West Coast Saws 3 point felling dogs/spikes review

[Thumper88]

I had some guys asking for a review on the 3 point dogs from WCS. Ive had them on the 390XP for a couple weeks now so this is my initial review. Ive felled and bucked approximately 30 trees with this setup so far. The saw is a stock 390XPW with a 32" full weight Oregon bar and full skip, square ground chain.

#1 They are big. Really big. It cuts the useable bar length down to 29". They do help balance the saw when its sitting. It tipped forward with the stock dogs and the 32 but now it will sit flat and balanced.

#2 . Performance wise, they are fantastic. They take a great bite even in thick barked shaggy hickory, white oak and other trees that would at times make it a pain in the arse to dawg in and keep the saw from slipping and sliding and making sloppy cuts. I like to cut a Humboldt most of the time and having the ability to keep the saw dogged in tight when cutting the face is a huge advantage.

# 3. The middle tine/point lines up perfectly with the teeth on the chain. That point is a straight line right down the exact kerf cut. It's nice to be able to sight that point and know where your backcut is in relation to hinge width if that makes sense.

So far Ive found them to be an improvement over the stock dogs. They sell the same set for a 372/385 and 390. Personally i would find them to big on a 372 since thats a saw I would mainly run a 24" or shorter bar on and these would eat up the bar length quickly. They are overkill on most thinner barked or smaller diameter trees, but if you want or need a big set of dawgs i find these better than any stocker or pro safety that i have used.

 

[Thumper88]

More pictures

 

[Thumper88]

Falling a nice little poplar with the current setup. 24" DBH and 123' tall. The WCS 3 points worked great on putting in that face cut.

 

[Funky sawman]

I been felling Doug fir with the 3 pt spikes on my 395, love them! Hands down the best spike design ever made

 

[Sagebrush33]

Thank you for the review. I've been considering getting 2 sets. For my MS 262 and 036. I'm hoping they are sized a bit shorter for that sized chassis.

 

[Thumper88]

Thank you for the review. I've been considering getting 2 sets. For my MS 262 and 036. I'm hoping they are sized a bit shorter for that sized chassis.

They are sized to the saw chassis as far as I know. I think i know a guy with a set on a 362 let me see if i can find a picture

 

[CLEARCUT]

Maybe I need another 390.

 

[Sagebrush33]

Maybe I need another 390.

9010

yumck, yunck, yunck. Just bustin.

 

[Maintenance Chief]

Hey great honest review. Nice to know you can still purchase an item for its intended purpose and it works!

 

[Logsdendave]

They look right at home on that 390xp.

 

[RI Chevy]

Cool review. TY

 

[davidwyby]

@Thumper88 would you say that the WCS dog geometry is less prone to stalling the clutch in felling situations?

 

[Thumper88]

@Thumper88 would you say that the WCS dog geometry is less prone to stalling the clutch in felling situations?

To a point. I buy them for every saw I get now. I have them on my 500i and I have a set for the 7900 on the way. To me the best part is having a visual and physical indicator of where the chain is with the dog point. It helps me be s little more precise with my cuts. Like any big dog, they bite deep and hard and a heavy hand will still stall the saw out if you aren't paying attention

 

[davidwyby]

To a point. I buy them for every saw I get now. I have them on my 500i and I have a set for the 7900 and the 064 on the way. To me the best part is having a visual and physical indicator of where the chain is with the dog point. It helps me be s little more precise with my cuts. Like any big dog, they bite deep and hard and a heavy hand will still stall the saw out if you aren't paying attention

I’ve been getting more aggressive with my chains and bigger sprockets and hadn’t been felling much until that last euc. The 395 didn’t like me dogging the .404 which is more of a dry hard bucking setup. Last I remember a felling situation was with 36” 3/8” skip and I was impressed with how well it hogged thru the tree. Then I had a similar happening with the big dogs and 8 pin on the treemonkey 359 I just got. So I’m on an anti stalling while felling mission.

@chipper1

 

[Thumper88]

I’ve been getting more aggressive with my chains and bigger sprockets and hadn’t been felling much until that last euc. The 395 didn’t like me dogging the .404 which is more of a dry hard bucking setup. Last I remember a felling situation was with 36” 3/8” skip and I was impressed with how well it hogged thru the tree. Then I had a similar happening with the big dogs and 8 pin on the treemonkey 359 I just got. So I’m on an anti stalling while felling mission.

I like the speed of an 8 or even 9 pin bucking, but I like a 7 pin for falling. The added torque feels better. I dont need speed falling, I want torque and good throttle control. You cant cut a hinge off fast enough to make it fall good lol

 

[davidwyby]

I like the speed of an 8 or even 9 pin bucking, but I like a 7 pin for falling. The added torque feels better. I dont need speed falling, I want torque and good throttle control. You cant cut a hinge off fast enough to make it fall good lol

Yup that’s what I’m smokin. Just hacked some face cuts in a log out back with different saws/setups and the difference can be dramatic. Basically you can’t start a falling cut with dogs and a cookie setup…duh. :-D

 

[HYPERSAWS]

@davidwyby when I am on a job where there is a lot of big wood I normally have a falling saw and a bucking saw, I'll normally take the butt cut with my falling saw then buck the rest with my bucking saw, I normally do this when I am falling old growth or super nice second growth

 

[HYPERSAWS]

 

[Dustin4185]

I just got a set for a 461 and HOLY SMOKES those things are big! I’m going to stick them on anyway and swap to a 28” Stihl light bar to see how they do. I’ve bent the Stihl dogs several times now, mainly from sticking my saw in the stump or on a log when swamping out my area. I do wish they would make a slightly smaller “east coast” version, lol. I will probably get a set for my 395 next. I do like the fact that the middle spike lines up with the chain!

 

[davidwyby]

I have a couple sets of big dogs for 359 chassis…I think I’m gonna get after one set with a grinder.