@@GuiltyofTreeson I really enjoyed the World's Best tree felling video and I've rewatched that a few times. It would be awesome to watch another version of that to highlight the more nuanced decisions that are made when felling complex/hazardous trees. Whatever you end up doing, moreover I appreciate all the work you put into this channel, the dynamic/energy you all have and the informative content. Thanks!
@@GuiltyofTreeson I would enjoy a video including some of the old Eastside crew doing a tree removal together perhaps as a side hustle, I can kind of relate to Inbred as I think he is more old school.
I would like to add something about tree felling techniques especially with taller or larger diameter trees. I learned from an old school timber faller and I was taught to always stay level with your face cut as far as power head and bar. We’ve had lots of “experienced cutters” and I rarely see people consider it…not calling anyone out here or in particular! Just my two cents and hope it can help some people!
@@GuiltyofTreeson would be nice to have a video about choosing powerheads as you have mentioned in the video. Some of your viewers may be here just for the content and your nice voice (I have been such viewer for many months) but be to scared by the variety of different brands, variants or accessory (dogs, full-wrap handles, bars, springs,..). Information regarding various specs would for sure be welcome not only by the new guys (difference between power and cylinder capacity, recommended application, weight, weight distribution with different bars, some safety features, summer/winter switch and m-tronic carbs on the new Stihl models etc.). Looking forward to see all the new videos (as I have already seen every single one).
Best teacher I've ever had. I've learned more from your videos than I have from working hands on in the tree service industry with a bunch of rude guys who expect you to already know everything and shun you for asking questions
It’s just part of the game man.. don’t puss out and take it the wrong way. Every industry is the same. The FNG is gonna get shit on and talked about or maybe even cussed daily but if you keep come n back they get the hint they can’t run ya off and let up or actually let you ask questions without throwing something at ya. But if you cry n bitch about being treated badly you may as well quit now…. It won’t work out. Not being mean or trying to hurt your soft hands just telling you truth. It’s better to watch and learn than ask when your the FNG. I never treated my FNG’s the way I was treated but it takes twice as long to find a good employee the nicer you are out of the gate. Just the way things are working with all dudes.
I've found that a lot of guys that are dicks about "sharing information" don't actually know the reasons behind why they do what they do. They just do what they were taught without bothering to find out the "why". Master carpenter, master HVAC Journeyman, iron worker, oil and gas feilds... Every trade, same thing. There is some gate keeping that goes on but once they know you're there for more than just a paycheck, doing just enough not to get fired, the guys who know the why are generally more than happy to impart their knowledge because they understand doing so makes their life easier.
Thanks for doing this video. It is the best and most comprehensive explanation of chainsaw chain dimensions and characteristics I have found. Many people selling chainsaws or working with them expect everyone to already know this information, and do not seem really patient in explaining it. It is great you took the time to do that.
thanks, very interesting representation about chains, very useful information for those who cut different types of wood, especially the round sharpening holds up better in dirty woods. many experienced people know that no matter how sharp the chain, if you cut a single piece of log soiled with dirt you immediately feel the difference in the next cuts.
Excellent video. One of the best and most comprehensive I've seen on this subject. I now feel like the mystery surrounding chainsaw chains has been removed. The take away for me is that in order to improve cutting performance - on any given saw that you have in your hand which already has a predefined sprocket, bar tip wheel and gauged bar - the only real chain choice (aside from brand) for a user is full house or skip tooth, round or square chisel and low profile or full size cutters. THANKS A BUNCH !!!
I was just thinking today that I hadn't seen a video from you in a bit. Good video for the newbies, I will note that 0.058 gauge is more of a husky thing in the 20-30" bar range. Also, 0.325 pitch is a thing that I did not see talked about as an intermediate between 1/4 and 3/8, plenty of saws in that 14-18" range than run this in between size. I would like to see a how to pick a saw video as well
I have a Zenoah GZ4500 that runs .325. It was an almost brand new saw when I bought it at a local pawn shop but the owner said it was screwed up so he gave it to me for $20. I took it home and checked the sprocket because it ‘cluncked’ when the chain was moved. Further investigation revealed that it had a 3/8 bar. Bought a .325 bar and chain that it called for and it runs like a champ
"How to pick out a chainsaw" would be cool. "Everything you can find at Madsens and how to use it" would be even way cooler. (and free advertisement for them) I really, really want to go to Madsens some day. I wish there was something like it down in California.
Chainsaw chains and bars was the first thing I jumped into before I got into building power-heads. Interesting how many people I've met in tree work who don't know about the various types, profiles, and terminology for chains.
These tech videos save us folks that don't have loggers and arborists to hang out with a tremendous amount of time and dollars learning expensive lessons. I doubt I'll be going full Jed with the square files any time soon but I thoroughly enjoy seeing a dense stream of large chips flowing out of the saw rather than the dust I had been making 😅. The saw likes it a lot better too, so much so that in spite of my safety 3rd motto I wear my chaps religiously. Big thanks man!
Knowledge is power. Thank you for sharing. I use a 251, cause I'm a property owner, and just need something to clear my property. But, I love the hotrodded saws, because I'm a hotrodder, and power is cool. Thank for the info, helps me make my decision on my next saw.
Thank You for making this video with all the chain & bar examples. Now I know why I was confused before! Your video greatly greatly helps me in searching for a replacement chainsaw bar and chain!
Good job! I was always told that one of the reasons a semi- and full-skip chain works so well on large diameter wood is there is more room in the cut for chips on the way out. Works that way with machining metal, anyway!
Used a cordless makita chainsaw for some time now doing a bunch of brush cleaning and some around the house tree cutting. It came with oregon safety chain. Got stihl chain without saftey rakers after i messed the oregon chain up hitting a piece of rebar inside the tree and noticed it cuts way faster and my batteries last logner with it too
Great video! Im definitely more on the ProHo side of things and have begun wanting more knowledge. I’d read things like “skip tooth” and “go with a chisel cutter” and had no idea what they were talking about. This year I got into hand filing my chains and felt pretty accomplished but this opens up a whole new line of information.
