Bar and chain selection

[PTmowerMech]

Not that I know of but check the rim sprocket anyways as maybe heavy worn. Or least at the IPL says the saw is setup in a rim drive drum. It just the .058 is a heavier chain and bar will also be heavier and will affect the feel of the saw.

Heavily worn? That's possible. It's looking pretty thin. But It doesn't look like it's in desperate need.

I haven't seen any info on that but could be possible but I kinda doubt it. I just pull a chain guide and they were still referencing the Oregon products.

I see. I just did a quick search and found what I posted. Looks like it was from the Husqvarna website.

Anyway if the customer insists on the name brand then let him spend his money and you make the profit. It is like some my customers insists on Craftsman parts I just given the Craftsman price for the Husqvarna and MTD parts.

It's my brother. And he get emotional when someone contradicts what he says. As in when I told him Oregon chains and bars are good.

There's no profit in this. Just trying to save him some money.

I can get this set up from Stens in a Sabre brand. But I can't find any reviews on their chains.

 

[StarTech]

I think the Sabre chain and bars are Tri Link. I once was a Sunbelt distributor and the Timber Ridge chains and bars were Tri-Link and they held up well.

The Stens Sabre
3/8 .050 72 DL is SKU 075-3366 K095 mount.
3/8 .058 72 DL is SKU 075-3426 K095 mount.

You have to decide if you want semi chisel or chisel cutters. Appears to be no 20" BNC Combo in the K095 mount.

You can also check the Stens Silver Streak line which fairly good bars and chains too. I have sold them for years without problems.

 

[PTmowerMech]

I think the Sabre chain and bars are Tri Link. I once was a Sunbelt distributor and the Timber Ridge chains and bars were Tri-Link and they held up well.

The Stens Sabre
3/8 .050 72 DL is SKU 075-3366 K095 mount.
3/8 .058 72 DL is SKU 075-3426 K095 mount.

You have to decide if you want semi chisel or chisel cutters. Appears to be no 20" BNC Combo in the K095 mount.

You can also check the Stens Silver Streak line which fairly good bars and chains too. I have sold them for years without problems.

I think I can convince him to at least try this one out. Even if I have to tell him the Jonsered stuff is on back order.

076-2036 20" Bar and Chain Combo

www.stens.com

 

[bertsmobile1]

FWIW
On my saws I run 5 chains at a time
When all 5 have worn beyond safe use it is new chains & sprockets .
Stihl recommend a new sprocket every third chain
Never come across a chain that "won't cut" except the ones that were put on backwards
Gauge does not affect the ability to cut 3/8 x 050 or 3/8 x 068 same size of cutters and cutting edges .
To the saw the only difference is the chain is physically heavier, but not all that much
On bars that are excessively worn I usually go up one gauge size
When a saw comes in I measure the gauge then try that one & the next size bigger
A bigger gauge tends to make a cleaner cut as the blade does not rock left - right as much .

As for brands, there is not much in it
I used to fit Oregon for the pros because that is what one wholesaler kept
After that there was Carlton which I would call a high end domestic chain
Then there was the suppliers house brands which I would call acceptable for home owners
I am yet to try Stens Sabre brand as I still have 30 rolls of their previous chain that I bought cheap when they were running the old stock out a few years back
Same story with Oregon, when B & S took over the distribution I bought several 100' rolls that were discounted so have enough chains to last for decades and now B & S only bring in loops which are no use for a workshop as you need to keep 300 in sock & will never have the right one

Like everything else now days, most house brands will be made in China
And like everything else, if the chain & the bar has the brand stamped into it then it will be acceptable quality
If it is unbranded then it will be of dubious quality

As for your brother , fit what he wants .
This is the No 1 rule for all repair shops because the customer will never be happy & every problem with HIS saw will the YOUR fault because you fitted this JUNK chain .
There are 2 things you can not overcome
Stupidity & prejudice
If he want to practice both then let him pay 3 times the price because that is what will make him happy

 

[StarTech]

Won't work. It is a D009 mount and you want the K095 mount.
VS

I flip the image so you can compare easier.


Oil holes locate on actual K095

 

[PTmowerMech]

Apparently Arrowhead bought out Trilink in 2021. They're owned by GenStar Capital which is an equity firm.

