The saw is very clean for it's age, but the chain is shot. It's the wifes saw, so limbing and dropping small diam. Aspen are all she'll use it for. I'll only use it when I'm bored. So, full-skip, semi-skip, safety....I'm open to suggestion. Thanks, JB
Best chain for an 011AV?
- Thread starter Beetle-Kill
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Beetle-Kill said:
Tell her sorry 21 is the smallest that can be done and I will not cut 7 inchs off for anyone! lol I think the little saw really need that safety chain. jmo
I thought all of the Stihl picco chain is low kickback design, isn't it?
After spending a whole week running mostly small (43 cc) to very small (31 cc) saws at a chainsaw carving event last week, I have come to see that the bar has a much bigger effect on kickback than the chain. Not only did I use nothing but chisel chains all week, I learned how to grind them so they are much more aggressive than regular chisel. All the bars, however, had very small nose radii, and the only kickback I got was when I deliberately tried to induce it, and then it was just a short little blip of the tip away from me. With a small tip radius, you can actually cut with the upper corner of the bar tip with excellent control. After the blocking out cuts are made with the bigger saws, chainsaw carving requires use of the tip nearly non-stop.
Now, I'm not necessarily recommending a small radius, solid nose carving bar for normal use (they are expensive), but that bar and aggressive chain (side-ground cutters and offset, sharpened rakers) seemed so safe that I actually let Lady BK run a saw for the first time. This combo cuts like a light saber (even with a small displacement power head) yet with enough control to hold the saw at very odd angles with little actual danger.
My recommendation is for a 14" bar with the smallest sprocket nose you can find (Rollomatic E), then use a chain like the PMC3. Another option is to try a Rollomatic Mini guide bar and the PMMC3 chain. Supposed to increase cutting efficiency by about 15% with good plunge capability as well. That bar has a pretty small nose radius as well, so it looks like a safe setup to me. In fact, I may fit that combo to my own 011 AV.
After spending a whole week running mostly small (43 cc) to very small (31 cc) saws at a chainsaw carving event last week, I have come to see that the bar has a much bigger effect on kickback than the chain. Not only did I use nothing but chisel chains all week, I learned how to grind them so they are much more aggressive than regular chisel. All the bars, however, had very small nose radii, and the only kickback I got was when I deliberately tried to induce it, and then it was just a short little blip of the tip away from me. With a small tip radius, you can actually cut with the upper corner of the bar tip with excellent control. After the blocking out cuts are made with the bigger saws, chainsaw carving requires use of the tip nearly non-stop.
Now, I'm not necessarily recommending a small radius, solid nose carving bar for normal use (they are expensive), but that bar and aggressive chain (side-ground cutters and offset, sharpened rakers) seemed so safe that I actually let Lady BK run a saw for the first time. This combo cuts like a light saber (even with a small displacement power head) yet with enough control to hold the saw at very odd angles with little actual danger.
My recommendation is for a 14" bar with the smallest sprocket nose you can find (Rollomatic E), then use a chain like the PMC3. Another option is to try a Rollomatic Mini guide bar and the PMMC3 chain. Supposed to increase cutting efficiency by about 15% with good plunge capability as well. That bar has a pretty small nose radius as well, so it looks like a safe setup to me. In fact, I may fit that combo to my own 011 AV.
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