Saw Chains

[jcass]

What kind of chain do most of you guys run for your saw. I'm wondering if theres allot of difference in cutting speed , clearing and so on. I know they are square chains , round chains , skip , semi skip , standard are there others? and who runs what.? and why. I took my girlfriend with me yesterday to show her what its like to get wood and the difference in my saws and why i needed a new saw , she couldn't believe the difference between the saws and how much faster one was compared to the other. And she humped a good bit of wood too . I took her to show how hard it was and she showed me its not that hard..lol try as she might I'm not washing any dishes..lol
jimmy

 

[Sagetown]

I have no need to run skip chains. I cut all kinds of wood, clean and dirty, so I mostly use the Semi-Chisel types, and occasionally a Full Chisel.

 

[c5rulz]

And she humped a good bit

Sorry, all I saw was the above. What was the question again?:msp_wink:

 

[betterbuilt]

For firewood I run 3/8 .050 in full chisel. For milling I run 3/8 and 404 .063 semi chisel. I guess you might want to size your chain to your saw. What chains and bar and saw combos are you running? Might help to know what kind of wood your cutting also.

 

[dingeryote]

Full comp semi-chisel on anything shorter than 24. Skip semi on the longer bars, unless I get lucky and get to cut clean stuff and run chisel.

On the 346, I stick with plain old RSC or Carlton .325 chisel as it's getting to be a PITA to source semi-chisel.

For pure speed on clean wood, RSC and LGX are definately fast. Get into wood thats around cultivated fields or stuff thats skidded however, and semi-chisel is faster overall and saves on files.

Your GF is right. Doing the dishes is nowhere near as enjoyable as cutting wood.
Get her a saw and switch off doing both. Sooner or later she will favor the dishes and you will have another saw to play with.
In the meantime, you get to do some cutting together and have fun.
Think 10 years down the road, and start prepping now.

Stay safe!
Dingeryote

 

[genesis5521]

What kind of chain do most of you guys run for your saw.

I know there are all kinds of chains, but all I ever use is a stock safety chain, and it works just fine for cutting my 10 cords of firewood a year. Be awful careful if you try any type of non-safety chain.

Don <><

 

[mdavlee]

I run full comp square or semi skip square depending on bar length. I usually only use semi skip for 32" and up. Mostly RSLK, RSLHK, or oregon CL and CK.

 

[Rokon]

There is a "stickie" on the subject of chains on here somewhere. It's a good read. opcorn:

 

[Murph015]

I mostly use Stihl RSC or RMC chains. They work well.

 

[MacLaren]

I use mainly Stihl RSC or RSLK (then file it round) full chisel. 50 gauge.

 

[mtfallsmikey]

I mostly use Stihl RSC or RMC chains. They work well.

+1

 

[SawTroll]

Oregon LP(X) or Stihl RSC - LGX is OK too, but vibrates a little more - Carlton vibrates more.

I keep a few semi-chisels just in case, but very seldom use them.

 

[synness4]

well right now free ,its the best kind right .a friend of mine bought a old service truck and it had 50 loops of 84dl full comp oragon some one tried there hand at sharping with a 3/16 file didnt turn out well for them,but it did for me

 

[Alex D]

What kind of chain do most of you guys run for your saw. I'm wondering if theres allot of difference in cutting speed , clearing and so on. I know they are square chains , round chains , skip , semi skip , standard are there others? and who runs what.? and why. I took my girlfriend with me yesterday to show her what its like to get wood and the difference in my saws and why i needed a new saw , she couldn't believe the difference between the saws and how much faster one was compared to the other. And she humped a good bit of wood too . I took her to show how hard it was and she showed me its not that hard..lol try as she might I'm not washing any dishes..lol
jimmy

This is my experience/thoughts

1. Square ground chisel- fastest chain available in clean wood cutting. Used primarily by west coast and i suppose east coast fallers as well. It says sharp around as long as normal chisel in clean conditions id say however its extremely hard chain to file. Can be done with some special files but difficult easiest way to sharpen is with chisel grinders. If cutting just firewood and for occasional/semi occassional use probably not the chain for you. Yes it is faster but you cant just look at that filing is also an issue.


