Some questions from a beginner - advice on my Stihl 044

Hi all,

as posted in the milling forum I took the leap (plunge ?) and bought myself a used Stihl 044 which now should be in the mail (knock on wood)

Since the only chainsaw I had so far was a 16" McCullogh electric which is toast after exceeding it's abilities I had to upgrade - but I am new to real chainsaws and have a lot of questions ...

1) which 2-cycle oil pumpkin2: just kidding - this seems an unpopular question - I bought the Stihl stuff from my local dealer)

2) manual - I found the Stihl 044 manual online, read it. will read it two more times before I fire up the saw

3) PPE - I bought the Stihl helmet/ear muff/face shield thing. Will use it with safety glasses and dust mask. Chaps will follow as soon as I use the saw more often.

Now to the questions:

- bar oil - I have a big jug of bar oil from Lowes - is that "regular" stuff good enough for a serious saw ?

- sharpening the chain - primarily for ripping / milling - will the dremel attachment which I have already do ? any other recommendations ?

- anything I need to think of or check before/when I fire her up for the first time ?

Thanks all

Patrick

pauster said:

3) PPE - I bought the Stihl helmet/ear muff/face shield thing. Will use it with safety glasses and dust mask. Chaps will follow as soon as I use the saw more often.

Click to expand...

Chaps or protective trosers is more important than anything else.

pauster said:

- sharpening the chain - primarily for ripping / milling - will the dremel attachment which I have already do ? any other recommendations ?

Click to expand...

Files are quite a bit better, just start practising.........:yoyo: :yoyo:

Welcome to the site! In response to your questions:

1. Buy your chaps now.

2. Your current bar oil should be fine. Use it up and then based on your experiences with that oil, either buy it again or get something that sticks better (Quality name-brand oil from Stihl, Husqvarna, etc.). Some of the off-brand stuff works fine, some doesn't work well at all. Give it a shot and see what you think.

3. The Dremel will work as well as Dremels work. I tried one a couple times and wasn't impressed, but I sure didn't have the technique down, either. Files with a file guide (bench- or bar-mounted) would probably be your best bet. Work on learning to do touch-ups freehand, too.

4. Go run your saw!

Keep the groove and oiler passages on your bar cleaned out, do this everytime you take the chain off for any reason or if you throw your chain and need to put it back on.

Replace your sprocket when it shows the first signs of wear and keep a couple extra sprockets handy and rotate them out every few hours of operation- this will extend the life of your sprockets, bar, and chains. A worn sprocket can damage/accelerate wear on the main bearings and eventually even lead to a broken crank. For the same reason don't engage your chain brake when the chain is still turning unless in the case of trip/fall or kickback.

pauster said:

Hi all,

as posted in the milling forum I took the leap (plunge ?) and bought myself a used Stihl 044 which now should be in the mail (knock on wood)

Since the only chainsaw I had so far was a 16" McCullogh electric which is toast after exceeding it's abilities I had to upgrade - but I am new to real chainsaws and have a lot of questions ...

Click to expand...

pauster said:

1) which 2-cycle oil pumpkin2: just kidding - this seems an unpopular question - I bought the Stihl stuff from my local dealer)

Click to expand...

That's fine. I've gone to Mobil MX2T synthetic...less stinky, and much cheaper than the Stihl stuff. Suit yourself, I think "not stinky" will win you over when you start milling.

pauster said:

2) manual - I found the Stihl 044 manual online, read it. will read it two more times before I fire up the saw

Click to expand...

A lot of good information...too much hidden amongst the crap, but all of it is useful.

pauster said:

3) PPE - I bought the Stihl helmet/ear muff/face shield thing. Will use it with safety glasses and dust mask. Chaps will follow as soon as I use the saw more often.

Click to expand...

You seem to be well covered...literally.

QUOTE=pauster;641069]Now to the questions:[/quote]

okay...

pauster said:

bar oil - I have a big jug of bar oil from Lowes - is that "regular" stuff good enough for a serious saw ?

Click to expand...

Is is slippery? Does it come in a big jug? You are covered. You will want to crank the oil output on your saw to max, and if you are going to run a 30" or larger bar, get an auxiliary oiler. You can build one, Aggie has a nice one he built, do a search for it if you are interested. I just bought mine.

pauster said:

sharpening the chain - primarily for ripping / milling - will the dremel attachment which I have already do ? any other recommendations ?

Click to expand...

Dremels are evil for sharpening chain. You will burn the cutters and generally booger stuff up. Use a hand file, it's not hard to do.

pauster said:

anything I need to think of or check before/when I fire her up for the first time ?

