STIHL --A MORE AGGRESSIVE CHAIN

[ghenges]

The Stihl chainsaw seems good enough, but I miss my old McCullough 10-10 it was rough around the edges, made your hands balloon up and sting from the vibration, blow your ears drums out noisy, BUT it cut like a damnfool.

Researched obtaining an aggressive chain like the ones I had run on the old 10-10.
Purchased one off eBay and installed it, but hadn't ran it.

Stopped in the chainsaw shop to attend to another matter. The great mechanic there saw the chain and asked: "where did you get that chain?"
Sheepishly I said eBay. He said:"well that chain is bent", HUH? was my initial thought. He straightened the improperly installed connecting link.

I said I didn't want to go around you guys but I wanted a more aggressive chain.
To which he replied:"we can sell you that same chain, BUT you will have to sign a hold harmless legal document absolving the dealership of any liability.

I signed the document and bought two more aggressive chains.

The cutting performance difference is absolutely dramatic, It's almost like I have my old 10-10 back again except I can't pull the Stihl out of a pinch without dislocating the suspension rubbers.
One thing has ended though -- no more plunge cuts. This chain kicks back quite easily, but I'll accept the risk to get back the cutting performance I remembered from years ago.

It's sad that everything has to be de-rated and dumbed down just to idiot proof the product.
(I won't be so emphatic about de-rating when this aggressive chain kicks back and takes out a couple of teeth and a chunk of tongue like my neighbor down the road)

 

[xyz123]

I cant believe they had you sign a waiver for chain. Sorry I'm LMAO. Probably just RS RSC chain or RM RMC if semi chisel.

 

[s219]

I'd be curious to know the model number of that chain -- the whole thing sounds a bit fishy to me.

You would have a difficult time plunge cutting with Stihl green safety chain, whether full- or semi-chisel. The anti-kickback humps don't allow the tip to cut too good, so you can't bore/plunge very well. In contrast, yellow chain will plunge cut quite well, but you have to know what you're doing to do it without taking your head off.

They make many other variations, including skip and semi-skip. Both can make the saw seem to be more aggressive, but they have much higher vibration levels and might seem like they kick more.

 

[ghenges]

Here's is the chain for which the dealer had me sign the legal release.

The chain has a yellow link.
The literature states:
"Yellow (caution) marks products with increased risk of
kickback injury. They are for use only by persons with
extraordinary cutting needs and experience and specialized
training in dealing with kickback conditions."

 

[s219]

There's really nothing radical about that chain -- plunge cutting is the only thing it will do better than the equivalent green chain (which would be RS3, where the "3" denotes safety chain). Not sure why they made such a big deal about it -- none of the shops around here bat an eye when I buy yellow chain.

You will find that full chisel (the "S") chain dulls much quicker than semi-chisel ("M") would, so be sure to file it often, especially if cutting dirty wood or bucking on the ground. When it dulls, that will be a much bigger effect on performance than chain type or saw power. I run some full chisel on my longer bars, but prefer semi chisel for firewood cutting, as it lasts much longer between sharpenings, so there's a lot less downtime. On a busy day, I may have to file the full-chisel as much as three times, whereas semi-chisel can go all day long.

For anyone wondering, if you only cut along the length of the bar and never plunge/bore (as would be typical for most firewood cutters and homeowners) you will never notice the difference between green and yellow chain, so you may as well go green and get a little extra safety margin. Yellow is truly for experienced cutters who need to plunge or bore on a regular basis.

 

[94BULLITT]

I have never heard of such a thing.

 

[randy41]

i got one of those green chains when i bought my saw. i used it for a while and it cut real good. but then it acted like it needed replacement so i used my dremel with a little grinding stone and ground off the safety bumps. now it cuts very quickly and i can plunge cut very well.
do they have red chains? they must really cut fast!

 

[sea2summit]

Any saw that has 3.8"^2 or less of displacement by law has to have a safety chain so that's probably where the hold harmless agreement came in.

 

[stuckmotor]

Ghenges,
What model saw are you running that chain on? If you told us, I missed it.

 

[Bud Soda]

A red chain is too dangerous for most to use. I used one a fed times but after cutting through my boots twice I took it off for good.

i got one of those green chains when i bought my saw. i used it for a while and it cut real good. but then it acted like it needed replacement so i used my dremel with a little grinding stone and ground off the safety bumps. now it cuts very quickly and i can plunge cut very well.
do they have red chains? they must really cut fast!