 

[PTmowerMech]

Won't work. It is a D009 mount and you want the K095 mount.
View attachment 65641VS

I flip the image so you can compare easier.
View attachment 65643

Oil holes locate on actual K095
View attachment 65642

Ah crap.

There's nothing about a K095 or a D009 on the Stens page for this bar and chain. And I'm not even sure what those numbers are or mean.

 

[bertsmobile1]

Apparently Arrowhead bought out Trilink in 2021. They're owned by GenStar Capital which is an equity firm.

Which means they are now made in what ever third world country that can supply them the cheapest .
By and large private equity firms have 2 modes of operation
1) buy a brand name , downgrade the product to suck the maximun profit out of it then when there is no more big money to be made flog it off then go destroy another business
2) buy a failing brand name ,take it private , cook the books so it looks like they have revived it then relist it sell off 100% and go hide behind their lawyers or senators .
In any case the acquisition officers have 1 and 1 only goal which is to beat what ever share index or government bond rate they link to then pay themselves a hefty percentage of that difference in bonuses

 

[PTmowerMech]

FWIW
On my saws I run 5 chains at a time
When all 5 have worn beyond safe use it is new chains & sprockets .
Stihl recommend a new sprocket every third chain
Never come across a chain that "won't cut" except the ones that were put on backwards
Gauge does not affect the ability to cut 3/8 x 050 or 3/8 x 068 same size of cutters and cutting edges .
To the saw the only difference is the chain is physically heavier, but not all that much
On bars that are excessively worn I usually go up one gauge size
When a saw comes in I measure the gauge then try that one & the next size bigger
A bigger gauge tends to make a cleaner cut as the blade does not rock left - right as much .

As for brands, there is not much in it
I used to fit Oregon for the pros because that is what one wholesaler kept
After that there was Carlton which I would call a high end domestic chain
Then there was the suppliers house brands which I would call acceptable for home owners
I am yet to try Stens Sabre brand as I still have 30 rolls of their previous chain that I bought cheap when they were running the old stock out a few years back
Same story with Oregon, when B & S took over the distribution I bought several 100' rolls that were discounted so have enough chains to last for decades and now B & S only bring in loops which are no use for a workshop as you need to keep 300 in sock & will never have the right one

Like everything else now days, most house brands will be made in China
And like everything else, if the chain & the bar has the brand stamped into it then it will be acceptable quality
If it is unbranded then it will be of dubious quality

As for your brother , fit what he wants .
This is the No 1 rule for all repair shops because the customer will never be happy & every problem with HIS saw will the YOUR fault because you fitted this JUNK chain .
There are 2 things you can not overcome
Stupidity & prejudice
If he want to practice both then let him pay 3 times the price because that is what will make him happy

After discussing this a little further, he says it spits out big shavings, but that it cuts crooked. So I advised him that they're not the same thing.

I'm not so sure about the "customer will never be happy" comment. I've had a lot of satisfied customers. Even when things didn't work out exactly right. The only really unsatisfied customer I've ever had was a close friend who's engine blew just after I'd worked on it, while it was still at the shop. A mower I told him to sell the year before because it was old and worn out. The same engine that he'd brought it to me a quart low of oil, twice. But the argument only came when I told him to either leave the mower at the shop, or pay me what I had in it. He wanted the mower, with all the new parts I'd just put on it, and to not pay me because the engine blew while it was with me.

 

[StarTech]

Don't you have the printed catalog? in the 2022 catalog page 1399 clearly shows the Oregon bar number, The four chars is the mount.

And the 2023 Oregon catalog page For 43 the CS2258 is shown with K095 mounts.

Cutting in a curve is either a improperly sharpen chain or worn bar rails. Probably need to look at the chain and bar yourself. Probably just need the cutters resharpen and depth gauges set at the proper height.

Per Oregon the chain would sharpen at 30 degrees with 10 degree down tilt. Depth gauge are filed to .025". Personally I just forget the 10 degree down angle. 3/16 file if hand filing but I use a grinder myself nowadays. But these grinders take patience to learn how not the burn the cutters. A lot easier to get all the cutter the same with the grinder.