Great explanatory video, I do like narrow chain - just cuts faster. The shape of the raker / depth gauge makes a huge difference to boring. So I usually swap chains between felling & cutting if I am doing a lot of either. I like a low profile safety chain for felling, because I use a lot of bore cuts (lots of heavily leaning trees around here & anyway I feel it gives me more control). I really like your demo of how the two parts to the safety chain raker works around the tip. But if I have a huge stack of logs to process into firewood, I'll swap to a more aggressive square ground, higher profile, simple raker to cut faster. That chain is a sod for boring especially on smaller trees, but great for cutting.
Great video… dabbled with cutting along time but you explained the parameters of the chain very nicely for me! The more chainsaws you end up with the more you need to know about chain crap!
Thanks a ton, very helpful 👍 I heard skip tooth chain is for clearing shavings out of the cut on big timber. Rather than being used to help small engines run a longer bar. When cutting through really big timber, less cutting teeth means more room for shavings to travel out of the cut, this helps keep the chain speed because its not jamming up with sawdust.
Like this video. As a home owner thisbis supper helpful. I learned more in this video than i did as a puke butt for 13years about chainsaw chains. Thanks for the class!
I have really appreciated this video! Thank you very much! Those of us that are bitten by the tree cutting bug will always enjoy learning more and more. So, thank you!
I needed to see this a couple days ago. I just took the old chain to the hardware store and told them give me another one. I'm determined to learn more, so I don't have to depend on someone else.
BTW, I would like to see ALL of the inventory that is NOT in the catalog or online. A saw inventory would be great, especially what bars that they have, especially ones that they would ship, because I live in Arkansas. I do business with them when I can and have probably spent close to $1K with them but I don’t have a “reasonable” close connection to them. I just like how knowledgeable and personable that they are. Good job Josh & Madsens
Thank you Jake. I will watch several times to get it down. Deeply appreciate all your educational Videos. You don't see much on this subject. You have saved me alot of time on having to beat my Brains out digging for information.
I do a fair amount of tree cutting, mostly for people that I know or helping out after a storm. I've been using the big store brands and not pro saws for 40 years because I heat my house with wood. When I go into a pro saw store I think, I could buy two or three for this price. I know how to keep my saw chain sharp and have actually out cut some guys with pro-saw right next to them. I'm interested in one or two, but I need that push. I want you to do a video on different saws like you suggested that will push me two to three, or five hundred dollars more to get the optimum saw for my needs. I have all the liming saws I need. I need midsize bucking and felling saws that will pull 20- 32 inch bars, stock. The couple of seconds advantage of a hot saw doesn't matter to me, so I want one out of the box that will fill my needs. I cut eastern hard wood, Oak, Cherry, Gum, Maple etc., and there usually 18" to 40"in diameter. I'm sure you've got an idea of what I run into, where am I at De., Md., Pa.. Enlighten me with what's out there and why I should not be such a tightwad, when it comes to buying a power saw. Loved your video's for a few years now, so I'll be looking for more great ones to come. I thought the above might give you a perspective of your average follower as myself.
@@tristanconnolly5675 I finally bit the bullet and bought a couple of Echo saws. A590 Timberwolf, and an 1173. I also got a Stehl 291 from a widow for taking down a couple of troubled trees. It was a mess and didn't run, but after about 6 hours of TLC, it runs and looks like new. I run full chisel chains on them and all three of them are beasts in the wood. It's not fair to compare a 42cc. saw against any of them because it's not apples to apples. No matter what you've got, keep it clean and keep it sharp and you can get done what you need to get done, it just takes a little longer.
Know my way around chain, but enjoyed your video, I would like to see a saw selection video. One on safety and climbing gear would be nice too, On that note I liked your 'inventory' video, but wanted to know more about some of your gear. Madsens is ok in my book, even more so since they let you film there. Gotta get them over the camera shy thing though.
@4:42 some people and manufacturers use mm. for example, 0.050 inch = 1.27 mm, rounded to 1.3 at @5:12 but pitch refers to the distance between sequential first rivets/2 = "a/2". @6:48 pole saws/pruners generally have small engines and small chains. a third number relevant for chain specification is for drive links, the number of points on the interior of the chain that fit into the bar (at a particular gauge). in general, great review!
Pitch is the distance between 3 revits divided in half... first this is america! We use fractional inch not metric milliliters. Thats why i buy flotation tires as mesured in inches not regular tires that mesure in mm n percentages like the rest of the communists!
This video is incredibly informative! I really appreciated the breakdown of chainsaw chain specifications, especially the differences between pitch and gauge. It’s fascinating how much thought goes into choosing the right chain for different jobs. What’s your favorite chain type for general use? I’d love to hear your recommendations!
Sooooo...great video, really important for people to understand the differences especially if they have more than one saw or start running different bars. Think this is a huge topic but could have been useful to mention (not trolling); ▪Some chain manufactures (i.e. Oregon) code stamp the drive link to id the gauge (gage US spellling?) and pitch the chain is ▪A chainsaw chain gauge card is really handy way to possitively id/measure a chain and bar specs (Oregon makes a really good one) ▪Safety chain definetly reduces 'kickback', but effects the cutting performance, increases chainsaw maintenance time and hinders advanced cutting techniques (like bore cuts).....advisable for untrained/inexperienced operators = 90% of TH-camr content ▪ chain and bar maiintenance is really important (could be whole separate video)......at least mention how to run in a new chain, storage and cleaning ▪length of chain can be dependent on bar type so not every 20" bar will run the same length chain.....count chain length by the drive links and it is stamped on bar.....so three important numbers to know gauge/pitch/number of drive links ▪some aditional general reasons why you might you use different types of chain i.e. - full house = cross cut, carving, small medium bars - semi skip tooth = medium - larger bars (squeezing a larger bar on smaller power head) and minimise chain maintenance time (less teeth to sharpen) - skip tooth = milling/ripping, or very large bars, again minimises chain maintenance time (less teeth to sharpen) - ripping chain (full skip) sharpened at a flatter angle =10° to reduce rougher cuts not advised to use for cross cuts, chisel tooth can lead to rougher cuts so round or semi round better choice...... and some manufacturers even design ripping chain the drag link to hold onto lube better.
