ripping chain options

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Oregon makes a ripping chain. Comparable in cost to a standard chain last time I bought.

https://www.oregonproducts.com/en/products/forestry/saw-chain-families/ripcut/c/ripcut-sc-p

A friend put an order in a few months back for a Granberg which is supposed to be the cream of the crop. I had him get me one too as ordering one or 2 is not very cost effective. $17 flat fee on shipping, a few dollars loop charge per chain, and a 6 week lead time. Have yet to try it out - gotta get caught up on some other projects.
 
Looking to try some milling,,whats the best place to get some ripping chain,,20 inch bar,72 drive links,,not sure of the bar groove width,,cant find markings on bar,drive links width measured .053 ? 3/8 pitch,,granberg,stihl,oregon ?
What are you planning on milling & how are you going to be doing it? 20" isn't a lot of bar for anything more than an edging attachment & your 034 won't be happy pulling anything much more than that.
You don't need specific ripping chain... start with regular x-cut chain, give the rakers a couple extra strokes, file the tooth slightly lower into the gullet to increase cutting angle (give a touch more "hook") & progressively take the filing angle back to around 10° over the course of several sharpening's.
If you accurately measured your drive links at 0.053" you probably have worn 0.058" chain which would be pretty uncommon on a Stihl in most places. I'd suggest taking a set of feeler guage's to the bar, clean the groove out first & measure it all the way in at multiple points
 
Best stuff is Sthil 63PMX. Hard to find, expensive, and needs a 3/8 picco/lopro bar and drive sprocket.
Yep for a 20" bar 63PMX is the go.
It will run on a worn standard 0.050, 3/8 nose sprocket bar.
Correct drive sprocket is essential. If you have a lathe and tungsten carbide tooling you can turn down an old 404 sprocket.

I run this on my 041 with a 25" bar and extra low rakers - it easily keeps up with the 880 running a longer bar/chain with standard rakers.
 
What are you planning on milling & how are you going to be doing it? 20" isn't a lot of bar for anything more than an edging attachment & your 034 won't be happy pulling anything much more than that.
You don't need specific ripping chain... start with regular x-cut chain, give the rakers a couple extra strokes, file the tooth slightly lower into the gullet to increase cutting angle (give a touch more "hook") & progressively take the filing angle back to around 10° over the course of several sharpening's.
If you accurately measured your drive links at 0.053" you probably have worn 0.058" chain which would be pretty uncommon on a Stihl in most places. I'd suggest taking a set of feeler guage's to the bar, clean the groove out first & measure it all the way in at multiple points
Like to try milling some cherry and locust, my son is making canoe paddles/I do have white and black oak that I may mill also,,a friend has a homemade mill set up.
 
Yep for a 20" bar 63PMX is the go.
It will run on a worn standard 0.050, 3/8 nose sprocket bar.
Correct drive sprocket is essential. If you have a lathe and tungsten carbide tooling you can turn down an old 404 sprocket.

I run this on my 041 with a 25" bar and extra low rakers - it easily keeps up with the 880 running a longer bar/chain with standard rakers.
I just got a tecomec grinder, looking at rolls of 63PM or 63PS to make loops ground back to 5 degrees.

Have you tried the chisel milling? Been using the 63PMX since I got my mill/066 in the 1990s.
 
I/we could have a bunch of 404 rims cut if anyone is interested start collecting them or you can opt for a new one to be cut. It will take a month or two to get some cut and tested. I saved more than a few worn 404 7 spline large of 7p and 8p. Bob and others are right it's worth going to a smaller chain for speed most times. I run a lot of 404 in big hardwoods milling and this year I've dropped back on my 36" and down to 20" running 375 50 more now. My beam tool needs less chain, more cutters and more speed for sure. I do still run 404 on 28" and up bars when needed.

Every chain made is an option if you can file, have a grinder or know someone with a chain grinder.

The semi vs full chisel is all about speed. I find in my experience the semi doesn't last that much longer running quality loops of good stuff. Losing some cutters is more important on long bars milling than trying to pull too much.

