Got me my first Stihl

I find brand new RS Stihl chain can be a bit grabby right out of the box. It’ll settle down a bit with some use and a few sharpenings.
A 7/32 will work fine till you get to about 1/2-2/3rds of the way back the tooth. Then the 7 won’t give you the proper hook and the 13 will. If you notice, the tooth gets progressively shorter as you go back.

 

Now that you mention it, I zoomed in a bit and I agree. Maybe rocked or hit dirt or metal?

If you follow the almost horizontal line, where I put the arrow the edge of the side and top plate angle down a bit. File all that off.

 

Yep, I see the same thing. The top plate and point are rounded. In addition to being dull, looks like the gullet is all messed up as well......

 

I am getting small sawdust and few chips. I believe it had been sharpened on a chain grinder before I owned it. The rakers were untouched before I took a few strokes with a file. The teeth were worse before I tried to sharpen and a few of the points were pretty bad. On this chain I will address all of that when I get home. All of this gets fixed with new chain. So, can anyone tell me the difference between Stihl Rapid chain and the 33RSC, 33RS3 and 33RS? I would like to try the Stihl chain and not sure what the difference is. All are called full chisel I think and I don’t need anti kick back.

 

This is 33 RS

 

Just swing by your local Stihl dealer with the saw, or at least the chain, and pick up a Stihl 2 in 1 file, that should get you back in business in short order.

 

RS and RSC are the same thing, I think they just changed the name. Full chisel, yellow label.

RS3 is the low kickback version of RS (green label).

 

X2

 

Love my 2in1. Need to get one for the other saws.

 

I like mine too, used them for a few years. My files are starting to move around some inside the unit and I didn't like that though. After using some sort of a file guide for 15+ years and coming to understand the angles and pressures needed, I started free hand filing this year and so far I've been liking the results. Time will tell if I will be able to hand file the cutters down to the angle markers and still maintain it's smoothness and cutting ability.

 

Is this bar interchangeable with my Echo CS590 Timber wolf? I have 2 of those.

 

Went out and just bought the correct 2 in 1 at a Stihl dealer. At $58 out the door it gets me a sharp chain and a way to keep it sharp. Ends up cheaper than the 2 Stihl chains I was looking at. It rips through wood now like it should. I have not gotten into anything big yet to see how the saw handles the 24” bar.

 

Just thought I would follow up on my post. The saw runs great and so far handles the 24” bar really well. I think the most impressive part is the Stihl Rapid chain that came with the saw. I am in Florida on an island and they have a tree called a Sea Grape. These can get pretty big. I just cut through the stump at the base near the ground and then chunked it up into smaller pieces. I was cringing the whole time with all the dirt the chain was encountering but the chain was still cutting really well at the end.

 

Any reason to use this? Is there any advantage to the stock sprocket as opposed to this one? I think Oregon is good stuff?

 

Only if your current drum and sprok are worn out.

 

Rim drives are the way to go IMO. If the spur wears out on that style, you have to replace the entire clutch drum. W/ the rim, like you pictured, you can just replace the sprocket. Like Jim said though, I'd wait and use what's on your saw till it shows signs of needing replaced.

 

Well guess I got on a Stihl kick. I ended up buying 3 more Stihl saws. 2 MS291 saws for $130. One I got running with a new plug. The muffler bolt holes were stripped so I put a Helicoil in it then sprocket and cleaned it up real good. Sold that for $290. The other MS291 was a rental saw and has a burnt piston but has low mileage. I think I am going to fix that one and keep it. Then I bought a little MS171 that had part of the handle cover broken causing the throttle to not work. I have a bar and chain coming for that one. Cute little saw but not real aggressive at least with the chain I have now. I am kind of curious getting into bigger wood with the Pico chain with its narrow kerf and semi chisel. I will probably sell that one as well but won’t make much money as I paid $50 for it and they sell for $229 new.

 

Nothing wrong with being on a Stihl kick! Some of us have been on them for years even decades (myself included).

Pick up a pro model and you'll never look back.