Agreed, chain and bar maintenance would be a great, simple video! Combine it with a different bars video maybe. What's a Rollomatic E vs ES and why does it matter? Light bars vs standard. Sugi, vs Tsumura vs Oregon vs Stihl/Husky and why. Hell, why does my tension always seem to be off once I tighten the lugs if I'm not holding the tip of the bar up. That kind of stuff would be great. Oh, and end-of-day maintenance and cleaning + inspection. Like why is it important to get behind the clutch sprocket cover and clear out all that gunk. Thanks for a phenomenal channel!
I’m learning about chains since I retired diesel mechanic I enjoy cutting wood for daughter in flat land and trees We have tons of misquite trees for free
THIS is VERY helpful! Much of what l learned in the last 40 plus years about chains and cutter teeth l could have learned by watching this video! Thanks l have watched other videos by you l got something from each of those too! Guys are on U tube (knowledgeable guys) Using the term full house, (Does that mean a cutter every 2 rivets?) I think they mean standard! (Is that a cutter every 4 rivets?) Popular brand advertising uses their own terminology! What's more they don't even aknowledge the existence of cutter every 2 rivets chain!
Pitch is half of the distance you pointed out in the video. You can pause the video at 5:12 and see the distance in the stihl book you pointed out was labeled 'a' and the pitch is defined as 'a/2'. So a pitch of 3/8" has 3/4" between the two rivets you pointed to.
Thank you I greatly appreciate all the Intel, I never knew there was that much to chainsaw chains. When you were talking about the teeth of the Chainsaw, mentioning they come in carbide would be good for some people that are beating the Daylights out of their chains by cutting super low into the dirt like myself I know about the sharpest teeth you can buy but other than that I was clueless
.325 pitch is very common as well on homeowner saws. Then there are semi-chisel cutters as well. They have a rounded outer cutting face compared to the square point of the full-chisel cutter. FYI only. Good job!
Tell Madsen’s thanks for the store usage! Amazing shop! Next time I’m in the area I’m stopping by to spend some cabbage! Looks like a saw man’s paradise!
Thanks for the informative video. Would like future Madsen video on selecting a proper saw for various skills\experience levels and requirements of the purchaser. Also, one on their Simmington square grind bench grinders would be cool.
Excellent video very enjoyable and educational… great to see the various samples side by side to understand the gauge, pitch and sequencing info. Well done, keep up the good work.
That's really great info. And yes sharp matters most. I use a 170 and 270 for work. I mostly do my adjusting with file work. I make the cutter tooth face a little steeper but leave a hair extra on the rakes. So I get a quick clean cut without bogging down. Still I hand file every tooth. Little saw is skip and bigger saw full comp. No safety chain crap. Not even on my pole saw. Too damn heavy to cut slow. I just keep guage and pitch factory with the more aggressive cutters
I went there last week while driving back to Sacramento from Vancouver. My wife was sick so I just stopped in for a second to buy a hat. It must be the biggest saw shop in the world.
Went bought chains last week - place I know - they made up a couple from an Oregon roll (who knows what flavour) - seems it a new design - point being, it cuts close to twice as fast as the Oregon chains I was using the last few years - you could mod a saw to within an inch of its life & not gain as much of a speed increase. It also holds an edge insanely well - I have yet to sharpen it & it's still razor sharp after felling & bucking 50, maybe 60 ton of fairly light thinnings - 6" to 10" trees - which involves the chain running in the dirt a lot, just due to the nature of the job. I've run the first chain about 6- 8 hours a day for the last 4 days straight - or close to 30 hours total & it's still as sharp as new, with zero "babying" which I find baffling but impressive. It's also well able to stall the saw out if you don't hold high revs - just due to the sheer bite it has. Which I also like - you want a chain to have proper bite. I'm gonna go buy more tomorrow just as it's so impressive at "working" - and I'm gonna find out exactly what sort of chain they gave me - because that's the chain I want in future, always. More impressive is it's on an absolute screamer of a ported/muffler modded saw wearing a tiny 14" bar - which means very few teeth are hammering around hitting wood a lot - which should murder a chain fast - but not this chain. Very impressed. Kudos to Oregon.
Keep your chain out of the ground! I dont care if your cutting a 1inch round twig your chain touches the dirt you dont know how to use it! You wear your stuff out in the ground but if i saw that with 1 of mg saws youd never touch1 again! Before i had my own work i useto work for a privet tree company n if the saw hit the dirt you were either dropped to dragging brush or fired! No excuse for a chain to touch the ground! I guess your jusy a piss poor user!
wow I never knew that there was so many variations with saw blades. good education on the differences, I knew about the different thickness but not the pitches in cutters.
Thanks that was very informative. I have chainsaws, learning how to get good cuts with them is the trick. I have "twin" pines that have grown together and those get tricky if they're very big. Keep up the good work. Thanks for the content.
Nice vid! Very good explained. I requested this subject for about one or two months ago, so very nice to see this one! Buckin Billy Ray always talks about “full house chain” and that was the reason I would like to know more about it. I didn’t have a clou what he talked about 😂. Thnx for this episode. Looking already forward to your next one 👍
Started a bit awkward, but the mid section with all the numbers crunched in pretty plain and understandable language. Great video. Took some remarks. The only one think I miss is probably bar length versus number of chain links marked there, as that's another number you need to know (besides pitch and gauge) IMHO. But still great video. Thank you.