Enjoy :)
 
I/we could have a bunch of 404 rims cut if anyone is interested start collecting them or you can opt for a new one to be cut. It will take a month or two to get some cut and tested. I saved more than a few worn 404 7 spline large of 7p and 8p. Bob and others are right it's worth going to a smaller chain for speed most times. I run a lot of 404 in big hardwoods milling and this year I've dropped back on my 36" and down to 20" running 375 50 more now. My beam tool needs less chain, more cutters and more speed for sure. I do still run 404 on 28" and up bars when needed.

Every chain made is an option if you can file, have a grinder or know someone with a chain grinder.

The semi vs full chisel is all about speed. I find in my experience the semi doesn't last that much longer running quality loops of good stuff. Losing some cutters is more important on long bars milling than trying to pull too much.

Enjoy :)
I used feeler gauges and re-measured the guide bar it measured 053, probably was 050 new ?,,,,,,I have a good spare chain but do not have a grinder,, I'll pay someone to sharpen it to ripping chain specs,,any takers ?
 
I used feeler gauges and re-measured the guide bar it measured 053, probably was 050 new ?,,,,,,I have a good spare chain but do not have a grinder,, I'll pay someone to sharpen it to ripping chain specs,,any takers ?
That’s a big job insofar as time…you have to nip at the cutters slowly to keep the heat shock at a minimum.…which means several passes of incremental grinding of the cutter…the equivalent of cutting five or six chains….
 
That’s a big job insofar as time…you have to nip at the cutters slowly to keep the heat shock at a minimum.…which means several passes of incremental grinding of the cutter…the equivalent of cutting five or six chains….
Not to mention you still have a half (or more) worn chain before you even rip your first piece.

Much easier and more economical to just buy the correct chain and move on...

https://loggerchain.net/products/72rd070g-20-3-8-pitch-050-72-dl-ripcut-ripping-chainsaw-chain
 
That’s a big job insofar as time…you have to nip at the cutters slowly to keep the heat shock at a minimum.…which means several passes of incremental grinding of the cutter…the equivalent of cutting five or six chains….
Anybody tried a slow water drip on the teeth using a grinder to take heat away?

I am still a filer but use water when grinding other tools. Picked up a Tecomec Jolly Midi grinder at a barn tool sale ($10) but have not played with it yet......
 
Anybody tried a slow water drip on the teeth using a grinder to take heat away?

I am still a filer but use water when grinding other tools. Picked up a Tecomec Jolly Midi grinder at a barn tool sale ($10) but have not played with it yet......
I’m like the other poster here, I’ll sponge them….I can’t imagine the mess with a water drip but I’m sure it would work. My grinder looks like hell, I just clean the cooling fins now.
 
I’m like the other poster here, I’ll sponge them….I can’t imagine the mess with a water drip but I’m sure it would work. My grinder looks like hell, I just clean the cooling fins now.
I was thinking real slow drip, something like a plastic medicine dropper connected to some tygon tubing with a pinch valve.
 
I was thinking real slow drip, something like a plastic medicine dropper connected to some tygon tubing with a pinch valve.
Even the sponge water makes a mess….try your sharpener, it takes some getting used to but if you take your time (remove very little metal per pass) the heat is manageable. I find the short cutter with a caliper, mark it with paint then find the long cutter and set the wheel to it, then spin the chain and cut, then move it closer and repeat until I finish by being able to put a surface on the short cutter.
 
I know this will sound like heresy but I've often wondered if it really matters if cutters are blued while sharpening. The actual cutting edge is not provided by any steel component of the cutter but the hard chrome coating around the outside. When sharpening, all that does is expose a fresh Cr edge. The steel in the cutters is between about HRC 57-59 - can't be much harder as otherwise files wouldn't be able to remove much metal.

The bluing looks dramatic but its just a very thin layer on the outside It actually takes some time to detemper steel and it cant really happen in just a few seconds unless you are taking off an awful lot of metal. Even on BS blades which don't use Cr a bit of blue doesnt make any difference.

Water on a chainsaw sharpener = mess.
 

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