Chains ?

[confused]

All right fellow tree trimmers and or tree harvesters,

I recently had the displeasure of using an Oregon (36") chain and finding out that it was the worst chain I had ever wrapped around a bar. Simply put it was a perfectly good waste of steal. Since I purchased my new chainsaw I have used only stihl chisel and semi chisel chains and found them to be incredible. The only reason I didn’t buy a stihl chain for my new 36" bar is that it wasn’t available at that time so I was forced to use an Oregon chain. My question is what are everyone else’s favorites? And which chain should I run with my 36" bar?

Thank you
confused

O I appreciate all opinions and even some constructive criticism especially when I need it treeclimber165

 

[treeclimber165]

When I first started using saws, I bought Oregon chain. I didn't want to spend the extra money for the Stihl chain (the only 2 brands available at the local saw shop). Once I started using Stihl chain, I found that it held an edge a LOT longer than the Oregon. I typically got 3+ months of hard, every day use out of the chain on my climbing saw.

 

[Kevin]

confused,
What saw and what Oregon chain are you using?

 

[tundraotto]

i cant believe it!

is this true!!!

oregon is the brand that everyone seems to think is the ultimate in chains (husky gives them as stock chains on their saw i think..) stihl? their saw are ok i guess but why do the professional loggers use huskys and oregon chains...sounds fishy to me - show me some loggers that use stihl chain. in fact to be cheeky show me some loogers that use stihl...

 

[wendell hollis]

more saw chain

Hey Howdy Hey, My homelite dealer says, one chain is no different then the other, he sells oregon. Why would one company let the other get a jump on them? Oregon super Chisel 28" loop, $21 screaming price for around here. The Jonsey dealer sells oregon and tells me sthil is a good chain more chrome, holds good edge but, when rocked, teeth can turn hardened from impact or grinding and be next to impossible to hand file, also chrome makes it harder to grind to a good edge, wants to just roll up. I have run lots of stihl chain and nothing is more maddening then have a file just slide over teeth. If your up in a tree where its clean, stihls great. If your down and dirty dodgeing hidden critters (rocks, rootwads, gobs of dirt and etc.) in decked or trucked logs, oregon is the place to be. Also the Jonsey dealer chain is $21 a loop.

 

[HUSKYMAN]

It depends. Stihl picco micro chains in my opinion are the worst chains made to date. .043 gauge, give me a break!!!!! I think Stihl does make the best 3/8 and .404 chains. They do seem a little more resistant to wear. I bought 3/8 full chisel for the little xl2 and I love it. Oregon makes excellent .325 chain, better than Stihl IMO. The .058 gauge hardly stretches at all. Confused, I would say for the longer bars Stihl is better and for the shorter ones like your 18" they are about the same.

 

[the tree guy]

confused,what exactly happened to your chain?Did it break,bend,dull up quickly or something else?I usually buy chain in 100 foot rolls,I have used stihl,oregon,s and w,and saber chains.All have good and bad traits.I do agree with huskyman the best .404 chain is stihl, ater that it's personal preference.As far as loggers it's still about 50-50 husky or stihl.I use both stihl and husqvarna saws for logging, tree removel,and firewood cutting. Dan

 

[confused]

I had the chain made for me its a full chisel I think the dealer said "LP72 something” so there’s all the info I can remember.

The chain didn’t break it stretched a ton though but I expected that the longer the chain the more its going to stretch that’s with everything. But the chain was dull after about an inch in the wood and then it came down to myself making saw dust (and I mean dust) till I cut the tree down. The tree was an oak if that makes much of a difference, but when the tree was down and I switched to my 18" bar with the stihl chain and we cut the tree up into firewood like nothing. Wendall all chains are not the same the stihl chain has the exclusive oil groove in it, which I think helps tremendously

confused

O I have a 046 stihl Kevin.

 

[the tree guy]

elConfused,on the chain stretch,a 36 stihlbar should have 114 drivers.count them up to be sure it was right to start with.That an easy fix just have some drivers removed.Now if the chain went dull that quick either you hit something or you had the chain on backwards.(kidding).usually after short bars for awhile when you go to a longer bar you end up running the bar into the ground without really realizing it.Did you get square or round chisel,look at the cutters are they bent down,chipped up,or if any are missing.check the wood that you made the cut in that dulled the chain,look for grey or blue streaks or spots that would tell you that there was metal or some other strange object inside the tree that may not have been noticable.The chain that you got should be agood chain.where you droping the tree or bucking up the tree?Somewhere something had to happen to dull it that fast. Dan