Perfect. It's good to get an visual and number breakdown of the types and sizes of chains, their applications and their limitations. Yes please to powerhead walkthrough at Madsens, it'll dovetail into this post about chains.
Good information. I think the only thing you didn't really touch on...2 things. Different cutter options on the specialty side such as carbide. Also, when I first got into cutting, file size was confusing.
I've heard from an old retiree of logger/arborist that the .63 gauge transfers bar oil more frequently and faster than a .50 gauge. I've always run the 0.63 gauge chain skip And it is more robust let's chances of flexing the chain bending it and pinching it I also run the low profile .43 on my top handled saw
Thanks for vid. Homeowner diy person. Got a battery saw. Was angry to find how fast chain got dull. No, did not bury it while cutting guys. Anyways, funny. The quiet voice made you seem like a spy. Nice to learn the terms thanks so much. Wow what a cool channel name. I knew it was targeted and not some stupid review channel when I saw it.
When my saw needed a new chain, I was dumbfounded as to what chain it needed. Thankfully, I managed to research my model of the saw and found the chain that is required. Luckily, after checking every store in my area, I managed to finally find one store that carried that specific chain. Without knowing the spec of the chain, I would have been lost.
Typical bar rail sizes for Md-Lg Husky would be .050 and .058 and Stihl .050 and .063. Might be some confusion on tooth shape rounded semi chisel vs square full chisel and the way they are sharpened square vs round which are two different components of the same cutter. Round cutter the transition from the side of the cutter to the top is rounded and square cutter the transition from the side of the cutter and the top is a 90-degree square. Least wise that was the way I remembered it was explained to me 45 odd years ago could be my addled old brain doesnt remember as well anymore.
Ahh the world of bulk chain one day it will click and it will all become simplified just keep on studying it can be confusing but one day I was doing what your doing at my store shop and it went off like a light good luck an good topic of choice for the video people often don't have a clue there are different size chains
I don't know if that has been commented before, but if you make your own chains, you actually have to have different tie straps for a 3/8 and a 3/8 LP. the holes for the rivets of an LP are slightly smaller and a regular 3/8 link will not fit. I have seen Stihl sell different sprockets for 3/8LP as well but I don't know if this really matters as the pitch is actually the same. some people say the drivelinks of a regular 3/8 sometimes go deeper in the sprocket than with an LP as they vary in size. not sure though.
The safety chain is designed to significantly reduce kickback from the top quarter of the bar tip and as a result essentially eliminate the ability to use a bore cut in falling and bucking.
Well I'm a big fan of 404 - I think it have some benefits. When delimbing, the cut is much larger so your bar dont get stuck so fast. Also you have a bigger teeth, so the chain will wear out not so fast. 404 cuts also faster and smoother. I run 404 on a ported Stihl 461 with a 20" bar. It work pretty good with this setup. I ve to say that I'm a European logger, so we don't run long bars like the US logger does. 20" or maybe 24" is the largest length you will see in regular logging. Mostly is done with 15" to 18".
How about talking about the different type of bars like standard, pro, and light bars and how to change the bar tip and turn over with every chain change
Fantastic video, I learned so many things. Their store looks like a super overwhelming place to visit. A how to pic a chainsaw to fit your needs would be an amazing video for you to do. Keep up the great work
The skip tooth is good too on long bars because in a cut the tooth that cuts has to drag its chip through the cut. Having less teeth means it would have to drag out so much chip. Give a bit more chain speed. Also husky saws run a lot of 0.058 chain. And then there is 325 pitch. Good video thanks.
You can also keep your saw sharp by doing all your dirt cutting with someone else's saw….
😂 good advice
Amen!
I'll have to remember that.
Dirty butt brilliant!
This is why I NEVER lend out my saws!
Really appreciate these comprehensive guides like this, square filing, tree felling techniques...keep up the good work!
any recommendations of videos you’d like to see?
@@GuiltyofTreeson I really enjoyed the World's Best tree felling video and I've rewatched that a few times. It would be awesome to watch another version of that to highlight the more nuanced decisions that are made when felling complex/hazardous trees.
Whatever you end up doing, moreover I appreciate all the work you put into this channel, the dynamic/energy you all have and the informative content. Thanks!
@@GuiltyofTreeson I would enjoy a video including some of the old Eastside crew doing a tree removal together perhaps as a side hustle, I can kind of relate to Inbred as I think he is more old school.
I would like to add something about tree felling techniques especially with taller or larger diameter trees. I learned from an old school timber faller and I was taught to always stay level with your face cut as far as power head and bar. We’ve had lots of “experienced cutters” and I rarely see people consider it…not calling anyone out here or in particular! Just my two cents and hope it can help some people!
@@GuiltyofTreeson would be nice to have a video about choosing powerheads as you have mentioned in the video.
Some of your viewers may be here just for the content and your nice voice (I have been such viewer for many months) but be to scared by the variety of different brands, variants or accessory (dogs, full-wrap handles, bars, springs,..).
Information regarding various specs would for sure be welcome not only by the new guys (difference between power and cylinder capacity, recommended application, weight, weight distribution with different bars, some safety features, summer/winter switch and m-tronic carbs on the new Stihl models etc.). Looking forward to see all the new videos (as I have already seen every single one).
