Growing up a suburban rat I never had much to do with chainsaws. Oh, we sawed firewood all right, but it was always by hand. When we had big stuff to cut, Dad would bring out the 2-man saw with the inch-long teeth.

So here I am, 58, without much knowledge of chainsaws. I bought my first one 15 years ago, A Poulan 620 with an 18 inch bar. I got fairly handy with it cutting down red cedars around the farm. However, outside of running it safely, I never really got down in the weeds with it. Instead, I had O.T.

O.T. was my buddy. He ran the mower shop on the next ridge. If I needed a chain sharpened, I'd just put it in a margarine dish and drop it off at the shop with my name on it, and come by the next weekend and pick it up. O.T. liked the business. I liked O.T. That became the beginning of a friendship that lasted for over a decade.

O.T. went blind three years ago and had to give up the business. He died last winter. At first I just put the chainsaw up on the shelf and got my sons to cut me some firewood. However, I've gone through the pile, and my youngest graduated high school, and it's time to face up to the fact that I still don't know how to sharpen a chainsaw.

I've also been digging around, and I'll be deuced if I can find all the chains. I had three for the Poulan, and can only find one. I have Dad's electric saw as well, and Dad hid his chain so well, it's been 5 years since he died and I still can't find it. I need some schooling in how does one buy the right replacement.

Once again, I turn to my crazy uncles on the 'Campfire and confess my ignorance. Please turn me towards the light.

this will go on for pages

If the saw shop is any count at all just tell them you want a couple chisel tooth chains for a Poulan 620 w/an 18" bar. As far as sharpening them goes either get someone to show you or You Tube it. Hard to explain how in words. Also you may want to let the saw shop take a look at the sprocket on your saw.

Harbor freight sells a machine to sharpen chains. A friend of mine has one and says it does a great job.

Usually you can look on the chain links and get the size, count the links and you know what to buy, when replacing a chain. Any decent saw shop can look at your chain and cut you a replacement off the spool.


http://www.harborfreight.com/catalogsearch/result?q=chain+sharpening

Ok, lets be honest Shaman. You're writing a book and need info for your KY Chainsaw Murders mystery. Right?

Hmmmm. Now that's an idea!

Take your saw to a saw shop, and they'll match a new chain to the existing bar. You may need a new bar, or your old one reground so both edges are even. Turning your bar over once in a while extends the life of the bar.

Full (square) chisel chains cut like a sumbee, dull quickly, are very difficult to sharpen properly.
Semi chisel doesn't cut quite as fast, is the most popular, and much easier to sharpen.
Safety, or low kickback chains cut the slowest, but are a good idea for top handle and small very light saws, 45cc's and smaller.
Those are the basic chains types, but there's a ton of variations. I free hand sharpen my saws, and once or twice in the chain's lifetime I'll take it in to shop and let a pro do it, straightening up any of my screw ups......

Check Baileysonline.com, they have a chain selector that will match a chain to your Poulan. If you don't do much cutting take the chain to a saw shop to have it sharpened and they will file the rakers if they need it as well.

I second alpinecrick's post on chain. Run a semi-chisel and it won't dull as fast.

invest in a new bar and flip it every time you swap the chain.

I run stihls, 026 Super, MS460 and MS660 but your Poulan will keep serving you fine for what you described.

And buy a couple extra chains so that when you're in the middle of working and the chain goes dull, you got extra to quickly swap out and keep after it. Get two dull and then get them re-sharpened for next time.

I saw the thread title so I automatically know the answer is "get a Husky".

Get a file guide and You-Tube is your friend, I didn't have these types of things passed down either as dad was a townie businessman and had to learn on my own once I knew having land to roam on and heating with firewood was the lifestyle I wanted.
If I notice mine getting dull I can hand sharpen nowadays and get them fairly sharp if I don't let it get too dull prior.

Have it professionally sharpened at the start of each season to get everything right again. Then touch it up as needed through the season.

Once you figure out your chain pitch (0.325" or 3/8" links) and # of links on the chain, you can buy replacements for filthy cheap from a number of online sources. I like buying from bailey's, because they send you their catalog every now and then with all kinds of cool stuff to look at.

