Full comp or skip chain on a 460 wearing a 36" bar?

I’m buried in ash but there’s just something I can’t resist about big trunks and oak and that’s both!

 

Road trip for buZZsaw and the 460. Ill help ya out!

 

Running a FS is mainly for things like west coast soft woods that make big chips that can clog the cut. It has nothing to do with size of the saw. Like not for running a 20” or 28” on an 025 when you would normally only run a 16”.
Basically you shouldn’t run any longer with a FS that you would with a FC because the saw is limited as to the amount of oil it can put on the bar if that makes sense. In hard wood I really don’t see any benefit in a skip. It doesn’t make the saw gain more power and you’re not really make the saw run faster if that’s your goal.

 

Ime FS may cut just a touch faster in hardwood, but it sure sharpens faster.

 

I think we pretty much knew how that video would come out. And I certainly don't know, but I would think there are a lot of variables that could enter into it, which might make it more desirable to run full skip, sometimes. If full comp is always better/faster why do they even make and sell full skip? I think probably if the saw is very powerful, and can pull full comp for the bar length and wood species, etc. then maybe full comp is the best choice, but what about a smaller saw using a longer bar? Maybe some people want to run a little longer bar on a little smaller saw, then in my way of thinking, full skip would be better even if it was slower in this case.

And also what if one's cutting conditions are dirty, etc. and maybe you are going to dull your saw anyway in a couple to 3 tanks of gas or less, frankly, I would rather have less teeth to sharpen in this case. I don't carry a stop watch when I am cutting wood, anyway.

I bought a Stihl skip tooth 3/8 x 50 x 72 dl (20 inch bar) chain today, from my closest Stihl dealer. He first handed me a Full comp, and I asked him, "I don't suppose you could make me up a loop out of Full skip, while I wait?" No need to wait, he keeps them on the shelf, in the box, new from Stihl. Someone is buying them besides me, even for a 20" bar!

I put this chain on my Jonsered CS2255 with 20" bar, because I like skip, pretty good. I took it out and did some test cuts with it, in dead oak, and later I cut some dead Black Locust into firewood today with it, to just see how the saw was doing. Skip cut great, and would self feed, and my perception was that it was pretty fast, and pretty smooth. One thing I did notice was that stock Stihl skip tooth seems to cut faster then stock Oregon skip which is what I have on my 261, but the Oregon cuts faster now, after I sharpened it. I like Oregon but that particular Stihl chain was definitely faster out of the box.

Anyway, there is a lot that I like about skip tooth chain, myself.

 

Best thing is to try a loop or two as it's not like you won't be able to use it up.

 

Not really IF. See: Full comp or skip chain on a 460 wearing a 36" bar?