Chainsaw chain

[cubs4lifeofme]

Whats everyone use and why ?

 

[gary noblit]

Cub, I heat with wood.I only have Stihl saws,tried many others frankly ,(my opinion) I don't think any of the rest last as long.Stihls have an aggressive clutch as well...On my 20" I run stihl 26rs 74 .This chain is already aggressive ,note yellow panel on box,I can tune the drag to be as aggressive as I want.I try to maintain .025 clearence between top of teeth and drags.This will rooster tail any wood when it's sharp..My 14" has the same type of set up 63pm 50 is yellow code also...I work the heck out of these saws yr after yr and they work fine .I don't saw for fun so I want my saws to be aggressive.I've tried other chains also but settled on good quality Stihl chains .I did lot of river cleanup for several yrs and the Stihls did a lot better job when chains were under water.Unlike most,I sharpen mine with a dremel without removing chain,when needed. I have a batt. powered dremel that goes to the woods also.. Yep, just my opinion...

 

[Jay Fetters]

I, like Gary, heat with wood. We burn about 10-12 cord a year. I also have a stihl 14, but my 20 is an echo. However, I run stihl brand chains on both. I've tried the aftermarket, and they don't hold up as well, and aren't much cheaper, if any. The only thing gary did different, is I hand file mine to resharpen. It's not as fast, but the file hasn't let me down yet.

 

[digger]

Oregon skip tooth chains all the way!
I cut a far amount of wood myself.
Course I heat 16,400 S.F. too.

 

[RAllison]

I hand file as well,and use both Stihl and Oregon chains with no problems

 

[Beltrack]

I’ve heard Oregon chains are softer and therefore easier to sharpen (doesn’t it stand to reason that they’d dull out quicker?), but I use Stihl chains. I have 4 Stihl saws. Two commercial grade and two homeowner models. The commercial ones seem to be more trouble free. I also have a small Echo that I’ve owned for 35 years.

I’ve been told by a mechanic friend to use more oil in your mixture than the prescribed 50-1. He sez that 50-1 recipe is for emission concerns, but not good for the engines.

 

[RAllison]

I had a guy rebuild a blown huskuvarna and he told me the same thing about the oil...40-1

 

[RAllison]

I had a guy rebuild a blown huskuvarna and he told me the same thing about the oil...40-1

And I haven't noticed any difference with the Oregon chains

 

[Neil Mullins]

I use Oregon or Stihl chains & have an Oregon bench grinder for sharpening & gauging rakers. Almost anything else I have tried as far as chains wear in the hinge pins & the pitch on the drive dogs creates excessive wear on drive sprocket(s).
I used to hand file for sharpening & nothing wrong with that. However I lost an eye several years back. For some reason, depth perception maybe, I could no longer keep a chain evenly filed.

It can be a pain sometimes to have to change the chain, as opposed to just freshening up with a file. I do get longer life from a chain by using the bench grinder. Guess that may have to do with better control of how much is removed from cutter teeth per sharpening.

 

[Greg Riutzel]

Since the title is chainsaw chain, there are several types. I use the semi-chisel. It's aggresive, each tooth cuts a chip, and easy for me to keep sharp with a round saw file. I get my chain at a saw shop and being in Oregon logging country it's been mostly Oregon chain. As Digger does I too use a skip tooth.