Hi 1st post... 460 rancher felling spikes

[NeSurfcaster]

Hi, Glad to be here just found this forum the other day. Here comes a long post. I've been working for a residential tree cutting company for a few winters now and was tired of borrowing there stuff. For the amount of firewood I cut every year (5-8 cords) I couldn't justify spending 700$+ on a pro-grade saw at least right now at this time. Our climber at work keeps on being robbed so he bought a husky 455 rancher for chunking down the big stuff rather then another stihl. He liked it w/ a 18" bar, but that saw got stolen now too. He said he liked the 455 but the shop only had a 555 which he says he liked the 455 better. I figured the 460 is the same as a 455 just more cc's so it should be good enough for me. After using the 460 rancher w/ a 20" bar today I am a little worried about the plastic case. So I was thinking about getting bigger felling spikes to help keep the plastic case off the logs. From my short experience in tree cutting I feel a 20" bar is the max on my saw, so I don't want giant dogs/spikes which will obviously bog down the saw if not gental. So I was wondering if some other husky spikes will fit on the 460 rancher but not quite the giant ones I see on ebay (at least they look huge on ebay). So I guess Im basically asking are the spikes on ebay/youtube too big for my 460 rancher? If they are too big is there something in between those and the stock felling spike size wise? 1 spike or 2 spike doesn't matter to me since I'm mainly just bucking logs into rounds. I will be cutting everything from 4" oak to 30"+ oak. Thanks guys

 

[Uzi]

I have an eBay set on my 455 they are big but not too big. They’ve held up great and while you lose an inch or so of cut the extra bite is nice. This is the set I have.

 

[Husky Man]

The size or number of teeth on your Bucking Dawgs shouldn't Bog your saw down any, setting the Dawgs and leaning on the saw WILL, and you should know that a SHARP chain makes all the difference in the world.

What ever Dawgs you put on your saw, let the SAW set the pace, and if you have a SHARP chain, you should be fine.

Having your Rakers set too low, will also Bog down your saw, as it is trying to take too big of a Bite, with each tooth.

Also, a Skip tooth chain can help keep your chain speed up, without Bogging your saw down.

Have I mentioned that a SHARP CHAIN is REALLY IMPORTANT Too?

Doug

 

[NeSurfcaster]

I here ya on the sharp chain, Hopefully all the oil this husky throws will make the chains last a little longer. I'll give those ebay dawgs a shot, just got a fresh load of Red Oak logs today. Thanks for the advice

 

[Husky Man]

I here ya on the sharp chain, Hopefully all the oil this husky throws will make the chains last a little longer. I'll give those ebay dawgs a shot, just got a fresh load of Red Oak logs today. Thanks for the advice

Is it just leaking when not in use?

Or is it Slinging Excess oil when Cutting?

If it is slinging oil while cutting, the 460 Rancher has an adjustable oiler, you may need to dial that down a bit.

Doug

 

[Ole Reb]

I have eBay dogs on several of my saws and they have held up great,prices I have seen there are pretty decent.

 

[NeSurfcaster]

Cool, I did order dual oem husky spikes from the bay yesterday, looking forward to trying them. Since the saw was new and it was around 30 degrees I used some winter formula bar oil the first day I ran it. Yesterday I threw some regular bar oil in and ended up turning the oil flow back up all the way again. With the regular bar oil it seemed to pump just a little more oil then the stihls at work. With the winter formula bar oil and everything being brand new and clean it was really throwing some oil. I keep on checking it the day after using it and doesn't leak any oil when sitting around. I thought I read husky changed the tubing on the ranchers to stop them from leaking oil when they are not in use?
I had the new saw buried in the stump end of that red oak we cut down last week and hit something metal that murdered my blade. I moved a couple inches further down the log and really finished my chain off. So whatever it is it's at least 6 inches long and chances are that stump cut is gonna get rolled in the woods and left to rot in my leaf pile. I might bring some older chains home from work and dissect it. The base of the that tree is about 40"s wide and I split everything w/ a maul, so I wasn't really too thrilled about splitting that first 4/5' anyway. Otherwise for the saw still being new/tight pinch, it runs/cuts good. I've been taking it easy on her while in the cut on the big stuff but for the 440$ I spent I'm satisfied so far w/ the power.

 

[Mustang71]

I have never had any issues with the factory spikes. It's just a pivot point in my opinion. Lean on it to hard and it bogs down what does spike size matter. With a sharp chain it usually cuts great without spiking it or leaning on it. Yes for large bucking spikes are nice but on a 460 I don't think they need upgrading. Maybe I'm missing something. I have an 051 missing spikes. That's missing something and I'm still trying to find eBay ones for it.