best saw chain

[Kevin Jenness]

My chainsaw teeth are getting down to "too short to save". What is the fastest cutting chain design for roughing out turning blanks from logs? I had thought that ripping chain would be best but it seems to be meant for a smooth cut rather than speed.

If it matters I have a Husky 353, 52 cc's, .325" pitch. Not as powerful as I would like, but that's an issue for another thread.

[Alex Zeller]

Never really thought about speed. I would guess a full chisel chain that's not a skip. But above all else being sharp is the key. The next thing would be HP. My Dolmar 7900 will cut circles around my Husky 357xp. But you can feel the extra weight. I'm personally looking at getting a battery powered chainsaw for cutting blanks. Often when cutting them I'm only cutting two from one round and I spend more time prepping than actually cutting. My neighbor recently got a Milwaukee cordless and it has more than enough power and battery life to make a dozen blanks with almost no noise or smoke.

[Richard Coers]

I never stand a block on end and make an end grain cut, so ripping chain would be useless for me. I lay the block down and cut along the grain. You really get the stringy shavings, but I clipped off the end of the guard on my Stihl to reduce clogging. I use about any chain except for the safety chain. I also remove a little extra from the raker to pull a thicker curl. I use a Stihl 029 Farm Boss with a 20" bar and a Husky 3120 with a 36" bar. I use a skip chain on the Husky.

[David Castonguay]

I cut about 8 cords of firewood a year and harvest turning blanks out of my wood pile of saw logs when I find an unusual log (like a spalted curly white birch) or good sized log (ash or bitternut hickory or cherry).

I rip saw the log sections lengthwise with the same garden variety .325 pitch chain I use with my Echo Timberwolf saw. The key for me is to use a sharp chain. I sharpen the chain after cutting six logs (12-16 foot long) into pieces to split. I use this type of fixture:

https://www.aawforum.org/community/index.php?attachments/img_2361-jpg.23926/


A sharp chain makes any saw (small or large) cut with less effort and strain on the motor. (It's also safer).

I use a (Pferd) knockoff of the Stihl 2 in 1 easy chain saw file sharpener. It sharpens the chain (while installed on the saw being held in a bench vise) in just a few minutes. Scary sharp results. Just remember to replace the files when they are dull.

Just remember, chain saws are dangerous tools and one must always work with them with caution, confidence and all eyes on safety.

[John K Jordan]

My chainsaw teeth are getting down to "too short to save". What is the fastest cutting chain design for roughing out turning blanks from logs? I had thought that ripping chain would be best but it seems to be meant for a smooth cut rather than speed.

If it matters I have a Husky 353, 52 cc's, .325" pitch. Not as powerful as I would like, but that's an issue for another thread.


I do a lot of chainsawing, both when cleaning up and clearing, prep for the sawmill, and when preparing log sections to make turning blanks. I buy all my chain from Baileys Online. I use these for most sawing: https://www.baileysonline.com/catalogsearch/result/?q=23RC62
I usually buy the bar/chain combos with a few extra chains for each bar. The problem many have is letting the bar wear down too much without dressing it or letting the gap get too wide so the chain is not held straight - that will really slow down the cut and cause lots of problems. (Best to flip the bar with each sharpening for more even wear.)

Years ago I found the low-kickback "safety chains" cut slower so I don't use them. People with limited experience or prone to daydream while sawing may be better off with these chains.

I sharpen the teeth until there is almost nothing left either with an Oregon sharpening machine in the shop or a file in the field. One very important step that some leave out is the depth gauges between each tooth MUST be ground down on most chains as the tooth is ground down since the tooth is angled a bit. If the depth gauges are not reduced in height as the tooth gets shorter the cut will get worse and worse until saw will barely cut or even quit cutting completely. Another trick I almost hesitate to mention is to grind down the depth gauges a tiny bit more than needed but [CAUTION!] although the chain will cut faster it might be very aggressive and much more prone to kickback for the inexperienced. Don't even think of trying this unless willing to experiment with depth gauge height in small increments. Anyone who reads consider yourself warned.

