stihl 066 how big a bar??
- Thread starter husky455rancher
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im definatly a firewood cutter, that picks up the occasional tree job. me and my buddy have been doing real good so far and were thinking of starting a little business on the side. primarily i think it will be selling firewood but if we can get a tree job every now and then great.
the main reason for the big saw is theres been maybe 3 or so big trees (like that oak i blicked with the mighty 455) that i could have gotten recently. honestly yeah i can do it with the 262 but it takes too damn long that way. plus its hard on the saw. the less time i spend with a saw in my hands the better (they lock up on me after a while.)
id rather use the 066 as its made to cut the big wood,and save the 262 and the 346 to take care the rest.
i figure absolute worst case i just resell the saw if i find i dont need it. as you all know stihls hold their value and i know i could get what i paid for it easily.
thanks for the replies guys i hope the 066 dosent dissapoint me. you guys have kinda built up the 066 in my mind anyway
the main reason for the big saw is theres been maybe 3 or so big trees (like that oak i blicked with the mighty 455) that i could have gotten recently. honestly yeah i can do it with the 262 but it takes too damn long that way. plus its hard on the saw. the less time i spend with a saw in my hands the better (they lock up on me after a while.)
id rather use the 066 as its made to cut the big wood,and save the 262 and the 346 to take care the rest.
i figure absolute worst case i just resell the saw if i find i dont need it. as you all know stihls hold their value and i know i could get what i paid for it easily.
thanks for the replies guys i hope the 066 dosent dissapoint me. you guys have kinda built up the 066 in my mind anyway
oldsaw
"Been There, Milled That"
I don't know about that, look at the amount of wood you are removing in a big log. I did a big white oak this past summer with 42" skip and my 066 just piled chips onto my boots at an incredible rate. I was ankle deep in chips in just a few minutes. Mine has compression in the low to mid 150s and a muffler mod. Tree was all of the 42" bar, made it through by less than the height of a cutter.
Mark
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stihlcuttin
ArboristSite Lurker
You need 2 bars, a 25 inch short bar & 36 or 42 inch long bar.
The 25 inch bar takes care of 90% of my cutting.
I've had my 066 Mag for 8 years. I put a DP muffler, Aus oil pump piston and control bolt. I primarily cut firewood but do tree jobs on occasion.
I have used it for milling, I don't really recommend milling anything big with it.
It is real fast with a 8 pin, 25" bar 33RSK full comp & semi-skip.
When I put my 36" bar on it with a 7 pin, cutting speed goes way down when the bar is buried in wood, if I use semi-skip it's a little better, I'm considering going to full-skip to try to get better speed on the big stuff. I'm starting to think it's a "chip removal" thing with the longer bars.
I only use the 36" when needed, lately I've needed it on several occasions. I still have one 4' round of red oak in back yard waiting to be split and several truck loads in the 2-3 foot range waiting to come home when it dries out.
I quartered the first load of pieces to get them in the truck, loads 2,3,4 went in with a NEW HOLLAND 865 TURBO, I have bobcat envy!
My buddy's Husky 394 has similar performance. 36+ inches of oak saw feels underpowered and ya have to baby it.
The 25 inch bar takes care of 90% of my cutting.
I've had my 066 Mag for 8 years. I put a DP muffler, Aus oil pump piston and control bolt. I primarily cut firewood but do tree jobs on occasion.
I have used it for milling, I don't really recommend milling anything big with it.
It is real fast with a 8 pin, 25" bar 33RSK full comp & semi-skip.
When I put my 36" bar on it with a 7 pin, cutting speed goes way down when the bar is buried in wood, if I use semi-skip it's a little better, I'm considering going to full-skip to try to get better speed on the big stuff. I'm starting to think it's a "chip removal" thing with the longer bars.
I only use the 36" when needed, lately I've needed it on several occasions. I still have one 4' round of red oak in back yard waiting to be split and several truck loads in the 2-3 foot range waiting to come home when it dries out.
I quartered the first load of pieces to get them in the truck, loads 2,3,4 went in with a NEW HOLLAND 865 TURBO, I have bobcat envy!
My buddy's Husky 394 has similar performance. 36+ inches of oak saw feels underpowered and ya have to baby it.
Swamp Yankee
Addicted to ArboristSite
h455r
Hey, for some reason completely missed this thread.
First congrats on the 066. Hope it's what the seller says it is.
As to bar length, the 25 inch will do at least 95%, or more, of the cutting around here. If you're going to go up, 36 inch is more than adequate.
Sharpening those long chains, especially after they've been rocked, gets old in a hurry. Trust me with a long bar it happens a lot due to not being able to see what's happening with the bar end based on the size of the wood you're cutting. When I'm in big stuff I like to get the whole bar in the chunk if I can, that way I know where the bar end is. You'll have to experiment. Everybody's got different techniques.
Also, if you haven't already ordered, check with some of the local shops. PM me for some good places. They take some beat saws for parts but usually the bar is in good shape. Found some absolute bargains that way. Trust me, they don't get a lot of calls for 36 inch bars, so if they have one they're more than happy to negotiate just to get rid of it, especially if you buy a chain with it. Food for thought.
