Wilhelm]

...3, ....2, ...1

Here come the opposing opinions!

And You are all entitled to Your own thoughts, experiences and preferences!

 

[redline4]

@jacob j. Told me the hot ticket duo was a Mini-Mac and a Roper 3.7

 

[Squareground3691]

...3, ....2, ...1

Here come the opposing opinions!

And You are all entitled to Your own thoughts, experiences and preferences!

 

[Wilhelm]

View attachment 398221

Almost there, once past the witness mark that chain becomes a light sabre - although prone to pinching.

Those DL's look f-ed up!
Even some chipping on both, what happened?

Raker looks too high, would make a in cut low bite high chain speed loop.

Nice big-C profile!

 

[Squareground3691]

Almost there, once past the witness mark that chain becomes a light sabre - although prone to pinching.

Those DL's look f-ed up!
Even some chipping on both, what happened?

Raker looks too high, would make a in cut low bite high chain speed loop.

Nice big-C profile!

She’s a little rough lol, cuts good

 

[HumBurner]

Wrong, IMHO!

You want half-life 3/8" full chisel!
It is super fast and doesn't pinch.
Talking hardwood, turkey oak in my case.
It is lightning fast in fresh beech.

.404" is a power hog, cutting a too wide kerf and fewer teeth.

Round ground/filed in any scenario!

From what I gather out of this forum many favor .404" for its extended "stay sharp" properties.
I will rather swap out 2-3 saws than pretend a chain is still cutting at the expense of wear & tear of the PH.
I don't swap chains!

P.S./Edit:
Keep in mind that for now 90cc is the largest I own/run!

I made a post a year or two ago about using .404 as brushing chain, but wanting a smaller powerhead still. The suggestions were the earlier Stihls, which also generally happen to be a pain working on from what I read.

 

[HumBurner]

View attachment 398221

Looks durable from the outside!

At the risk of wearing it quicker, I'd be tempted to take the depths down a swipe or two from where you have it.

 

[Squareground3691]

Looks durable from the outside!

At the risk of wearing it quicker, I'd be tempted to take the depths down a swipe or two from where you have it.

Runs smooth, without being over aggressive, a smooth chain is a fast chain,

 

[Loony661]

MS 400 & MS 661.


In dirty, snotty wood (storm damage) full-chisel can dull in 3/4 of one cut, semi-chisel can last 20+ cuts, I've had it last about 40. I'll be getting chipper chain to run on a hard nose bar next week. Yes, it's slow, until you don't have to stop to change out / sharpen chains.

In clean wood speed is the king.

Did you get a 661 Brad?

In my experiences cutting a lot of dirty wood on log landings, full chisel can last the whole day if the users is careful not to pull any dirt/mud/sand into the cut. If you keep the mud/dirty bark facing your legs, then the chain pulls the filth off and away from the bark, rather than dragging it into the wood fibers. This increases chain life ten-fold.

Of course on the contrary, if the user isn’t paying attention, then one can dull a perfectly good chain rather quickly.

 

[davidwyby]

@Wilhelm have you tried stihl RM? I like it.

I agree I expect 3/8” to be faster - in clean. In nasties .404 rules.

 

[davidwyby]

I should add the main difference or reason for felling vs. bucking chains is being able to stop and start in tough (not necessarily hard) wood, and be able to plunge /bore cut.

 

[Wilhelm]

@Wilhelm have you tried stihl RM? I like it.

I have some RM, tried it and wasn't impressed - stashed it back in the box and onto the shelf.
But I am not too amazed by RS either so maybe it is me doing something wrong.

This whole year I am really digging X-Cut on my little PS-550, and I love the full skip full chisel Oregon (not the EXL stuff!) on my PS-7310 with 24" bar.
All my chains are round ground.

I will have to force myself to use up any loops I find undesirable in order to clear up and sort my spare chain stash.
I am done with TriLink & Archer in full size 3/8", still have a no-name loop or two to wreck.
I am also working on wearing out 3/8"LP loops other than 40DL & 52DL to simplify my chain requirements - gonna go with 40DL on battery powered and under 40cc.

