# what bar...and skip tooth or not?



## steeltowninwv (Feb 28, 2012)

ok...im gonna go 26 or 28 inch bar on y 460...running into alot of stuff thats bigger than my 20 inch bar......besides stihl bars...which one?..also do i want a skip tooth chain..never dabbled in this bigger stuff


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## Bigg_Redd (Feb 28, 2012)

28" bar

Skip tooth - yes.


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## MasterMech (Feb 28, 2012)

steeltowninwv said:
			
		

> ok...im gonna go 26 or 28 inch bar on y 460...running into alot of stuff thats bigger than my 20 inch bar......besides stihl bars...which one?..also do i want a skip tooth chain..never dabbled in this bigger stuff



MS460 will have no trouble pulling a full-comp 28" bar/chain.  I'd only consider the skip if most of that 28" bar was buried most of the time.  FWIW: Stihl makes a "half-skip" chain.


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## bogydave (Feb 28, 2012)

Don't think you need a skip for a 460 with a 28". You have lots of power there just more teeth to sharpen but full comp would be faster cutting. 
http://www.stihlusa.com/chainsaws/types.html#RSLFK 
Skip - RSF or 1/2 skip - RSLHK if you really want to try one.
Not sure on what the best bar is, someone else may chime in.


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## trafick (Feb 28, 2012)

I run skip on my 460 when I run a 32" bar.  Main reason is because I have less teeth to sharpen when I'm thru and "yes" the whole bar is buried.  Funny how everyone wants and can cut the little wood but if you can handle the big stuff a lot of it is free.


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## Grannyknot (Feb 28, 2012)

Dad just purchased a similar set-up.  Came with a full & half skip chain.  I was a big fan of the half skip.


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## Bocefus78 (Feb 28, 2012)

I like the semi skip myself. Less teeth to sharpen. It'll pull a full comp just fine.  Heck, just get both. You need a spare anyways.  lol 
As far as a bar....a 28" stihl ES is hard to beat.


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## Murph015 (Feb 28, 2012)

I have no experience with them but the 28 inch es light bars seem to be going over very well with everyone using them.  The 460 should pull a regular chain in 28 inch fine.


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## smokinj (Feb 28, 2012)

ES 28 INCH BAR...Chains load up on full,skip,and semi skip. They all have there place just depends on the day.... ;-)


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## jeff_t (Feb 28, 2012)

I had a full skip for my 28" bar that I tore up and had shortened to fit a 20". There wasn't a noticeable difference in cutting speed. I really liked it come filing time. And then I hit the rock....

I've never tried a full comp with the longer bar. I could pull it, and if I had a bench grinder, I probably would try one. I think the big advantage with a skip is in big softwood, to give the chips someplace to ride out of the cut. The local saw shop doesn't even stock skip tooth chain. They say nobody uses it around here, even up to 36" and longer.


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## Bigg_Redd (Feb 28, 2012)

Full comp chains save no time in the cut.  

There.

Bigg Redd said it.


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## Jags (Feb 28, 2012)

Bigg_Redd said:
			
		

> Full comp chains save no time in the cut.



What chain do the racers use??


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## JustWood (Feb 28, 2012)

28" bar and full comp chain on 460 = eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee   raaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh !!
The time you spend eee-rahhing with a 28 you could have jumped over the log and finished with a 20".
Bars that don't reach all the way through the wood stay sharper longer.


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## trafick (Feb 28, 2012)

finalLEE said:
			
		

> Bars that don't reach all the way through the wood stay sharper longer.


That doesn't make any sense.


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## JustWood (Feb 28, 2012)

trafick said:
			
		

> finalLEE said:
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Chains on bars that don't reach all the way through wood stay sharper longer.


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## jeff_t (Feb 28, 2012)

finalLEE said:
			
		

> trafick said:
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Because it stays out of the dirt on the other side.


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## jeff_t (Feb 28, 2012)

Bigg_Redd said:
			
		

> Full comp chains save no time in the cut.
> 
> There.
> 
> Bigg Redd said it.



I agree. A racer may not, but SOTP, I can't tell the difference. 

Skip tooth chains save time sharpening, so any time that might be saved in the cut is made up.


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## bogydave (Feb 28, 2012)

finalLEE said:
			
		

> trafick said:
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+1 Lee ; 
Less time in the dirty bark pulling the dirt thru the cut.
Even a clean tree, is dirty :lol:
If not all the way thru the log, most cutting is pulling out of the bark. 

Speed cutting , Racing,: there are no or very little raker, very high RPM &  allot of horse power 

Steel
Sounds like yo need to find out which chain works best for you. 
I used/tried a skip, slowed down my cut, less teeth to file & dulled faster. Same amount of filing, just had to stop &  file more often( 20")
I  went back to a full comp.  If I put a longer bar on my 60 cc saw, I might try a skip again, but I learned what works best for me. 
If I can throw a full comp at good RPM, I run a full comp. 
IMO; skip get dull faster, each cutter is cutting twice as much for same cut, compared to full comp


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## MasterMech (Feb 29, 2012)

We wouldn't have skip, half-skip, and full-comp if there was no difference in the cut.  The primary purpose of skip is to prevent the chips from clogging up the cut in very long cuts.  It can be used to help a saw keep RPM's in the powerband with a bar on it that otherwise might present too much load.

In regards to the long bars dulling the chain faster, it does make sense.  If the chain has to cut from the outside of the log in, as it does when bar length exceeds log diameter, then any fine grit embedded in the bark (and it's always there) gets dragged thru the entire cut possibly affecting many cutters before being ejected out the other side.


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## smokinj (Feb 29, 2012)

finalLEE said:
			
		

> 28" bar and full comp chain on 460 = eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee   raaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh !!
> The time you spend eee-rahhing with a 28 you could have jumped over the log and finished with a 20".
> Bars that don't reach all the way through the wood stay sharper longer.



Not if you cant roll that 44 inch monster!


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## ScotO (Mar 1, 2012)

28" Rollomatic ES bar, Stihl 33RSC chain w/no skip.  That's my primary cutter on the 72cc 041AV Super......works like a champ!!


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