Click to expand...

Oil in the gas, bar oil in tank. Check the rim sprocket for wear and the bearing. Easy to do, just pop the e-clip and it all comes off. Put some grease on it, not a bunch, just make sure it is fully greased, roll it around in your fingers a bit to push it around the rollers. Clean out around behind the sprocket while it's apart, and make sure that the oil passages are not plugged up. Check the air filter and make sure it's clean. Do a quick compression test by trying to pick it up by the starter handle. It's a cheesy test, but if it falls under it's own weight with little resistance, you will need to either get your money back or plan on a rebuild on the top end. If it goes down slowly and unevenly, then you are probably okay.

That's all I've got. Sure I'm missing something, but someone will point it out.

Mark

Over at the milling forum the WoodsmanPRO™ Ripping Chain was recommended. It is available in 25' length, which means I guess I'll have to make it to length for my 20" bar.

So --- where can I find out about how to "make" chains - how to break links and how to close a loop ? Any good links or sites ?

thanks all ... on the chaps ... which are good ones to buy ?

Here's some info. chain breaking and spinning is around page 30.

Here's a link to Oregon's site, lots of info.




http://www.oregonchain.com/sawch.htm

here's a link for some chaps. Don't wait.



http://store.baileys-online.com/cgi...cription/co=yes/sf=category/se=148/op=eq.html

troutfisher said:

here's a link for some chaps. Don't wait.

http://store.baileys-online.com/cgi...cription/co=yes/sf=category/se=148/op=eq.html

Click to expand...

Are they all good ? (is the cheapest one good enough ?) If I buy the Stihl branded from my local dealer will it make a difference ?

pauster said:

Hi all,



- anything I need to think of or check before/when I fire her up for the first time ?



Patrick

Click to expand...

Eventually that saw will try to do a backflip while you're running it. Be ready. Watch the tip and NEVER LET YOUR GUARD DOWN.

pauster said:

thanks all ... on the chaps ... which are good ones to buy ?

Click to expand...

I dunno about anybody else, but I think I know which ones I'm buying next:

http://www.arboristsite.com/showthread.php?t=44827

Jacob J. said:

Keep the groove and oiler passages on your bar cleaned out, do this everytime you take the chain off for any reason or if you throw your chain and need to put it back on.

Replace your sprocket when it shows the first signs of wear and keep a couple extra sprockets handy and rotate them out every few hours of operation- this will extend the life of your sprockets, bar, and chains. A worn sprocket can damage/accelerate wear on the main bearings and eventually even lead to a broken crank. For the same reason don't engage your chain brake when the chain is still turning unless in the case of trip/fall or kickback.

Click to expand...

Good post Jacob,,,, tried to give ya some rep but I'm toast,,,,

Pauster you ought to rep him or somebody get him fer me....

thats telling it like it is,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

044

Yea, if the only saw you ever had is a electric mucculloch 16", stepping up to a 044 is a BIG jump. It might scare the s:censored: out of you the first time you use it. I would definetly get chaps, scince you are jumping up a huge step.

i saw a pair of stihl chaps (orange ones) stop an ms660 full bore dead with a 20" bar muff mod and slight porting i like the stihl ones because they cover more than any others i have seen try a pair on get one that is comfortable even if it means spending more your more likely to wear a comfortable pair i wear mine working with and on the saw keeps more oil off the pants although the pit bull can tear apart a pair in 10 minutes or so they do stop a saw

stihl 440 said:

Yea, if the only saw you ever had is a electric mucculloch 16", stepping up to a 044 is a BIG jump. It might scare the s:censored: out of you the first time you use it. I would definetly get chaps, scince you are jumping up a huge step.

Click to expand...

Yes, you have a big pro saw that is capable of violent and explosive kickback. However, these saws are used safely every day all over the world. Just be aware of how kickback happens and learn how to prevent it. Be Safe!!

A couple of people beat me to it, but these points are worth repeating:

Get the chaps ASAP. It doesn't take an 044 long to chew up a human leg.
Files beat the Dremel, IMO.

Also, you don't have to buy 25 feet of chain; Bailey's will make up loops in whatever size you need.

044=bad azz saw ! Get chaps first, I have a pair of elvex and camo Stihls.

Here's a link to Jonsered's site, the "working with chainsaws" video is very good. They cover felling, limbing, saw maintenance, safety, well worth the time to watch. Click on "downloads", then "video".





http://www.tilton.usa.jonsered.com/node246.aspx