 

[confused]

Tree Guy,

Didnt hit the ground, tree was clean cut all the way through and had no hidden objects in it, chain has 114 drivers on it 3 people have counted it, square chisel cutters, and I dropped the tree. Dan it was like this it cut well for the first couple inches and then just got progressively bad so quickly that i couldnt believe it. I was just cutting dust after i was in about 4-6 inches. The cutters are all there and none of them are bent chipped or misalined. I'm really just disappointed with how that chain dulled so quickly. After HuskyMan saying he buys Stihl 3/8 chains then i know what im going to do. Put it on my christmas list. I'll keep the oregon to use when i want to cut dirty or trashy trees.

 

[the tree guy]

Confused,square chisel will dull fast if the points get any kind of damage at all,sometimes it's real hard to see.have the chain shapend by someone you trust,(if you don't do your own) and try it again.Could be you got a bad one.if so see if the guy you got it from will give you a break on a new chain.Or I'll trade you 2 114drive link stihl square chisel chains for yours.I don't run that bar and chain too often any more.and I can get by with 1 chain.I have lots of bar(15) and chains(over 60 last time I counted)as long as you use .050. one is fairly new the other is 1/2 used up.I have had some chains do the same thing in the past,but they have all come out of it with a good sharping.I use mostly square chisel,I seem to alway get better buys on square chisel rolls.On average round chisel will hold it's edge alittle longer and you don't notice much differance in cutting speed.Semi chisel will work better in dirt condition(with in reason). Dan

 

[sonny]

yes but $10.00 per dozen for rd. files are much better than lets say $35.00 per dozen for the sq, chisel chain files.

 

[Kevin]

I wouldn`t buy LP, bumper drivers are a turn off!
LG would be a better choice with Oregon.
Was that chain sharpened prior to you using it?

 

[HUSKYMAN]

Kevin LP chain does not have the bumpers, LP is the most aggressive with the LG closely following. VG is the crap with all the bumpers. I throw that stuff out. Confused I think the guy that prepped your chain must have overheated it. Is it discolored from heat? You should have been able to cut all day on that chain. If you did hit something in the wood however, it would only take a split second to dull it at 60ft per second. Oregon chain is not that bad or they would not have been in business for 75 years.

 

[homelite360]

i like the sthil chain my self. it cuts like a bastard and it has those cool little oil grooves in teh driver links. but that is my opinion. but that is also as close to sthil as i like to get.

 

[wendell hollis]

cool little oil grooves

It seems to be that chain is viewed in light of applacation. oil grooves are cool no doubt however, so is price mainly a low one. My saw chain do not have that long of a life expectancy due to grinderitis. If I get 25 cord of wood out of a chain that's cool, 30 to 35 awesome, 40 and up I must be dreaming. My dealer sells oregon and I want him to get my money not some other shop or internet place. Customer loyalty goes hand in hand with dealer loyalty. When I walk in the door I have the dealers undivided attention, and how do you price that? Just a little different view on chains. P.S. If he had stihl as his chain then me too. I just do what he tells me and the pile of wood at the end of the day tells the story. Your right confused saw chain are different and my dealer hates grinding stihl anouther reason why I run oregon. sign me tonite mower of woodville

 

[Kevin]

This is LG.
*******************

This LP has a bumper driver.
**********************************

This is VG.
******************

This is 72V.
**********************

 

[HUSKYMAN]

Sorry I thought by bumper driver you meant the one like on the vg. But the LP is still very aggressive. The 21LP is more aggressive then the 34LG I have.

 

[confused]

Kevin,

Man when you want to make a point you really go out of your way to do so.

Thanks to all that have provided opinions I don’t really cut much with that bar so I will be having the dealer sharpen it for nothing and then whenever I use it down the road I'll just see what happens next time. Again thanks to all of you for your opinions and sharing your experiences.

Not so confused anymore

 

[homelite360]

i have had great luck wiht the 72v. that is what my dealer stocks. and i hear you with the dealer loyality. he gives me the best orice in town. he charges me what he is charged. In turn i recommend people to him instead of any other shop. but i usuauly go and get my chains from him. i have a few sthil chains and that is only cause i needed a chain and he was not open or around. but mostly wiht the different chains it all goes in how your go about sharpening them. that plays a key role in how well they preform. i will file using a jig for 2-3 sharpenings and then i will grind them the next time around. i find that i get decient life out of the chains. but when i do grind them i will take down the rakers. but i like to run 20" bars so 90% or the chains are interchangible.