You can buy a depth gauge gauge for cheap - lay it over several teeth with the depth gauge in the groove and file or grind if you can feel it sticking up past the groove. Most chainsaw sharpening instructions say to use a flat file on these but I always use a little grinding wheel on a Dremel.

That said, I recently bought my first carbide toothed chain, a Stihl from Baliey's. It stays sharp a lot longer than a steel chain so it cuts faster longer. A local shop is set up to sharpen carbide but I sharpen it myself with a small cylindrical diamond hone in a Dremel. I just sharpened it for the second time after months of heavy use.

BTW, I like saw with a 16" blade for most things. The one I use the most is a Stihl MS250c. The light weight and short bar make it safer to operate in the woods. It's not nearly as powerful as my big Stihl but has plenty enough power for me - most of the efficiency in cutting is balancing the speed, torque, and pressure (and keeping the teeth sharp!)

JKJ

[Perry Hilbert Jr]

I have a 20 inch Stihl farm boss. I cut wood here on the farm to heat the house as well as to make blanks. My Stihl dealer sells the lo kick back chains and the more aggressive chains. I hate the low kick back chains. too slow and make more saw dust in some woods. Most of what I cut is green and the softer hardwoods. Poplar, red maple, black walnut, black cherry. I can make cross cuts faster, but also if I wish to cut a section in half lengthwise, i tip the piece on its side and lay the saw bar along the same direction as the grain and cut down generally parallel with the grain. What comes out looks like 3 or 4 inch long noodles and it does a great job at cutting those lengths. I also found with my cheap HF electric sharpener, I can change the angle of the tooth slightly to cut faster through green wood. The angles had been set forth on the paper in the package of chain. (BTW I tried Oregon chain in my Stihl, Stihl chain last so much longer. must be far better steel) I changed the angle to slightly more oblique, maybe just 5 degrees and it makes a big difference in cutting green wood.

[Jeffrey J Smith]

I use the same saw as Perry, but use the skip tooth blades primarily for ripping. Ripping parallel to the grain, I find an angle of about 45 degrees keeps the noodles a little shorter allowing them to clear faster. Saw chain used for all cutting with no problems. This saw has been going for nearly a decade without a hiccup.

[Reed Gray]

When I bought my first chainsaw, I went to a local chainsaw shop. They asked me what I was going to use it for, and I told them, and they suggested a ripping chain. Works great, and cross cuts fairly well also. They also told me to use clear premium octane gas in the saw, not the stuff from the pump. Never had problems with the stuff from the pumps, but all my gas running machines really run better with the clear gas. You have to hunt for it though...

robo hippy

[John K Jordan]

When I bought my first chainsaw, I went to a local chainsaw shop. They asked me what I was going to use it for, and I told them, and they suggested a ripping chain. Works great, and cross cuts fairly well also. They also told me to use clear premium octane gas in the saw, not the stuff from the pump. Never had problems with the stuff from the pumps, but all my gas running machines really run better with the clear gas. You have to hunt for it though...

robo hippy

What in the world is "clear premium octane gas" that doesn't come from a pump? Maybe something local to your end of the country? If it doesn't come from a pump how is it sold?

All gasoline I buy looks clear to me. Octane is an anti-knocking/pinging rating, given as a number or range.

For chainsaws and all other small engines I buy pure gasoline with no ethanol added. Around here, non-ethanol gas is all "premium", rated at a higher octane than regular and midgrade, and widely available. I mix with Stihl oil which contains stabilizer.

