Chains

[metz]

I am going to get a new chain saw (Husky or Stihl), do I have need to take into account chains or are chains pretty universal?  Will a Stihl chain fit a Husky or visa versa?  
Thanks Matt

[KiwiCharlie]

G'day,

Best bet for you is to take the chain to a dealer, and tell him you want another one of these!  Then he can get the gauge ( .050, .058, .063 etc) info and pitch (3/8's, .404 etc) info and number of drive links, off the chain.  You have not mentioned the saw model etc, so cant help you any more than that.
Easier to let them sort it, and yes, chains are brand inter-changable.
Cheers
Charlie.

[Kevin]

Matt,  3/8 pitch.
Stihl RS for Stihl and Oregon LG for Husqvarna.
Buy a bar cleaning tool, raker filing guide(not Husqvarna),file and handle,and a Husqvarna roller file guide.

[Tillaway]

I can make a mess out of this too. :

The general agreement between the cutters I know is... Stihl brand seems to be slightly better for holding edge.  It seems to have a better chrome plating.  However it does not hand file quite as easy as Oregon and if it is sharpened on a grinder the wheel needs more frequent dressing.

Chisel chain usually is the fastest cutting chain.  Run the full comp chain on the small saws.  Run skip chain on the big saws.  There is a semi skip chain available too.

Avoid buying anything other than Oregon or Stihl brands.  

[L. Wakefield]

   OK, kweschuns as allwez---

   Grinding..I haven't done much sharpening of my chainsaw by choice just yet- I'm the one leaving the brown burn marks as I go thru.. 'Scorch' Wakefield.. but what leetle I have done has always been with a round file as per my hubby's instructions..he's the one that gets me to buy the filez, then wants me to remember where they are and let him keep borrowing them til they are all gawn..

   OK, but I have as yew know done more in the way of butchering (esp the english langwidge in this post)- and as I've gotten more into the use of stainless steel blades I have perforce branched out into other sharpening modalities.

   Like- the time I almost ruint my Buck blade by using the hubby's bench grinder. The B.G. is not quite smooth- stone is chipped, and it was knocking bits of steel off as we rattled along.. that was not good.. And I've tried 2 of the old foot crank farm wheels- you know, stones about 2' diameter. The more technologically advanced of the two (and that ain't sayin much) has a can suspended over it to drip water down on it as you crank. The other one my brother in law said you could put a piece of inner tube stapled below the wheel and fill it with water so the wheel dipped into water as it rotated. I tried a dremel- didn't like it. Finally settled on a bastard mill file used VIGOROUSLY across the grain of the file, and finally I can do stainless knives like I want to.

   But when you talk about dressing grinder wheels, yer loozin me, cuz I can't picture any grinder I know that would let you squirt or drip anything on it while in motion without you takin quite a bath in the process. Do you shut down and greaser? And if so, what kind of a grinder and what kind of dressing?

    :-/   lw

[Jeff]

Dressing the grinding wheel, actually means using a harder source to reshape the grinding wheel back to its proper shape for the grind it was intended to do. So your grinding the grinding wheel.

[metz]

What about oil, do I need to use Husky oil in a Husky saw?  When you first start up your saw especially in cold weather, do you let it idle and warm up a bit or just go right to cuttin?  What is the best way to tell which direction a tree will fall?  On a good sized tree do you always need to cut a notch on the side of the tree you want it to fall?  
Also, I read somewhere maybe (husqvarna.com) that you need to change a clutch or something to do with it every two chains, is that right or not, is it expensive?

[Tillaway]

 2 stroke mix oil
2 stroke mix use husky, stihl, amsoil or private brands sold by your local shop.  You can use these in any brand of saw.  Example; You don't need to use Stihl 2 stroke oil in a Stihl saw.

Bar oil
It should be clean, brand is usually not important as long as it is thick and kind of sticky.  My friends that cut professionally buy their bar oil at Walmart or other discount store (the cheap stuff).  You can use old crank case oil but you will suffer reduced bar and chain life.  Vegetable oil will also work if you want to be environmentally friendly or have to butcher beef but it also doesn't work real well.

As far falling timber, it would behoove you to read up on the subject before you try it.  Get a copy of D. Douglas Dents' Practical Timber Falling before you try cutting down anything.  He also has good training films, but they are expensive if you can find them.  There are other books available too.

You should change the sprocket regularly, probably after you wear out a couple of chains.  Saw brand and size determines how difficult it is to replace the sprocket.  Normally, it is an easy proceedure you can do youself.  Also if you do this it is a good time to profile the bar (have the dealer do this).  There are some other normal wear parts that need changing for time to time.

[Kevin]

Go here,
    http://www.osha-slc.gov/SLTC/logging_advisor/manual/felling/felling.html

Read and review, again and again .... and again.

More people are killed while felling trees than during any other logging activity.

[Jeff]

We have an on-line chainsaw safety course on our very own Timber Buyers Network.

Click here to begin!

[KiwiCharlie]

G'day metz,

Do follow the above links for good info on felling.  May be easier to get someone local to drop the trees for you and then you take over for the rest of the job.

The clutch will last you a long time as long as your not doing such things as gunning the saw with the chain pinched in a cut. If its stuck, gunning it aint going to get it moving again!
Check the sprocket for wear after a couple of chains for sure, it may need replacing.  Not very expensive.
Cheers
Charlie.

[Don P]

When Michelle got the weedwhacker the guy at the shop said to use Stihl mix for the warranty period, that they could tell at the plant :-/
Was glad to see multiple choice on the bar oil...Fergie uses straight mineral 80 wt for trans/hydraulics (you wanna talk about slow to wake up on a cold morning :D ). It has seemed to work good for bar oil and uses some of it up.

[J_T]

Sthil saw sthil mix sthil bar oil old saw sthil runs great.When i use to log full time my saw dealer knew my name when i came in the door. Have yet to go in walmart and here Hi J T how is it going ? Just a thought.

[Tillaway]

Don P

The dealers will tell you that, but they have to prove that the after market product caused the failure.  I forgot exactly the name of law is but car dealers pull that stuff regarding after market upgrades. An example is you don't have to run Motor Craft oil and have the dealer change it for you to maintain your Ford warranty.

If your Stihl dealer won't honor a warranty regarding an engine failure and you were using a premium brand of oil, then you should find another dealer. ;)

[timberbeast]

Looks like everything's been taken care of except for LW.  LW,  they make special electric bench grinders for sharpening chains,  Baileys-online.com should have them.  They have adjustable angle,  and a clamp for the chain to go in.  You can sharpen a chain in about 2 minutes,  the one I bought ran about 150 bucks.  I never got the hang of a file,  but many folks can touch up their chains in a couple of minutes with one,  and never have to take them off the saw until the chain is worn out.  The secret of filing is to file exactly the same amount from the opposing teeth,  otherwise,  it won't cut straight.  Hope this helps.