best bar length for a 066 full comp

[rebocardo]

In your humble opinion  ;) and experience, cutting white oak, what would be the maximum bar length you would run with full comp 30RC chain without bogging the saw? 

I usually use a 20" bar, but, now I have sold my last Husky with the 28", I need a longer replacement bar for my Stihl 066.

Reason for full comp is so I can use the raker tool filing guides, I have been throwing chains away after 4-6 sharpenings because I can never get the rakers correct and I just do not have the money to spend on a grinder capable of doing it.

Min. has to be 28", I have been thinking 32". Mostly it will be used for dropping the tree without notching from both sides and then cutting the butt end into cookies until the 20" bar can handle the rest.

Most of the trees I cut are in the 20-30" DBH range, but, I have a tree 41" DBH oak I have to cut down within the next two weeks or so, so the 20" bar will not be enough.

[timber tramp]

32" should be fine, heavy though but I guess that 066 is no featherweight anyway. I run a 32" bar on an old 044 on occasion without any negative results, nice for limbing when you're standing on the tree trunk, not so much bending over. If you're near a saw shop they should be able to lower the rakers on your skip tooth chains as well, better than tossing them IMO. I file my rakers on skip chains by "eyeballing", not sure I'd reccomend it though. However with a bit of experience and alot of patience it works out alright, Err on the side of caution if you do this it does'nt take many file strokes to remove material on the rakers.

[Rocky_J]

Flat file on the rakers, freehand. 2-3 swipes on each raker, keeping a consistent amount of pressure on each stroke and from tooth to tooth. Lay the file flat across the tops of the teeth to eyeball the raker height and double check. If you have to 'throw away' good chains because you misfiled the rakers then you must be doing something quite bizarre.

28"-32" with full comp, but that's a lotta teeth to file. Up to 36" with skip chain.

[Captain]

I run a full comp chain on my 066 32" bar with an 8 spline rim.  No problems.

Captain

[Cut4fun]

What kind of Raker gage you using that you can't use on full skip. Mine works fine on full skip. Only uses cutter that you are lowering the raker for as a guide.

[Dave Shepard]

I second Rocky_J's advice on using a flat file. I have been doing it that way for a long time with great success. You will develop a feel for when the saw needs to have the rakers adjusted. I ran a 32" bar on my 394 Husky with full comp chain, same class saw as the 066, it will cut in hardwood.

[wannabeonetoo]

Whats a full comp chain ??
Are there any sketches/photos arround to show the various chain types you guys are referring to?
Steve

[sawguy21]

Full comp has a cutter every second drive link and is the most common. Full skip spaces the cutters every third driver, it is primarily used with longer bars to prevent clogging the kerf in large logs. A lot of guys will run it so they can use a smaller, lighter(and cheaper) saw with a longer bar than normal. Semi skip will have two cutters normally spaced then a gap, not sure what the perceived advantage is.

[leweee]

Whats a full comp chain ??
Are there any sketches/photos arround to show the various chain types you guys are referring to?
Steve

Top chain in this .pdf is full comp.

[rebocardo]

> they should be able to lower the rakers

They charge $8.50 a chain, new chain is $16-$18 for the 28", so, it is not worth having anyone else do it.

> I run a full comp chain on my 066 32" bar with an 8 spline rim.  No problems.

Great, that is what I wanted to know before ordering :-)

Thank you everyone.

[stonebroke]

Do you want to sell your old chains? I have a grinder ,woulndn't be very hard to do the rakers. About five minutes apiece.

Stonebroke

[Rocky_J]

Ah, that explains a lot. I guess when you're paying somebody else to sharpen your chains then you get what you pay for. I never considered that you didn't file them yourself. Can't help you there.

[timber tramp]

A friend of mine uses a Granberg bar mount filing guide, says that it's got a built in depth guage for lowering rakers. Runs 29.95 + shipping in Bailey's 2008 catalog. Might be cheaper in the long run than buying new chains, just a thought.

[rebocardo]

> uses a Granberg bar mount filing guide

I have one, but, stopped using it. Took too long especially on stoned/chain linked/nailed  chains. Mine did not have a raker depth gauge setting though, so maybe I will take another look at it.

> Do you want to sell your old chains?

No, I give/gave them away. I gave the guy that bought my Husky272 all my used 28" loops and some of my 20". Unfortunately, the day before most went to the scrapyard inside a van I junked. Before that I dumped some bars and chains (mostly Poulan and 91vs chains) I did not need onto freecycle.

I think full comp with the filing guide coupled with my speedmaster grinder, I should be able to get the chain sharp & the rakers correct without too much hassle. I usually get the chains sharp enough to easily draw blood on the point, just the rakers are a hassle for me.

Why mess with rakers when I can have fun getting a Homelite XL 56cc that weighs 20 pounds fixed and started so I can sell it for $50  :D

[zackman1801]

so the 20" bar will not be enough.

i could get the tree down with a 20" bar, might take me a few more minutes but i could do it.  without destroying the butt log also.

they have all sorts of different raker guides you can look at, i know carlton makes one for their chans, stihl makes one, and oregon makes one, i imagine that also woodland pro might make one too and other companies too.

[Cut4fun]

Raker file $3, raker gage $3, time to hit rakers by hand 5 mins. Money saved $$$$$

[rebocardo]

> i could get the tree down with a 20" bar

Well, so could I if I wanted to take forever while I am standing in a small creek, in December,   :D   while someone on the bank is waiting with a chainsaw to finish the back cut while I move to a safe spot.