The different widths of my bars and their different lenghts of chain.

I am having trouble understanding why my Stihl CM261 C-M has a wider Stihl 18 inch bar and 18 inch Stihl chain, then my Stihl CM211 with a much less wide Stihl 18 inch bar and a much shorter 18 inch stihl chain.

It must have a lot to do with the bars but why the difference in the chain lengths.

 

Good question

I think it has to do with the saws power???

I have multiple saws with different bar lengths and interchangable. Plus multiple bars lengths for one saw! It gets confusing. I often wish .325 bars could go on bigger saws. Narrow kerf = faster cutting?
Circular saw blades were made narrower years ago.

 

That is a really good answer.

 

Thank you!

My 261 came with a 20" bar that i use all the time. I used it a few times with a 16" bar and liked it better even though the 20" bar is easier on the back.

 

I bought the CM211 with a 18 inch bar and chain normaly it came with a 16 inch bar and chain, then i bought the CM261 it had a 18 inch bar and chain.
Then i decided to put a 16 inch bar and chain on the CM211, when i took off the 18 inch bar i noticed it was different from the bar on the CM261.

 

Wider bar = more straight line stability(not referring about kerf width). The skinny ones typically come on little harry homeowner saws that will be cutting little limbs and such.

 

Follow the money - they can sell more chains!

 

Thats another really good answer can understand this.

 

Yes, it's all about power of the saw, and weight. A wider chain is heavier. More weight needs more power. These smaller saws can lose overall weight by running a chain that simply weighs less. Running a chain that weighs less it can spin it easier. It's all physics. Your not going to be felling a 35" diameter tree with a ms211. You will be limbing with that saw though, and they work very well for that.

 

I notice many who buy large saws like the 462 will have both a 25 inch and 20 inch bar.
For me the weight of the saw is important as i even notice the weight diffenence between my Cm211 and CM261 and it's just a few pounds.
But you have to have the needed power if you intend to get things cut down, so maybe i will have to go to the Gym a lot more this year.

 

The two saws mentioned use different bars. Saws smaller than the 261 use the same bar that is on your 211. They’re made narrower from top to bottom and thinner side to side to save weight and unnecessary strength.

And then the same bar is used from the 261 through the 661. If you were to buy a 462, the same bar and chain combo would work on your 261

 

That is good information i don't get much information from my local dealer.

 

The 20" bar on my 261 will not fit my 361 or 460 as they are .375 chain. Will 362, 462 bar/chain fit 261?

 

The bar will fit the saw, regardless as to whether your sprocket is .325 or .375. All you have to do is switch to a .375 drive sprocket or .325 drive sprocket on your saw to match any bar from a 261 through 661

 

Doesn’t Stihl have 3 different mount sizes?

 

Cut enough wood and you'll need no gym membership to stay fit.

 

Yes. Only the big saws like the 084 and 880 use the large mount. Most are the medium and small mount. The large Stihl ones if you get different brands other than Stihl bars, will have the oiler holes in both large and medium mounts. The large and medium mounts from what I know will bolt right up, just the large have different oil holes if you buy the Stihl bars.

So really not that much different than the 2 for husky.

 

The 3002 large mount stihl bars have a much larger bar stud slot also. I believe the oiler output hole from a smaller frame saw would be too low to get into the slot of the larger bar also. But many of them did have multiple oiler and adjustment holes meant to fit larger Dolmars and other large frame saws.

Top bar is medium Stihl mount. Bottom is large Stihl with a few extra adjustment holes. You can see how much taller the oil hole is in the second pic. 12.3mm vs 14mm slot

 

Great picture, that really shows the differences.

 

Yep. Overall, the large mount bars are about an inch taller then the medium mount