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.063 chain

Started by 240b, May 11, 2012, 01:40:16 PM

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240b

what would be the advantage to using .063 guage chain?  Is the chassis bigger or are the drivers just thicker? Using .059 now.

JohnG28

The .063 gauge only refers to the width of the driver. I do think it is mostly available on .404 pitch though, which would be a heavier chassis.
Stihl MS361, 460 & 200T, Jonsered 490, Jonsereds 90, Husky 350 & 142, Homelite XL and Super XL

Al_Smith

It's a regional thing .Baileys for example sells .325 chain in .063 guage .In Australia from what they say  .058 is  popular which for the most part it's not on this side of the pond .

Through out the manufacturing of saw chain it's been made in various guages finally settling on three major sizes being .050,.058 and .063 .I have a reel of the very last of .404 skip tooth chisel in .058 Baileys ever sold . 

Cut4fun

Stihl can be had in 063 325 3/8 404. Others are 404 063.  Husky Jonsered saws in 058 etc seems to be a regional thing. I try to stay 050 for my area and ease of getting chain.

240b

Yes .058 is popular in new england. I was wondering if .063 would be more durable. Ive been running .050 on a 32" bar out west (not my saw) and it just seems to keep getting longer and longer.. Thing is a 20" bar would be perfectly fine for the job but the culture here is long bars. But, these guys also use a 046 to dice up slash. Guess they think their still in the big timber..

lumberjack48

I still have my Carlton dealer ship, if i had the money i'd start selling chain again. I always ran 50 gauge chain on all my saws. When i had a bunch of saws running i ran same bar length and chain on all the saws, so it was all swappable.

The chain should stop stretching, unless you got a stretcher this happens. I don't really know if a heavier driver would help. In all my yrs i never ran anything other then 50 gauge chain.
Third generation logger, owner operator, 30 yrs felling experience with pole skidder. I got my neck broke back in 89, left me a quad. The wife kept the job going up to 96.

Al_Smith

For all I know it could be a personal preference in addition to a regional thing .

I've got a 2100 Husqvarna that came from an island off Washington and was shipped with a 32" bar and 3/8"  .050 skip chain .By the same token I have a 32" bar from Oregon state  made for a Mac 10 series most likely an 850 and it is 3/8" .063 .

There's some theory on the thicker driver sizes but I can't remember what it is .Somebody from the coast with an ocean the sun sets on will have to chime in I guess on that one .

240b

Yeah, these guys spin there own loops. I was wondering if the reel was "funky" I have never seen so many broken loops and cracked tie straps.

Al_Smith

Something is amiss .I've torn up drivers and broken cutters but I can't remember breaking a tie strap .

lonewolf

I used to run .063 chain in the summer months. It. Cuts a wider kerf and makes cutting basswood,cottonwood and aspen easier as the wood doesn't cut clean when it isn't frozen. Also seemed to throw off the chain a lot less. I only quit using it because my local dealer no longer carries it.
"EARTH FIRST"  WE'LL LOG THE OTHER PLANETS LATER

John Mc

Around here, most of the Stihl guys run .063, Husky/Jonsered and a lot of others seem to use .058. The big box store customers get whatever the box store decides to put on the saw.

Like Cut4Fun, I buy what's readily available in my area... in my case .058"
If the only tool you have is a hammer, you tend to see every problem as a nail.   - Abraham Maslow

sawguy21

I work on the order desk for an Oregon distributor, we no longer get much call for .063. Only a few guys running the big Stihls use it. Dolmar, which we handle, and Stihl run .050 and the Swedes .058. I had an inquiry this week for 22LP, don't think I have ever sold any.
old age and treachery will always overcome youth and enthusiasm

Al_Smith

Like I've said it's a regional thing ,I'm not so sure .063 leaves much of a wider kerf than .050  .Now of course .404 chain would but you are generally talking saws over 100cc's .

lumberjack48

Quote from: lonewolf on May 12, 2012, 11:03:00 AM
I used to run .063 chain in the summer months. It. Cuts a wider kerf and makes cutting basswood,cottonwood and aspen easier as the wood doesn't cut clean when it isn't frozen. Also seemed to throw off the chain a lot less. I only quit using it because my local dealer no longer carries it.
When cutting Basswood or any softwood, i filed cutters at 20 to 25 degrees and rakers at 40 thous. The only time i didn't get a clean cut the edge was off my cutters, you get a fussy-wussy cut. I've had guys have a little to much angle on cutters and high rakers and top cutter edge wasn't filed right. Their saw would bind up cutting basswood, real bad in Cedar.

