New to chainsaws - looking for advice

Reading your post, this probably has already been covered, but your chain is dull. Learn to sharpen it correctly and you will have much better success. Also that is a smaller saw to pull a 20" bar, especially cutting wood that's 48" in diameter.

 

Jason your chain is dull and not from cutting wood but from cutting dirt either dirt from hitting the ground or dirt in the bark,in clean wood you can cut for way more then 2 or 3 tanks without sharpening and you don’t need to file rakers on a new chain especially with a small saw like that.Noodling will work that little saw pretty good even with a sharp chain.If your teeth are very sharp and your rakers are 15 to 25 thousands below highest point of teeth you will be good with a little saw like that.I noodle a lot and use 70 cc and up.

 

Yea, I can't stand to noodle with anything less than 70cc, doesn't seem like your getting anywhere fast if it's not that big. I almost exclusively noodle with an 84cc saw .

And yes dirt....even a split second, not even cutting down into ground but just the cutters kissing it, or just one side a half dozen nicking a rock will rock that chain to useless for cuting.

 

first thing, as has already been pointed out is that the chain is dull, very dull. second....dont ask for a more aggressive chain, stick to what is on it....its Oregon BPX chain which fits a new sawier very well. it is a semi chisel chain which is more forgiving on dirt or punky wood and also for an inexperienced person to sharpen. get a couple extra chains....go to your local saw shop and ask for 20BPX078G, should run you around $20, sharpen by hand a few times then swap chains, when all the chains are dull take them to a local shop to have them sharpened on a grinder to get all the angles back in check. And you said the tree is hollow which means rotten or punky wood in the middle, that dulls out a chain fairly fast so dont be surprised when the chain needs sharpened every tank of fuel or even halfway thru a tank of gas.

 

I have a cs 490 also I didn't keep the original chain on long it was ok but it is a Oregon safety chain input a Carleton chisle chain on mine and it made a world of a difference mine is the 20 inch also 325 pitch and I believe 78 drive links

 

Being new to chainsaws stick to the basics. As fordf150 mentioned the chain you have will work just fine and is more forgiving against kickback. Get a proper size file and learn to touch up your chain to keep it sharp. Be mindful when cutting to avoid hitting the ground near the end of your cut. I normally touch up my chain at the start and can cut all day without problem. As you gain experience you can move to a more aggressive type chain and look at some easy modifications to improve your saw's performance. Glad to know you are using PPE's and welcome to the club.

 

As a guy who tends to be very impatient with fine work, such as keeping a good angle on saw teeth I like to touch up my chain every time I fill the fuel and bar oil. I also got a file holder that has the proper angle for my chains inscribed in both directions. I find that a couple quick passes at each fueling helps me keep the geometry intact longer.

 

I just recently purchased a Pferd file system through Amazon, should be getting it Mon or Tues.
Can't wait to see if it's really that good.


I don't always knock down the depth limiters on every sharpening, usually only when I can really notice less bite.
But, I pride myself on my procrastination skills.

 

Hollow trees such as yours usually have decaying wood inside. Actually turning into dirt. They can dull chains in seconds.
As everyone else has stated, a chain can go from sharp to dull with just one little mistake. Touch anything but wood and it’s over.

 

50-60 ft maple 4 ft across is probably a 100 year old tree..being a yard tree I wonder how many boys built tree houses and I'll bet it's had a few garage sale signs nailed to it....so watch out for nails...good time to learn how to sharpen a chain...it's not hard...anyone should be able to figure it out...just lay the round file in the tooth and it will become apparent...drop the rakers using raker gauge...lots of good videos out there...

 

Welcome Rainierrifleco! Not sure if I missed you in the intro thread or not but either way it's good to have you!