1/2 inch chain on 395xp :)

[palbin]

Well - most are a lot smaller - everything (more or less) that is
harvested on a commercial level is a lot smaller - at least as I un-
derstand - but you get individual examples of trees that are
quite big ... . Here is a picture of a 1.2 meter birch I chopped
down last spring (the Bahco breaking iron is 1.3 meter) ... . The
SawTroll is Norwegian by the way - that is further north so the
trees are smaller .

 

[zogger]

Cool modification man! I don't even have any .404, let alone 1/2 inch!

 

[UpOnTheHill]

So I got tired after lifting one round and had to sit down for a while.... Lol. I scored these cool underwears at the dollar store when my mom took me the other day. Then we went out for happy meals.

 

[shootingarts]

I use the potato work out plan. The first week I lifted five pound potato sacks with each hand, the next week ten pound sacks. Worked right through twenty-five and fifty pound sacks, just started lifting hundred pound potato sacks in each hand this week. Next week I'm going to put a potato in each sack!

Hu

 

[nmurph]

It doesn't matter how fit I am, I'm not going to put a chest shot of guy in my avatar...it just ain't right.

 

[UpOnTheHill]

In all seriousness I hope I never have to wear a diaper like that poor guy.

That 1/2 inch chain is sweet but you gotta have some serious power i imagine to pull it. What's the advantage of running a chain that big?

 

[Locust Cutter]

I'd guess a lot more steel in the tooth to hold it's edge longer, relatively speaking.. Filing would also allow for a longer life as the cutters are a decent bit longer IIRC.

 

[mactodd]

1/2" takes a helluva bigger bite per tooth. If he can keep up the chain speed, it can make a big difference.

 

[palbin]

The chain is also quite heavy - much heavier that 3/8 and 0.404 - which
sort of gives it a bit of moving inertia (is that what it is called ) - so that
you possible have a little more time to "lighten your touch" when starting
to loose revs ... . Just some afterwards speculations ... .

Still 1/2 inch chain (to the left below) is (almost) nothing compared with
e.g., 3/4 inch chain (to the right below) - .



As for trees in (south) Sweden a forest owner neighbour and pall of mine has
a couple of 2 or so meter high oak stumps that were left over when he had pe-
ople with him taking down some of his big oakes - they couldn't deal with the-
se trees at ground level because lacking big enough saws - we have planned
that I shall cut the stumps with my 42" blade Hva 3120 - as the stumps are I
suppose 1.7 or so meters diameter at ground level (just an estimate from mem-
ory) it will take a careful "saw around" with wedges to fix it (not wanting to saw
a backhand with a 3120 I suppose ...). And will reward handsomly in firewood .
Haven't done anything this big before, though ... .

Although such trees are unusually big you see like 1.2-1.3 meter bottom diameter
trees here and there - in fact perhaps every 50 yards at some places - my forest
owner pall has a so called "natural forest" - everything just growes as it decides to
by itself - that's why he has such big trees - regular "commerical forests" are instead
planted with care and calculation and trees are harvested at an economical size and
age long before they get nearly that big ... . (As that takes hundreds of years .)

 

[Jimmy in NC]

I applaud your efforts here but having saws that were designed for 1/2" chain such as Home lite 770G, 7-21, etc I seriously doubt that a 395 will pull it well. The 1/2" chain pulls great at low speed taking a big bite. That rim sprocket pics speed up pretty fast and while a 395 is strong, it doesn't have the down low grunt of an old gear drive.

I'd also be nervous about crank durability.....and yes....I have a 394 here on the bench.

 

[palbin]

A big saw collector I have corresponded a little with says that 1/2
inch is a lot like 0.404 - as is also 7/16 - no big difference at all,
that is. That is also what I felt - not much different than running
0.404 on a 3120 with 42 blade - in terms of the grip/bite that is
- although the latter saw is of course very much more clumsy to
move around ... and when you use the full blade you have to lean
backwards in order not no fall forwards because the pulling force
of the saw ... .

 

[7sleeper]

Would be great to see a vid side by side with 1/2. 404 & 3/8!

7

 

[imagineero]

What would Freud say about all this?

I think he'd say that repression is the beginning of all neuroses.

 

[anlrolfe]

It would be crazy to say that it takes about the same amount of power to cut a wider kerf. Flat out, hands down a narrow cut will require less power. The saw will hold higher RPM and as a result finish faster. If you really want to go faster, up the teeth on the drive sprocket and go with the thinnest, shortest B&C combo you can find..... or am I seeing this all wrong??

 

[imagineero]

It's not so simple as it seems.... otherwise, wouldn't all kitchen knives be razor blades? Wouldn't all handsaws be paper thin? Would we not use cut throat razors as chisels?

It's true a narrow kerf has to remove less wood width wise, but a larger chain will cut deeper as well as wider with each pass, so long as you have the power to do so. At some point the narrow kerf chain will reach 'saturation' in terms of it's chip clearing ability. At that point, no amount of extra raker filing, gullet clearing or RPM increasing is going to make any difference... the saw will bog. The larger pitch chain will also stay sharper longer, and have more momentum/mass as already noted. try a machette as compared to an axe. It's a complex thing with no simple answer, and the sweet spot is hard to find and also shifts with the type of wood being cut.

 

[palbin]

Well I am just having some fun - nothing wrong with that, or ?

Anyhow, here is a picture of 0.325, 3/8, 0.404, 7/16, 1/2 and 3/4
- starting in upper right corner and moving counter clockwise down
to lower right corner:



PS. As I am sure you understand I do not run 0.325 or 3/8 myself but
borrowed those links from my mother ... . DS.

 

[imagineero]

That 3/4" would run great on your under 50cc stihls.

 

[palbin]

Yeah - good point !

 

[anlrolfe]

narrow kerf chain will reach 'saturation' in terms of it's chip clearing ability. At that point, no amount of extra raker filing, gullet clearing or RPM increasing is going to make any difference... the saw will bog.

Yup, can't argue that.

Finding the "sweet spot" between the power demanded from a larger chain and clearing ability of thinner kerf has probably kept a lot of competitors awake at night.

I on the other hand I have little to prove and just let up and cut slower.

I've got all day to do a days work and I'll do the same again tomorrow as well....

As Toby says, "I ain't as good as I once was, That's just the cold hard truth"

 

[UpOnTheHill]

Have you ever seen the cartoon version of the grinch that stole Christmas where the little tiny dog is hooked up to the grinch's huge sleigh that is overflowing? I'm not sure why, but that picture just popped in my head. And he has to pull the sleigh up the big hills in the snow...