Chain Saw

[carpetman]

NYACK Kid--I bought a chain saw today and based on what you said I bought A Stihl. Now what I bought is probably a toy compared to what you use---but for my purposes this seems to be the real deal. I got the 3hp model 250 with easy start and tooless chain tensioner. I only have a small outdoor fireplace on my front porch and had been getting a wheelbarrow load with a bow saw. Got half a pickup load today(I stack it on front porch too---so dont want a huge supply at a time). For the brief time I used it,was a real joy and beats a bow saw.

[The Nyack Kid]

good job carpetman
yep stihls are the best . huskys aint to bad but ive watched guys run there saws into the dirt (litarly) untill they fell apart . the stihl always lasted longer. If you take good care of it it will last alife time . It very important to drain the sawgas out of the saw befor it goes into storage (sawgas goes sour in about a month) . then start it up with no gas in the tank to emty the carbarator . heres a tip i found out the hard way , use high octane gas when your sawing in cold weather (20*) they start and stay running better.
having good tools for the job on hand sure makes the work easier.

[PatMarlin]

What kind of chain do you use K-kid?

I use full skip square chisle. Never got the hang of sharpening with a round file, cept for my ripping chain which I use a jig.

I don't agree with running a 2 cycle carb dry though. They keep just fine with fuel. There's always been 2 schools of thought on that.

[The Nyack Kid]

If im in good clean going i use stihl brand fullskip chisel . I use them little 6 sided files to keep it cutting (im going to get a grinder ,that square filing is not easy ) when im in dirty wood (fire kill, the DA%$#@MN landing or firewood ) i use round file it's quick and easy . stihl chain has thicker chrome plating and longer cutter teeth . I never use to run the carb dry untill after one springbreakup my 046 would not run to save my life took it down to the saw shop , they had to replace the carb to get it to run again something ate the diaphrams out of the carb

[Jumptrap]

I've had 3 Stihls...still have 2 of'em. That 056 was too much for me at 22+ pounds but god, what a monster! i used to tell the boys I cut with...just lay it on the log and yank the trigger and catch it before it hits the ground.BRRRRRRRRRRRR!

My old 28 has been running fine for 24 years and the gas always stays in it...I toss some Stabile in it and let it go. This last limbing saw is a 017 i think...runs good for a toy.

Premium gas is worth every extra cent you pay for it. My honda 4 wheeler won't run on regular........calls for 91 octane and they mean it too.

[wills]

Got half a pickup load today(I stack it on front porch too---so dont want a huge supply at a time). For the brief time I used it,was a real joy and beats a bow saw.

Shouldnt take much to load that little bitty truck!

[sundog]

I'm still trying to wear out an 031 I bought new in 1972. Been thru at least a couple bars, several chains, a couple of sprockets and clutches, several sets of points, and at least a spark plug or seven (all routing wear and tear). I've never drained the gas, but I always make sure it is clean. When I needed it the other day to get a tree off the daughters fence during the wind storm it started in maybe 3 pulls after not being used for a couple months. I guess the new ones with electronic ignition a just dandy. When I was growing up my Dad worked heavy equipment in good months and had a booming wood business in winter - poles, pilings, posts, firewood. I got work the brush while he cut when I wasn't going to school. He would literally wear me out. Had several different size Stihls for different jobs including a little one that could be used one handed for trimming brush. When he passed away there were still 3 of them in worn but working order that I guess I need to get out and cleaned up. Good quality tools. sundog

[XBT]

There was an old timer from back in the woods who cut his firewood with a handsaw all his life. As he got older it was becoming difficult to cut enough wood by hand, and as he had heard of the newfangled chainsaws, he decided to try one.

The salesman at the store told him with the new saw he could easily cut two or three cords per day. The first day he cut only one cord.

He checked with the salesman who told him to try harder, as the saw really would cut two or three cords per day. The next day he tried really hard but only cut just a little over one cord.

The salesman told him there might be something wrong with the saw so he returned it to the store to be checked. They took the saw out back and as the salesman pulled the cord and started it, the old man jumped back in alarm and shouted: WHAT’S ALL THAT NOISE?

[StarMetal]

Lot of work and expense in keeping a chainsaw running. It don't take but one time running the chain into the dirt to dull it, or worse hitting a stone in the dirt. You either have to have your chain sharpened or do it yourself. Both costs money. Then there's the bars to wear out. Your bar should be service too along with the chain. Each time you sharpen the chain you should clean out the groove in the bar, file away the peening burr the chain made on it, especially clean out the oiling holes, and flip the bar around so the top becomes the bottom and the bottom the top. Cleaning the airfilter regularly is a good idea too. and I clean all the oil soaked sawdust off of every area of my saw. You should also pull the muffler and clean the carbon from it and pitch the dang spark arrestor, it's nothing but a carbon magnet. Just like Jumptrap said once , it's hardly worth the work, money, time, and dirt to run a fireplace or woodstove. I'm beginning to believe him.

