MS261 bar and chain changhe advice/ideas

[farmer steve]

Should have said RM3. Think what I mean here is both chains have the same pitch and length so surely that should equal the same number of links?

Stihl website says
Rapid Micro (RM), .325" 1.6 mm, 74 drive links
Rapid Micro 3 (RM 3), .325" 1.6 mm, 68 drive links

It appears from https://www.worldofpower.co.uk/stihl-bar-chain-guide
There are quite a few variations on a 18" RM for different saws, some 68 and some 74.... but it's still 18" for them all?!?

Yes they are 18" but you have to match the # of drive links to your bar. I know it's confusing. I've been at the Stihl shop and watched guys come in and say they want an 18" chain but don't know the number of drive links. Some guys do bring their saw or bar along. RM3 is the low kickback chain. RM is the non safety version.

 

[FNEC]

And it does not help when the Stihl UK website is out of date, has some wrong details or just does not list some products at all!

Their Bar and Chain manual also has errors......

 

[FNEC]

Right if a UK retailer will post to N.I. at a reasonable price and do the Light 04 18" bar and Rapid Micro pro (RM3 new name) .325 at similar price to older stuff I'll get that.
If not I'll get the 18" rollomatic E with the RM .325 chain...
It appears that the older RM3 is no longer sold or linked to any machines and the new version the RM pro is only linked to the MS271 so far. (Rapid Super Pro only linked to MS261 so far)

I'll assume the new light/pro stuff still uses the 325-7 sprocket but i'll ask on buying. Some places say 7z and some 7T but it appears it is the same thing...

 

[HarleyT]

The difference is the tail....

 

[Mad Professor]

Why is running full skip stupid? I too used to be like you will run full comp chain. Let me know how that works out for you sharpening all those teeth. Stihl Dealers love people like you buying Full comp chain they charge by the link

As whatever bar a 261 is intended for ( < 20") should use full comp chain. Only an idiot would run skip on those.

I've hand sharpened all my chains since the 1970s. I have NICE SHARP TEETH, and no "toothless" chains.

Skip chains are for big wood and big saws.

 

[full chizel]

Links? I'm not surprised, but I'd love to see it.

https://www.arboristsite.com/community/threads/guys-dont-get-complacent-out-there.193408/

 

[Mad Professor]

If you go back and read my reply. I did not say to leave have a larger bar for a larger tree. What I said was whatever bar you get you lose 4 inches. So for example if you have a 20 inch bar the largest Realistically would be a 16 inch tree without burying the nose. You lose a couple inches with the bar going around either the spur sprocket or rim sprocket and you’ll lose some in the front because you always should be having the nose visible or you will get kickback. With that said if you want to put a 16 inch bar on a 462 go ahead

Ever heard of a plunge cut? I've dropped trees 52" DBH with a 24" bar.

 

[Mad Professor]

The difference is the tail....

View attachment 830371View attachment 830369

Harley, they got to have a nice tail!

 

[Mad Professor]

I’m sorry but I’m going to get into a pissing match over this. Typical on these forms some people know what they’re talking about and some don’t some are experience and a lot are not. Some do this for a living like me. And some are home owners or Want to be’s I’m out

I was selling cordwood before your best part ran down momma's leg.

 

[Mad Professor]

I never said the 201 and the 261 run the same chain I never said that. The 201runs super pico And the 261 runs RSF full skipGo back and read it if you can

First of all let me say this I never like that 325 pitch I wish Stihl would get rid of it .Definitely change over to the 3/8” .050.First of all you could go with full skip chain which you cannot with the .325 Not as much wood coming out of the cut but faster and easier on the saw. Plus that keeps your 201T and the 261 3/8” .050 Easier to keep track off plus you don’t need a different filing guide for the 325 Another plus is you can get a rim sprocket for the 261. I believe it comes with the .325 Standard spline rim seven toothJust change it out with 3/8” Seven tooth. Rims are cheaper than spur sprocket drums Another plus is less teeth on the full skip chain the RSF. To sharpen I did this with my MS 271. One last thing And go ahead and get a 20 inch bar that saw will definitely pull that Full skip chain. As for the 201T I have a 16 inch bar on mine with a super picco .You can subtract 4”each bar size and that’s approximately the tree that you could Either fell or Limb. So, a 20 inch bar will do a 16 inch tree and a 16 inch will do a 12 inch tree

.............

3/8 picco uses a 5/32" file, 3/8 13/64 or 7/16" files

3/8 picco and 3/8 sprockets differ, if you mix and match the chains/sprockets it's trouble. Same with sprocket tip bars........

 

[full chizel]

Oh boy

 

[Oldsawnut]

Honestly the 261 is a pretty good versatile saw that can be setup several ways that all work well... I have never ran under an 18" bar on mine and generally use 20 3/8. I use mine for felling bucking. Like the mad professor said the key is having a good sharp chain. I don't really care if its skip, full, or 1/2. Right now I am using skip on it since I buy 100ft rolls and that's what I have for .50 3/8.. I have full and skip for .63 but no smaller .63 bars. I had a 16 on a 026 years ago but for what I use them for its too small. If its 12" or smaller I just use my top handle saws anyhow. A ton of people on here like the 325 and that's fine to. There really isn't a be all end all setup for the saw just run what you like.

 

[svk]

Hand grenade question!... it seems.