Best teacher I've ever had. I've learned more from your videos than I have from working hands on in the tree service industry with a bunch of rude guys who expect you to already know everything and shun you for asking questions
It’s just part of the game man.. don’t puss out and take it the wrong way. Every industry is the same. The FNG is gonna get shit on and talked about or maybe even cussed daily but if you keep come n back they get the hint they can’t run ya off and let up or actually let you ask questions without throwing something at ya. But if you cry n bitch about being treated badly you may as well quit now…. It won’t work out. Not being mean or trying to hurt your soft hands just telling you truth. It’s better to watch and learn than ask when your the FNG. I never treated my FNG’s the way I was treated but it takes twice as long to find a good employee the nicer you are out of the gate. Just the way things are working with all dudes.
I've found that a lot of guys that are dicks about "sharing information" don't actually know the reasons behind why they do what they do. They just do what they were taught without bothering to find out the "why".
Master carpenter, master HVAC Journeyman, iron worker, oil and gas feilds... Every trade, same thing. There is some gate keeping that goes on but once they know you're there for more than just a paycheck, doing just enough not to get fired, the guys who know the why are generally more than happy to impart their knowledge because they understand doing so makes their life easier.
@@jeremyfortune7274 SPOT ON !!!
He didn't mention it, but pitch is half the distance between three rivets. It's confusing because it goes from fractions to decimal inch.
Thanks for doing this video. It is the best and most comprehensive explanation of chainsaw chain dimensions and characteristics I have found. Many people selling chainsaws or working with them expect everyone to already know this information, and do not seem really patient in explaining it. It is great you took the time to do that.
thanks, very interesting representation about chains, very useful information for those who cut different types of wood, especially the round sharpening holds up better in dirty woods. many experienced people know that no matter how sharp the chain, if you cut a single piece of log soiled with dirt you immediately feel the difference in the next cuts.
Excellent video. One of the best and most comprehensive I've seen on this subject. I now feel like the mystery surrounding chainsaw chains has been removed.
The take away for me is that in order to improve cutting performance - on any given saw that you have in your hand which already has a predefined sprocket, bar tip wheel and gauged bar - the only real chain choice (aside from brand) for a user is full house or skip tooth, round or square chisel and low profile or full size cutters. THANKS A BUNCH !!!
I was just thinking today that I hadn't seen a video from you in a bit. Good video for the newbies, I will note that 0.058 gauge is more of a husky thing in the 20-30" bar range. Also, 0.325 pitch is a thing that I did not see talked about as an intermediate between 1/4 and 3/8, plenty of saws in that 14-18" range than run this in between size. I would like to see a how to pick a saw video as well
I have a Zenoah GZ4500 that runs .325. It was an almost brand new saw when I bought it at a local pawn shop but the owner said it was screwed up so he gave it to me for $20. I took it home and checked the sprocket because it ‘cluncked’ when the chain was moved. Further investigation revealed that it had a 3/8 bar. Bought a .325 bar and chain that it called for and it runs like a champ
261’s in my area come with .325 pitch .063 gauge on them. Cutters are slightly smaller than .375
Great explanation!
"How to pick out a chainsaw" would be cool. "Everything you can find at Madsens and how to use it" would be even way cooler. (and free advertisement for them) I really, really want to go to Madsens some day. I wish there was something like it down in California.
Chainsaw chains and bars was the first thing I jumped into before I got into building power-heads. Interesting how many people I've met in tree work who don't know about the various types, profiles, and terminology for chains.
These tech videos save us folks that don't have loggers and arborists to hang out with a tremendous amount of time and dollars learning expensive lessons.
I doubt I'll be going full Jed with the square files any time soon but I thoroughly enjoy seeing a dense stream of large chips flowing out of the saw rather than the dust I had been making 😅. The saw likes it a lot better too, so much so that in spite of my safety 3rd motto I wear my chaps religiously.
Big thanks man!
By far the best video I have ever seen explaining different chain.
Knowledge is power. Thank you for sharing. I use a 251, cause I'm a property owner, and just need something to clear my property. But, I love the hotrodded saws, because I'm a hotrodder, and power is cool. Thank for the info, helps me make my decision on my next saw.
Thank You for making this video with all the chain & bar examples. Now I know why I was confused before! Your video greatly greatly helps me in searching for a replacement chainsaw bar and chain!
Good job!
I was always told that one of the reasons a semi- and full-skip chain works so well on large diameter wood is there is more room in the cut for chips on the way out.
Works that way with machining metal, anyway!
Used a cordless makita chainsaw for some time now doing a bunch of brush cleaning and some around the house tree cutting. It came with oregon safety chain. Got stihl chain without saftey rakers after i messed the oregon chain up hitting a piece of rebar inside the tree and noticed it cuts way faster and my batteries last logner with it too
Great video! Im definitely more on the ProHo side of things and have begun wanting more knowledge. I’d read things like “skip tooth” and “go with a chisel cutter” and had no idea what they were talking about. This year I got into hand filing my chains and felt pretty accomplished but this opens up a whole new line of information.
Great explanatory video, I do like narrow chain - just cuts faster.
The shape of the raker / depth gauge makes a huge difference to boring. So I usually swap chains between felling & cutting if I am doing a lot of either. I like a low profile safety chain for felling, because I use a lot of bore cuts (lots of heavily leaning trees around here & anyway I feel it gives me more control). I really like your demo of how the two parts to the safety chain raker works around the tip.
But if I have a huge stack of logs to process into firewood, I'll swap to a more aggressive square ground, higher profile, simple raker to cut faster. That chain is a sod for boring especially on smaller trees, but great for cutting.
Great video… dabbled with cutting along time but you explained the parameters of the chain very nicely for me! The more chainsaws you end up with the more you need to know about chain crap!
Thanks a ton, very helpful 👍 I heard skip tooth chain is for clearing shavings out of the cut on big timber. Rather than being used to help small engines run a longer bar. When cutting through really big timber, less cutting teeth means more room for shavings to travel out of the cut, this helps keep the chain speed because its not jamming up with sawdust.
I have nothing to say really, but I appreciate your content, and wish to help with the yt-algorithms.
