Just Bought A Ms390...

[StihltheOne]

I have a buddy that has a firewood biz, cuts about 100 cords per year, has been using the same ms390 for three years with absolutely no problems. Not even one! He uses my 660 on the big stuff, but other than than rock solid reliable and he even uses a 28 skip on it sometimes.

 

[blsnelling]

I bought one new and used it for firewood. I had it probably 10 years and never had a problem with it. It's a great saw with great power. Just a little on the heavy side for it's power as mentioned before. Forget it. It's a good saw.

 

[COLD_IRON]

The only reason I didn't get a 310/390 was because it felt a touch heavy with the 25" bar, otherwise I would not have had a problem with it.

But I do like my 361, especially with the 3/4 wrap

 

[ak4195]

The real PNW? Ooooooooh....

Well, here in the ORIGINAL PNW that retains the name of the original OREGON TERRITORY.

Ughm with all due respect(and hey I like oregon,parts of Wa., are alright cept for most of the puget sound ,all the way down the I-5 corridor),Alaska is considered the North pacific,and if I remember right theres a sign on I-5 somewhere around say salem to portland that sez "45th parallel",that aint to north by my standards,bein' half way to the Equator and all.To be fair Im kinda partial to big spaces....realy big spaces.
But oh what about those fine grapes they grow in the Columbia river/willamette valley,and back in the days before I was born the beer hops. And dang,those Fir trees,mere 40 yrs old and 18" DBH,from what I remember.
Now BC thats Gods country and by geographic certainty the PNW,if you could see it by boat(which I have many times by way of having the honor of working in the ballard halibut schooner fleet for almost 23 yrs) you'd understand.
Just to keep things on a even keel,I also remember from school the saying
"54' 40" or fight!"that never went over to well in 'Rupert beverage houses from what I can remember,or anywhere else in BC for that matter.
ak4195

 

[Tzed250]

PNW=Pacific North West

Northwest being a relative direction from the geographic center of the continental US, northern California, Oregon, Washington.

 

[wanab]

i think you made a good call with the 390, fine saw with 18"-20" bar if your a strong healthy kind offirewood guy, much better choice than 290-310. heck we got peeps here that limb with ported 660's.



24" may be asking a bit much from it. you would be better off with a 441, peeps claim it pulls a 24" bar with some respect. the durability of the saw has come into question as of late though.

 

[Knotdodger]

Contgrat's on the new saw! It's a Stihl , so it will last a long time!!

 

[parrisw]

Ughm with all due respect(and hey I like oregon,parts of Wa., are alright cept for most of the puget sound ,all the way down the I-5 corridor),Alaska is considered the North pacific,and if I remember right theres a sign on I-5 somewhere around say salem to portland that sez "45th parallel",that aint to north by my standards,bein' half way to the Equator and all.To be fair Im kinda partial to big spaces....realy big spaces.
But oh what about those fine grapes they grow in the Columbia river/willamette valley,and back in the days before I was born the beer hops. And dang,those Fir trees,mere 40 yrs old and 18" DBH,from what I remember.
Now BC thats Gods country and by geographic certainty the PNW,if you could see it by boat(which I have many times by way of having the honor of working in the ballard halibut schooner fleet for almost 23 yrs) you'd understand.
Just to keep things on a even keel,I also remember from school the saying
"54' 40" or fight!"that never went over to well in 'Rupert beverage houses from what I can remember,or anywhere else in BC for that matter.
ak4195

Well said, I ve seen lots of it by boat, been all the way up the inside passage up to Alaska, awesome country. I'd like to see them Texan's try to come here and log on the coast. Incredibly steep terrain logging huge Doug Fir's.

 

[hansol04]

So I was looking at my saw today, and noticed the chain. I can't tell for sure, but it looks like one of the "skip-tooth chisel" types? The way the chain is set up is it has a tooth, and then two links, and then another tooth, and then two links, etc etc. And the "chisel" part I got from looking at the teeth in profile: really hard edges with no curve at all (If that makes sense).

So that being said, is a "skip tooth" chain what I have on there? I've tried googling for pictures to cross-reference, but so far no luck. Cheers -Cameron

 

[Just Mow]

Well said, I ve seen lots of it by boat, been all the way up the inside passage up to Alaska, awesome country. I'd like to see them Texan's try to come here and log on the coast. Incredibly steep terrain logging huge Doug Fir's.

Yes it is awesome country and I plan on visiting it some day. As far as a Texan logging Douglas Fir's. Well, if you grew up and were trained to log them,then it could get done. The same as me having to train you on how to cut in, around, and through mesuite as well as the dozen other prickly bushes.

 

[COLD_IRON]

Sounds like a full chisel full skip

 

[wanab]

http://www.stihlusa.com/chainsaws/types.html

 

[hansol04]

Thanks for the pics and opinions. After looking at the pics, I definitely have the full-skip chain. I just can't tell if it is the "reduced kickback" or not.

So that being said, will this chain make the saw easier to handle, or more difficult? Or will it be noticeable? I have read that these chains certainly make it easier to rip wood, and are quicker to sharpen. Cheers -Cameron

 

[turbo]

if it has 2 links between cutters it is a full skip reduced kickback chains have a hump between the cutters does the tooth look like you need a round file or a square file to sharpen it

 

[hansol04]

it looks like a round file is needed.

 

[Bowtie]

If the raker in front of the cutter is just 1 single "shark fin", its not reduced kickback chain. If the side edge of the cutter is a sgarp 90 degree corner and not rounded, then it is full chisel chain instead of semi chisel chain.

 

[Bowtie]

Here is a link to Stihl's saw chain page

http://www.stihlusa.com/chainsaws/types.html

 

[COLD_IRON]

Thanks for the pics and opinions. After looking at the pics, I definitely have the full-skip chain. I just can't tell if it is the "reduced kickback" or not.

So that being said, will this chain make the saw easier to handle, or more difficult? Or will it be noticeable? I have read that these chains certainly make it easier to rip wood, and are quicker to sharpen. Cheers -Cameron

As far as I know, there is no reduced kickback skip chain. If it's a Stihl round ground chain, it's probably RSF - Oregon - JGX - both of which are good chain. I run it in 72 and 84 DL on my 361 and it's great stuff.

As far as reduced kickback chains, not all have the bumper drive link - some actually have a different looking raker - depends on the chain.