Haven't run the big Stihls much. When you get it we'll have to get together and "test" it on some of those big oak stumps I have out back.
Keep me posted
Take Care
Hey, for some reason completely missed this thread.
First congrats on the 066. Hope it's what the seller says it is.
As to bar length, the 25 inch will do at least 95%, or more, of the cutting around here. If you're going to go up, 36 inch is more than adequate.
Sharpening those long chains, especially after they've been rocked, gets old in a hurry. Trust me with a long bar it happens a lot due to not being able to see what's happening with the bar end based on the size of the wood you're cutting. When I'm in big stuff I like to get the whole bar in the chunk if I can, that way I know where the bar end is. You'll have to experiment. Everybody's got different techniques.
Also, if you haven't already ordered, check with some of the local shops. PM me for some good places. They take some beat saws for parts but usually the bar is in good shape. Found some absolute bargains that way. Trust me, they don't get a lot of calls for 36 inch bars, so if they have one they're more than happy to negotiate just to get rid of it, especially if you buy a chain with it. Food for thought.
Haven't run the big Stihls much. When you get it we'll have to get together and "test" it on some of those big oak stumps I have out back.
Keep me posted
Take Care
36" with skip is a good choice. If you've got extra power to burn with that setup, run an 8t rim. You could probably run full-comp OK, but it would be more pressure-sensitive and chip clearance would become a problem, particularly in gnarly crotch pieces that everybody leaves alone, where the grain is going all sorts of ways.
I really like the way the 066 feels and acts with a 28" bar, full-comp and an 8t rim. You can do a lot of good work on big logs with that setup, without running the risk of sticking your bar in the dirt and spending a half-hour or more on the grinder when you get home.
I really like the way the 066 feels and acts with a 28" bar, full-comp and an 8t rim. You can do a lot of good work on big logs with that setup, without running the risk of sticking your bar in the dirt and spending a half-hour or more on the grinder when you get home.
Only rarely do I use the 660 in anything but redwood, fir, pine, or cedar. Only very rarely do I hit dirt because of the thickness of the bark. The longer the chain the longer it stays sharp because of this. I am much more likely to touch dirt when I am cutting firewood with a small saw. Even with a short bar it is not too often.
thanks again for the replies guys. i also think the 25 will stay on the was 95% of the time. ive got to put in a baileys order to get some chain. any reccomendations on 25" chain? ive been using the woodland pro on my 346 and 262. im satisfied with them, hard to beat the price.
swamp i got tomorrow off so i was gonna call around to see if i could get a deal locally before i order a new one. i know the 36" bar wont get used much so a decent used one would be fine.
swamp i got tomorrow off so i was gonna call around to see if i could get a deal locally before i order a new one. i know the 36" bar wont get used much so a decent used one would be fine.
Swamp Yankee
Addicted to ArboristSite
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Tzed250
Addicted to ArboristSite
stihlcuttin
ArboristSite Lurker
chain
Get some Stihl chain, it doesn't seem to stretch as much as the others and stays sharp longer.
33RSK (KLASSIC) in full comp or semi-skip, it's good stuff. "looks like old timey chain"
I would see if your Stihl dealer would give ya a deal on some chain first.
2-3 years ago when I was cuttin a bunch, mine would match Baileys price on loops. I feel like they treat me right, bar oil, $10+ tax
I just ordered a loop of 46RMF (.404 semi-chisel full skip) for my 36" bar. Maybe It will do better on stump duty than 3/8 chain?
Get some Stihl chain, it doesn't seem to stretch as much as the others and stays sharp longer.
33RSK (KLASSIC) in full comp or semi-skip, it's good stuff. "looks like old timey chain"
I would see if your Stihl dealer would give ya a deal on some chain first.
2-3 years ago when I was cuttin a bunch, mine would match Baileys price on loops. I feel like they treat me right, bar oil, $10+ tax
I just ordered a loop of 46RMF (.404 semi-chisel full skip) for my 36" bar. Maybe It will do better on stump duty than 3/8 chain?
gink595
Addicted to ArboristSite
066 with 36"
:greenchainsaw:
:greenchainsaw:
066 with a 60" bar This is actually the saw Haywire Haywood is getting.
This is actually the saw Haywire Haywood is getting.
5ft bar.... thats crazy man. im gonna check the local dealers. i dont have high expectations from the closest stihl dealer. he gets 15 bucks plus tax for a gallon of bar oil
Lakeside53
Stihl Wrenching
066 with a 60" bar
You guys sure need some big wood...
madrone
Addicted to ArboristSite
You guys sure need some big wood...
PNW style. 660 with a 32" bar.
Lakeside53
Stihl Wrenching
Yep.... and that's a young tree!
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madrone
Addicted to ArboristSite
Yep.... and that's a young tree!
If I only had one of them 60" bars I would have cut down that trees big brother.:monkey:
Haywire Haywood
Fiscal Conservative Social Retard
If only I had a few of those wooden things in Osage Orange... 
Ian
Ian