Like this video. As a home owner thisbis supper helpful. I learned more in this video than i did as a puke butt for 13years about chainsaw chains. Thanks for the class!
Great video, lots if great info for a homeowner/firewood guy like me. I’m always confused about chain I need. Great job explaining.
I have really appreciated this video! Thank you very much! Those of us that are bitten by the tree cutting bug will always enjoy learning more and more. So, thank you!
Great Video Jake!
My Stihl 090G came in 404, so I’ve had it converted to 3/8 making it easier to get bars and chain
I needed to see this a couple days ago. I just took the old chain to the hardware store and told them give me another one. I'm determined to learn more, so I don't have to depend on someone else.
BTW, I would like to see ALL of the inventory that is NOT in the catalog or online.
A saw inventory would be great, especially what bars that they have, especially ones that they would ship, because I live in Arkansas. I do business with them when I can and have probably spent close to $1K with them but I don’t have a “reasonable” close connection to them. I just like how knowledgeable and personable that they are. Good job Josh & Madsens
Thank you Jake. I will watch several times to get it down. Deeply appreciate all your educational Videos. You don't see much on this subject. You have saved me alot of time on having to beat my Brains out digging for information.
I do a fair amount of tree cutting, mostly for people that I know or helping out after a storm. I've been using the big store brands and not pro saws for 40 years because I heat my house with wood. When I go into a pro saw store I think, I could buy two or three for this price. I know how to keep my saw chain sharp and have actually out cut some guys with pro-saw right next to them. I'm interested in one or two, but I need that push. I want you to do a video on different saws like you suggested that will push me two to three, or five hundred dollars more to get the optimum saw for my needs. I have all the liming saws I need. I need midsize bucking and felling saws that will pull 20- 32 inch bars, stock. The couple of seconds advantage of a hot saw doesn't matter to me, so I want one out of the box that will fill my needs. I cut eastern hard wood, Oak, Cherry, Gum, Maple etc., and there usually 18" to 40"in diameter. I'm sure you've got an idea of what I run into, where am I at De., Md., Pa.. Enlighten me with what's out there and why I should not be such a tightwad, when it comes to buying a power saw.
Loved your video's for a few years now, so I'll be looking for more great ones to come. I thought the above might give you a perspective of your average follower as myself.
Nice to know a fellow shopper!
@@tristanconnolly5675 I finally bit the bullet and bought a couple of Echo saws. A590 Timberwolf, and an 1173. I also got a Stehl 291 from a widow for taking down a couple of troubled trees. It was a mess and didn't run, but after about 6 hours of TLC, it runs and looks like new. I run full chisel chains on them and all three of them are beasts in the wood. It's not fair to compare a 42cc. saw against any of them because it's not apples to apples. No matter what you've got, keep it clean and keep it sharp and you can get done what you need to get done, it just takes a little longer.
Know my way around chain, but enjoyed your video, I would like to see a saw selection video. One on safety and climbing gear would be nice too, On that note I liked your 'inventory' video, but wanted to know more about some of your gear.
Madsens is ok in my book, even more so since they let you film there. Gotta get them over the camera shy thing though.
@4:42 some people and manufacturers use mm. for example, 0.050 inch = 1.27 mm, rounded to 1.3 at @5:12 but pitch refers to the distance between sequential first rivets/2 = "a/2".
@6:48 pole saws/pruners generally have small engines and small chains.
a third number relevant for chain specification is for drive links, the number of points on the interior of the chain that fit into the bar (at a particular gauge).
in general, great review!
Pitch is the distance between 3 revits divided in half... first this is america! We use fractional inch not metric milliliters. Thats why i buy flotation tires as mesured in inches not regular tires that mesure in mm n percentages like the rest of the communists!
Thanks for all the wonderful information and time you took to make this episode, this is my second time watching as I’m but a hobbyist,
The "whisper mode" was funny! Madsens is great! It's the only place my wife can get me to go shopping!
This video is incredibly informative! I really appreciated the breakdown of chainsaw chain specifications, especially the differences between pitch and gauge. It’s fascinating how much thought goes into choosing the right chain for different jobs. What’s your favorite chain type for general use? I’d love to hear your recommendations!
I’d love a chainsaw selection video.
Not boring. Good information. Thanks.
Sooooo...great video, really important for people to understand the differences especially if they have more than one saw or start running different bars.
Think this is a huge topic but could have been useful to mention (not trolling);
▪Some chain manufactures (i.e. Oregon) code stamp the drive link to id the gauge (gage US spellling?) and pitch the chain is
▪A chainsaw chain gauge card is really handy way to possitively id/measure a chain and bar specs (Oregon makes a really good one)
▪Safety chain definetly reduces 'kickback', but effects the cutting performance, increases chainsaw maintenance time and hinders advanced cutting techniques (like bore cuts).....advisable for untrained/inexperienced operators = 90% of TH-camr content
▪ chain and bar maiintenance is really important (could be whole separate video)......at least mention how to run in a new chain, storage and cleaning
▪length of chain can be dependent on bar type so not every 20" bar will run the same length chain.....count chain length by the drive links and it is stamped on bar.....so three important numbers to know gauge/pitch/number of drive links
▪some aditional general reasons why you might you use different types of chain i.e.
- full house = cross cut, carving, small medium bars
- semi skip tooth = medium - larger bars (squeezing a larger bar on smaller power head) and minimise chain maintenance time (less teeth to sharpen)
- skip tooth = milling/ripping, or very large bars, again minimises chain maintenance time (less teeth to sharpen)
- ripping chain (full skip) sharpened at a flatter angle =10° to reduce rougher cuts not advised to use for cross cuts, chisel tooth can lead to rougher cuts so round or semi round better choice...... and some manufacturers even design ripping chain the drag link to hold onto lube better.
