What's new
By:
Filters

Have Stihl chains went to shit?

blakes said:
Speaking of the rakers. I have a buddy with a Stihl 391 who cuts the rakers completely off. Grinds them smooth each time he gets a new chain. I've ran his saw many, many times and lemme tell ya...with that thing you feel like you can cut through a hunk of metal. It's mean.
Click to expand...

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.

Chevy_man said:
I buy the old style chains, no rakers.
Click to expand...
even harvester chain have rakers.
they also help remove the chip from the cut
 
You guys running no rakers, how the fuck are you even clearing what you cut out of the way? I get losing the anti kickback bullshit, but it seems like no rakers would just bind up your bar and chain in the cut in short order.

Anybody doing this in oak/hickory/walnut type hardwood?
 
and if you want a real fast cutting chain, I go with square ground chisel cutters. Out of the box there is nothing faster in softwoods.

downside is they cannot be sharpened with a round file, you need a special square file to do it, and it is an art. they do sell special high end sharpeners (Silvey or Simington) for square ground but they run about 1K

you can sharpen them to a round ground but lose the benefits of the square ground design
 
junkytj said:
You guys running no rakers, how the fuck are you even clearing what you cut out of the way? I get losing the anti kickback bullshit, but it seems like no rakers would just bind up your bar and chain in the cut in short order.

Anybody doing this in oak/hickory/walnut type hardwood?
Click to expand...
No.

I always laugh getting into these discussions only to find out their talking about cutting pine or poplar.

“I run a 48” full skip chain on my Stijl 015 limb saw with no problem, you must not know how to sharpen a chain boi.”

OK piney.
 
Mine stops oiling the bar all the time and it's annoying AF.
 
WLDWUN said:
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
Click to expand...
I set mine with feeler gauges on the sharpener.

Sharpen the chain tha setup for taking the rakers down and slip the feeler gauges in to check rakers and verify if they need work or not.

.021-.024 works well for hardwoods and goes a long way in keeping the chain sharp in dried oak or hickory.
 
TatonkaII said:
Mine stops oiling the bar all the time and it's annoying AF.
Click to expand...
Another reason I like older saws, oil tank capacity. With a good bar oil (I like itasca) you will use 1:1 tanks for regular cutting.

You are using bar oil, correct?
 
2020AT4 said:
Another reason I like older saws, oil tank capacity. With a good bar oil (I like itasca) you will use 1:1 tanks for regular cutting.

You are using bar oil, correct?
Click to expand...
Yes. I'm honestly not sure the brand name, but 100% bar oil.
 
If your saw is cutting off to the left or right the left and right cutting teeth are different lengths. Take the chain and match the backs of the left and right teeth together and if they’re not the same length, you’ll need to correct this to be able to cut straight.

I always look for the most dull or rounded over tooth, then sharpen that tooth and make the rest on that side the same. When switching over to sharpen the other side teeth, I sharpen one tooth and match it up to the other side, make necessary adjustments to get it to match then sharpen the rest on that side.

I run square chisel tooth chains on my 036 pro .325 pitch 20” bar. They cut aggressive but dull very easy if touching the ground or touching something imbedded in the tree like a nail. It doesn’t take much and it’s done cutting and time to sharpen.

I carry 10 plus chains typically when I cut trees on the farm. I don’t sharpen by hand or in field and never have. I have a commercial sharpener in my shop to maintain my chains with.
 
2020AT4 said:
Another reason I like older saws, oil tank capacity. With a good bar oil (I like itasca) you will use 1:1 tanks for regular cutting.

You are using bar oil, correct?
Click to expand...
I didn't know bar oil was a thing until I was about 30. I grew up using a manual oiler saw pumping used motor oil. Guess it worked alright. Dad kept the same saw my whole life until I bought a Farm Boss. Now they get bar oil or 80/90.
 
Landslide said:
....

I run square chisel tooth chains ... They cut aggressive but dull very easy if touching the ground ...

... I have a commercial sharpener in my shop to maintain my chains with.
Click to expand...
curious what brand you have that sharpens square ground chain?

only one I can find now is Simington and they are bout 1K+ (Silvey are no longer made)
 
I would also guess that something is fucky with your sharpening tools or method, and/or the bar.

Granted I'm not the most skilled Sawyer but I also use the Stihl 2-in-1 sharpener, and I could see uneven pressure on the left or right hand teeth causing it to cut the tooth AND raker more in one direction than the other.

I tend to buy Stihl everything as it's a known quality, maybe not the best of the best but it always works.

Try a couple new chains and a new bar, and then have the next sharpen done by a shop. I bet that solves the problem.
 
Use a basic file. No gimmicky tools. Now and then, you'll sharpen one side better than the other. Its a skill set. Takes a bit to get used to. I'd say every fifth sharpening I sharpen one side more than the other. I flip the bar about every fifth sharpening as well.
 
