let's here your chainsaw woes.

[starmac]

If I am not mistaken, baileys woodland pro and carltons are one and the same, but folks do hand file them as well as carlton all the time. Unless you screw up and hit something, or let them go too long between filing (what most casual users do) it just takes a minute or two.

[Hannibal]

Ok. Here it is. Run a Stihl .044 or MS 440 or larger saw. Throw away the chain and put a Carlton A1LM-72E. That's a full chisel for a 20" bar. A .044 or .441 will strip the chain or break it if you are inept enough to pinch it. If you can not completely bury 3 people who are dragging brush and loading wood cut to 24" lengths then you need to find someone to show you how to run a chainsaw. This is cutting Osage Orange (Hedge) or Oak. Softwoods need not apply. Been there. Done that. Tee-shirts are in the rag bin.

An 044 is nearly a 71 CC saw. 13,500 RPM. 13 Lbs. Nearly 5.5 HP. If this saw is not enough for you, then you are WELL beyond the 'firewood' cutting threshold and are well into the 'Professional Logger' realm.

A saw this size scares most casual woodcutters. It will put a 40" tree on the ground in under 1 minute. Again, been there, done that, Tee-shirts are worn-out and long gone. Buy a chain sharpener that costs more than a Ben Franklin and 2 chains that are made by Stihl or Carlton and the firewood will absolutely clog your stove.

Don't believe me? Come to NWMO. It's the Show-Me state. Bring 2 friends. Firewood is mine. Education is free. Beer is on your dime.

[Hannibal]

If I am not mistaken, baileys woodland pro and carltons are one and the same, but folks do hand file them as well as carlton all the time. Unless you screw up and hit something, or let them go too long between filing (what most casual users do) it just takes a minute or two.

I would have to disagree. I have put the stock number of the Carlton chain I use in the post I just made. If you can hand file this chain without ruining the file, then I would certainly like to watch you at work. I'm not saying it can't be done, just saying I haven't been successful. A Stihl file is minimum, German manufacture more likely. Poulan or some other discount store brand will NOT work.

[jonp]

Ok. Here it is. Run a Stihl .044 or MS 440 or larger saw. Throw away the chain and put a Carlton A1LM-72E. That's a full chisel for a 20" bar. A .044 or .441 will strip the chain or break it if you are inept enough to pinch it. If you can not completely bury 3 people who are dragging brush and loading wood cut to 24" lengths then you need to find someone to show you how to run a chainsaw. This is cutting Osage Orange (Hedge) or Oak. Softwoods need not apply. Been there. Done that. Tee-shirts are in the rag bin.

An 044 is nearly a 71 CC saw. 13,500 RPM. 13 Lbs. Nearly 5.5 HP. If this saw is not enough for you, then you are WELL beyond the 'firewood' cutting threshold and are well into the 'Professional Logger' realm.

A saw this size scares most casual woodcutters. It will put a 40" tree on the ground in under 1 minute. Again, been there, done that, Tee-shirts are worn-out and long gone. Buy a chain sharpener that costs more than a Ben Franklin and 2 chains that are made by Stihl or Carlton and the firewood will absolutely clog your stove.

Don't believe me? Come to NWMO. It's the Show-Me state. Bring 2 friends. Firewood is mine. Education is free. Beer is on your dime.

I cut 2 of my fingers off with an old Jonsered 90cc saw that had no chain brake. I'm not sure what the average person would try and cut anything with a 3ft+ bar. If you need a saw that big and you are not a professional it's time to call one.

I'm of the opinion that a 50-55cc saw is all the average person needs and probably more than 90% can use safely.

[Hannibal]

I'm still shy of 50. I never said I thought my approach was the safest. BUT. If you want wood in the wagon RIGHT NOW this formula will do it. And how.

My time is limited. I cut nearly 12 cords of wood per season. I don't have time to be fooling around. Lead. Follow. Or get out of the way. It HAS to be like this. I simply don't have the time.

[jonp]

No critism of you, Hannibal. If you are comfortable doing what you are doing then more power to you!

[southpaw]

I'm still shy of 50. I never said I thought my approach was the safest. BUT. If you want wood in the wagon RIGHT NOW this formula will do it. And how.

My time is limited. I cut nearly 12 cords of wood per season. I don't have time to be fooling around. Lead. Follow. Or get out of the way. It HAS to be like this. I simply don't have the time.