Agreed, chain and bar maintenance would be a great, simple video! Combine it with a different bars video maybe. What's a Rollomatic E vs ES and why does it matter? Light bars vs standard. Sugi, vs Tsumura vs Oregon vs Stihl/Husky and why. Hell, why does my tension always seem to be off once I tighten the lugs if I'm not holding the tip of the bar up. That kind of stuff would be great.
Oh, and end-of-day maintenance and cleaning + inspection. Like why is it important to get behind the clutch sprocket cover and clear out all that gunk.
Thanks for a phenomenal channel!
I’m learning about chains since I retired diesel mechanic
I enjoy cutting wood for daughter in flat land and trees
We have tons of misquite trees for free
THIS is VERY helpful! Much of what l learned in the last 40 plus years about chains and cutter teeth l could have learned by watching this video! Thanks l have watched other videos by you l got something from each of those too!
Guys are on U tube (knowledgeable guys)
Using the term full house, (Does that mean a cutter every 2 rivets?) I think they mean standard! (Is that a cutter every 4 rivets?)
Popular brand advertising uses their own terminology! What's more they don't even aknowledge the existence of cutter every 2 rivets chain!
Pitch is half of the distance you pointed out in the video. You can pause the video at 5:12 and see the distance in the stihl book you pointed out was labeled 'a' and the pitch is defined as 'a/2'.
So a pitch of 3/8" has 3/4" between the two rivets you pointed to.
Great video too
Would love more videos at Madsen's.
Very informative! I've never seen a chain explanation as quick and complete. Thank you! And Yes to "How-to pick out a chainsaw" video.
Gotta love Madsens. I have bought several saws from them. I really love my 661 that they ported for me.
Thank you I greatly appreciate all the Intel, I never knew there was that much to chainsaw chains. When you were talking about the teeth of the Chainsaw, mentioning they come in carbide would be good for some people that are beating the Daylights out of their chains by cutting super low into the dirt like myself I know about the sharpest teeth you can buy but other than that I was clueless
Yes please... come back for the selection video. That would be a great topic. Thanks for all the hard work you're putting into the channel!
Love this dudes attitude, so laid back, great video stay safe bro....
I like running the husky 3/8 with the bent raker on my Stihl. I think it is a H27. It's a bit quieter in the cut and I think it sharpens easier.
Just for clarification, pitch is the distance between drive links divided by 2. Thanks for this enlightening video!
.325 pitch is very common as well on homeowner saws. Then there are semi-chisel cutters as well. They have a rounded outer cutting face compared to the square point of the full-chisel cutter. FYI only. Good job!
One of the best videos I’ve seen on TH-cam. Thank you!
Tell Madsen’s thanks for the store usage! Amazing shop! Next time I’m in the area I’m stopping by to spend some cabbage! Looks like a saw man’s paradise!
Yes on the saw selection video!
Thanks for the informative video. Would like future Madsen video on selecting a proper saw for various skills\experience levels and requirements of the purchaser. Also, one on their Simmington square grind bench grinders would be cool.
Excellent video very enjoyable and educational… great to see the various samples side by side to understand the gauge, pitch and sequencing info. Well done, keep up the good work.
That's really great info. And yes sharp matters most. I use a 170 and 270 for work. I mostly do my adjusting with file work. I make the cutter tooth face a little steeper but leave a hair extra on the rakes. So I get a quick clean cut without bogging down. Still I hand file every tooth. Little saw is skip and bigger saw full comp. No safety chain crap. Not even on my pole saw. Too damn heavy to cut slow. I just keep guage and pitch factory with the more aggressive cutters
I went there last week while driving back to Sacramento from Vancouver. My wife was sick so I just stopped in for a second to buy a hat. It must be the biggest saw shop in the world.
I'd like to see the saw selection video. I know nothing about Husky. I'd like to learn more about them. Just have stihl.
Well done. This is the best chain video I've seen!
Yes saw videos and file sizes for different teeth and sizes of grinding stones for different teeth sizes. Great video thank you
Man. Thanks for explaining this. Chains and bars have been confusing me for years.
Really good video showing basic info that I needed to understand
You should talk about the sprockets (changing from a 7 to a 6 or to an 8)
Brilliant, informative and well explained. Start at Madsen's front door and work your way through to the back. Would be good set of vids. THANKS 🤗👏👍☘
Yes go back and show their stuff please
This is always a pain. thanks for all this information! I need to get this cleared up with all my saws. Thank you!
Went bought chains last week - place I know - they made up a couple from an Oregon roll (who knows what flavour) - seems it a new design - point being, it cuts close to twice as fast as the Oregon chains I was using the last few years - you could mod a saw to within an inch of its life & not gain as much of a speed increase. It also holds an edge insanely well - I have yet to sharpen it & it's still razor sharp after felling & bucking 50, maybe 60 ton of fairly light thinnings - 6" to 10" trees - which involves the chain running in the dirt a lot, just due to the nature of the job.
I've run the first chain about 6- 8 hours a day for the last 4 days straight - or close to 30 hours total & it's still as sharp as new, with zero "babying" which I find baffling but impressive. It's also well able to stall the saw out if you don't hold high revs - just due to the sheer bite it has. Which I also like - you want a chain to have proper bite. I'm gonna go buy more tomorrow just as it's so impressive at "working" - and I'm gonna find out exactly what sort of chain they gave me - because that's the chain I want in future, always. More impressive is it's on an absolute screamer of a ported/muffler modded saw wearing a tiny 14" bar - which means very few teeth are hammering around hitting wood a lot - which should murder a chain fast - but not this chain. Very impressed. Kudos to Oregon.