Oh yeah, I run a Stihl also, but I think Huskies are just as good.

Joe

[The Nyack Kid]

[QUOTE=StarMetal]Lot of work and expense in keeping a chainsaw running. It don't take but one time running the chain into the dirt to dull it, or worse hitting a stone in the dirt. You either have to have your chain sharpened or do it yourself. Both costs money. Then there's the bars to wear out. Your bar should be service too along with the chain. Each time you sharpen the chain you should clean out the groove in the bar, file away the peening burr the chain made on it, especially clean out the oiling holes, and flip the bar around so the top becomes the bottom and the bottom the top. Cleaning the airfilter regularly is a good idea too. and I clean all the oil soaked sawdust off of every area of my saw. You should also pull the muffler and clean the carbon from it and pitch the dang spark arrestor, it's nothing but a carbon magnet. Just like Jumptrap said once , it's hardly worth the work, money, time, and dirt to run a fireplace or woodstove. I'm beginning to believe him.

Oh yeah, I run a Stihl also, but I think Huskies are just as good.

Joe[/QUOTE

All part of regular saw maintaince . if your not running a saw much than all that is going to be streched over a poroid of time . I never thought that sharpening a chain was hard other than knowing what to do .

[StarMetal]

I feel like Will Mundy (Clint Eastwood) in The Unforgiven when I post to you...KID hahahahahahaha. He called that young kid "KID" all the time in that movie.

Well kid, what you said, isn't that just about true of doing anything in life?

Joe

[KevMT]

Sorta off topic here. But I used to work for the forestry division of a timber company. We kept several Husky saws around to clear roads and trails and they recived a lot of use and abuse. If you want to see the "tragedy of the commons" in action, just go to a place where several people "share" a chain saw.Typically the saw is used without reguard for digging it into the dirt or rocks and then thrown in the tool shed for the next poor Bas^&*d to find. I kept having a problem with the bars getting worn uneven on our saws requiring me to flatten the rails back to level with a file so the saw wouldn't jam after going 3-4 inches into a log. I finally found out that one of the biologists who would use the saw refused to fill it up with bar oil because it would leak in his truck. So when he used it he just put in a "little bit" of bar oil which would then be "all used up" when he was done. GRRRRRRRR.

[Bullshop]

I see no one has mentioned this but it is equaly important to keeping sharp cutters for keeping the saw cutting straight and smooth, you have to gauge the rackers to a uniform depth. Also for you guys that chisel file you have to ocasionaly grind or file out the gullets so the cutter can take a bigger chip. On the full skipp I only see the need if you have to run a long bar but dont have the power to pull a properly tuned full comp. Full comp will cut much smoother than full skipp or semi skipp possibly faster if you have the power. I you have to do some wedging and bump a cutter on full skipp it will realy begin to chatter bad where you dont notice much on full comp. Yes with a properly tuned chain you can run the saw with one hand. It should pull itself into the cut WITHOUT pushing at all ! I remember the days before chisel grinders replaced hand filing. My mentor told me that by the time I completely wore out a chain I would know how to chisel file and he was right. In those days I was hand filing a 50" full comp and yes its a chore. When I got my first Simington chisel grinder life got much easier. We would grind about 6 loops in the evening after work and as soon as a chain would loose that pull of a sharp chain we would change. It saved lots of time in the woods and if you were busheling made every minute count. I still have six saws, Huskies. When I had to quit sawing there were only two saws in the woods Stihl and Husky. When I started sawing there were only two saws in the woods, Homelight and Macolough. The first saw I ever run was a Homelight 1000, we come a long way baby!
BIC/BS

[The Nyack Kid]

the reason i run full skip is cause i'm fussy about the way my chain cuts . if i feel it quite pulling its self though the wood , i stop and sharpen . full-comp has twice the # of teeth and it takes twice as log to file and is harder to keep all of the teeth the same leagth when sharpening by hand. Full-comp cuts faster , but i can run a 8-tooth sprocket with full-skip chain and i get close to the same cutting speed . I also run stihl bars on my saws they are a harder steel in them and i dont have to flip the bar over and file the burrs off , all the time . those darn Oregon bars are pretty soft IMO . one of these days im going to try out the Woodsman pro bars that baily's sell to see how the work

[sundog]

One of my earliest recollections in life is my Dad logging with his first chain saw - a mamouth yellow McCoullough. I was little and couldn't even pick it up. The new saws are certainly better in the weight versus power and maintenance departments. Before that it was all done with crosscuts - I still have them and they require TLC also or you just wear yourself out without doing any work. sundog

[45 2.1]

I started when I was 7 helping my grandfather cut the winters wood. Been doing that for 45 years now. Went to Stihl 25 years ago and have wore one completely out after 20 years. Working on my second one now. I've never had to replace a bar on a Stihl yet, good steel, very hard to dress out. I have wore out quite a few chains though.