Where do you get the Carlton A1LM-72E chain? I bought a 24" and 20" oregon skip tooth chains the other day it was ~$28 for both of them.

I have to agree. When I go out I either have so much time to cut or I have a certain amount to cut. Either way I want to get as much done in the time I have or I want to spend as little time doing it. Between my brother and I we have a Stihl 064 (~84cc if I remember correctly) and a Husky 576 xp (~72cc). These are our main cutting saws. The 064 has a 24" bar and the 576 a 20" bar. We have a few smaller saws in the 50-60 cc range for small stuff.

Through some mistake of my own I am sure but I ended up being the feller. I got the 576 and the 064. I do the dropping and cutting of the bigger stuff. The 064 is almost always used for dropping the trees.

The other day I dropped maple that was 39" at the smallest part of the stump. There wasn't a limb on it for 30'. At that point it was 32". I might have crossed the casual cutter line there tho (not even close to the first time). But we take what we can get. That log is going to the mill with the other logs we have. It is nice to have a friend with a saw mill.

The only time that I use one of the smaller saws is when I am cutting about 10" or less. The bigger saws just cut way faster.

If you take the time to learn and are careful the bigger saws are as safe as the smaller ones. Just mind your nose (the bar).

Jerry Jr.

[southpaw]

Oops, forgot my woe. Mine would be keeping the teeth the same length. I take the same number of strokes but I am a little heavy handed on one side I guess.

Jerry Jr.

[JonB_in_Glencoe]

I would have to disagree. I have put the stock number of the Carlton chain I use in the post I just made. If you can hand file this chain without ruining the file, then I would certainly like to watch you at work. I'm not saying it can't be done, just saying I haven't been successful. A Stihl file is minimum, German manufacture more likely. Poulan or some other discount store brand will NOT work.

I also read somewhere that the "Woodland Pro" that Bailey's sell, are Made in the USA with Carlton bulk chain. I assumed that info would be on Bailey's website, but I can't find it now???
I use the Woodland Pro chain's on my Stihl (MS360Pro), I have hand sharpened them with Stihl brand files as well as "Pferd" files (made in Germany). Yeah, it's not the easiest chain to sharpen...but not impossible.

Also, who's to say, all Carlton chain is the same. I'd bet they have different grades/hardness ???
BUT, I got no complaints, the Woodland Pro chains are every bit as good as Stihl brand chain, I use to use, IMHO.

[snowwolfe]

As I said before, I admire you guys who are good at sharpening the chains but after decades of trying and failing I bought the electric grinding model. I'll find out how it works in a month or two

[Cmm_3940]

I've been using 'laser chain' that I get from Cutter's Choice. I'ts not bad For the price, but I've been sharpening and tightening a lot. From the comments here, I think I'll be buying the Carlton / Bailey's chain next time. 70cc Stihl MS441 w/ 20" bar.

[starmac]

Hannibal, the chain you use wouldn't happen to be the carbide tipped chain is it??

Most of the wood we cut here is in the winter, so clean for the most park. It is pretty forgiving as far as chainsaws go.
I cut firewood for a lliving for a while in new mexico, and that heavy bark alligator juniper whas a whole different matter, had to touch up the chain every tank.

[MtGun44]

No woes. I have a Stihl Farm Boss 029 that has been a real jewel.
Keep the blade sharp and clean it periodically and it is great. Have to
tune the jets a bit when I take it to high altitude in CO to cut wood there
and bring it back.

[dagger dog]

Here's a good one. Needed a small saw for spring clean up, went to Sears and bought a saw, got it home and filled with fuel and bar oil and started yanking, yanked on it for 20 minutes and finally gave up, didn't want to drive back into town so decided to see what was up, removed the plastic housing and found the fuel inlet hose to the carb' was pinched shut blocking the fuel.

So the saw was never run, the fuel line had to be run through the plastic housing which made it impossible to run the saw then install the plastic housing crimping the line that way.

Wised up and found out I could cut small stuff with a big saw and bought a Huskvarna 20" 455 Rancher when I opened the box there were wood chips on the chain housing and no fuel or oil in the saw so I know that saw was test run. Only one thing I don't like about that saw is it can do more work than I can !

I buy my chains from a local hardware that sells in bulk and makes the chains for me, I also carry a file in my back pocket and touch up the chain while I'm taking a breather.