 

[drf256]

I just can't get a liking for semi chisel in any pitch!
Does it work?
Yeah???!!!
Is it satisfactory fast cutting?
Heck no!!!

To me semi chisel is so underwhelming in performance I have sort of an hatred towards it.
Maybe I don't know how to sharpen it?!

I can tell you the .404 stihl SC chain works for me. I have RCA base in my cutting area, so it’s quite abrasive. I set my rakers kinda low.

Full chisel is faster, but it dulls quicker. The SC will literally last me all day and keep cutting unless I directly hit a Rock or pavement.

I‘ve concluded that it’s faster to cut slower with the same SC chain all day than to switch loops on my 395 3-4x a day.

My area:

 

[Squareground3691]

@Wilhelm have you tried stihl RM? I like it.

I agree I expect 3/8” to be faster - in clean. In nasties .404 rules.

Yea David , the factory square grind on Stihl is a blunter angle and temper of cutters is harder than the others , should hold up decent in tougher wood , I rather use .404 in less than ideal wood conditions, as long as you have the PH to pull it ,

 

[WI_Hedgehog]

Almost there, once past the witness mark that chain becomes a light sabre - although prone to pinching.

Thank you for the 3/8 / .404 chain info. Do you mean past the minimum tooth size indicator?

Did you get a 661 Brad?

I did not, @julie wolf offered for me to borrow her MS 400 whenever I want, and that's great power for the weight. I was thinking of getting a ported MS 462 because I like hers so much but we put that on the back burner for now. I really like how light her saw is.

Yesterday after cutting "table tops" I put the same STIHL 3/8" full-chisel full-house chain into two pinched dirty windfalls to help the trees they were pinched by remain healthy by removing the weight. All that dirty crap and the chain is still sharp. (That saw is like having a gym membership in a box.)

 

[Wilhelm]

Thank you for the 3/8 / .404 chain info. Do you mean past the minimum tooth size indicator?


I did not, @julie wolf offered for me to borrow her MS 400 whenever I want, and that's great power for the weight. I was thinking of getting a ported MS 462 because I like hers so much but we put that on the back burner for now.

Yesterday after cutting table tops I put STIHL 3/8" full chisel full house into two pinched dirty windfalls to help the trees they were pinched by healthy--it's still sharp. That saw is like having a gym membership.

View attachment 398334

View attachment 398333

I need a woman I can borrow a chainsaw from in my life!

I don't think You have any "Full House" but rather "Full Complement".
This is "Full House" as many teeth as DL's, courtesy of Jason @jmester , can't thank him and Nate enough for MAKING it for me!!!


Is that what the "witness mark" is?!
Chain manufacturers sure don't want their customers to have speedy chains.
Windsor full chisel, 24" from the US on my secondary PS-7900


Carlton 20" on my PS-6400, also from the US


X-Cut 56DL on my PS-550, local purchase

 

[Stihlalltheway]

Most of what I do is with one saw. I’ve found full skip with the rakers waaaaaaay down works for brushing and limbing really well, and that’s mostly what I do at work, and it’s fine for bucking. I really like the low rakers for felling, just drive a little harder on the spikes and it stops when your gun is set. Another bonus is with the rakers far down you can just put a lick on the chain when it starts getting dull and you don’t have to take the time to get the rakers as well, just another swipe or two off after the day is done and you’re ready for the next day. I always have a brand new chain in my pack too if I really mess it up with how many rocks are around where we cut

 

[Wilhelm]

Most of what I do is with one saw. I’ve found full skip with the rakers waaaaaaay down works for brushing and limbing really well, and that’s mostly what I do at work, and it’s fine for bucking. I really like the low rakers for felling, just drive a little harder on the spikes and it stops when your gun is set. Another bonus is with the rakers far down you can just put a lick on the chain when it starts getting dull and you don’t have to take the time to get the rakers as well, just another swipe or two off after the day is done and you’re ready for the next day. I always have a brand new chain in my pack too if I really mess it up with how many rocks are around where we cut

I set rakers every half dozen sharpenings or so, no need to set rakes every touch up or thorough sharpening!

Also, for limbing and brush clearing I prefer a less aggressive chain.