Sharpening Stihl RS

[DonB]

A while back my dealer recommended I just go with a new set of oversize chains rather than replace my worn bar since my old chains were about all sharpened out.. He set me up with "yellow code" Stihl Oilomatic 25RS78 chains which were a perfect fit to the bar. Also, great chains that cut like a dream.

Anyway, I'm thinking I should learn to dress them up a little bit in between dealer sharpenings. Can anybody give me info on the proper file, guide and angles for these full-chisel cutters? I'm thinking the tool set I use for my brushcutter blades is probably all wrong (Oregon PN 13252 7/32" guide and files).

 

[AOD]

What do you mean when you say worn bar and "oversize" chain? Are the bar rails worn to the point where an .050 bar groove will accept an .058 chain? If thats the case you need to close the bar rails or get a new bar ASAP. Any dealer who puts the wrong chain on a worn bar to "make it work" is an idiot.

 

[DonB]

I found a very nice document about Stihl chains at the Stihl website (imagine that LOL). http://www.stihllibrary.com/pdf/SharpAdvice110606.pdf. The info I found in it says a 25RS wants a 3/16" file and guide. I'll go to to town next week and pick up the proper tools.

AOD, I think a guy who's been selling and servicing saws at the same location for 40 years knows what he's doing. I've done business with him since 1992 and I trust his recommendations. He says when I've beat all the life out of the bar I have, he'll change me over to a .058" Husky bar.

 

[ckthorp]

Whups. Sorry about that bad recommendation. I don't quite have all the chain numbers memorized yet. I've deleted my previous post.

 

[JeffHK454]

What do you mean when you say worn bar and "oversize" chain? Are the bar rails worn to the point where an .050 bar groove will accept an .058 chain? If thats the case you need to close the bar rails or get a new bar ASAP. Any dealer who puts the wrong chain on a worn bar to "make it work" is an idiot.

Agreed.


.058 chain isn't "oversize" chain for a .050 bar.... it's the next gauge up.

 

[AOD]

.

AOD, I think a guy who's been selling and servicing saws at the same location for 40 years knows what he's doing. I've done business with him since 1992 and I trust his recommendations.

You can do something wrong for 40 years and you're still doing it wrong.

 

[WetBehindtheEar]

Quote:
Originally Posted by DonB
.

AOD, I think a guy who's been selling and servicing saws at the same location for 40 years knows what he's doing. I've done business with him since 1992 and I trust his recommendations.

You can do something wrong for 40 years and you're still doing it wrong.

The one thing I'm thinking here, though is, the guy running the shop might be giving Don a 'quick fix in a pinch' or a 'get me through until I can buy the proper replacement parts'.

It seems that modern life is so much about throwing something away as soon as it isn't 100% right - Now I KNOW that you don't F:censored: k around with a chainsaw 'cause it's liable to kill you if you aren't careful - but we've gotten so risk-averse that we can't use even temporary work-arounds for things anymore.

What would have happened to the Apollo 13 crew if they didn't come up with some fast solutions to some REALLY serious problems?

It seems to me that this kind of a solution would be best suited for a situation when you're out in the woods with a crew and you don't have a spare bar, and there happens to be someone with the right pitch chain that is a wider gauge... so you use it until you get back home.

I am a little surprised that the shop owner didn't recommend a new bar, though. You weren't out in the woods, you were in the place to go and get your equipment back to factory specs - or at least to somewhere close.

 

[DonB]

You can do something wrong for 40 years and you're still doing it wrong.

In your on/off, black/white, ultra-conservative, inexperienced by-the-book opinion supporting the needless disposal of perfectly good items in the interest of CYA, perhaps yes.

I brought in my bar and a chain for the man to check out. I thought I needed a new bar. He said maybe but not until he checked things out for me. He began inspecting my old stuff. He opened some new chains, tried a couple of them on my bar and offered me my options. I asked him for his recommendation. He said my chain had maybe one sharpen left in it and the drive links were worn. He said my bar and nose sprocket were perfectly good and evenly worn. Too small for a .063 chain but a perfect fit for a .058. He said it's silly to buy a new bar and new chains when all I needed was new chains. He said the old bar would more than likely be just fine for the life of the new chains but if not, he had another bar for me. That was his recommendation. As always, I accepted and appreciated the benefit of his experience.

