disappointed iin windsor chain

[gilraine]

I got my first windsor chain on the way to cut a tree for my cousin... all the shop by her house had was windsor, figure it cant be that bad, buy one, put it wood, 3 cuts later dull... sharpen, then 3 more cuts... now Im confused.. its a decent sized cottonwood that Im cutting up, not full of rocks either.... went to the other shop 20 miles down the road, bought 2 LGX chains, far superior in edge holding...can actually go a full tank with the LGX.. is all windsor so soft?

 

[jeeptj19992001]

never had that problem, maybe user error

 

[rob066]

I never had that problem either with Windsor chain. It seems harder than Oregon chain to me. I have to have a good file for the Windsor chain or I cant touch it. Maybe a hardning issue with the Windsor chain?

 

[lfnh]

Might try dropping by the shop with the loop and have them look it over. Could a missed/bad cycle for heat treat...

 

[MCW]

Despite some people's thought's here on Windsor chain in 3/8" semi chisel is one of the best chains going...
I've only ever run one loop of Windsor full chisel and it was OK.

 

[Andyshine77]

I find Windsor chain to hold an edge longer than Oregon, but not as long as Stihl chain. You could say it's in the middle when it comes to durability.

 

[Arrowhead]

I only have one Windsor chain. I wasn't to impressed with it out of the box. The tips of the cutters were actually curled down a bit. Once I resharpened it, it seemed OK. I'm sticking with Oregon and Stihl. I am a huge fan of Windsor Speed tip bars though. Only trying one Windsor chain, I can't really judge though. Could have been a bad day at the factory.

 

[Justsaws]

I got my first windsor chain on the way to cut a tree for my cousin... all the shop by her house had was windsor, figure it cant be that bad, buy one, put it wood, 3 cuts later dull... sharpen, then 3 more cuts... now Im confused.. its a decent sized cottonwood that Im cutting up, not full of rocks either.... went to the other shop 20 miles down the road, bought 2 LGX chains, far superior in edge holding...can actually go a full tank with the LGX.. is all windsor so soft?

There is not any Windsor chain out there that will hold up to the newer Oregon and Stihl chains. If it is Windsor, it is NOS by design, no matter when the dealer got it.

 

[MCW]

There is not any Windsor chain out there that will hold up to the newer Oregon and Stihl chains. If it is Windsor, it is NOS by design, no matter when the dealer got it.

I beg to differ on at least their semi chisel. It is every bit as good (or maybe even better) than any other semi chisel 3/8" chain on the market.
I've sold a fair bit of it to other members here and they also agree that it's good chain.
As far as their full chisel chain goes I agree, I didn't rate the single loop I had very highly at all.

 

[KiwiBro]

The whole brand tribality (is that a word?) thing is quite amusing at times, especially with a backdrop of buyouts and borderline incestuous tie-ups between factories, owners, and the brands they produce. Sure, I'm ranting off topic but it just shgits me there is so much fat (that we are all paying for) in the chainsaw market that owners X decide they can turn more bucks by having brand x, y, and z, all made at the same factory while also making brands A and B for brand D, and buying the company that makes brand C. Geeze, it's enough to drive a man to drink.

One almost has to be the chainsaw equivalent of a train-spotter to figure out what's made where, by whom, and how much it changed in the last month or two. So excuse me if I get this wrong but if Windsor is Carlton, then for what it's worth, I find Carlton semi-chisel to be every bit as good as Stihl RMC from an edge holding perspective, but slightly behind Stihl in a stretch comparison. I also found Oregon to be a distant last on both counts many months ago so haven't bothered to try it again.

Now, someone is going to come along and tell me Carlton and Oregon are the same chains and blow my perspective out the water, in 10, 9, 8...

 

[SWE#Kipp]

I think Blount owns both Oregon and Windsor !?!?

 

[tdi-rick]

I think Blount owns both Oregon and Windsor !?!?

Oregon, Windsor and Carlton

From what I read a year or two back Windsor production actually comes out of the Carlton factory in Oregon after Blount closed the Windsor factory in Tennessee.

and as Matt said, I'm one of his customers that really likes Windsor semi-chisel in the cast iron we laughingly call timber here.

 

[SWE#Kipp]

Ok
i got some chisel 3/8 from Windsor that looks exactly like the old LG from Oregon ??
And that chain holds up well both round and square filed but i mostly cut softwood !!

 

[MCW]

Oregon, Windsor and Carlton

From what I read a year or two back Windsor production actually comes out of the Carlton factory in Oregon after Blount closed the Windsor factory in Tennessee.

and as Matt said, I'm one of his customers that really likes Windsor semi-chisel in the cast iron we laughingly call timber here.

