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Have Stihl chains went to shit?

I adjust my chain to where it's gonna be before sharpening. using the 2 in 1 sharpener, I hold the bar with my left hand and file with my right hand.

probably why I've screwed up the past 2 chains

but I was able to get my last chain sharp and ran several tanks of gas through the little 261 with a 20" skip tooth. it cut well. bettle kill pine
 
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Well, considering poplar is a hardwood the idea of what is “Hard wood” varies.
Technically any deciduous tree is a hardwood, but around here oak, hickory and locust are hard woods.

Find a dead locust tree that the bark has fallen off of and cut it.
 
Got a couple oaks with some dead branches but they're way up there and I ain't fucking with that, they can come down on their own
 
Technically any deciduous tree is a hardwood, but around here oak, hickory and locust are hard woods.

Find a dead locust tree that the bark has fallen off of and cut it.
I split 2 yr old locust once… once.

Rounds were 30” or so and they went off like bombs.
 
Got a couple oaks with some dead branches but they're way up there and I ain't fucking with that, they can come down on their own
I have what I have been told is likely one of the biggest poplars in my area on my property that I would like to take down.

It’s about 11’ in circumference.

I have enough saw, I have a big enough bar.

But I know better than to fuck with that old dying bastard of a tree.

This post will drive youpers nuts in my experience.

They only grow that big in the UP!:mad3:
 
I have what I have been told is likely one of the biggest poplars in my area on my property that I would like to take down.

But I know better than to fuck with that old dying bastard of a tree.
don't worry it'll turn to mush and fall over in about 2 years
dunno why but those things just turn to mush 100 times faster than anything else
 
don't worry it'll turn to mush and fall over in about 2 years
dunno why but those things just turn to mush 100 times faster than anything else
It’s starting to, that’s why I’d like to cut it down.

Half of it is missing the bark and it is within striking distance of the house, though it is leaning away and the dead side is towards the house.

Most of the live limbs(heavy half) are away from the house, but there have been tornadoes and straight line winds cropping up lately.

I got lucky with this oak, missed every damn thing in the yard. Sumbitch was dead standing and too close to take down comfortably given the lean and rotten trunk.

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I cut a lot of firewood, mostly beetle kill pine for the purposes of heating my log cabin. I run a Stihl 261c modded to run a Stihl 33RSF72 chain (full chisel, full skip). Been running this for years. I use a Stihl 2 in 1 sharpener with 13/64" Stihl files.

The past two chains I've gotten have completely went to shit after the first sharpening. The chains seem sharp, but won't cut for shit. The saw keeps trying to cut to the right.

Anyone having issues with Stihl chains lately?
I didn't read through all the replies, but if your saw is cutting off to one side or the other, it is likely that both sets of teeth are not sharpened evenly. I've had it happen a time or two and simply had to go back and resharpen the teeth on the "other" side of the chain to get it to cutting straight again. I hand sharpen my chains with a round file and filing guide and do ok with it. I currently run Echo saws with either factory chains or Oregon chains.
 
I adjust my chain to where it's gonna be before sharpening. using the 2 in 1 sharpener, I hold the bar with my left hand and file with my right hand.

probably why I've screwed up the past 2 chains

but I was able to get my last chain sharp and ran several tanks of gas through the little 261 with a 20" skip tooth. it cut well. bettle kill pine
At home I use a vise, handsharpen with a file, and I change the saw direction after doing half the teeth so that the cutters are all sharpened in the same direction from the deeper part out.
 
on a short bar for a particular saw that can work well in soft wood. you will bog any saw down if you feed it to fast into the wood. but any saw I have , I can stall in the cut even with the correct sized rakers. I trim mine only once or twice in the life of the chain.


even harvester chain have rakers.
they also help remove the chip from the cut

Damn night shift. My brain wasn't quite on. :homer:

Local shop sells chains that don't have the anti-kickback crap and normal rakers.
Not quite sure that the hell I was thinking, but I was trying to say the anti-kickback stuff is garbage.

Guess that's what I get for shit posting on no sleep.
 
this is why I just give the chainsaw guy $3 to sharpen a chain.
Not usually an option unless you want to spend more time driving to town than cutting. I touch up the chain ever tank of gas. Everything is better with a sharp chain. 046+26"
 
I don't get it aren't ash and elm hard woods? they certainly split nice
Just about useless as firewood, but because they drop their leaves in the fall they are classified as "hardwoods".
 
Not usually an option unless you want to spend more time driving to town than cutting. I touch up the chain ever tank of gas. Everything is better with a sharp chain. 046+26"
I have 3 or 4 chains for every bar size.
swap them, drop them off at guy later. I'm not using saws daily. If I can't get through a day with 3 saws and a half dozen chains I'm doing it wrong.
 
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