Pre-Mixed Fuel vs. Mixing It Yourself + Trimmer Saw Blade

[SwampDonkey]

We don't use either blade pictured by pine. We use these (part # below), which will cut a lot better than the regular chisel tooth blade pictured. Any dealer should be able to get them or just go to Stihl and get them. All brands work on any brush cutter designed for them.

It may be possible your brush cutter is not strong enough for these, check with your dealer. They are for the professional line of brush cutters. I had to educate the lad a little bit last summer at the local dealer on the proper blade to order in. He had the one's pine pictured, they don't make the cut, so to speak. ;) It's like night and day, the amount of ground you can cut in a day. ;D That may be the only chisel tooth models your saw works with however.

If you look for the 'maxi-blade', make sure you get the blade with the right centre hole size. Newer model Husky saws have larger centre hole. My FS550, and as well as the 560 saw, uses the 20 mm blade hole. ;D

Stihl 'Maxi Blade' part# 4000 713 4207 . They are the most cost effect we find. Price is $18.00-23.00 around here, depends on brand.

I think Bailey's sells them or an OEM equivalent.

http://www.baileysonline.com/shop.axd/ProductDetails?edp_no=167182&CAT=

I've never wore out a Stihl attachment point on a saw and I've cut probably 1000 acres. I do trash a harnass every year or two though. The thigh pad usually. ;D

You don't need the expensive tooth setter, just get the file guide, has one built in, way cheaper. And most of the time unless you in 'rough ground' you won't ever use it unless the hardwood is denser species like beech, oak, hickory. Too much set will work against you to, just follow the 'limits' on the tool or your going to be tossing that blade away and reaching for a brand new carton wrapped blade. ;D

The screen I was mentioning is in the muffler.

100:1 mix is going to void the warranty when it burns up the saw. A brush saw is wound out at higher constant RPM's than a chainsaw. Oh it will take it for quite awhile, but when you start hearing the bearings rattle your done. ;D

[GuyInHuntsville]

It may be possible your brush cutter is not strong enough for these, check with your dealer. They are for the professional line of brush cutters. I had to educate the lad a little bit last summer at the local dealer on the proper blade to order in. He had the one's pine pictured, they don't make the cut, so to speak. ;) It's like night and day, the amount of ground you can cut in a day. ;D That may be the only chisel tooth models your saw works with however.

If you look for the 'maxi-blade', make sure you get the blade with the right centre hole size. Newer model Husky saws have larger centre hole. My FS550, and as well as the 560 saw, uses the 20 mm blade hole. ;D

Thank you SwampDonkey for all the detail. Hopefully my Husky will be powerful enough for the various blades you guys are showing me...It's the 2nd in line model from Husky's top-of-the-line one. It's 45.7cc with 2.8hp and weighs 18.3lbs. It does require the blade with the larger hole. I was told it'll slice a 4" pine "like butter".
I checked out the specs for your saw and it's quite a beast and the price but I realize you get what you pay for
I'll stay with the factory recommended 50:1 mixture but no where in my area has ethanol free gas :'(
I really enjoy studying everyone's post...At the moment I'm researching the blades and files/guides/tooth setter thingies ;D

[Dave Shepard]

I converted a Stihl FS108 to left hand for a coworker once. He used to really grip about being a lefty until I asked him if he wanted me to convert a round point shovel to left hand. :D In most instances, it probably isn't safe to try and switch. I've seen guys using chainsaws lefty, and that is just scary looking.

[SwampDonkey]

Here's the file guide from Stihl.



Blades

[GuyInHuntsville]

Thanks so much SwampDonkey!...I'll be visiting the Stihl dealer (one 2 miles from my house) armed with this.

I've seen guys using chainsaws lefty, and that is just scary looking.

That's me :-[ but you bring up a good point about safety. Since these tools were designed for right handers it would probably be best to use them that way. It's very awkward for a lefty but I'll try...Heck I learned to play guitar right handed...Guess it's all in how we teach ourselves to do something we soon get used to it. Same with the bad habit you pointed out.

[SwampDonkey]

Make sure you get a 7/32" round file and a flat file for them blades. The 7/32" is the sharpening file the other just cuts back the tooth to renew the blade for the next round of filings.   ;D

[GuyInHuntsville]

Make sure you get a 7/32" round file and a flat file for them blades. The 7/32" is the sharpening file the other just cuts back the tooth to renew the blade for the next round of filings.   ;D

Thanks SwampDonkey!! I'm getting all set up thanks to you guys....

Since this thread is winding down I wanted to let everyone know that I really appreciate y'all helping a greenhorn out. I'm learning a lot on this wonderful site. Eventually I'll be able to help a greenhorn out ;D

I'll be searching this site for info about proper forest thinning. I ordered a book about east Texas plants and trees to study...So I won't go to our land and just start blindly sawing down whatever's in my path The neighbor says there's a lot of colorful trees and shrubs there during the fall so I'll need to learn how to identify what's what...Tons of wild life too so I don't want to ruin things too much for them as well...Can probably make the land more hospitable for them hopefully

[pine]

We don't use either blade pictured by pine. We use these (part # below), which will cut a lot better than the regular chisel tooth blade pictured. Any dealer should be able to get them or just go to Stihl and get them. All brands work on any brush cutter designed for them.