2.Round Chisel chain- Second fastest chain after chisel much easier to file also. Basically the best chain you could use for cutting if you don't have the means to file square. If youre cutting firewood falling standing trees and bucking them then use this type of chain. Many pros also use it eg arborists, loggers and so forth. Interesting fact is all the arborists ive met in my area and their crews all use chisel not one of them uses square although i think square would be better for work up in a tree faster, no dirt, grime etc...

3. Semi chisel- Slower cutting than the two above but stays sharper longer. Good chain to use if youre cutting downed trees that have been on the ground for a while. Also good chain to have if cutting firewood and fairly simple to file.

4. Semi skip + full skip- refers to spacing in between the teeth. Semi skip has less spacing while full skip has more. Now i dont know what you are cutting but if its firewood I wouldn't bother with it. Its main application in my opinion is for professional loggers and primarily west coast guys who are still falling huge trees on a rather regular basis. Another application for it is if you want to run a longer than recommended bar on your saw. For example a 660 is rated to run a 18-36" bar by stihl and thats full comp chain. If you wanted to put say a 42" bar and fell large trees then you could put a full skip chain on for better clearence and less drag. However this style of chain tends to be grabby in small wood praticularly when taking off small limbs.

5. Carbide chain- This type of chain lasts the longest in terms of sharpening and is primarily used on rescue saws, for demo work and for cutting wood the only time i could think of it being used is on logs that hav been buried in dirt, mud etc... or if cutting old railroad ties or hydro poles etc.... for normal wood i dont recommend running. Very expensive and sharpening is difficult due to its hardness.

 

[jcass]

Full comp semi-chisel on anything shorter than 24. Skip semi on the longer bars, unless I get lucky and get to cut clean stuff and run chisel.

On the 346, I stick with plain old RSC or Carlton .325 chisel as it's getting to be a PITA to source semi-chisel.

For pure speed on clean wood, RSC and LGX are definately fast. Get into wood thats around cultivated fields or stuff thats skidded however, and semi-chisel is faster overall and saves on files.

Your GF is right. Doing the dishes is nowhere near as enjoyable as cutting wood.
Get her a saw and switch off doing both. Sooner or later she will favor the dishes and you will have another saw to play with.
In the meantime, you get to do some cutting together and have fun.
Think 10 years down the road, and start prepping now.

Stay safe!
Dingeryote

We have been together 11yrs, I go cut wood to get away from her..lol Hell I do anything to get away from her.. She didnt use a saw although she might one day? but she did cut down on loading time by carrying wood and I really appreciated her doing so. I took her to lunch and got her a couple margaritas to show my appreciation. Most of my wood is dirty by that I mean laying on the ground what I try to do is cut about 90% of the way threw the log then roll it and up cut the rest to minimize dulling.

 

[dingeryote]

We have been together 11yrs, I go cut wood to get away from her..lol Hell I do anything to get away from her.. She didnt use a saw although she might one day? but she did cut down on loading time by carrying wood and I really appreciated her doing so. I took her to lunch and got her a couple margaritas to show my appreciation. Most of my wood is dirty by that I mean laying on the ground what I try to do is cut about 90% of the way threw the log then roll it and up cut the rest to minimize dulling.

Heck, pick up a loop of semi and have at it then.

I hear ya on away time.

Stay safe!
Dingeryote

 

[jcass]

my power horse 18" is oregon .325" pitch .50" gauge chisel

my echo cs600p 20" is oregon 3/8" pitch .50" gauge chisel

my makita dcs5421 20" is dolmar 3/8" pitch .50 gauge chisel

How come some chains have a rounded over guide tooth and others have the small dorsal fin guide tooth?

 

[firewood guy]

Stihl saw chain

Like the RSC yellow ( not the RSC3 green ) on dry wood, and RSLKF (full skip) on green wood with the more powerfull saws, I.E. MS460, MS660, 3120XP. We don't regrind the the RSLFK square, we go back to 7/32" round and cuts just as well as factory It sure is fun to noodle w/ a660 and sharp full skip! Can't see your boots in about 3 seconds..

 

[TommySaw]

How come some chains have a rounded over guide tooth and others have the small dorsal fin guide tooth?

I think you are referring to the rakers in which case the rounded over one is a safety chain and the straight one is regular chain.

 

[jcass]

I think you are referring to the rakers in which case the rounded over one is a safety chain and the straight one is regular chain.

My makita dcs 5421 came with the round guide/rakers chain. I havent been able to find dolmar chains online. The saw is a beast cuts very fast.