If you owned a saw that runs 72 drive links of 3/8" pitch chain, then you can get replacement loops of Oregon chain online for $10 or less if you look around. That chain size fits Stihl's 20" consumer saws. Similar story with 84 drive links on a 24" stihl bar - chains are dirt cheap.

Brand of chain (Oregon, Stihl, Carlton, Bailey's house brand) is a worm can of a discussion. You'd be just fine with Bailey's house brand.

Full-chisel cutters with a square grind are tough to sharpen by hand, so avoid that type. Full chisel cutters with the round grind and round chisel cutters can both be easily touched up by hand. The full generally cuts faster but is more sensitive to dulling from dirt or hardness of the wood. I have no problems in the pacific NW cutting alder/birch/maple with full chisel, but none of that is as hard as other woods across the country. I don't see a need for safety chain of any kind, but that's just me.

Many chainsaw bars will have the specifications for the chain stamped on the bar. To get a proper sized chain you need to know the pitch of the chain which is the distance bewtween the pins, most common are 0.325", 0.375" (3/8") and .404". Then you'll need to know the gauge of the chain, which is the width of the channel in the guide bar typically 0.043", 0.050", 0.058" and 0.063" and finally the number of links of the chain. So if you have a caliper for reloading you can make those measurements and then order a few replacement chains. Baileys is a great place and I'd order at least 3 loops. For even more info:

https://www.baileysonline.com/PDF/saw-chain-101.pdf

No need to read any further than this. Great advice.

On a related matter, I have been told that you can yank on the starter cord until the cows come home, leave, and come home again, and the obstinate, damned machines (no matter the make) will refuse to start until you move the on/off switch from off to on.

I find the Oregon company site a good one.

Oregon bought Carlton which has Ray and Mike Carlton doing RPMs in their graves I am sure. The other player on the world chain market it Stihl. I have done a lot of comparison testing on the three brands when I worked for Carlton and Stihl always came in last. Oregon and Carlton were neck in heck and I am guessing they still are. I am also willing to bet Bailey's house brand is made for them by Oregon or Carlton.

Shaman I am not sure this is of use to you or whether you even have access to same...but when I got into using chainsaws I joined the Rural Fire Service and had them put me through a comprehensive chainsaw course that dispelled all the half-arsed rubbish I thought I knew.
I am also fortunate to reside in a rural community where just about everyone has done the course and pretty much everyone cuts firewood, so there is no shortage of experience around here to fall back on.

As for chains and sharpening, I got sick and tired of sharpening by hand so invested in a big Oregon chain sharpener and a handful of chains, so now I just change the chain for a fresh one and resharpen at home when I strip and clean the saw.

Along with pulling the choke out and pull till it pops and then pushing in half way. Using high test gas with oil mix helps too.

More good advice.

On a side note I do not know if you guys still get Tiger brand chain down there but it was Made by Carlton just for your country.

You forgot Seafoam.

Here the trick is to use 98...using 91 left me with almost no hair due to frustration and ill humour.

I just use Oregon as it is what my local Husqvarna dealer stocks, I do not like to overthink the issue as it generally sends you chasing your tail with very little gain.

Stihl came in last using what criteria? I've founds Stihl chains to be a noticeably harder than Oregon and Carltons and hence the Stihl chains stay sharp longer. The caveat is that you need a grinder to sharpen the Stihls as a file just doesn't seem to want to make much progress.

Get a Husky.

+1 on the Husky. Back in my timber cutting days in western washington and alaska i ground my chains on a silvey chisel bit grinder and used nothing but oregon full comp chain. The stihl chain was easy to burn(blue) unless you used a waxed stone. The full comp was alot smoother and easier to bore into a log when you were bucking it. I prefered 63 guage 3/8 chain over 58 guage because the 58 seemed to fly off the bar everytime you looked at it unless you ran your chain really tight and that was hard on bars and tips. For cutting firewood i would just run skip tooth chain if your hand filing, if your grinding try full comp you'll be amazed at the difference.

I have a 12V electric saw sharpener that runs off of any pickup battery. You buy stones to match your chain. It's much faster than filing and is every bit as accurate.
Fancier ones clamp to the bar like a file jig and are very accurate.

