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Bar length and chain

Started by desert sawman, June 20, 2010, 03:00:48 PM

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desert sawman

Hello to all,
This is only my 3rd year of falling trees and I'm still in love with it the way I was when I started.  Also I'm still on my first saw Stihl MS 360 pro (runs like a champ). The only problem I have with it or am going to have with it is in a couple of months I have to go harvest a grove of Walnut trees for my friend.  He said that most of the trees are bout 40-50' tall and bout 22-24" diameter. Right now I have a 20" bar on my 360. To make it easier for myself being I have and entire grove (bout 60 trees) would my 360 be able to handle a 24" bar with carbide chain and what brand of chain?  Also they're all still alive I have to wait till harvest of the nuts before I can harvest the trees.  Any idea's that wouldn't be painful on my wallet?

PC-Urban-Sawyer

I'm not sure about the 24" bar, someone else can answer that part of your question.

I think the carbide chain would not be right for this job. You'd be better off just using good quality chain and doing a good job of sharpening them frequently before they get really dull.

Good luck with the job...

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Herb

Buck

go at it with that saw and a good full chisel flat top chain. 
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desert sawman

hey thanks guys for the feed back. I do a wonder on chain sharpening so guess i can just put my good sharpening skills to use.  Thanks agian for the replies...

thecfarm

Welcome to the forum desert sawman. Are you close by a desert or not many trees grow in your region?
Model 6020-20hp Manual Thomas bandsaw,TC40A 4wd 40 hp New Holland tractor, 450 Norse Winch, Heatmor 400 OWB,YCC 1978-79

desert sawman

Both, I live between Reno and Las Vegas Nevada.. Alot of sand and really nothing for trees other than 8-10" Pinion Pines. I usually have to travel up north to get my trees but the Walnut grove is in Northern California...

JohnG28

You should be able to pull a 24" bar/chain on your ms360.  It probably wont be really fast cutting, but will do the job. Go with a good full chisel chain, I like Stihls RSC chain.  I have also tried WoodlandPro chain and like that also.  I have an ms361 and had plans on getting a 25" b/c for it, but have not had a need to yet.  I prefer cutting from one side of the tree when felling, but so far the 20" has been enough.  I also put a wrap handle on my saw, makes felling easier too.  Good luck to you, hope it helps.
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01crewcab

I agree with the other posters about using chisel chain.  As long as the wood is clean it will work good for you. I have no personal experience with carbide chain, but the guys I knew that cut around St Helens after the mt blew said it was a slower cutting chain. That was a good time for saw shops, the cutters went through a lot of saws and bars :(
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customsawyer

When you go to the longer bar you might go to the skip tooth chain.
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CX3

My recommendation would be this.  Keep the 20 inch bar on your saw.  20+20=40.  This means you can cut down a 40 inch tree with a 20 inch bar.  I am a full time logger in Missouri.  I cut some huge trees, a lot in the 30-50 dbh range.  Very seldom do I ever need the 24 inch bar, but in some cases it is handy on the bigguns.  The only thing 24 inch bar will do on your walnut trees is add weight that you have to pack around and add expense when you ruin chains and bend bars.

Use a flat top, full chisel chain.  Do not use the skip tooth chain, in my experience bore cutting or cutting in a pinching situation with the skip tooth can give major problems to your lower leg when the saw kicks you on the way out.  Skip tooth in my opinion is for firewood cutting only where almost all cuts are from the top down. 

Also that 360 is a nice saw but try upgrading to the 441 or 460 for faster felling cuts.  No one likes to see a barber chair walnut.  That walnut splits easy and the faster you can get her cut the better you will be when felling.  I understand this post is about 3 months old but hopefully I could still help. 
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