It may be possible your brush cutter is not strong enough for these, check with your dealer. They are for the professional line of brush cutters. I had to educate the lad a little bit last summer at the local dealer on the proper blade to order in. He had the one's pine pictured, they don't make the cut, so to speak. ;) It's like night and day, the amount of ground you can cut in a day. ;D That may be the only chisel tooth models your saw works with however.

If you look for the 'maxi-blade', make sure you get the blade with the right centre hole size. Newer model Husky saws have larger centre hole. My FS550, and as well as the 560 saw, uses the 20 mm blade hole. ;D

Stihl 'Maxi Blade' part# 4000 713 4207 . They are the most cost effect we find. Price is $18.00-23.00 around here, depends on brand.

I think Bailey's sells them or an OEM equivalent.

http://www.baileysonline.com/shop.axd/ProductDetails?edp_no=167182&CAT=

I've never wore out a Stihl attachment point on a saw and I've cut probably 1000 acres. I do trash a harnass every year or two though. The thigh pad usually. ;D

You don't need the expensive tooth setter, just get the file guide, has one built in, way cheaper. And most of the time unless you in 'rough ground' you won't ever use it unless the hardwood is denser species like beech, oak, hickory. Too much set will work against you to, just follow the 'limits' on the tool or your going to be tossing that blade away and reaching for a brand new carton wrapped blade. ;D

The screen I was mentioning is in the muffler.

100:1 mix is going to void the warranty when it burns up the saw. A brush saw is wound out at higher constant RPM's than a chainsaw. Oh it will take it for quite awhile, but when you start hearing the bearings rattle your done. ;D

Always interested in another blade possibility I looked up your 4000 713 4207 part number and found it several places mostly in the UK and Canada but every picture that was shown had the exact same profile as the blade I have from Stihl that I put in the upper picture in my post and matches the pictures that are shown for that part number 4110 713 4204. 

You stated that you don't use that blade thus your blade must look different than the one that comes up with your part number in my search.  I presume the web site pictures are wrong. 

Do you have a picture that you can post so that I can see the profile of your maxi 4000 713 4207 blade.

Thanks

[SwampDonkey]

It's not the same pine. The one you have has that rounded gullet at the base of the tooth. That profile is a PITA. ;)

On a 'maxi-blade' (below) the leading edge is square. This blade has had multiple filings, but fresh out of the carton that edge is square with a tiny notch because they are pre-sharpened there.



The market maybe more Europe and Canada because we manual thin a lot of ground up here. Less than we used to, but still a lot. Private woodlot thinning is declining quite a bit because the ground is mostly thinned that's going to get thinned for awhile.

[Joe Hillmann]

thecfarm, I expect to be using it for hours on end...Probably 6 hours a day on the weekends, maybe even more, pretty much continuously.
So you use super unleaded and mix your own fuel? My cutter is 50:1 but should I add a little extra oil to the gas? I'd like this tool to last a long time...Pretty expensive for me.

You should not add extra oil to the gas. 

If the manufacture says to run it at 50:1 that is what you should run it at to get the best life out of it.   Engine manufactures do a lot of engineering and testing to design engines to run on the mix they suggest.

Adding extra oil to the gas means the engine is getting less gas and is running lean, which means it will run hotter than it should.  If a two cycle starts running hot the first thing many  people do is to put more oil in the gas which just makes the problem worse.  If you combine running lean and carbon deposits on the head from the extra oil it is possible to destroy a 2 cycle engine.

[SwampDonkey]

I went digging through my gear and found a new blade and a carton that compares the regular chisel tooth like yours on the left and the more aggressive 'maxi-blade' on the right.



Maxi-blade below



This is Carlton brand and the bar code # reads "0681355572543"  also made in Sweden. Maxi-225-20C  max rpm 13000

[GuyInHuntsville]

Thanks Joe!!

I went digging through my gear and found a new blade and a carton that compares the regular chisel tooth like yours on the left and the more aggressive 'maxi-blade' on the right.

Just a side note...From a machinist's perspective the blade on the left has a "positive rake" cutting angle and the blade on the right has a "nuetral rake" cutting angle. Metal cutting tools ground this way: The positive one will cut sharper but dull quicker...The nuetral one requires a little more HP but will stay sharp longer. I think this would apply to wood as well.

[GuyInHuntsville]

SwampDonkey, just curious...Why do you not prefer carbide tipped blades? Is there a draw back other than resharpening isn't very practical?

[SwampDonkey]

Price, sharpening and lots of rocks up here. And I never see them on the shelves. :D

[thecfarm]

Where's Al when I need him.  :D 

[SwampDonkey]

He knows better. ;D

[SwampDonkey]

I was just talking to a fellow thinner today about them carbide blades. The consensus was that it wasn't going to happen. ;) Boss messaged me today, has the thinner's itch already.  ;D :D

[SwampDonkey]

I didn't think of this before until someone mentioned it tonight. Try the 8" diameter blades in that lighter saw. You'll probably get more snap out of that lighter saw. We use as big a blade we can get here, the 9" because we often are in 'big wood'. Actually bigger than we should be with our saws, but that's life.