Keep your chain out of the ground! I dont care if your cutting a 1inch round twig your chain touches the dirt you dont know how to use it! You wear your stuff out in the ground but if i saw that with 1 of mg saws youd never touch1 again! Before i had my own work i useto work for a privet tree company n if the saw hit the dirt you were either dropped to dragging brush or fired! No excuse for a chain to touch the ground! I guess your jusy a piss poor user!
wow I never knew that there was so many variations with saw blades. good education
on the differences, I knew about the different thickness but not the pitches in cutters.
Thanks that was very informative. I have chainsaws, learning how to get good cuts with them is the trick. I have "twin" pines that have grown together and those get tricky if they're very big. Keep up the good work. Thanks for the content.
Nice vid! Very good explained. I requested this subject for about one or two months ago, so very nice to see this one! Buckin Billy Ray always talks about “full house chain” and that was the reason I would like to know more about it. I didn’t have a clou what he talked about 😂. Thnx for this episode. Looking already forward to your next one 👍
Great video and super informative. Thanks for coming in.
Started a bit awkward, but the mid section with all the numbers crunched in pretty plain and understandable language. Great video. Took some remarks.
The only one think I miss is probably bar length versus number of chain links marked there, as that's another number you need to know (besides pitch and gauge) IMHO. But still great video.
Thank you.
Perfect. It's good to get an visual and number breakdown of the types and sizes of chains, their applications and their limitations. Yes please to powerhead walkthrough at Madsens, it'll dovetail into this post about chains.
Good information. I think the only thing you didn't really touch on...2 things. Different cutter options on the specialty side such as carbide. Also, when I first got into cutting, file size was confusing.
Madsen’s is the coolest store ever, I go there at least once a month. Couldn’t believe the place first time I walked in there.
I've heard from an old retiree of logger/arborist that the .63 gauge transfers bar oil more frequently and faster than a .50 gauge.
I've always run the 0.63 gauge chain skip And it is more robust let's chances of flexing the chain bending it and pinching it I also run the low profile .43 on my top handled saw
Thanks for vid. Homeowner diy person. Got a battery saw. Was angry to find how fast chain got dull. No, did not bury it while cutting guys. Anyways, funny. The quiet voice made you seem like a spy. Nice to learn the terms thanks so much. Wow what a cool channel name. I knew it was targeted and not some stupid review channel when I saw it.
Yes do a chainsaw how to video!!! Great stuff!
Thanks for helping to demystify chainsaw numbers.
When my saw needed a new chain, I was dumbfounded as to what chain it needed. Thankfully, I managed to research my model of the saw and found the chain that is required. Luckily, after checking every store in my area, I managed to finally find one store that carried that specific chain. Without knowing the spec of the chain, I would have been lost.
Typical bar rail sizes for Md-Lg Husky would be .050 and .058 and Stihl .050 and .063. Might be some confusion on tooth shape rounded semi chisel vs square full chisel and the way they are sharpened square vs round which are two different components of the same cutter. Round cutter the transition from the side of the cutter to the top is rounded and square cutter the transition from the side of the cutter and the top is a 90-degree square. Least wise that was the way I remembered it was explained to me 45 odd years ago could be my addled old brain doesnt remember as well anymore.
I love your new channel, Jake. Keep it up.
You explained that really well. Thank you😢
I think these videos are great! Very informative and I think doing a chainsaw selecting video would be cool too see. Thanks Jacob.
Thanks for the explanations. Good topic!
Ahh the world of bulk chain one day it will click and it will all become simplified just keep on studying it can be confusing but one day I was doing what your doing at my store shop and it went off like a light good luck an good topic of choice for the video people often don't have a clue there are different size chains
Nice informative video. Straight and to the point. Good job.
Looks like an awesome store. Yes please do more videos at Madsen's
I don't know if that has been commented before, but if you make your own chains, you actually have to have different tie straps for a 3/8 and a 3/8 LP. the holes for the rivets of an LP are slightly smaller and a regular 3/8 link will not fit. I have seen Stihl sell different sprockets for 3/8LP as well but I don't know if this really matters as the pitch is actually the same. some people say the drivelinks of a regular 3/8 sometimes go deeper in the sprocket than with an LP as they vary in size. not sure though.
I absolutely love this Channel
The safety chain is designed to significantly reduce kickback from the top quarter of the bar tip and as a result essentially eliminate the ability to use a bore cut in falling and bucking.
Yes, pick a saw video would be great.
Ohhhhh.... We need a Madsens here in Vermont!!!!😳😯
Lucky you!!!
58 gauge was pretty common on a lot of old American made saws but is really only used by Husky now
You're a good teacher!
I like your other videos too!
Thank you!
Keep it up.
Well I'm a big fan of 404 - I think it have some benefits. When delimbing, the cut is much larger so your bar dont get stuck so fast. Also you have a bigger teeth, so the chain will wear out not so fast. 404 cuts also faster and smoother. I run 404 on a ported Stihl 461 with a 20" bar. It work pretty good with this setup. I ve to say that I'm a European logger, so we don't run long bars like the US logger does. 20" or maybe 24" is the largest length you will see in regular logging. Mostly is done with 15" to 18".
There is also 0.122" guage chain for some harvesters. On some old chainsaws they'll take 0.500" pitch chain.
How about talking about the different type of bars like standard, pro, and light bars and how to change the bar tip and turn over with every chain change
Fantastic video, I learned so many things. Their store looks like a super overwhelming place to visit. A how to pic a chainsaw to fit your needs would be an amazing video for you to do. Keep up the great work
The skip tooth is good too on long bars because in a cut the tooth that cuts has to drag its chip through the cut. Having less teeth means it would have to drag out so much chip. Give a bit more chain speed. Also husky saws run a lot of 0.058 chain. And then there is 325 pitch. Good video thanks.
Thanks mate appreciate that I was having a bit of trouble myself working at all out good on ya buddy you mate ringer Brisbane Queensland Australia
Great video. Learned something new. Thanks