Stihl 660 and .404 chain ?

[diesel&coffee]

Simple question...

Stihl 660, say 20 inch bar and .404 semi chisel.. ? is on sprocket. Best sprocket for hardwood ?? Guess my
question is anyone use someone other then what the books say!

Oregon power mate 7 or 8??
Stihl 10 tooth - it's what it listed to 660 30+ bars.. Its the only one list for 404 on a 660!

 

[mdavlee]

I would run a 7 pin driver for .404" if I was going to try it. The 10 pin is the sprocket on the bar for stihl.

 

[Stihlman441]

A lot of blokes run .404 in Australia in very HARD woods,i would say a 8 pin with a 25'' will cut anything you guys call hard over there with out any probs at all and last a long time doing it.

 

[diesel&coffee]

I would run a 7 pin driver for .404" if I was going to try it. The 10 pin is the sprocket on the bar for stihl.

Slapping myself on the 10 pin.. Of course.. No wonder it didn't make any sense. Hate doing research via cell phone lol!

 

[diesel&coffee]

[oquote="Stihlman441, post: 4586312, member: 16231"]A lot of blokes run .404 in Australia in very HARD woods,i would say a 8 pin with a 25'' will cut anything you guys call hard over there with out any probs at all and last a long time doing it.[/quote]

So a 8 pin in a 20 should scream then ??

 

[ernurse]

[oquote="Stihlman441, post: 4586312, member: 16231"]A lot of blokes run .404 in Australia in very HARD woods,i would say a 8 pin with a 25'' will cut anything you guys call hard over there with out any probs at all and last a long time doing it.

So a 8 pin in a 20 should scream then ?? [/quote]
There is not much screaming done by a stock 660 with any configuration. Just a good reliable get the job done type saw.

 

[diesel&coffee]

Ok.. Guess what I meant anything gained in using a 8 tooth with a 20" / 404 bar.. Anything at all..

 

[mdavlee]

404-8 is the same size or real close to a 3/8-9 so I would stick with a 7. I've run a 660 with a 20" and 9 pin and it was easy to bog.

 

[bezza1]

ive got a few 660s i only run 404 in one with a 25'' bar
most of the ones i service in at work have 404 with a 8t sproket

 

[JakeG]

404-8 is the same size or real close to a 3/8-9 so I would stick with a 7. I've run a 660 with a 20" and 9 pin and it was easy to bog.

I second this. If the saw were stock I'd be using a 404-7 which is similar in diameter to a 3/8-8. If the saw is not stock, 404-8 may be just fine. All you can do is try em!

 

[KTM640]

I'm with the mdavlee & Jake G on this. I've run and 3/8-8 with an 18in backup bar and my 20inch bar. I've also used the 8 pin with my 28inch bar running full skip 3/8 chain. Both my 066 and 064 are stock and would have to say the 7 pin pulls how I would consider the best for me (minimal bogging). Hardward for me would be white/red oak, ash and the occasional Hickory or Walnut.

 

[MCW]

A 660 will run a 7 tooth .404" chain fine. Don't run an 8 tooth rim as Mdavlee has said. You won't gain anything and you can occasionally run into more chain derailments as it won't feed the chain into the bar tail as nicely. Even my Husky 3120 will run .404" faster with a 7 tooth rim compared to an 8 tooth so to me it's a no brainer on a 660. Bigger sprockets are quite often used to boost one's ego more than one's production

 

[diesel&coffee]

Thanks all.. 7 pin it is!

 

[JS929]

I'm really late to the party here, but I want anyone researching this in the future to hear my two cents. I have a 660 with a DP muff, and I have a 3/8-8 on it. Stock was a 3/8-7. There is a significant difference in speed to me on a 20" bar running full comp square chisel. It doesn't bog at all. I personally prefer 3/8 on a 660 and 404 on the 880. My 880 has a 404-7 sprocket and it cuts ok. I'm going to try 3/8 on it here soon.

 

[singletrack100]

Another late comer myself. On my '93 066M I run 8 pin 3/8 .050 full comp up to 28", 7 pin 3/8 .050 full comp on my 32" and have 7 pin .404 skip for my 36". No extra derailments unless not paying attention when brushing, but then that's not the sprockets fault. The saw was stock (MM'd) but has been nicely worked over by Chad in PA. He is about to be complete with it and I really look forward to trying it now! All my cutting is western US, primarily the SW.

Duane

 

[MCW]

Remember that when we were talking about 8 tooth sprockets and increased chain derailments we were talking about .404" sprockets, not 3/8". There is a massive difference in size between an 8 tooth 3/8" rim and an 8 tooth .404" rim.

 

[singletrack100]

Yes, agreed on the size difference; it can be quite surprising! It really shows having the rims next to each other!

Duane

 

[CR888]

My eight tooth 404 sprocket is slightly bigger than my 9 tooth 325 sprocket and way bigger than 7 or 8 tooth 3/8 sprocket. Even a 7 tooth 404 will probably give you more chain speed than a 8 tooth 3/8. This will make sense when the sprockets are in your hand and you actually see the difference in size. l like 404.

 

[Knobby57]

Mastermind 660 . 30" .404 full comp . It's very happy with a 7 pin rim. Never even considered a 8 pin


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[MCW]

My eight tooth 404 sprocket is slightly bigger than my 9 tooth 325 sprocket and way bigger than 7 or 8 tooth 3/8 sprocket. Even a 7 tooth 404 will probably give you more chain speed than a 8 tooth 3/8. This will make sense when the sprockets are in your hand and you actually see the difference in size. l like 404.

A 9 tooth std spline .325" rim is nearly the same size as an 8 tooth 3/8" std spline rim.