I might be wrong Rick (it happens you know ) but I thought Windsor was now coming out of one of the Oregon factories? If not it does seem to share a fair few of the Oregon features like low vibe rakers etc.

 

[masculator]

Oregon, Windsor and Carlton

From what I read a year or two back Windsor production actually comes out of the Carlton factory in Oregon after Blount closed the Windsor factory in Tennessee.

and as Matt said, I'm one of his customers that really likes Windsor semi-chisel in the cast iron we laughingly call timber here.

And previously GB as well. I have all of the above and find stihl to be the best. The windsor is a fast cutter but doesn't last well, the carlton doesn't cut as fast but lasts better, the GB cuts fast and lasts not bad, find the oregon about the same as the carlton. Personally after trying them all I am going to go all stihl when the others I have wear out.

Don't know If I got the last of the windsor that wasn't carlton but when the 3 chains I bought arrived there were 2 windsors and 1 carlton all in windsor boxes. Personally I was left unimpressed by all of them after having used stihl for the last 10 years. I have actually had a few different ones of late just to try them out and wish I hadn't wasted my time. 1 carlton is hard to get cutting well even after lowering the rakers another I have bites so hard it won't pull, the windsor goes blunt quick and all of them have cutters that vary in length by up to 2 mm from one cutter to the next, I noticed this because when you file them the file will not fit between the raker and the cutter then the next one it is like dropping the file into a bucket. Another thing I have noticed is that they stretch and stretch and stretch and stretch, stihl has normally settled by the second tank of fuel but I have some of the others that I had to throw out not even half used because they just kept stretching to the point where they were out of pitch.

For me from now on it is stihl, it mightn't be the fastest cutter or for that matter the hardest but it sharpens well, is extremely consistent, lubricates better, doesn't stretch to buggery, and works well in the wood I cut, Aussie HARDwood!!! Oh and I find the windsor bars are a bit on the soft side too, good bars just a bit soft on the rails.

 

[tdi-rick]

Mate, you could be right I just have it in my pea brain it was coming out of the Carlton factory as they had excess capacity while Oregon was at peak capacity at the time but that can change easily.

Hell, the way my brain has been functioning lately it's a wonder I didn't suggest it was being contracted out to Stihl.........

 

[masculator]

Oregon, Windsor and Carlton

From what I read a year or two back Windsor production actually comes out of the Carlton factory in Oregon after Blount closed the Windsor factory in Tennessee.

and as Matt said, I'm one of his customers that really likes Windsor semi-chisel in the cast iron we laughingly call timber here.

I was under the impression that windsor came out of canada. might explain why it is only any good on softwood.

 

[MCW]

GB was just rebadged Carlton prior to GB losing the rights for Carlton chain. Only thing different was GB on the tiestraps.
Unless you're talking about the new EVO chain from China

I don't mind Stihl chain but in my experience it doesn't hold up as well as Carlton (in semi chisel) and for the extra price it's not worth it in my opinion.
A few guys here would remember but I made up a 72DL loop once comprising of Stihl RMC (24DL), Carlton A3-EP semi chisel (24DL), and from memory Oregon semi for the rest (my memory is failing me ) but it was chalk and cheese between how the Stihl wore and how the Carlton wore. Very obvious, even to the naked eye.
In full chisel I'll back Stihl RSC anyday however some of the fastest cutting full chisel I've ever run is Carlton, just not out of the box.

 

[MCW]

Mate, you could be right I just have it in my pea brain it was coming out of the Carlton factory as they had excess capacity while Oregon was at peak capacity at the time but that can change easily.

Hell, the way my brain has been functioning lately it's a wonder I didn't suggest it was being contracted out to Stihl.........

My pea brain is constantly having short circuits and blown fuses

I was under the impression that windsor came out of canada. might explain why it is only any good on softwood.

What Windsor have you used mate? The gear I have in stock is a few years old now but their 63A semi chisel is as good as any other semi chisel chain I've used in crappy conditions - I have heard that some of the newer Windsor (not sure just how new) isn't quite as good as the old stuff. In fact I'd rate it possibly the best I've used. In their 63B semi chisel though Carlton has the win

My biggest issue with Windsor is how crappy their presets are that they supply. I use Carlton presets now when making up Windsor loops although Windsor use some funky rivet sizes on the odd chain pitch so Carlton presets won't fit

 

[tdi-rick]

I was under the impression that windsor came out of canada. might explain why it is only any good on softwood.

The old parent company was Canadian, (Windsor machine Co) but the chain factory was in Tennessee for a long time.
Blount (nee Omark) bought the chain factory then closed that plant and moved production to Oregon in '09.