Opinions please... Need new bar and chain...

[Adam_MA]

Also... Lets talk about chain...

From personal experience, in cutting speed (factory sharpened) and durability, my preference goes in this order.

Stihl
Woodland Pro (which I believe is made by Carlton)
Oregon
Whatever came on my Husky from the factory

These are the only ones I have used, so they are the only ones I can speak of. Also, the type of chain should be chosen based on the cutting conditions. Clean wood full chisel, dirty wood semi-chisel. With a 30" bar, I would be using skip chain as well.

 

[Sagetown]

Are Oregon Power Match bars worth the $$$???

Also does anyone have a Granberg guide for sharpening their chain... love it??? hate it??? waste of $$$??? I can file pretty close but don't have a shop with 100 miles of me so was hoping the Granberg would give me a better than fre
PS: my dolkita is already going to be converted to the 7900 kit with a P&P job by the time I run the 28-30in bar.

Granberg File Guide

This one is some 60 years old and still working. I've found that even if you've been sharpening by hand for many years that this little device will make your hand filing even better. They are excellent for correcting handfiling errors, and makes one more aware of what to look for. If you're not planning on getting an electric grinder, this is the one, and from what I've read, the best one.

 

[nmurph]

i have Total, Carlton, Sugihara, and lots of Oregon bars. the oregons are probably not quite durable, but they are very serviceable. if you are a weekend cutter, and you keep your chains sharp, oiler holes open, rails dressed, and oiler adjusted appropriately, any of these bars will satisfy your needs and last several seasons. dull chains promote more pressure on the bar, which increases rail wear. uneven rails promote wandering chains and self-perpetuate uneven pressure and rail wear. making a bar last is all about taking care of it just like you do the rest of the saw.

as for chains, i run stihl rsc. i do have a couple of loops of oregon chisel that have found their way into the rotation the last couple of times out. i didn't realize what i had been using until i stopped the swap chains. honestly, for cutting in clean wood, they stay sharp nearly as well as the stihl. i wouldn't buy oregon over stihl, but i have them and they work well enough. i also have some carlton which i feel similarly about.

 

[billyjoejr]

I use a Granberg guide and like it.
You have to take the time to really eyeball it when setting up the file height and then double check the settings when switching to the other side of the chain.
When set up properly it does an amazing job on the chain.
When I first started using it, I did not pay close attention to the settings and made some chains useless.

 

[MCW]

ok so how do I know if a Carlton it's made by Tsumura or Oregon if I buy it from Bailey's????

The Oregon will have a single rivet holding the nose on. The Tsumura bars have 4 rivets, unless they're the older style, then they have 6 but I've never seen one of those.

Oh and to the gentleman that asked about oiling on my 6401 I believe there is a adjustment to turn the oiling system up when cutting through thick hard stuff... I'll look into it unless another Dolkita owner wants to chime in...

Yes they have a variable oiler but on the Makita/Dolmars I'd leave that setting flat out on any length bar. If you did that on my Huskys you'd drown on short bars but I've never heard of anybody seizing a tip from too much oil. I have however seized a couple from not enough

As far as chain goes all well known brands cut and last well. Stihl's RSC and Oregon's LGX are probably the best full chisel chains I've used out the box however the fastest full chisel chain I've cut with is Carlton A1-LM full chisel with a few tweaks. All good chains but Stihl a bit too pricey here in Australia through 99% of dealers.

 

[tdi-rick]

Will that thing oil a 30" bar buried in oak? My 372 will actually fountain out of a 20" bar if I have it set to 80%. I have to put it back to half throttle.

Yes.

 

[tdi-rick]

The Oregon will have a single rivet holding the nose on. The Tsumura bars have 4 rivets, unless they're the older style, then they have 6 but I've never seen one of those.

[snip]

and the German ones are a single rivet, Oregon pattern nose too, you sold me one

and kemosaby, I now see that you misunderstood my question above.
The sprocket rivets, not the tip retaining rivets changed from 6 to 4 on the Tsumura's
The tips themselves are interchangeable.

 

[MCW]

and the German ones are a single rivet, Oregon pattern nose too, you sold me one

and kemosaby, I now see that you misunderstood my question above.
The sprocket rivets, not the tip retaining rivets changed from 6 to 4 on the Tsumura's
The tips themselves are interchangeable.

They are indeed Rick and take the same nose. The Oregon made bars are also black, not silver.
I'm with you now on the tip rivets, didn't know that myself