Nobody has mentioned chaps but I think they are a darn good idea.

Thanks all for your responses.

another great chainsaw-woodcutting site is arboristsite.com all chainsaw ans furnace wood cutting stuff

Have you thought about getting a Husky?

I like to decompose the issue into decision factors.

Engine size -

Avoid the very small ones they aren't sufficient for half decent size work.
Their are 3 relevant engine sizes IMO.
26-27 CC, these are the smaller handy saws that work up to trunk sizes.
36 cc class - these are the big limbers and small tree trunk saws and also the start of the bigger width chains.
44 class - this guy is the big tree trunk and stump cutter.
I recommend a 26 to 27 class (261, 271 stihl, or Husq) for most people. If you have one of those and you work on big tree's then I'd go 362 stihl.

Chain size - (basically 3, small, med & large)
Look at it - the width your cutting makes life easier if the pieces are bigger.
There are 3 chain sizes, the pole trimmer, and small chainsaw size, the 26 size, and the 362 size and bigger. It takes more hp to run the wider chains but the oiler is less problematic, and they cut better.

Bar size - Balance, and power is what you want, reach is good but you don't always use it and it can cause you to hit the dirt more often. I have multiple bar sizes for most of my saws.

Chain "bite" - they have non-kick back blades (less aggressive) and more aggressive chains. If you are doing a good deal of work you can buy bulk chain, and a link tool to make the chains to fit your rig. You can ask shop owners to modify your chains for shorter bar sizes... they have the tools, and it's a bunch cheaper than buying new chains.

Brand - In the last decade regulations have changed how the motors are made. Each brand acted differently, and some have higher power per Cc than others. Husq, in the 36cc size seems to have one of the best solutions, but you can't beat the reputation of the stihl 362, all the power line guys clearing big limbs have them for a reason. In the smaller 26 class Stihl seems to hold that with the 261/171, however Echo makes darn good stuff and they are taking a huge bite of that market with thier saws so look at them. The only other one I'd look at is dalmer - German made, and great stuff. Home depot rents them, so if you want to try one, that's a good way of borrowing one.

Chain sharpening is important... tools are good.

Hope that helps

Come on now guys. If I can sharpen a saw by hand while up in a tree anyone can learn to sharpen one on the ground by hand. Just get someone to show you.

And chisel tooth chains are the only way to fly.

Stihl 291 with 20 inch bar might be your best option in a saw for medium to light duty cutting

+1 if you don't want two- that is what I would have done after owning and using the 170, 271, and 362.

Although I'll probably buy a Stihl or a Husky when I move to the farm full time, the Poulan is fine for now thanks. It runs. It makes trees go from a vertical to a horizontal configuration and it makes big logs into little logs. The problem right now is chain maintenance. A full replacement is not envisioned at this time.

BTW: I'd not thought of Hi-Test gas. That's a good trick.

Harbor freight has a chain sharpening machine (wheel) for $30 or so dollars and it gets good reviews. Add a file and faker depth guide and you would be all set to sharpen like a saw shop would.

I have always sharpened by hand and no nothing about electric sharpeners. Do they lower the depth gauges or just sharpen the cutter face?

No need to buy a new saw if the one you have runs when you want it to.

Running a sharp chain and properly sharpening a chain is the key. For dropping the occasional tree, limbing and bucking any old saw will do so long as it runs and has a sharp chain.

Also look up on bar maintenance. If the slot in your bar is wallowed it, it's time to get a new bar. And back to the properly sharpened chain, it'll run straight and lead to long bar life.

Several have sort of touched on it but... my practice is to get a new sprocket and two chains each time. As someone said, flip the bar each time you change chains.

ETHANOL FREE hi test gas.

Good advice....I've found the same thing to be true myself...
Not noticing that the chain break got bumped in transport will also cause difficult starting....

I could not get by without this sharpening jig from Granberg. It is worth more than it's weight in gold. I couldn't sharpen a chain free hand to save my life. This jig makes it sooo easy.

Your chain will last longer using round files too because the grinders remove too much material. The file allows a light touch up before a full resharping is required.



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