Best chain type for my 661

[PASS_AUF]

Well I’ve gone down quite the rabbit hole this year with chainsaws. After years of searching I finally found a property with forest lands. So I’ve got plenty of cutting to do. I’ve always used full chisel, both RX and X Cut and really like both. I tried EXL and thought it was decent too. The problem I have is I’m not cutting down an Ash tree that died 6 months ago anymore, I’m cutting down standing dead virgin oaks. This wood is really dirty and really large. My “chips” are nothing more than a fine dust now. I’ve learned full chisel is not well suited to this wood.

Reading the forum I’ve found people run semi chisel, tweak the angles of full chisel hard on their grinders and an interesting few swear that .404 in full chisel will last longer.

On a whim I came home with a 661 last week. I opted to go for a powerhead only as I prefer Tsumura bars and was undecided on pitch for the 661. Currently I’m running 3/8x50 on my 572XP, 372XP and 362. What would you experts do? Would you go with a larger kerf to get better chain life, stick with .50 gauge semi, or do something different? Any advice is much appreciated!

 

[trains]

Get some semi chisel chain in the pitch gauge your currently running, and just use the standard filing guides for your chosen chain for now.
Files are consumable, so get a fresh set of files to suit the chain as well, no fun messing about with dull files, wastes your time.

What your finding is that most hard woods laugh at full chisel, yes its fast, cuts well, but dulls quick.

I mainly cut dry dead aussie hard woods, run 3/8 063 semi on my 660, get a progressive depth gauge guide for your chain of choise, and keep it sharp.

Not uncommon to re sharpen a chain after half a tank depending on what your cutting, and what is in the log, easy to rest, pass the file over the chain 2-3 times lightly, keep it sharp.

You might touch up the chain more often, but doing so means you remove less of the chains cutter if you sharpen as soon as it starts to slow.
If you keep doggin in, and leaning on the saw, your only adding more damage to the tooth edge, which will now take more filing to remove it and get back to a sharp edge.
so that takes longer than stopping earlier and doing a light touch up.

Over time, the semi chisel will put more wood in the trailer than full chisel, and take less effort to keep sharp.

welcome to the world of harder woods.

 

[Ted Jenkins]

You can run both 404 or 3/8 with good results. You say you have larger hard woods so what is larger?? My point is not to pull a larger bar than what is needed. I use mostly bars up to 30'' for trees up to 50''. A cutting day often consists of 20'' to 40'' logs. There was a time when I ran chisel chains with good results but those day are gone. At this moment I do not see any advantage using chisel any more. A semi with the rakers a little more aggressive seems almost as good as full chisel. For dry and dirty hard woods only semi will do the job. A 404 is best for longevity but it takes a little more power and torque to pull it. To use 404 effectively the OP needs to slow the chain down a little. Or in other words go to the smallest drive sprocket possible. As far as set up the cutters need to be a little more blunt that normal. I use angles slight more towards ninety degrees than normal which is to allow chain to stay sharp a little longer. That is how I do it. Thanks

 

[PASS_AUF]

Thank you all for the advice! I’ve got a 32 and a 36 bar on the way. Tsumura only offers them in a .63 gauge so my chains will change a bit for the 661. Some of my trees push 60ABH. I think my bars will suit the work for this saw well. I’ve got a handful of chains from Oregon and Carlton coming to demo, once a good combo is found I’ll probably order a roll and spin my own chains. I already have progressive depth gauges, that was a great suggestion, they make a big difference! I’ve got a mess of files in their boxes and a USG with a CBN wheel for sharpening.

 

[unclemoustache]

You bought a 661 "on a whim"?
Must be nice to have that kind of money to play with!!


I have 36" bar on my 661 and it pulls just fine. semi-chisel. I only use full chisel on my top handle and the smaller saws. If I'm going to file more often, I don't want a huge chain to do it on!

I also make my own loops. Rather enjoyable, actually. More fun than filing a dull chain.

 

[con707904]

I cut large hardwood trees on a pretty regular basis with a ported 661 and run 28 inch bars with full comp full chisel 3/8 0.50 gauge stihl chain. I run full comp because it feeds smoother when bore cutting. I used Tsumura bars for awhile but their tips lack durability so I've switched to Sugiharas and I just got one of the Cannon Duralite bars to try. I could maybe see running a 32 in big hardwood but I can't say I've ever had much trouble cutting trees that are even 6-7 feet wide on the stump with my 28 inch bars. I've previously run Oregon chain and I think it is pretty soft compared to Stihl, I never have trouble keeping a decent edge on full chisel Stihl chain, Oregon on the other hand always seemed to dull quickly. By the sounds of your saw lineup you sound pretty comfortable with cutting trees, just remember to always have an escape route planned, and when that tree starts to go GET OFF THE FREAKING STUMP!!! I think it's really cool that you cut timber for fun, be safe out there!