[Hannibal]

No, the chain isn't carbide, but I bought 6 of them when I bought the saw. Still have 4 left.

[Elkins45]

I can sharpen a knife so well that it will make you afraid to look at it, but I can't sharpen a saw chain to save my life. It is SO frustrating. My dad was a master and I used to just take him my saw once a year but he is no longer with us so eventually I will have to find a guy to pay to do it. That hurts my pride a bit.

Both of my saws are McCulloch, if that tells you something. The carb needs rebuilt on the small one and the oiler doesn't work on the big one. I've had to replace the fuel lines twice on both because the plastic tubing cracks. I'm finally entertaining the idea of just buying a new one. Dad bought a top handle Echo when his Eager Beaver got stolen and it was a great saw. I may get one of those myself.

[Lloyd Smale]

I have to admit the same. I have 4 saws and keep at least 6 chains for each and allways carry a spare or two in the woods. when I get down to 2 I bring all the dull chains back to my buddys stihl shop and he sharpens them for me for free. I think his normal charge is 2 bucks a chain so its hardly worth the bother even if you can sharpen them yourself. I have to admit that I also don't sharpen my hunting knives very often. I know the guys at bark river knife company and they just do it better and for free.

I can sharpen a knife so well that it will make you afraid to look at it, but I can't sharpen a saw chain to save my life. It is SO frustrating. My dad was a master and I used to just take him my saw once a year but he is no longer with us so eventually I will have to find a guy to pay to do it. That hurts my pride a bit.

Both of my saws are McCulloch, if that tells you something. The carb needs rebuilt on the small one and the oiler doesn't work on the big one. I've had to replace the fuel lines twice on both because the plastic tubing cracks. I'm finally entertaining the idea of just buying a new one. Dad bought a top handle Echo when his Eager Beaver got stolen and it was a great saw. I may get one of those myself.

[JonnyReb]

I've only had homeowner type saws and don't even bother with sharpening chains, i just buy a new one when i need to. There, i've set my bar

In spite of my lack of experience with the finer saws and the finer points of owning them, i've had quite a few. I've lived in the woods for 20+ years and heated exclusively with wood for the first 7. Still use wood for about 1\2 my heat source and of course living in the woods makes using a chainsaw a common occurance.

Only saw i had trouble with was a small Jonsered i bought at lowes in the early 90's. It needed constant carb fiddling to make it run and when it quit at about 2 years old i chucked it (probably just needed carb work) and bought asmall Husky..a model 136 i think. Was a good saw and ran quite a few years but i eventually backed over it with a van and did it in. Went from that to a heavy old XL12 that i nicknamed "Boomer". Something about the sound of that saw just about took trees out by itself. It was probably 20 years old when i was running it but if you could get it started you weren't going go have any trouble..it would run all day without a hitch. Bought another Homelight about 10 years ago and have been running it ever since. The XL12 is still ready to go but i haven't started it for many years. he newer smaller 16" Homelight is all i need, is light, not too powerful but safely efficient, is fairly light and has given me no mechanical trouble. I use either treated non ethanol or lately have been using the canned "tru fuel" from lowes. I still always put them up dry and haven't had any carb issues since that old jonsered.

Did buy my first electric saw just last week. Its actually a polesaw but the 9amp Craftsman 10" saw comes off the pole for typical saw use. Its small but fits a needed niche in trimming trees and front porch firewood adjustments. Under 100.00 bucks and i had a giftcard to burn so.. why not.

[Mal Paso]

Bailey's Chain Sale:http://enews.baileys-online.com/q/Kk...U2HoGWYY0HR3GF

It troubles my Scottish ancestry but you can buy good saw chain and throw it away when it gets dull for less money than it takes to sharpen it.

[JonB_in_Glencoe]

Bailey's Chain Sale:http://enews.baileys-online.com/q/Kk...U2HoGWYY0HR3GF

It troubles my Scottish ancestry but you can buy good saw chain and throw it away when it gets dull for less money than it takes to sharpen it.

I seen that email this morning, I ignored it, as I just bought 10 chains from them last spring and haven't used one of those yet...still using a few older chains.
Dang, I go look up my chain, and it's $20 cheaper (per 10) than what I paid last spring, so I ordered another 10 ($11.09 per 20" chain, Wow). My buddy has the same saw as me...it's kinda why I bought the MS360Pro, I got to use his and loved it. I may have to share some chains with him.