Thanks for all the input. Firstly I will not be running the 3/8 PS3 chain on the tuning kit, it only goes up to 16". This is because my 201T runs a 14" bar, so I have little to gain running a 16" version of that chain, albeit it is a rippppper.
I don't want to push the saw too far, I believe 18" is the suggested max length, to run a 20" with a 3/8 would be too much for the saw I would assume, which takes us even back to the 18", one could argue the .325 on 18" better for the saw than a 3/8, but a 16" with a 3/8 would be suitable. I won't be taking on big work and need speed, I am not a logger or even a tree surgeon but a gardener with the capabilties to rid the garden of the odd tree or hideous line of over grown fir trees that can develop meaty trunks. When the 201T runs out of size I have the MS261 to take over, taking bigger trunks and bucking them the likely use, everything else the 201T should handle.
Therefore a smoother less torquey required .325 on an 18" bar more than suitable for my needs? This smoothness perhaps starts to get onto safety (less grabby), added to another suggestion of running the RM over the RS, less kickback, but added benefit of not needing to sharpen as much or sensitivity to sharpening less. It can get dirty around soil level when taking stumps low so again sensitivity to dirt less on the RM. I could even go as far as RM3 for more safety but would I sacrifice some plunge capability with the RM3 due to its kickback protection?

So the 18" .325 RS is the standard for this saw, but its designed use is not quite my work requirement (you could say I started off with the wrong saw, but I got it for a good price on ebay and it was chunky for possible bigger work I might get), however changing the RS to a RM or RM3 would benefit me in smoother cutting, sharpen less, more resistence to blunting???

I also do not benefit in any way regards matching pitch to other saws (201T on a 3/8 PS3 and Pole on a 1/4 PM3) for sharpening tools etc by converting to 3/8 from the stock .325, and given my amount of use and bigger bar .325 does the job?

I also have no sensitivity to spend on a conversion so I would be free to go 3/8 if I wanted as I need bar and sprocket no matter what I do....oh but I would need another file and holder, so I don't see the need to go there, just stick with .325

Oh boy

Right!

 

[Dean-O]

First of all let me say this I never like that 325 pitch I wish Stihl would get rid of it .Definitely change over to the 3/8” .050.First of all you could go with full skip chain which you cannot with the .325 Not as much wood coming out of the cut but faster and easier on the saw. Plus that keeps your 201T and the 261 3/8” .050 Easier to keep track off plus you don’t need a different filing guide for the 325 Another plus is you can get a rim sprocket for the 261. I believe it comes with the .325 Standard spline rim seven toothJust change it out with 3/8” Seven tooth. Rims are cheaper than spur sprocket drums Another plus is less teeth on the full skip chain the RSF. To sharpen I did this with my MS 271. One last thing And go ahead and get a 20 inch bar that saw will definitely pull that Full skip chain. As for the 201T I have a 16 inch bar on mine with a super picco .You can subtract 4”each bar size and that’s approximately the tree that you could Either fell or Limb. So, a 20 inch bar will do a 16 inch tree and a 16 inch will do a 12 inch tree

At my shop we have a roll of Carlton .325 .063 skip chain. We don’t sell a lot of it but we do have some to make up for customers who ask for it, probably less the 10 chains out of the roll a year.

 

[Ryan'smilling]

This thread is fu©ked. It's amazing really.

 

[svk]

This thread is fu©ked. It's amazing really.

Hopefully he was able to glean some usable info between the **** measuring competition.

 

[windthrown]

Amusing. I have had about a dozen 026 and 260 saws, and one 261. Back when I was doing pro work with my Bandit chipper, I put picco/low profile B&C and rims on my 026 saws and never looked back. .325 sucks on these IMO. Its about the same kerf as a 3/8 std, which you may as well use instead. I used 3/8 std B&C on my 026 saws before flipping to picco/lo pro. Smaller kerf, way faster cutting. I got the idea from this forum from the chainsaw mill guys back in the day. Before the ninnies and saw moders took over this site. In the good old days of negative rep.

Now Stihl large mount picco bars are hard to find in the US. People were milling with them here using 440 saws and the like, but they sell them in Europe as kits for the 261 saw in 16, 18 and 20 inch sizes. They also come new in that configuratin there as an option. You need a picco rim and B&C. I use 3/8 low profile non-safety full chisel chain on mine. That is great stuff. I use a round file for sharpening them. I get the loops made at the local Stihl shop here. I forget the Stihl chain name. The Stihl chain names have changed over the years so I gave up trying to keep up. RS, RM, PM, PMM, whatever.

 

[svk]

Before the saw moders took over this site.

YES!

They peed in the pool till it was yellow then cried that it was someone else’s fault. Then they left.

 

[windthrown]

YES!

They peed in the pool till it was yellow then cried that it was someone else’s fault. Then they left.

Yeah, they have their self-glorifying forums now. I was on a few of them for a while but got tired of all the hype and sucking up. The war between the modders was the worst. Pop-up vs squish cut. Like it mattered. If you want that much more power, just buy a bigger saw. Doi. Locally, no one wants modded saws. They all want stock.

 

[svk]

Yeah, they have their self-glorifying forums now. I was on a few of them for a while but got tired of all the hype and sucking up. The war between the modders was the worst. Pop-up vs squish cut. Like it mattered. If you want that much more power, just buy a bigger saw. Doi. Locally, no one wants modded saws. They all want stock.

Back in the day, more than one of the great and powerful saw builders who are now “over there” adamantly declared that finger ports don’t work. Later they were finger porting all of their larger saws.