Stihl chainsaw chain suggestions

[JonB_in_Glencoe]

wow, I just searched 10 paks of 20" woodlandPro chains, and they have doubled in price.

[ascast]

I'd like to know hoiw the OP made out. good read, I blame the trees and dust. Here, it Black Locust that ruins chains. It just too hard. Fence post will last 70 years.

[Hannibal]

The Oregon chains they sell in many places are going to be very disappointing if you cut very much wood. Those things won't hold an edge for nothing except really soft woods. Oak, Locust or Hedge will dull them in no time flat.

[GregLaROCHE]

I don’t think anyone has mentioned it, but there can be a real difference between green and dry wood. I cut a lot of chestnut. When it’s green, it cuts easy, but when it’s dry, that’s another story. The same goes for diving nails into it. Green no problem, but dry almost impossible sometimes.

[barnetmill]

Being in north Florida I am very familiar with live oak. We do have the southern cedar that is actually a juniper. That cedar is easy to cut and so is the local pine.
Live oak when it is green is not so hard to cut. If you let it lay around and season, it cab become incredibly resilient and hard. Impossible to split with wedges and a sledge hammer with cutting a deep notch in it for the wedge. You drive the wedge in the wood will push and squeeze it back out. It also takes about five years laying on the ground to rot. The other oak around here when seasoned saws and split just fine except maybe at the based of the trunk where there may been injury or something. same for the pine.
As a non-professional I let stihl sharpen my stihl chains. Keep the chain out of the dirt and you can cut enough wood for someone like me without too much sharpening.
About sparks, in the evening one can see sparks on occasion and I think that is from binding the chain that is more apt to happen when it gets loose on my Husqvarna saws. I will sharpen at time the Husqvarna chains, but I am not doing it right. Lately I have been using a dremel tool but even though I am not doing it correctly the chain will cut.
For me the chains are not so expensive. I think the 25 inch stihl chain was about $30 and at lowes 16 inch and 20 inch chains about $20 or so for oregon chains. Maybe the chains are more now.
I needed the stihl 25 inch saw for a few larger trees. On the last two oaks I had to cut on both sides on 30 inch diameter trunks to get them down.

[toallmy]

Well as of today - I'm going to be looking for a new chainsaw my 391 got tired of working , right in the middle of cutting some firewood . A quick trip to the shop sent me home in worse shape , it seems the shop is having difficulties getting parts , & even saws . In a last ditch effort I took my old 391 to them hopefully they can take some parts off of it to get it operating .

[farmbif]

if you have more time than money and are any good with wrenches stihl saws are usually worth rebuilding. there are many videos on YouTube that give detailed instruction on chainsaw rebuilding and repair. hl has parts and is a reliable business. you can also buy complete powerheads direct from farmertec.net for many stihl saws
https://www.hlsproparts.com/product-...AaAklWEALw_wcB

[toallmy]

Thanks this might come in handy very soon .

[john.k]

If I ever get desperate I still got my old 26" Mc Culloch....runs about 1/2 the speed of a modern saw,weighs a ton,but once I get it started ,it just cuts.

[georgerkahn]

If I ever get desperate I still got my old 26" Mc Culloch....runs about 1/2 the speed of a modern saw,weighs a ton,but once I get it started ,it just cuts.

John.k -- you brought back memories of "Old Yellow" -- my McCulloch. By the time I'd get it started I'd be tooooo tired to do much cutting with it. Yup -- "heavier than a dead minister" , too. I "modernized" to a stable of four Stihls -- two 019t's (one ea w/ 12" and 16" bar); an 260PRO, and, a 36PRO. Reading this thread reminded me I have a very-lo compression 39 -- was the saw my Lewis Winch (used) came on -- and it no doubt needs a new power unit -- I gather its cylinder is pretty much scored. I have too much $$$ in it do other than let it collect more dust; local dealer professes it would cost more than the saw is worth to put a new motor in it; but -- I'm wondering if there are ANY people out there, e.g., someone retired?, who might think it a win-win for THEM to rebuild my saw, and even make a few dollars so doing.

[Rapier]

I have four Stihl saws, the Farm Boss is the badest of the bunch, heavy and known to get half cocked then kick back on you when trying to start it when cold. The kick back will near jerk a shoulder joint right out of the socket. Only use it for big trees. Once you get it started it cuts about six trees into 3' lengths, before it need a sharpening. They run and run with chain oil, fuel and air.
Today, parts for anything mechanical can be a problem. Just get a recall on a vehicle, with no parts to repair it, utmost confidence in your vehicle.

