I was just wondering what the general consensus or your preference for chain size and type for the 261 CM They usually come with .325 chain in them, the reduced kickback semi-chisel, ( green label). I am still running the green .325 semi-chisel. And actually it cuts pretty good. But I am tempted to try 3/8 x .050 on it. I hear and read different takes on the 3/8" for this saw. Just curious as to what most people prefer on this particular saw.
In the past someone had a similar post/question. I had a 3/8 on a 550 Husqvarna and now I have a .325 on a Stihl 261. I like the .325. A member pointed out that the 3/8 chain tends to be “grabby” in small brush and limbing . The .325 will cut the smaller diameter smoother. It probably depends on how you use your saw. I use the 261 with a 16inch bar and buck 16 diameter trunks and down, also use to clear small saplings.
Does that take a special bar, dedicated only to 3/8" Picco? What about the drive sprocket? I mean, I know I would need to get a different bar for 3/8" x 50 and a new sprocket. But I don't know anything about the 3/8 Picco requirements.
Being grabby doesn't bother me much, as I run 3/8" on all of my other saws, even skip tooth on small limbs. As long as the rpm's are up, it flies through just fine. Can't go in at an idle and then rev up after you touch the small limb, etc. Well, I guess you can to a degree, but I don't like to do it that way, and it will be grabby.
Stihl has a new .325 narrow kerf chain called RS Pro. I’d try that or switch to a 3/8 picco/lo pro setup. For the latter you’d need to also change your sprocket to 3/8 picco.
Imo you are not experiencing the full potential of that saw with semi chisel. It deserves full chisel ASAP. I am using.325 on mine. The other suggestions may be great too, but I’ve always used.325 on 40-50cc.
I did tons of research over the interwebs and the overall general consensus was .325. Most dealers won't let you opt for the yellow label chain when you buy a new saw but mine did. I run the RM semi-chisel only because of better durability in dirty wood. I do want to try the chain huskihl mentioned but I have a few new chains to wear out first.
I have chain to use up, too. I do like the semi-chisel for durability in dirty wood, and a lot of my wood cutting is dirty, with sandy loam soil that seems to be in-bedded in the trees. I don't like the green anti-kickback Stihl chain all that much, because of dealing with the double thickness of material when filing the rakers. And they are too wide, for most of my raker gages to work.
I run 3/8 .050 on both my 026's. The ported saw does well with the 16" bar, but I ran my son's 261CM with .325 & liked it better. I think I'm get the narrow kerf setup Kevin mentioned & go that route. I don't buck much over 10" wood with those saws. As for the green label chain, if my dealer tried to force that on me I'd find a different dealer.
My dealer only has the green label for the .325 in semi-chisel, but does have one other offering for full chisel yellow chain. What I wanted to get for a replacement chain was semi-chisel, but not reduced kickback green. I may try some Woodland Pro from bailey's. That's one reason I kind of wanted to switch to 3/8 x .050, because of all of the chain choices, available, both locally and online. But I guess if the saw won't really pull it that well, which is the indications I am getting here, I might as well just stay with .325 chain.
I've been running .325 full and semi chisel on my old 026. I pinched the semi chisel in a blown down cedar last week and put on a new full chisel to get it free. It cut awesome with the full chisel. I never run the anti-kickback chain. I looked at changing the saw over to 3/8 so all my pro stihl saws ran the same chain. At this time it's not worth it to me. Still have a good bar and spare chains for the saw. Maybe at a later date it will make sense.
.325 runs well on my MS261. However, I run 0.050 'cuz that's what all my other saws run, but otherwise not my first choice.
I usually buy my .325 chain online from https://www.frawleyssawshop.com/ or his loggerchain site. I run Oregon chain on the 026 so it's easier to tell where the chain goes. Especially when I'm telling one of the kids to grab an extra chain. I don't know the guy but he has a hardware store in a small town in Iowa that reminds me of backwood hardware stores when I was growing up.
loggerchain.net That place has a lot of stuff & they are great to deal with. If you have questions just give them a call, customer service has always been great in my dealings with them. Very prompt shipping also.
I guess I will just stay with the .325 x .063 chain. I bought a couple of Woodland Pro's semi-chisel, from Bailey's, that and the two Stihl chains I have for it will get me down the road a long ways, probably, by the time I wear them out. I am running mostly full chisel on my other saws, and wanted to stay with semi-chisel on this saw.
This is what I was going to suggest... RS Pro. Or RM Pro. I put a RM Pro on my 346 two days ago and it cut fantastic. Read up on the marketing info and read what Stihl says about it. I think it might be considered NK chains. Narrow kerf. I seem to recall that Oregon and another manufacturer have a similar chain. The new Stihl chain I have is 3693 005 0072, 23 RM Pro.