[GuyInHuntsville]

I didn't think of this before until someone mentioned it tonight. Try the 8" diameter blades in that lighter saw. You'll probably get more snap out of that lighter saw. We use as big a blade we can get here, the 9" because we often are in 'big wood'. Actually bigger than we should be with our saws, but that's life.

Thanks!...I'll see if an 8" would fit. As I recall, the metal guard on my Husky is fairly close to the edge of the blade and didn't seem to allow for a larger blade. I'll be seeing if I can make a part/bracket to extend the metal guard a little further out. The blade it came with seemed kind of small to me, possibly 7 1/4". I'd check now but I'm away from home. Looks like I'll finally be trying out/using my saw all weekend starting tomorrow  8) as my payin' job is gettin' slow. ;D
Monday I'll let y'all know how it went.

[SwampDonkey]

You might have to order a different deflector for your saw. Saws have different deflectors you can get. I would not jury rig it, that's asking for trouble. Make sure you have a harnass on or your going to be picking up your saw off the ground all day or worst.

[GuyInHuntsville]

I just thought I'd let y'all know how I did this past weekend with my new Husky brushcutter....AMAZING tool. My friend and the neighbor -and me- were shocked by what I was taking down. 5" pine was no problem, 5 seconds cutting each side. 1" saplings like they weren't even there (zing, zing). Learned to slow it down to stop the zinging, 1 second vs. a split second. ;D Mostly cutting pines, sweetgums, oaks and yaupons and the limbs off fallen large trees. Accomplished a lot in a very short time. I fallowed SwampDonkey's advice on cutting technique. And used it right handed which was easy to get used to. I got better at controlling it by the 2nd tank of gas. One thing I had to get used to was the blade shimmy/vibration at certain speeds or accelerating. :-\ It made me think the blade was coming loose or bent. In the next few days I'll upload some photos of what we cleared, 95% with this tool....Chainsaw took down the few big ones. The hardest part of it all was piling up everything we cut. I used 50:1, 87 octane with ethanol and Husky oil....Will switch to 92 octane. I don't have any regrets buying it BUT knowing what I know now I wouldn't have any reservation paying $1300 for the Stihl professional model....Worth it. This Husky is plenty adequate for me though.

[SwampDonkey]

Yeah, that vibration is coming off the shaft in the tube. There is no centre bearing on the shaft so you feel it in the handle grips some. After 100 acres you'll get over that part. :D

[pine]

It's not the same pine. The one you have has that rounded gullet at the base of the tooth. That profile is a PITA. ;)

On a 'maxi-blade' (below) the leading edge is square. This blade has had multiple filings, but fresh out of the carton that edge is square with a tiny notch because they are pre-sharpened there.



The market maybe more Europe and Canada because we manual thin a lot of ground up here. Less than we used to, but still a lot. Private woodlot thinning is declining quite a bit because the ground is mostly thinned that's going to get thinned for awhile.

Your statement about the profile on my style Stihl chisel tooth blade being a PITA is why I switched to the Champion Carbide blades.

Well my Stihl dealer has been trying to find the Stihl maxi blade with the part number you quoted and Stihl has told him it is not available in the US.  He worked every angle he could but no such luck.  Do not know and could not determine if it is a liability or market forces or whatever but not on our side of the border.  Shipping from the UK distributor I found would be a killer.  The Carlton I found on line showed the same profile that I already have.  I will have to see if the other Carlton part number you listed is available anywhere on our side. 

Is it identical in profile to the Stihl maxi or is it just similar?

[SwampDonkey]

Stihl are usually made in Japan, but I have seen some batches from Sweden in a bronze colored carton instead of the usual grey. All brands I see here other than Stihl are all from Sweden. I wouldn't doubt, although I don't know, they come from the same plant. But yes they are all the same profile, not just similar looking. These blades are used all over Europe and Canada. But we all thin (PCT) a lot more land to. Can't imagine a liability issue. Never heard of anyone cutting themselves thinning unless they were dumb enough to stick their hand in the blade while it was spinning to remove a stick. ;)

Amazon.com had them. I know there was a recall last year, so maybe theirs were in the recall. I have not stopped by the dealer yet to see if they have new stock.

http://www.amazon.com/Stihl-Brushcutter-Blade-Model-Chisel/dp/B00FOF9B06/ref=cm_cr_pr_product_top

[GuyInHuntsville]

Everywhere I've found SwampDonkey's blade online is sold out. But my saw has a 1" arbor. This is the blade I'm currently using and it really cuts smooth:


 

Amazon is where I bought a 2-pack:

http://www.amazon.com/RENEGADE-BLADE%C2%AE-Carbide-Bruschcutter-Blades/dp/B004OTCOSE/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1399643239&sr=8-3&keywords=renegade+blade

I'll be looking for the blade SwampDonkey is talking about but with a 1" arbor. I'm still looking at the one's pine recommended.

These brushcutters are really great tools! The only minor inconvenience about using it is the tree stub left behind.

Thanks,
Guy