JKJ

[Reed Gray]

Unleaded gas. Some performance engines need it to perform, and will knock if you put even premium grade gas in them. Husquavarna sells small cans of it, and it is premixed with oil, but kind of expensive, unless you don't use your saw much. I have to go to a Chevron gas station to buy it. My Shell station doesn't carry it. 93 or 96 octane. For what it's worth, there are huge differences between gas stations in how the gas they sell you performs. With my old Toyota Sienna, with Arco, I could get about 310 miles on a tank before the 'get gas' light came on. With Chevron, Texaco, and 76, it went about 360. With Shell, it went 400+/-.

robo hippy

[Ben Grefe]

Reed, do you mean ‘race fuel’? Another rare option out here on the west coast is ethanol-free gas - typically used by boats (ethanol absorbs water, so it’s problematic for boaters). Fuel has been unleaded for a long time in the US by default. Finding leaded gas is tough (I think you can get additives for old/classic cars).

Back to the chain topic, the problem I’m having with my MS362 is that the long spindly shavings get stuck in the clutch/sprocket setup after only a cut or two. Makes me worry I’m going to burn up my clutch setup too quick.

[John K Jordan]

Unleaded gas. Some performance engines need it to perform, and will knock if you put even premium grade gas in them. Husquavarna sells small cans of it, and it is premixed with oil, but kind of expensive, unless you don't use your saw much. I have to go to a Chevron gas station to buy it. My Shell station doesn't carry it. 93 or 96 octane. For what it's worth, there are huge differences between gas stations in how the gas they sell you performs. With my old Toyota Sienna, with Arco, I could get about 310 miles on a tank before the 'get gas' light came on. With Chevron, Texaco, and 76, it went about 360. With Shell, it went 400+/-.

robo hippy

OK, thanks. All grades of gasoline sold here are unleaded. I understood leaded gas was not legal in the US (and most countries) now.

BTW, ethanol-free gasoline is sold at at least 20 gas stations within about 15 miles from me, some quite close.

[Malcolm McLeod]

OK, thanks. All grades of gasoline sold here are unleaded. I understood leaded gas was not legal in the US (and most countries) now.

BTW, ethanol-free gasoline is sold at at least 20 gas stations within about 15 miles from me, some quite close.

Generally, you can go to a general aviation airport and buy Avgas 100 or 100LL. ('100' is leaded; '100LL' is low-lead). It WILL be pricey by automotive standards, but if needed in small (chain-saw) quantities, you may find it affordable/suitable.

I didn't read the entire thread, so may have some of this out of context. Apologies, if so.

[Curt Harms]

Generally, you can go to a general aviation airport and buy Avgas 100 or 100LL. ('100' is leaded; '100LL' is low-lead). It WILL be pricey by automotive standards, but if needed in small (chain-saw) quantities, you may find it affordable/suitable.

I didn't read the entire thread, so may have some of this out of context. Apologies, if so.

100LL still has a fair amount of lead in it, enough to cause spark plug fouling in engines designed for older 80 octane fuel. I've never run airplane gas in a non-airplane engine so no experience. Rumor has it that PT6's (Pratt & Whitney Canada turboprop) will run on diesel fuel though:). I've also heard that diesel VW Rabbits will run on Jet A.

[Reed Gray]

I believe the aviation fuels are much higher octane levels. Not sure what that would do to a chainsaw.

robo hippy

[Ben Grefe]

Generally, you can go to a general aviation airport and buy Avgas 100 or 100LL. ('100' is leaded; '100LL' is low-lead). It WILL be pricey by automotive standards, but if needed in small (chain-saw) quantities, you may find it affordable/suitable.

I didn't read the entire thread, so may have some of this out of context. Apologies, if so.


Malcolm, I didn't know this. Learn something every day...

[Perry Hilbert Jr]

I heard of "white gas"

[John K Jordan]

100LL still has a fair amount of lead in it, enough to cause spark plug fouling in engines designed for older 80 octane fuel....

