50cc CHAIN shoot out - 3 Bars, 3 Chains, 5 Sprockets, and 1 Saw.

I have been wanting to do this one for a long time.

Here's the line up:

3 Bars:

All are 16" 3003 mount bars for Stihl saws 50cc and up. (026/MS260/MS261 and +) The first two are no big deal really, the same bar, one with a .325" nose sprocket, the other a 3/8" . The co-star of this show is the third bar. It's a Rollomatic E 3/8 Picco bar in a 3003 mount. Your dealer probably doesn't stock this thing. But it lets me run Picco/Low-Pro chain on my MS261, which would otherwise be difficult to do outside of a hard-nose bar.

3 Chains:

New outta da box .325 RS (26RS-67)
Freshly sharpened 3/8" RS (33RS-60) with 95% of the cutter remaining and the rakers untouched. Factory specs on the grind (30/60)
New outta da box 3/8"P (63PS3-60) -- Ok, I actually started out with a loop of 63PS3-62 and had to cut 2 drivers out of it to make it fit.

5 Sprockets:

Now, the 026/260/261 is one of few saws that use the 3003 (first four of the part #) mount bars AND the mini-spline clutch drum. Stihl only makes 3/8P rim sprockets in the Mini format so don't go thinking you can run this exact setup on your MS460. Nuh-uh. Sorry cuz. Here are the sprockets I gathered:

.325" Mini in 7 and 8 pin
3/8" Mini in 7 pin
3/8"P Mini in 7 and 8 pin

It's worth noting that the .325" 8 pin and the 3/8"P 7 pin are nearly exactly the same overall diameter. So your chain speed will be equal running either of those two sprockets. .325" 7 pin was the smallest diameter by FAR and the 3/8" 7 pin was a tad smaller than the .325" 8 pin. The 3/8"P 8 pin was the big 'un of the group.


1 Saw:

My stock MS261C-M of course. Which was an excellent powerhead for this test as it has lots of torque for a 50cc and so the results in the video would be amplified for powerheads that are not as torquey or smaller cc. You guys drooling over the new MS241C-M and Husky's new 543XP should be paying attention to this test big time.





Did y'all just see what I just saw?

 

It was obvious half-a-second into the cut which chain was gonna win. Watching and editing the vid afterwards, confirmed what I felt.

Let's see what others have to say before I spill the beans.

 

The .325 and 3/8 were closer than I thought they would be. But the difference in available torque is quite obvious to me with the saw in my hands. The 3/8ths def. loaded the saw a bit more. The video goes to prove that while the 261 certainly has the grunt to pull 3/8" on a 16" bar like that, it won't do it as well as the other options. The 3/8" 7P was the slowest run of them all IMO. There are other reasons to dislike 3/8" on this size saw too. In smaller, twiggy wood, 3/8ths will grab and bind the saw more than .325 and a lot more than 3/8"P. In bigger wood, especially with longer bars or the nose buried, the extra power consumption will be more apparent.

 

Hedge, I'm going to do some supporting photos of all the gear tomorrow. Part numbers, whole bit. Especially that bar.

 

It also mattered how much pressure was on the saw. I did my best to let them all self-feed consistently but I am only human. The lack of torque was pretty apparent with the 3/8ths 7P and the 8P .325. If I had to pick one setup to run here, it would be the Picco 7P. Maybe the 8P on this saw if I was exclusively in small wood. (6" and under?)

 

Actually, the smaller chain cuts the fastest here. (PS3). As soon as I hit the wood with that chain and the 7 pin, you could tell. The chain was heaving chips, the saw was revved up into its happy place, and the cookies were dropping fast.

 

Wowzerz! ! !

Now that is how chainsaw videos should be! As always, top notch production brother!

 

I hope you understand I am buying the house next door and moving into your workshop....