stihl ms290 farm boss: which chain/bar to use

[ta2guy]

36" hard nose running
.404 46RSFL Full skip, square ground chain
8 pin sprocket.

It will pull it, just can't put it in any wood.

 

[Birdhunter1]

On my 029Super I have found the sweet combination for it to be an 18" roller tip bar with .325 Stihl RSC chain and take the rakers down to .035.

Of course you need to wake the saw up a bit to really pull this but I cut mostly hardwood and rarely any pine/cedar or stuff I would call softwood.

 

[amateur cutter]

36" hard nose running
.404 46RSFL Full skip, square ground chain
8 pin sprocket.

:hmm3grin2orange::hmm3grin2orange::hmm3grin2orange::hmm3grin2orange:
That's funny!

 

[BloodOnTheIce]

Sweet! Now that’s a mod challenge if I have ever seen one. What would it take to get a 290 to pull that??

I'll build one this winter.

 

[CR500]

If I were using a 290 for the same cutting that you are doing, I would either dress it with a 20" Stihl bar and .325 RMC (semi chisel) chain, or an 18" Stihl bar with a 3/8 RMC chain. If your wood is mostly very clean (no dirt) then I would probably get the RSC (full chisel) chain. It will cut a little faster than the RMC but will dull quicker in dirty wood.

The green label stuff is all junk compared to the yellow. If you know how to handle a saw, you will not notice anything different with kickback.

I would look at the Sugihara bars on ebay. They're pretty cheap and are well made Japanese steel bars. A little lighter than some others too. Any Oregon or Stihl bar you can afford will be fine for you though.

well said I agree the green dot is for people that scared of their saw

 

[SawTroll]

Well, you can always re-use the bar on a better saw later....