husky 359 owners, what bar chain do you run?

[greenlantern412]

Mine is a 20", but I'm thinking about reducing to an 18" bar and some chisle chains would be a better fit. What do you guys like on your 359 saws?

 

[hamish]

It all depends upon what you are cutting. If you are running a 20" bar, your best to stick with .325, and get the most out of the 359. My favourite combos are 16" 3/8", and 18-20" .325, Have a couple of different b/c combos on hand and suit each one to the job you are doing. So with your 20" bar are you cutting alot of 40" trees? most likely not, bigger bars dont give you bigger balls, learn how to cut and cut good, you'll be amazed what you can do with a shorter bar (and have alot more power available to you).

 

[Urbicide]

My 359 wears a 20" GB Pro-Top with Bailey's 30SC chain.

http://www.baileysonline.com/itemdetail.asp?item=WPL+30SC72&catID=11808

 

[Farmertim]

I run an 18 inch bar 3/8 chain on my 357xp and it balances perfect and cuts great. I agree with a shorter bar--the 359/357 seem to get a little nose heavy with a 20 inch bar for my liking!

 

[woodyman]

The 359 I had was wearing a 20" bar with 3/8X.050 Oregon LGX chain.I liked that setup for bucking and used my 346 for limbing and small stuff.

The balance seemed to be just right.

 

[minkota1]

Howdy, I usually run a 3/8ths 16". I also run 3/8ths 20". 18" would be the ideal length in my opinion.:greenchainsaw:

 

[smilin possum]

Wimps,
Mine has a 24" bar and half skip Stihl chain, a muffler mod and a little port job. It runs strong and has give no trouble yet. When it does it'll get a lot more grinding done on it.

 

[woodyman]

Wimps,
Mine has a 24" bar and half skip Stihl chain, a muffler mod and a little port job. It runs strong and has give no trouble yet. When it does it'll get a lot more grinding done on it.

:agree2:

 

[outdoortype]

16-18"

Put on a 16"and You're in for a real treat. It cuts fast and is really quick to sharpen. It may be only a few teeth less than the 18", but it makes a huge difference when you have to sharpen and lower the depth gauges.

Hamish-
In your oppinion, which setup is faster in dead hardwood: 16x3/8 or 18x325?

 

[hamish]

Outdoortype-it depends upon which type of dead hardwood, and the size of it and the cutting conditions. For 16" either 3/8 or .325 and the 18" i stick with >325 , get alot more cutting capacity out of the saw (something you wil nevcer realize till you run 3/8 and .325 on the same saw and bar). Chisel for clean wood and semi chisel for carbide for dirty wood, either way a good sharp chain and you are laughing.

 

[flxblx]

20" bar 3/8" with .050 gauge

woodlandpro (carlton) semi-chisel

I have no complaints.

 

[Zombiechopper]

I run 20" and 16" bars on my 357. 3/8ths .058" for both. Stihl RSC. 3/8 on teh 20" is no problem at all

 

[outdoortype]

Thanks for the insight

Outdoortype-it depends upon which type of dead hardwood, and the size of it and the cutting conditions. For 16" either 3/8 or .325 and the 18" i stick with >325 , get alot more cutting capacity out of the saw (something you wil nevcer realize till you run 3/8 and .325 on the same saw and bar). Chisel for clean wood and semi chisel for carbide for dirty wood, either way a good sharp chain and you are laughing.

That's kind of what I suspected. I've a hunch that in some of the big dead oak 18"+ that the smaller gear and narrower cut on the .325 would outshine the bigger 3/8 setup. I've been meaning to find out for sure, but I have too many 3/8 setups and like 2 .325 setups.