When is skip better than full comp?

[Maintenance Chief]

This may have been answered before but do you find running the 8 pin gives you a better chance of throwing your chain?

Not on the 8, but i have had to run tighter tension on a 9 pin sprocket with .325 strangely enough.

 

[junkman]

I was remembering something I read a while back about how using full comp in large diameter wood slows down due to chips clogging the chain.
Is there any truth to this?
I use skip on all my bars 28” and up only because its just that many cutters less to sharpen. But I always wondered if a 28” bar buried in wood would cut faster with full comp or skip, given the saw has enough power to run both at the same speed.

thx

In softwoods like Doug fir or cedar the skip helps clear the chips better ,I notice it more felling being a help over bucking,when the tree is upright the chips pack up more than when it's on the ground.

 

[PJLink]

I have skip and full comp for everything, except my 42" bar which has a loop of square skip and a loop of round skip.

Ive been cutting a lot of swamp maple lately, and have switched to skip, since those trees always seem to gush water when felling them, kinda amazes me how much they leak. Sappy stuff like pine i always run skip, and add a little trans fluid to bar oil - seems to help keep things cleaner for me, and helps bar oil flow during the winter, id rather have more oil on the bar/chain then just enough. Oak, Ash, other maple species, hickory i prefer full comp - sharpening takes a little longer, but honestly dont mind it, and can play with different angles etc

 

[ManiacalMark]

Trans fluid has detergants in it so I'm sure it does help. My buddy's E6 Mack everytime he changed his fuel filters he filled them with normal multi-atf, said in a mechanical engine it helped cleans stuff.

 

[Wood Doctor]

Ar a GTG, I was running a 36" bar, .404" pitch, full chisel in a Stihl 084 that was in good tune. No one could beat me in big cottonwood until a guy showed up with a Husky 394 running 3/8" skip tooth. He nipped me twice on each end of the log and took the prize. I was impressed.

Horsepower might have been about equal. My engine was bigger but he was muff modded and running airplane fuel. I think the main difference was the skip tooth.

 

[Moparmyway]

The difference is kerf width and you had more hp

 

[Deets066]

And chain sharpness, chip clearance, rpm, user, and a few other..... V words

 

[Wood Doctor]

The difference is kerf width and you had more hp

Wait a minute, I lost. He won. I had more hp and a new chain. He was running skip tooth.

 

[Deets066]

Wait a minute, I lost. He won. I had more hp and a new chain. He was running skip tooth.

Skip wasn’t the only reason

 

[Wilhelm]

The difference is kerf width and you had more hp

I too say it was a matter of kerf width.

On my PS-9010 Stihl RS .325" with 9pin is smoother and faster than Stihl RS 3/8" with 8pin.

Also, most chains cut faster at their end of life than when they are new.

 

[Skeans1]

In softwoods like Doug fir or cedar the skip helps clear the chips better ,I notice it more felling being a help over bucking,when the tree is upright the chips pack up more than when it's on the ground.

I’m in the same boat but run semi skip up to a 42 it allows a larger sprocket most of the time and it’s smoother then full skip. On anything longer it’s full skip but how often are any of us running them anymore?


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[Deets066]

I’m in the same boat but run semi skip up to a 42 it allows a larger sprocket most of the time and it’s smoother then full skip. On anything longer it’s full skip but how often are any of us running them anymore?


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I think semi skip is really overlooked. I like running it

 

[Skeans1]

I think semi skip is really overlooked. I like running it

It’s a great compromise of the two and you could say it’s a touch faster if you have the power to run a larger sprocket.


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[PJLink]

I think semi skip is really overlooked. I like running it

Ive never run it, definitely not opposed to it - main issue is finding it locally in my area (I like to support small businesses in my area, when possible)

 

[Maintenance Chief]

Ive never run it, definitely not opposed to it - main issue is finding it locally in my area (I like to support small businesses in my area, when possible)

I definitely try to give the Ma and Pa places as much business as possible. Unfortunately they only carry about 2 types of chain,lol.
I image if I bought a whole roll cheap enough I could probably just give them the left over and spit the profits with them.

 

[Deets066]

Ive never run it, definitely not opposed to it - main issue is finding it locally in my area (I like to support small businesses in my area, when possible)

I hear ya there. But there are Ma and Pop places on eBay too. @Definitive Dave is my most favoritest place to buy saw goodies. Not sure what he has for chain though.

 

[Definitive Dave]

I don't do much "normal" chain, I keep some real oddball stuff on hand for fun.
I hate to say it but since Nate burned down I have been recommending Loggerchain.com for bulk purchases.

 

[junkman]

I’m in the same boat but run semi skip up to a 42 it allows a larger sprocket most of the time and it’s smoother then full skip. On anything longer it’s full skip but how often are any of us running them anymore?


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I run .404 ,have not seen semi skip in .404 so I run skip chain ,I have some 3/8 oregon semi skip I run on the 026 for clearing small stuff ,I like the semi skip.i do have ,2 semi skip chains somewhere that were custom made out of .404 ,will have to find them,

 

[Wood Doctor]

Also, most chains cut faster at their end of life than when they are new.

I've never been able to use a sharp old chain that outcut a new one, but others I have met at GTG's also swear that this is true. They must know exactly how to do the sharpening. It remains a mystery to me.

 

[Philbert]

The saw racers like the more used chains. They weigh less (!). They have larger gullets for chip clearance. The depth gauges usually need to be set deeper than the standard 0.025”- this is where ‘progressive’ depth gauge tools come in.

Philbert