Chainsaw Bar and Blade Recommendations

[BIGNASTY]

Looking for Chainsaw Bar and Blade Recommendations for my little chainsaw I use it to limb trees,Husqvarna 51 with a 16 inch bar an oldie but its been a good-in its got a Oregon bar and blade on it now.



BIG

 

[jgillott]

Is going with another Oregon an option? I have all Stihl saws now, but I've never had a problem with an Oregon bar (other than one I pinched) over the years.

 

[BIGNASTY]

No!! No problem with the Oregon but its been a long time sense I had to change the bar and blade, Just wondering if anything NEW has shown up that could be better.

 

[jgillott]

Like I said, I sort of out of the loop right now since I do everything out of the local Stihl dealer. But I still here people talking about Oregon bars for their replacements.

 

[RobertHiltz]

Oregon bar and chain is what I use.

 

[NIsaacs]

I recommend you just take it to a good saw shop/dealer and have them replaced if needed. Chain length is real important and is easy to get one too long or too short. Also have the drive sprocket changed so all is matched/new at the same time. By changing the drive sprocket the clutch needle bearing can be greased at the same time.



Nick

 

[GCroyle]

Uh BIG,

Is your shoulder still to sore to use your Center Fire chainsaw? It don't need sharpening, just reloading.

 

[jhenderson]

Oregon bar and chain will do you fine. If you have the numbers off the bar and drive link count on the chain as well as the number engraved on the drive link, you can mail order. Out west most people use Baileys' or Madsens'. Both good Co. with good sales people. Look on the web, then call with your questions. A lot of pro users like Cannon bars with Oregon chain but I doubt you need $150 bar. I'm not saying your local shop isn't good, but mail order is convenient.

 

[jgillott]

A little off the subject, but do you guys still sharpen your own chains? I obviously still use a file on them while we are out cutting, but lately I've been taking them to the local saw shop and letting them do them a few times a season. Our Stihl dealer is literally less than 2 miles from our house and he charges less than $10 to sharpen, do a quick clean, adjust the carb, etc. I took a lot of heat on a wood heat forum at one point talking about it, but it hardly seems worth the time to do the work myself for that price.

 

[BIGNASTY]

I recommend you just take it to a good saw shop/dealer and have them replaced if needed. Chain length is real important and is easy to get one too long or too short. Also have the drive sprocket changed so all is matched/new at the same time. By changing the drive sprocket the clutch needle bearing can be greased at the same time.



Nick

Nick I thought changing the drive sprocket would be part of changing the bar (at least for me) I have done it that way for sometime.

Uh BIG,



Is your shoulder still to sore to use your Center Fire chainsaw? It don't need sharpening, just reloading.

No Gary have to get chainsaw going for Son he didn't get up to MT until late in Fall so he had no time to stock up on wood. We told him to come over and get a few cords of wood but he wants to be a hard A** and do it NOW!!! That will change after about a cord of wood to be split cause IM GOING TO CHARGE FOR THE USE OF MY DR RAPID FIRE WOOD SPLITTER:-laf

A little off the subject, but do you guys still sharpen your own chains? I obviously still use a file on them while we are out cutting, but lately I've been taking them to the local saw shop and letting them do them a few times a season. Our Stihl dealer is literally less than 2 miles from our house and he charges less than $10 to sharpen, do a quick clean, adjust the carb, etc. I took a lot of heat on a wood heat forum at one point talking about it, but it hardly seems worth the time to do the work myself for that price.

I use the sharpener that locks on to the bar and uses my Dremel tool with a stone to sharpen in the shop and take a file to the field when cutting.

 

[GCroyle]

BIG,



Be reasonable, don't rent him the DR, let him use the Maul splitter for free, don't be such a hard guy on him!



I'm a strictly amateur saw man that owns a pretty decent saw, Stihl MS290. Actually had a thread here a couple of years ago looking for recommendations. I needed to tune up my chain, never been touched since purchase, Stihl shop was closed on the holiday schedule, no issue. Got out my clamp-on filing jig, right file and went at it, turned out darn good if I say so. Is it worth it, I'm not heating the house, not making $$ of my efforts, but I did get some satisfaction out of sharpening it successfully. Also cleaned out the track in the bar, removed the drive sprocket and lubed the needle bearing, good to go. I'm sure after I get a spare chain it will all be easy, but I tried to figure out my chain type/size/length etc off of the Stihl website, easier to take it in and let the pros tell the amateur what it is.