[StarMetal]

Talking to my Stihl service man, he said that because of the femine Nazi enviromental wackos the chainsaw industry had to one: cut the baroil consumption and two: start to go to biologicallly safer oil. So I don't think the chains are getting enough oil myself now. He said the older ones would use one tank of oil to one tank of gas. The newer ones use about 1/2 tank of oil to one tank of gas. He said not to get alarmed when I run her out of gas that the baroil tank wasn't empty. But you guys know all this and probably have a way of making it oil more, if so I'm all ears.

Joe

[waksupi]

I really hate to cut firewood. Anyone got any experience with pellet stoves? I've been seriously considering one. I would like the cabin to be warm when I get home at night.

[Herb in Pa]

I really hate to cut firewood. Anyone got any experience with pellet stoves? I've been seriously considering one. I would like the cabin to be warm when I get home at night.

This is my first year of pellet stove use, I previously heated with a Vermont Castings stove for 21 years and finally tired of cutting firewood. I guess the only weak link is the need for electricity. This one is great........it has a microprocesser and thermostat built in. It has the ability to turn itself off and then relight as needed as well as maintaining a constant temperature.

This one is a Harmon Advance model manufactured right here in Pennsylvania. It's a pleasure to use....one 40# bag of pellets produces 1 cup of ash, there is no visible smoke emitted from the chimney either. It uses about 275 watts of power.

I'm real pleased,,,it's also a whole lot cleaner in operation.

[StarMetal]

Herb,

Did it costs as much a new Toyota truck?

Joe

[The Nyack Kid]

Talking to my Stihl service man, he said that because of the femine Nazi enviromental wackos the chainsaw industry had to one: cut the baroil consumption and two: start to go to biologicallly safer oil. So I don't think the chains are getting enough oil myself now. He said the older ones would use one tank of oil to one tank of gas. The newer ones use about 1/2 tank of oil to one tank of gas. He said not to get alarmed when I run her out of gas that the baroil tank wasn't empty. But you guys know all this and probably have a way of making it oil more, if so I'm all ears.

Joe

does your saw have an ajustable oiler? if so turn it up to max oil . also ive noticed that i run out of oil faster when im using winter grade bar oil which is a thinner oil than summer bar oil . i heard that in parts of alaska they have to use a vegatable based bar oil that the bears love.

[StarMetal]

It has an adjustment on the oiler but it hardly made a noticeable difference at all. Still half a tank of oil to one tank of gas

Oh when you rev it and hold the tip of the blader near something, you hardly get a trace of oil spin off.

Joe

[floodgate]

Sundog:

" Before that it was all done with crosscuts - I still have them and they require TLC also or you just wear yourself out without doing any work. "

You missed out on the "dragsaws"; weird and wonderful machines, especially whan rigged up for falling. Our "logging tool, gas engine and tractor" club - "Kimmies of the Codgy Moshe" in Boont-ling - has several of these in various states of repair. We also have some of the old Malls and other early-day chainsaws which make today's saws look like toys. Them were MEN out in the woods in the old days!!!

I hand-file chains for the local homeowners (the few fallers still working do their own). Oddly enough, it takes me just as long to do a good job (gauging for both tooth length and raker depth) on a little #91 16" bar chain as on a 36" #72. I used to do square chisel teeth on a Symington in the local shop (now closed), but for the few that come in these days, I just file them round and the users seem happy. I'm not a heavy user myself, but it took me 20 years to wear out a little Stihl 011, and I'm very happy with my present Husky 136, both 16-inchers using 3/8" LP chain. In my opinion, the Macs and Echos are junk, at least the littler ones; but I'm no expert by any means.

Floodgate

[Herb in Pa]

Herb,

Did it costs as much a new Toyota truck?

Joe

Since I have this in my den area, I opted for a fancy version, even with all the bells and whistles it is comparable to the cost of one of the better woodstoves.

[The Nyack Kid]

got a old homalite over in the shop . it is homly and anything but lite.back in them days "the men WHERE men " . when ever im feeling down in the dumps and need a lift-up i go to wal-mart to the "chainsaw" section , that is always good for a laugh .
StarMetel i dont know what else to tell you , if your saw is cutting right and the chain tention is right and the oiler is turn all the way up .then all you can do is take comfort , in the fact, that your keeping some poor bugger ,in a factory, busy making stuff that you wore out . Vs making the big oil companys rich. :bigsmyl2: