What does a beginner chainsaw carver need??

[Rip wood]

I have never tried to carve anything with a saw or chisel or anything but i figure it may be fun to try. I know ill need special bars and chain at least. What do you all recommend? I have access to logs i can practice on and just lookin for some guidance on what ill need and techniques for carving. I have also seen some carvings on slabs incorporated on benches whats the easiest to start with?

 

[fatgraderman]

I see this is fairly old. Have you got a brand of saw picked out? From there, look for a model you can put a 1/4” spur sprocket on. I wouldn’t lose a ton of sleep about going to 1/4” chain right away, just that you can upgrade to it if you want. Otherwise, for playing around, a short bar is all you need. For instance, my first couple months, I played around with a Stihl ms170- 12”, .043. And I had an ms250 that I put a 1/4” and 10” stihl carving bar on after a couple months of getting my feet wet. Once you’re into it, you’ll want a dimetip bar for sure with 1/4” chain. If you go quarter tip or larger, then you can go with lo-pro 3/8” chain (something a lot of little saws come from the factory with). I haven’t got any wood shaping wheels for a grinder yet- I’m looking to add something like that.


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[fatgraderman]

Just bear in mind, the larger the tip, the worse the kickback.


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[Bridog]

A king arther tools lancelot (google it) grinder chainsaw chain conversion. Works very well for bear fur. I use mine a lot.

Use with caution as your fingers are A Lot closer to the meat eating portion. I have a glove that got a nice trim once. Was a wake up call. Slow is better.

 

[Bridog]

A dime tip and 1/4 sprocket on a ms170 is an excellent economical starter setup. Full house 1/4 drive, oregon 25F chain is nice.

 

[Bridog]

When you start. Any available wood is good wood. Don't get hung up on getting the right wood.

 

[FlyingDutchman]

This is what I've been collecting:

Jonsered top handle with nickel and dime tip bars, 1/4" Full house chain. So far nickel has been fine.
Harbor freight carving wheel for an angle grinder. Flap wheels and disc wheels for sanding.
Assorted detail wood chisels, regular wood chisels.
Assorted die grinder bits, rotary rasps, rotary files, cone, tapered cone, ball, etc
Variable speed dremel and accessories, I like the rotary file carbide bits the best, cone, drum and ball
A Black and Decker workmate folding clamp table.

Stuff I wish I had:
Carving setup on an electric or battery (dewalt 60v!) chainsaw, or a small full bar/handle like an old CS-300 or an 009. The top handle is very hard to be steady with.
Rotary grinder instead of a drill (Dewalt??)
Dewalt battery angle grinder (stupid cords)
Jigs/claws/lazy Susan/ Rotisserie and other things made up for the clamp table
Dust collection system for the garage
Small handheld mill for making planks and signs
Time (lol)