 

[gyp69]

You guys have 7 ft trees in Maryland? Back in the mid 2000’s when I cut in the PNW I very rarely cut a tree that large. Must be some tremendous butt swell on your trees in Maryland, I’m not doubting you I have never been to Maryland. I did cut some large cypress in the southeast that may have been that large where the tree may have had that much butt swell.

 

[PASS_AUF]

You bought a 661 "on a whim"?
Must be nice to have that kind of money to play with!!
View attachment 887635

I have 36" bar on my 661 and it pulls just fine. semi-chisel. I only use full chisel on my top handle and the smaller saws. If I'm going to file more often, I don't want a huge chain to do it on!

I also make my own loops. Rather enjoyable, actually. More fun than filing a dull chain.

Thank you for the advice! I’ve got a few skip chains to try and full comp as well. Once the polar vortex ends I’m looking forward to burying it in to some big wood and seeing how it pulls, especially after it opens up after a few tanks of fuel!
I’m coming to the conclusion I should spin my own chains as well. The local hardware store made a few chains up for me last week. I could buy the equipment to spin the chains just from that bill alone. The cost savings of buying a reel of chain seem to be advantageous for sure. I wouldn’t mind the work one bit, I kind of like those tedious projects, it gives me something to do when I can’t sleep at night. Thanks for the advise!

 

[PASS_AUF]

I cut large hardwood trees on a pretty regular basis with a ported 661 and run 28 inch bars with full comp full chisel 3/8 0.50 gauge stihl chain. I run full comp because it feeds smoother when bore cutting. I used Tsumura bars for awhile but their tips lack durability so I've switched to Sugiharas and I just got one of the Cannon Duralite bars to try. I could maybe see running a 32 in big hardwood but I can't say I've ever had much trouble cutting trees that are even 6-7 feet wide on the stump with my 28 inch bars. I've previously run Oregon chain and I think it is pretty soft compared to Stihl, I never have trouble keeping a decent edge on full chisel Stihl chain, Oregon on the other hand always seemed to dull quickly. By the sounds of your saw lineup you sound pretty comfortable with cutting trees, just remember to always have an escape route planned, and when that tree starts to go GET OFF THE FREAKING STUMP!!! I think it's really cool that you cut timber for fun, be safe out there!

I’m not going to lie. One of the reasons I’ll run a larger bar is so I don’t have to make two or more intersecting cuts. Big wood is still new to me and I’m not going to hotshot pretend that I’m that good at felling. I’m learning and look forward to improving but for now I’d prefer to play it safer and make one cut, it’s easier for me with my current level of experience. Watching some of the pros make 2-4 cuts on a really big tree with perfect intersection is impressive, I’m just not there with it.

Much respect for the Cannon bar! I wanted to try one, I just couldn’t locate one anywhere. I’ve never run a Sugi, they look nice I’ll have to pick one up too someday.

Chains have proven to be quite the rabbit hole for me. I like the Stihl chain but am finding in the oak wilt trees that is not faring well, too much rot inside the heart wood. For clean cutting I am really like the Husky X cut chain! If you haven’t run it I would check it out. The top plate resembles a square ground chain more than round ground. Once I get the tools I’m going to try spinning up some RM which I think would work well for the dirty wood I’m trying to chew through well right now.

I do not mess around with refuse paths. There’s a lot of buckthorn to work around on my property. I take a clearing saw to the area I’ll be working before I cut to completely clear the area to the ground. I don’t want anything around to trip on so I knock the scrub down to ground level only and haul it away from the area. Fantastic advice! Hopefully that point of your post will help someone else too!

 

[trains]

These vids might be of some help.



and this one just for interest sake, there is some advanced stuff here thats fun to watch, but if your new, dont mess with it.

 

[ElevatorGuy]

You bought a 661 "on a whim"?
Must be nice to have that kind of money to play with!!
View attachment 887635

You guys have 7 ft trees in Maryland?

Sounds like something I’d do!

Yes but not that common. We have some old and large oaks and maples in southern md.