[Hannibal]

I used to own an 044 Stihl with no compression release. Only way I found to start it was 'drop start' it. Ran a Carlton full chisel chain and a 30" bar. That was one wood cuttin' son-of-a-gun.

If it kicked back once when starting it you'd be massaging your hand and cursing for 15 minutes. If you screwed up and pinched the bar it would completely strip the chain and rivets and you'd be cutting it out with another saw.

I sold it a few years ago. It was meaner than I was and I was too beat up to cut wood anymore.

[MarkP]

That stretch comment doesn’t make sense. The carbide is only on the teeth; the rest of the chain is conventional. Carbide chips on interrupted cuts in metal so I expect it will cut through imbedded bullets or wire but might break if it hits rocks and other trash.

The chains will last so long (have more hours of run time) that they will stretch more the a regular chain would as the gullet on a steel chain would have nothing left due to numerous sharpenings.

[GregLaROCHE]

The chains will last so long (have more hours of run time) that they will stretch more the a regular chain would as the gullet on a steel chain would have nothing left due to numerous sharpenings.

Chains don’t actually stretch. They wear a bit between the links, but mostly where the links come in contact with the bar, as well as the bar wearing too. It’s because of this wear that you have to tighten them up. Besides sharpening the chain, you need to have the bar ground down to remove the grooves caused by wear.

[fastdadio]

Well, this is a timely thread for me. Just had a wind storm bring down a lot of heavy limbs about the property. Luckily no damage to my buildings but a big clean up ahead. My 30 year old, low hour 029 Farm Boss wouldn't stay running and the original chain is shot. I put a new diaphram set in the carb and it's running crisp and clean again. Time to start shopping chains.
The other angle to this story is that I have a really nice Pyramid brand brick lined air tight wood burner in my garage. I got it free for the cost of removal from a job. It's never been fired. My garage is ready with the proper 'A' vent penetration through the roof. All I have to do is make the connection. This may require shopping for a new insurance company since my current company (Auto Owners) says "no way" They won't insure a wood burner on the property. They've been milking me for too long any way, it's time to fire them and sign with someone else.

[brokeasajoke]

I like this dude on YouTube. A semi chisel will not dull as fast but not cut as fast a s a full chisel. Someone makes a double chrome plated chain but don't remember who. Seems like it was Oregon multicut. ANY and I mean ANY dirt on the log/wood will eat at the teeth edge. Chip that crap off where you are going to make your cut with a hatchet if time allows. I drag my wood out with a tractor and then cut so my chain dulls in a hurry.
https://youtu.be/7_tsY2abJes
Chain test

[toallmy]

It never hurts to have a few extra - sharp chains , & a extra bar .

[MarkP]

Chains don’t actually stretch. They wear a bit between the links, but mostly where the links come in contact with the bar, as well as the bar wearing too. It’s because of this wear that you have to tighten them up. Besides sharpening the chain, you need to have the bar ground down to remove the grooves caused by wear.

I flip my bars over every 10 tanks of fuel, then check them and recondition the guide rails to proper width.

On a 90+ cc saw they sure get longer. Chains for my 36" bar have 114 drive links, just a few thousandths of increased clearance in the drvie link, side plate holes and the hubs add length quickly. When a new chain is put on it will increase in length in a few minutes of no load operation and must be tensioned before cutting any wood. Even after being broken in thermal expansion is probably 3/4". Always warmup a cold chain stop the saw and check tension and always loosen up the chain tension when finished to prevent loading up the crank shaft once everything cools and begins to shrink.

[jonp]

John.k -- you brought back memories of "Old Yellow" -- my McCulloch. By the time I'd get it started I'd be tooooo tired to do much cutting with it. Yup -- "heavier than a dead minister" , too. I "modernized" to a stable of four Stihls -- two 019t's (one ea w/ 12" and 16" bar); an 260PRO, and, a 36PRO. Reading this thread reminded me I have a very-lo compression 39 -- was the saw my Lewis Winch (used) came on -- and it no doubt needs a new power unit -- I gather its cylinder is pretty much scored. I have too much $$$ in it do other than let it collect more dust; local dealer professes it would cost more than the saw is worth to put a new motor in it; but -- I'm wondering if there are ANY people out there, e.g., someone retired?, who might think it a win-win for THEM to rebuild my saw, and even make a few dollars so doing.

Boy, I did a thinning job one summer out west on a National Forest. Everyone got new Stihls but me. Boss said that since id used a saw before I might like this one and handed me an old yellow, all metal McCulloch. I tuned it up and it cut like nobodies business but by the days end you knew you did something.