 

[RandyT]

Any saw that has 3.8"^2 or less of displacement by law has to have a safety chain so that's probably where the hold harmless agreement came in.

ANSi standards require that any saw with less than 62 cc or 3.8 cu in, must have a safety chain installed when sold. You can do what you want after that. The reason that the dealer had him sign a waiver is because, if the guy goes out and hurts himself, he can claim that the dealer didn't educate him on the dangers of using that chain on his saw, and would probably win in court.

 

[case245]

why would anybody want less then a 64cc saw i hate anything below 70cc they are to slow for me

 

[Treemonkey1000]

why would anybody want less then a 64cc saw i hate anything below 70cc they are to slow for me

:confused2: I hope you were joking. Who needs 64 cc or better to do limbing and small logs under 14"?Perhaps you are yanking our chain? :thumbsup:

 

[arrow]

why would anybody want less then a 64cc saw i hate anything below 70cc they are to slow for me

Age, size, strength, comfort and a feeling of well being of the operator . All lending to less fatigue and more staying power. Also a big saw with a big bar will cut slower or as fast as a smaller saw with a smaller bar with the right circumstances. For instance, my old 257 with a 16" bar will cut a 15" tree as fast or faster than my 372 with a 24" bar. Technique also comes into play knowing to keep a saw right in its power band when cutting. Then there is modding of smaller saws to increase speed of cut. New saw technology also comes into play. Go try a new Husky 562 and then think if you need a 70cc saw. I hope this answers some of the "whys"

 

[kco]

Same here--my 47cc 30 year old Stihl 028 is more than adequate for the 8 or so chords I cut per year. I've used neighbours' larger saws and much prefer mine. Mine also cuts as well as theirs. The majority of my cutting is is 6" to 18" birch, pine and fir. I don't need anything larger.

 

[arrow]

I cant believe they had you sign a waiver for chain. Sorry I'm LMAO. Probably just RS RSC chain or RM RMC if semi chisel.

I can't believe they are color coding saw chain. Just where is the color?

 

[Bud Soda]

Because a Husqvarna 550 XP is all the saw that you really need Light enough to run with one hand.

why would anybody want less then a 64cc saw i hate anything below 70cc they are to slow for me

 

[xring100]

I also prefer semi chisel on my 20" 361 for the reasons you state. My i have 3 or 4 loops of full chisel for my 25" bar and 1 semi chisel. I only run RMF semi chisel full skip on my 36" bar MS660 because so many of the large trees i have cut up are hollow and full of crap which dulls a full chisel chain in about 1 cut. The dealer gave me an RSC chain on the 36" it sucked i had to go to full skip because the wood chips would wedge the bar into the tree

There's really nothing radical about that chain -- plunge cutting is the only thing it will do better than the equivalent green chain (which would be RS3, where the "3" denotes safety chain). Not sure why they made such a big deal about it -- none of the shops around here bat an eye when I buy yellow chain.

You will find that full chisel (the "S") chain dulls much quicker than semi-chisel ("M") would, so be sure to file it often, especially if cutting dirty wood or bucking on the ground. When it dulls, that will be a much bigger effect on performance than chain type or saw power. I run some full chisel on my longer bars, but prefer semi chisel for firewood cutting, as it lasts much longer between sharpenings, so there's a lot less downtime. On a busy day, I may have to file the full-chisel as much as three times, whereas semi-chisel can go all day long.

For anyone wondering, if you only cut along the length of the bar and never plunge/bore (as would be typical for most firewood cutters and homeowners) you will never notice the difference between green and yellow chain, so you may as well go green and get a little extra safety margin. Yellow is truly for experienced cutters who need to plunge or bore on a regular basis.

 

[NIXON]

I cant believe they had you sign a waiver for chain. Sorry I'm LMAO. Probably just RS RSC chain or RM RMC if semi chisel.

Same thing happened to me at our local dealer . Must be a W. Pa thing .
At first , i thought they were joking .

 

[Bluegill2]

why would anybody want less then a 64cc saw i hate anything below 70cc they are to slow for me

Showing your ignorance again bud. You've never run a good 50-60cc saw!