This may not fit your wallyworld replace-me-now attitude but you know what? With the more aggressive RS blade, the saw works better than it ever did and I have every confidence that it will continue to do so. What may be totally improper to people like you is nothing but business as usual for others of a more practical nature. You don't succeed in business in a small southern town for that many years by giving valued customers bad or unsafe advice. Be careful who you're calling an idiot.

PS: He's the same dealer that said I didn't need to buy the silly bike handled model of Stihl brushcutter to run Maxi blades as long as I used the handydandy safety harness he gave me with the machine he recommended. He also said I didn't need to buy the top-of-the-line solid shaft model because when I broke the drive cable in the model he suggested, he would replace it for free and would continue doing so for as long as I owned the machine. Indeed, after two years of rough usage, he replaced one cable and I haven't cut off my leg.

 

[DonB]

DonB it still sounds like you've got bad advice.

Time will tell.

 

[Nuzzy]

DonB it still sounds like you've got bad advice.

Not only that, but it sounds like he won't take GOOD advice. Oh well...






(Not my safety on the line)

 

[mtfallsmikey]

Just turn Thall loose on him....

 

[DonB]

Not only that, but it sounds like he won't take GOOD advice. Oh well...

My apologies if this sounds rude but I don't need advice on this issue nor have I asked for any.

 

[coppermouse]

I am very surprised at what that dealer suggested. Why not get a new bar, that one is obviously worn out if you can go up a gauge on the chain. I prefer the yellow chain as well (it is much better than the low kickback consumer green one) If you like the better chain, why not buy the proper bar for it?

 

[avalancher]

My apologies if this sounds rude but I don't need advice on this issue nor have I asked for any.

I wouldnt take is as rude, but give some credit to the guys here on the boards. The wealth of knowledge that you can find by listening to opinions can sometimes help you avoid a problem that may surface for you.Maybe not now, but somtime down the road.

Your dealer may or may not be an idiot, but there is a right way and a wrong way to fix just about anything. If you are in a shop with available parts and tools, why not fix things correctly? It may help you avoid a more serious problem while in the woods where parts and tools may not be as available.

Personally, I will have to side with the guys that feel that this was not good advise. It only stands to reason that your bar was manufactured with the idea of having a 50 gauge chain run through it. Why mess with the one thing on a chain saw that can really tear you up for the sake of a 50 dollar bar?

 

[Nuzzy]

My apologies if this sounds rude but I don't need advice on this issue nor have I asked for any.

No apologies necessary. It's the intarwebz and you can make of it whatever you want


The comments are just for everyone else reading this thread who might want to know the right way and the wrong way to deal with this issue :hmm3grin2orange:

 

[Nuzzy]

Anyway, I'm thinking I should learn to dress them up a little bit in between dealer sharpenings. Can anybody give me info on the proper file, guide and angles for these full-chisel cutters? I'm thinking the tool set I use for my brushcutter blades is probably all wrong (Oregon PN 13252 7/32" guide and files).

BTW, since you trust your dealer's advice more than that given here on AS, maybe you should ask him...?

opcorn:

 

[avalancher]

:

BTW, since you trust your dealer's advice more than that given here on AS, maybe you should ask him...?

opcorn:

Ouch, that had to hurt!!
But, you certainly got a point there!

 

[Wet1]

Any dealer who puts the wrong chain on a worn bar to "make it work" is an idiot.

+1

 

[DonB]

BTW, since you trust your dealer's advice more than that given here on AS, maybe you should ask him...?

opcorn:

That is probably the best advice considering the single answer I received to my one and only question turned out to be wrong.

 

[AOD]

In your on/off, black/white, ultra-conservative, inexperienced by-the-book opinion supporting the needless disposal of perfectly good items in the interest of CYA, perhaps yes.
He said my bar and nose sprocket were perfectly good and evenly worn. Too small for a .063 chain but a perfect fit for a .058. He said it's silly to buy a new bar and new chains when all I needed was new chains. He said the old bar would more than likely be just fine for the life of the new chains but if not, he had another bar for me. That was his recommendation.

Seriously, your dealer is a 5h1t-chucking service ape, an old ape, but still an ape.

This may not fit your wallyworld replace-me-now attitude but you know what? You don't succeed in business in a small southern town for that many years by giving valued customers bad or unsafe advice. Be careful who you're calling an idiot.

That may explain a few things. I bet you have a Confederate flag on your truck too.......