I can remember cutting basswood, i was about 13 yrs old. I had my dads C-5 Homey 404 pitch, it would bind up half way though, have to pull it out and start again. The cut was fussy-wussy, thats when dad stepped in and showed me what was wrong. He showed me how to file it, it threw 1/4" chips and dropped though that Basswood, a job turned into a fun time, i loved cutting Basswood after that.
Third generation logger, owner operator, 30 yrs felling experience with pole skidder. I got my neck broke back in 89, left me a quad. The wife kept the job going up to 96.

Ed

For really soft wood, I switched to full skip chain, saw cuts like a hot knife thru butter.

Ed

Tramp Bushler

 Tho I don't kbow about B.C. P.N.W. and coastal Alaskan fallers generally run .063 ga. . It does cut a very slightly wider kerf than .050 ga. 13 k . It is a good bit stronger and streches less all else considered . 404 chain cuts quite a bit wider kerf than most 3/8 s . The 3/8 s Dura Pro chain cut the same kerf as 52 AJ or Ak ect . 404 chisel full comp - full skip . I can't remember the letter designation for full comp 404 as I never ran it . The wider kerf is alot better in Big cuts . The bar slides in the cut better and it cleans the chips better . When running a 6 1/2 horse saw or bigger the chain needs all the strength it can get .

I very much regret not buying as much Oregon 75 CKX Dura Pro chain as I could find when it was available .  When I was running 2101 s and 394 Huskies . I had to be careful to not let it hang up in the face of a hemlock . By the 3 rd time it hung the saw would rip the chain apart . Drive sprockets only lasted a week . Sometimes less .
.
If your not wearing your hard hat when you need it. Well.

lumberjack48

Over the yrs i had two 90 Jonsereds, used for falling once in awhile, used-em for bucking. I used 50 gauge, 3/8 pitch chain, cut like a animal, made a good landing saw.

404, 63 ga. Chisel Skip Tooth, Oregon # 89JG
Third generation logger, owner operator, 30 yrs felling experience with pole skidder. I got my neck broke back in 89, left me a quad. The wife kept the job going up to 96.

sawguy21

That should be 59JG. Only the guys with 075's and 090's run this now.
old age and treachery will always overcome youth and enthusiasm

Al_Smith

There 's a lot of difference in that old chain .I have an old Clinton that has full chisel ,Oregon of which number I forgot which is the thickest cutters I've ever seen on a .404 chain .This stuff has more meat to it than 1/2" Oregon number 10  . I'll tell you this you'd never break a cutter hitting a rock with it .It doesn't cut worth a hoot but it would last forever .

lumberjack48

I can't find 59JG in a skip tooth, 58JG is 58 Ga, skip tooth,  59LG, is a 63 ga. 404 Chisel chain.

The first O8 Stihl came out with a 404 pitch chain, when the O8-S came out, you had your choice, 404 or 3/8. I bought a new O8-Super, with a 3/8 pitch chain, back in 1965 [$165.] they ran so smooth, at the time it was probably the best saw you could buy.
I had a 07 that i'd picked up for $90. back in 69, it had the 404 pitch chain. I cur Elm logs with it that winter, i have to say it was a work horse. My dad had 3 other guys working, i could double their log count with the 07 Stihl. Heres a pic of one



 

Third generation logger, owner operator, 30 yrs felling experience with pole skidder. I got my neck broke back in 89, left me a quad. The wife kept the job going up to 96.

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