 

[mfurrh55]

I run a chainsaw trailer for SBTC Disaster relief, i use all Stihl saws,sharpen all the chains with onboard electric sharpener, I prefer the Stihl 390 with the 20 in bar, Up in New York for hurricane , we had to use a 660 Stihl with a 36" bar and chain.

 

[Bill Stockard]

A little off the subject, but do you guys still sharpen your own chains? I obviously still use a file on them while we are out cutting, but lately I've been taking them to the local saw shop and letting them do them a few times a season. Our Stihl dealer is literally less than 2 miles from our house and he charges less than $10 to sharpen, do a quick clean, adjust the carb, etc. I took a lot of heat on a wood heat forum at one point talking about it, but it hardly seems worth the time to do the work myself for that price.

Absolutely! I take mine in to the Stihl dealer too. However, I keep several sets of sharpened chains on hand to change if I accidently hit a barbed wire embedded in a tree when clearing fence rows. Hitting a wire knocks the edge of the chain in a millisecond!



Bill

 

[BIGNASTY]

BIG,



Be reasonable, don't rent him the DR, let him use the Maul splitter for free, don't be such a hard guy on him!



I'm a strictly amateur saw man that owns a pretty decent saw, Stihl MS290. Actually had a thread here a couple of years ago looking for recommendations. I needed to tune up my chain, never been touched since purchase, Stihl shop was closed on the holiday schedule, no issue. Got out my clamp-on filing jig, right file and went at it, turned out darn good if I say so. Is it worth it, I'm not heating the house, not making $$ of my efforts, but I did get some satisfaction out of sharpening it successfully. Also cleaned out the track in the bar, removed the drive sprocket and lubed the needle bearing, good to go. I'm sure after I get a spare chain it will all be easy, but I tried to figure out my chain type/size/length etc off of the Stihl website, easier to take it in and let the pros tell the amateur what it is.

GEE!! I thought come a get 2 or 3 CORDS of wood WAS!! Pretty darn reasonable GARY!

 

[jgillott]

I run a chainsaw trailer for SBTC Disaster relief, i use all Stihl saws,sharpen all the chains with onboard electric sharpener, I prefer the Stihl 390 with the 20 in bar, Up in New York for hurricane , we had to use a 660 Stihl with a 36" bar and chain.

Sounds like you would have quite a few interesting stories. I have 2 361's and a 230CE. I thought the 361 was a strong saw. That 660 must be quite a powerhouse in comparison.

Absolutely! I take mine in to the Stihl dealer too. However, I keep several sets of sharpened chains on hand to change if I accidently hit a barbed wire embedded in a tree when clearing fence rows. Hitting a wire knocks the edge of the chain in a millisecond!

Bill

I'm happy to hear that I'm not the only one. My brother-in-law has the Dremel set up that I have tried, and I end up making more of a mess of them than I do good.

 

[BIGNASTY]

Sounds like you would have quite a few interesting stories. I have 2 361's and a 230CE. I thought the 361 was a strong saw. That 660 must be quite a powerhouse in comparison.







I'm happy to hear that I'm not the only one. My brother-in-law has the Dremel set up that I have tried, and I end up making more of a mess of them than I do good.

How!! do you mess up with the dremel set up ? Thats the reason I got it is that I cant mess it up its pretty accurate way of setting up the correct angle. Now I can ruin a blade with a file if not careful

 

[jhenderson]

If you know how, a file will always give you a sharper chain than grinding. I recommend an Oregon bar mount filing jig to my customers that have trouble hand filing. Even with a pro grinder you must still round file the gullet to leave room for the chip to discharge.

 

[jgillott]

How!! do you mess up with the dremel set up ? Thats the reason I got it is that I cant mess it up its pretty accurate way of setting up the correct angle. Now I can ruin a blade with a file if not careful

I don't know. My brother-in-law does real well with it like you. I only tried it once, but I think I was in too much of a hurry and didn't set it up correctly. I ended up taking the chain to the saw shop and spending the money to have him do it anyway so I just gave up on it.