My mind is real foggy right now, but I'm trying to gather what I use to buy a while back....
I know it was Stilh RSC Chisel....would you recommend the .325 or 3/8?
What type bar?
I'm getting 18' stock from the dealer.
Semi-chisel or chisel?
Just want to have 20' for some slightly larger stuff...cutting commence almost immediately!
Thanks...glad to get this over!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! smiley_dizzy
I would leave the 18 in bar on, use a .325 Semi-chisel.
I run a 20", 3/8"x.050" bar with a full chisel skip chain. My 029 does just fine, always has. It's not a race saw, nor is it running 12hrs./day every day felling trees & bucking logs. It cuts a few cords of firewood every fall, plus a few trees here & there for my band mill. Sometimes I even use it to rip burls & stumps into slabs for resawing. The saw has never given me trouble except for once the tank vent tube dry rotted & fell off. At almost 20yrs. old it is finally beginning to show signs of ring wear. It's not as strong as it once was. I am considering buying one of those 390 engines to put on it and hopefully get some more life from it.
Been a wonderful saw & has always worn a 20" bar with chisel skip chain. It has plenty enough power to pull a 20" chain. Would it pull an 18" chain faster? Yes, of course. So would my 460. Would pull a 16" chain even faster. But it still pulls a 20" just fine.
My MS 290 came with a 20" .325" / .063" chain on it. I have a Forester bar on it now.
I have a 310 with a muffler mod, and 20" 3/8" all it wants and you still need to have a careful hand.
Always run the smallest B&C you can. Better balance, easier on you and your saw, less teeth to sharpen, you get the idea. Stihl RS chain in 3/8 or .325 is fine. Stihl bars are about the best on the market, the laminated E bar is fine, and will have less weight than the replaceable tip solid ES bar. Skip tooth chain on any bar under 28" is not that logical and can cause the chain to be rough and grabby in the cut. Unless you're compensating for lack of power, run full comp chain. smiley_beertoast
Quote from: Andyshine77 on November 06, 2013, 06:40:30 PM
Always run the smallest B&C you can. Better balance, easier on you and your saw, less teeth to sharpen, you get the idea. Stihl RS chain in 3/8 or .325 is fine. Stihl bars are about the best on the market, the laminated E bar is fine, and will have less weight than the replaceable tip solid ES bar. Skip tooth chain on any bar under 28" is not that logical and can cause the chain to be rough and grabby in the cut. Unless you're compensating for lack of power, run full comp chain. smiley_beertoast
Thanks Andy
What about having 2 bars? My 18" was wore out on my 52cc saw so I replaced it with a 16" and also a 20" both .325. About may 10% of my cutting could not be done from one side with the 16". I was on a budget and figured it was cheaper than getting a bigger saw. It was not the fastest and definitely had to have a light hand, but it worked for what little I used it. Then swapped over to the perfect size bar for majority of my cutting. Then I decided I really needed ;) more saws, so I got one that would EAT with the 20" and find bigger wood to cut!
Quote from: Andyshine77 on November 06, 2013, 06:40:30 PM
Always run the smallest B&C you can. Better balance, easier on you and your saw, less teeth to sharpen, you get the idea. Stihl RS chain in 3/8 or .325 is fine. Stihl bars are about the best on the market, the laminated E bar is fine, and will have less weight than the replaceable tip solid ES bar. Skip tooth chain on any bar under 28" is not that logical and can cause the chain to be rough and grabby in the cut. Unless you're compensating for lack of power, run full comp chain. smiley_beertoast
Why is skip tooth on anything less than 28" not that logical? Skip is all I will run. They cut faster, more aggressively, and literally take half the time to sharpen. Yes they cut rougher, but I have never been paid for the smoothness of my cuts. Money is in the wood produced & the time it took to do it. In terms of efficiency (time & effort to make cut), I personally find skip to be the best. The exception is in small wood that can be pulled into the saw or get tangled. For that, skip isn't the best choice. But then neither is a 20" bar or a 50cc+ saw.
I would think for the cost of a chain loop, the OP should maybe try one of each to see what works best for his particular situation. I do a lot more felling & bucking than I do firewood or trim cutting. Heck, I probably do more noodling of burls & stumps into slabs for resaw than I do firewood cutting. So my experiences might not apply to the OP's task at hand. However, I would try both ways so I knew for certain.
Quote from: qbilder on November 06, 2013, 10:10:33 PM
Quote from: Andyshine77 on November 06, 2013, 06:40:30 PM
Always run the smallest B&C you can. Better balance, easier on you and your saw, less teeth to sharpen, you get the idea. Stihl RS chain in 3/8 or .325 is fine. Stihl bars are about the best on the market, the laminated E bar is fine, and will have less weight than the replaceable tip solid ES bar. Skip tooth chain on any bar under 28" is not that logical and can cause the chain to be rough and grabby in the cut. Unless you're compensating for lack of power, run full comp chain. smiley_beertoast
Why is skip tooth on anything less than 28" not that logical? Skip is all I will run. They cut faster, more aggressively, and literally take half the time to sharpen. Yes they cut rougher, but I have never been paid for the smoothness of my cuts. Money is in the wood produced & the time it took to do it. In terms of efficiency (time & effort to make cut), I personally find skip to be the best. The exception is in small wood that can be pulled into the saw or get tangled. For that, skip isn't the best choice. But then neither is a 20" bar or a 50cc+ saw.
I would think for the cost of a chain loop, the OP should maybe try one of each to see what works best for his particular situation. I do a lot more felling & bucking than I do firewood or trim cutting. Heck, I probably do more noodling of burls & stumps into slabs for resaw than I do firewood cutting. So my experiences might not apply to the OP's task at hand. However, I would try both ways so I knew for certain.
You mostly answered your own question, different conditions = different methods. The issue with running skip on smaller saws/bars, is the fact it's less efficient because you have less teeth moving through the wood at any given time. Skip is also not the best for limb work, as it can be grabby and rough, which is not only a bit more dangerous, but the vibration isn't all that good for the saws bearings or the saw as a whole. Small saw, small bearings.
Skip chain will only cut faster because of two reasons. The saw is underpowered for the length of B&C, or the type of timber. Chip clearance. Longer bars can run into chip clearance issues, this can bind the chain and completely stop it altogether.
On top of the it's hard to find loops of Stihl RS skip chain in anything under 105 DL. Sure some dealers will spin you a chain, some won't. smiley_beertoast
Sorry hit the wrong button.
On my smaller saws I've gone from .058 to .325/.050. Reason is it's lighter and takes less power to move the chain. Oh, and full comp works best for me. Its smooth cutting and doesn't vibrate my arms like skip.
I wouldn't recommend 3/8ths on a 290 unless your running a bar 18" or less with a 7 pin/tooth sprocket. I would run a Stihl bar with .325 full chisel chain unless your cutting in really dirty conditions.
While some poor mouth the 290 for being a non-pro clamshell design, it has been the best selling saw in the USA for years. It is only out of the line up due to the EPA regs. It will handle a 20"/.325 set up just fine.
If you feed it good quality fuel and Ultra at 50:1 it will last you a life time. It is also simple to work on, about the only issue is fuel lines getting pin holes or carb diaphragms getting stiff.