Small Cabin

Small Cabin Forum
 - Forums - Register/Sign Up - Reply - Search - Statistics -

Small Cabin Forum / General Forum / Chainsaw
<< . 1 . 2 .
Author Message
bldginsp
Member
# Posted: 2 Jan 2014 10:33
Reply 


Yeah Owen, I should look for a better sharpening service. The one I use takes like 1/14-1/3 of the chisel when they sharpen, seems like too much. Also, the don't knock down the limiter correctly, screwing up the depth of cut. New chains are not much more expensive than sharpening, but that seems wasteful. Maybe I'll learn to use my file.

toyota_mdt_tech
Member
# Posted: 2 Jan 2014 22:10
Reply 


Quoting: bldginsp
They charge 12 or 15 bucks to sharpen chains and they cut too much meat off the chisels when they do



B/I, I can explain the reason for all the meat missing on your chain from the pro sharpeners.

The teeth angle downward. So they have to technically find the worst tooth on your saw, then sharpen it and then grind all others down to match it. If they sharpened only as needed, you would get high teeth and low teeth. Only the high teeth would be doing all the cutting. And if its concentrated all on one side, the saw can even cut a little sideways and the bar trys to make a turn in the wood. This can happen from hand filing too, if a guy is right handed, he tends to do one side more than the other.

And you paying these pros, they have no choice to do it right. I suppose you could allow them to just clean up the teeth only as needed. They would explain the performance issue etc.

Get a spare chain, and use an only one for cutting stumps out of the ground where you know you will get into some rocks etc and just clean it up with a hand file.

Ideally, if you never hit dirt or rocks, one good stroke with a file hooked to a file guide and it would be good to go.

bldginsp
Member
# Posted: 3 Jan 2014 11:41
Reply 


I hear you Toyota, but I took my chains to this one service, and I knew there were no bad teeth that the others needed to be brought to. Time for me to find another service and learn to use my file.

Another good thread would be stump stories- when you were in the dirt trying to cut a stump out of the way, chain gets dull, you don't want to screw up another so you keep at it like a fool- been there, done that

SubArcticGuy
Member
# Posted: 3 Jan 2014 15:46
Reply 


I think you can't go wrong with a Stihl or Husky. I have used both...I think you get what you pay for either way...they both make pro level saws and entry level saws.

I bit the bullet this year and bought a Husky Auto-Tune 550. It was expensive...but the auto-tune is a pretty cool feature. It ran poorly for the first 10 minutes but you could feel it getting stronger and stronger as it "learned it's operating parameters". After 10 minutes it ran smoother and stronger than any saw I have ever used!

ErinsMom
Member
# Posted: 15 Mar 2014 19:49
Reply 


Just came in to Lowes: Husky 45.7cc 2 cycle 18 inch. My brother thinks he's in heaven! $320.00 got for 290.00 with discount.

MtnDon
Member
# Posted: 15 Mar 2014 20:03 - Edited by: MtnDon
Reply 


A 445? Got two of those, but with a 16".

Malamute
Member
# Posted: 16 Mar 2014 23:54
Reply 


I have a Stihl 036 I got back in the mid 90's. I've left it for a couple years without any sta-bil, it took longer to start, but it has always started. I've replaced the spark plug a couple times, and the air filter and starter cord once, but no other parts or work.

I too ditched the factory low profile chain and got I think 5 or 6 good chains, and a ripper or two. I paid a shop to sharpen a couple chains for me, but never again. As others said, they hogged off much of the useful life of the teeth. They fired the guy, but who knows who will do it next time. I hand filed them for years, now use a small electric sharpener that works off 12v or has a 110v adapter. I don't think I've hand filed one since getting the electric sharpener. It has small round stones, but only gets as hot as you let it. I absolutely love the small electric sharpener.

duster
Member
# Posted: 6 May 2014 12:39
Reply 


I'm considering a Husqvarna 395 XP chainsaw with a 24" bar that's apparently one year old.
However, on the Husky website, the minimum bar length for this model is listed at 28".
Does anyone know whether using the shorter bar would make a significant difference?

sparky1
Member
# Posted: 7 May 2014 08:17
Reply 


I personally Like my Husqvarna 16" any day over the Stihl 18" it's just to hard to start.The Husqvarna always starts. Just changed the start rope.it was on the last string.
20 years ago I bought a Foley.Belsaw sharpener best device I think I ever invested in, saved me 1,ooos for sure since I never have down time, sharpen when finished with cutting.& always a spare.

Shadyacres
Member
# Posted: 8 May 2014 20:48
Reply 


Husqvarna

Jared
Member
# Posted: 26 May 2014 18:41
Reply 


I'll get flamed for this maybe, but I bought a Poulan Pro 20" and I'm happy with it so far. I was using my father's Husqvarna 455 Rancher and I'm as pleased with my Poulan Pro as I was did dad's Husqvarna. However, I've got a regular Poulan 18" Wild Thing and I'm displeased with it.

ColdFlame
Member
# Posted: 27 May 2014 15:27
Reply 


I have a Ryobi chainsaw with a 46cc motor and 20" bar. A good friend of mine also has the same saw. It runs very well, starts easily, and was reasonably priced. My buddy bought his figuring it would last a year, maybe two, and 6 years later he is still using it. His intention was that it would be a temporary solution until he could afford a Husqvarna or Stihl. And he uses his a ton.

With that advice, my wife picked up the same one for me for Christmas and I've been very happy with it. We've already had to cut a fairly large amount of wood from around our acreage, including felling nearly a dozen good sized trees making way for a greenhouse. It's performed flawlessly thusfar.

I have no doubt that the Husqvarna's and Stihl's are much more serviceable (ie: easier to swap/find parts, etc...), but there definitely has to be something said about buying a decent saw for a good price and being able to run it for 6+ years without needing anything but the typical maintenance any chainsaw would require.

<< . 1 . 2 .
Your reply
Bold Style  Italic Style  Underlined Style  Thumbnail Image Link  Large Image Link  URL Link           :) ;) :-( :confused: More smilies...

» Username  » Password 
Only registered users can post here. Please enter your login/password details before posting a message, or register here first.