I have chains with all kinds of screwed up angles on the teeth and they cut fine as long as the bar is straight and the rails are even. 20" & 25" Stihl bars with whatever type of chain I can find. My experience is that the bar has more bearing on making straight cuts than having all the teeth on the chain even.
 
I spent some time with my 2 in 1 sharpener and got it pretty sharp. Cuts straight and fast.

thanks everyone!
 
blakes said:
I spent some time with my 2 in 1 sharpener and got it pretty sharp. Cuts straight and fast.

thanks everyone!
Click to expand...

Out of curiosity, how many passes and how much pressure are you using with it? Are the files pretty worn?

I'm still getting the hang of mine. It's somewhat fresh and I usually go 4 passes with light/medium pressure. Gotta keep the tooth close to the rear of the bar as well so the bar doesn't dance around. I should try putting it in the vice next time now that I think about it.
 
Yotota said:
Out of curiosity, how many passes and how much pressure are you using with it? Are the files pretty worn?

I'm still getting the hang of mine. It's somewhat fresh and I usually go 4 passes with light/medium pressure. Gotta keep the tooth close to the rear of the bar as well so the bar doesn't dance around. I should try putting it in the vice next time now that I think about it.
Click to expand...

I think I'm putting a bit more pressure than you are. I put pressure down and also back towards the tooth. However - I've always thought that I'm probably over filing my chains. This last couple of years, I bet I've went through at least 15 chains. Keep in mind that I built a 25x25 log cabin out of logs that I harvested myself, so not just firewood. Just today, after 'fixing' my existing chain, I sharpened the chain twice again. I put about 2 or 3 passes on each tooth after each tank of gas.
 
Yotota said:
. Gotta keep the tooth close to the rear of the bar as well so the bar doesn't dance around. I should try putting it in the vice next time now that I think about it.
Click to expand...
you can also tighten the chain on the bar prior to sharping it, that will keep it from moving much when you file.
 
2020AT4 said:
No.
I always laugh getting into these discussions only to find out their talking about cutting pine or poplar.
“I run a 48” full skip chain on my Stijl 015 limb saw with no problem, you must not know how to sharpen a chain boi.”
OK piney.
Click to expand...
you seem to be implying that skip tooth chains don't pull a whole lot easier than full complement chains
which is... no
 
[486] said:
you seem to be implying that skip tooth chains don't pull a whole lot easier than full complement chains
which is... no
Click to expand...
You seem to be implying that pine and poplar cut like real wood.

Given your location I can only assume (since you went there) that you have never cut a dead standing hardwood.
 
2020AT4 said:
You seem to be implying that pine and poplar cut like real wood.

Given your location I can only assume (since you went there) that you have never cut a dead standing hardwood.
Click to expand...
there's a fuckton of ash that's been standing for long enough that all the bark's fallen off. Same with elm.
it cuts slower I guess, not racing anyone
 
[486] said:
there's a fuckton of ash that's been standing for long enough that all the bark's fallen off. Same with elm.
it cuts slower I guess, not racing anyone
Click to expand...
Neat way to move the goal posts.

You guess, which seems to imply you have no real experience cutting rock hard dried hardwoods.

Is that it?

I’m sure you have a lot of experience gnawing down hard poles and all, but your argument here seems a bit flaccid and it seems that once again you have backed yourself onto a hard spot.

Who knows, maybe you just like pulling on hard poles and are just edging for the climax of this argument.:lmao:

Ok, I’m done now.
 
2020AT4 said:
Neat way to move the goal posts.

You guess, which seems to imply you have no real experience cutting rock hard dried hardwoods.

Is that it?

I’m sure you have a lot of experience gnawing down hard poles and all, but your argument here seems a bit flaccid and it seems that once again you have backed yourself onto a hard spot.

Who knows, maybe you just like pulling on hard poles and are just edging for the climax of this argument.:lmao:

Ok, I’m done now.
Click to expand...
Jesus son hes talking about chainsaws not sex! Lol
 
87manche said:
this is why I just give the chainsaw guy $3 to sharpen a chain.
Click to expand...
I did that just once. had a bad experience 20+ years ago

dropped off a dull 36" chain in that needed to be sharpened, 95% of the tooth left
what I got back was a sharp chain, with less than 25% left

went out and bought my own grinder after that.
 
Anyone who cuts all of the rakers off a 72 tooth 3/8 chain on a 391 is either cutting pine or FOS. Try that here on the east coast in a hardwood and you'd be in a world of "fuck this".
 
Broncokyle88 said:
I usually jam a wedge in between the bar and chain on the underside to get it extra tight. Do a couple teeth, pull the wedge out, spin the chain, and repeat.
Click to expand...
never thought of that
has the same effect but do not need to re-adjust the chain when done

thanks
 
Or just use the chain brake.

Broncokyle88 said:
I usually jam a wedge in between the bar and chain on the underside to get it extra tight. Do a couple teeth, pull the wedge out, spin the chain, and repeat.
Click to expand...
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top Back Refresh