I was flying one of those airplanes with an engine designed for 80 octane fuel after big oil decided it was no longer profitable to produce. We and others were forced to switch to 100 octane or not fly. I had just taken off and was going through about 400 ft elevation at full power when the engine lost power and started sputtering. Tried all the standard things like carb heat and switching magnetos. Throttled back and made a wide, carefully coordinated descending turn to land downwind on the same runway. Once on the ground the engine revved without a hitch. That was more excitement than I would have preferred.

We were told the 100 octane was causing burned intake valves in similar engines all over including our Cessna 150 Aerobat. Our flying club had the engine rebuilt to work with 100 octane. This was in the second half of the '70s - I don't remember about leaded vs low-lead vs unleaded then.

JKJ

[Keith Outten]

I have had the best performance with chisel chain. This tooth design is easy to sharpen and produces very large chips.

440190

[Kevin Jenness]

Some reading on arborist sites points to full chisel chain cutting faster in clean wood and for boring, but semi-chisel staying sharp longer in dirty/frozen/dry wood and requiring less material removal to regain sharpness when thrashed.

I guess for significantly faster roughing out blanks I should be looking for a more powerful saw.

https://opeforum.com/threads/full-chisel-vs-semi-chisel-chain-performance.19012/








(https://www.arboristsite.com/community/threads/difference-between-semi-and-full-chisel-chain.104430/)

[david privett]

I heard that aviation gas is formulated with extra oxygen molecules in it to make up for the lack of oxygen at higher altitudes any truth to that? and as far as chainsaw fuel goes no alcohol gas and semi or full synthetic oil and I run around 32- 40 to 1 and let it rip on a full chisel chain.

[Scott Winners]

Since the thread is bumped anyway I will chime in. Sharp sharp sharp is number one, when felling firewood I generally touch up by chain teeth every second tank of gas while I am stopped anyway. One of the signatures lines of one of the users here is "Sharp solves all manner of problems" and I agree completely.

FWIW I havew no idea what cahin I use, probably a safety chain, but I do know it is a sharp chain.

Raker height is important. I set use the hardwood setting on mine (husky something) for frozen soft woods, I burn all spruce in my wood stove but like to fell in Feb and March. No mosquitos and less sweating around here then, still below freezing.

I use national brand (Mobil, Chevron, Shell, etc) super unleaded (89 octane or higher) in my Husky saw with no issues, I think I bought the saw new in 2006 or 2007. I mostly use the Husky brand 2 cycle oil in the fuel, though I have a run a few gallons with other brands of 2 cycle oil.

When I see someone struggling with a chainsaw the teeth are invariably dull. Once the teeth are sharp if the saw is down on power check the air filter and then think about accumulated crud in the carb from cheap gasoline. Also check the oiler. Bar oil is way cheaper than dull teeth.

[Kevin Jenness]

Thanks for all the replies. I do keep my chains sharp and oiled, the depth gauges adjusted, bar sprocket greased and air filter clean. I have been using semi-chisel chain. As the wood I use comes from different sources I will probably replace my old chains with one semi-chisel for relatively dirty or frozen material and a full chisel for faster cutting in clean green wood, and keep my eye out for a well-maintained used saw in the 80+ cc range.

[Rich Aldrich]

I have a Husqvarna 365 Special that I bought in 2005. That was when I put in my outdoor wood boiler. I cut about 13 -14 pulpwood cords per year. Plus anything I want for turning. I use a 20” bar, ore chain and bar. The chain is the chipper type with the flat top tooth and goes to a point ( no significant radius). Keep your chain brake working - it is the best advice I can give anyone. I always wear chaps.
My dad, who is 84, still uses his Husky 371 for firewood which is an amazing saw.
My family was in logging from 1935 until 2013. Husky was the go to saw since 1980. By 1996, they were totally mechanized, so chain saw use was less.
I worked for him when I was in high school 1976 - 1980. We never wore chaps. I won’t touch my saw without them now.
To me, the most important thing is having a good professional dealer for service. Stihl hasn’t had that in my area.