Thread: Bar and chain recomendation for stihl MS661

I have the same mill, works great! I am using it on a husky 395xp, currently have 28" bar on it and get 19.5" of cut width out of it. I'm going to buy a 42" bar for it from gb forestry, it is called a pro top bar. I haven't heard great things about the hurricane bars. The gb bars are not much more $210 for the bar plus what ever chain you want to put on it.

I would mill the tree as is, don't half or quarter it if possible, you will have more options if you mill it as is. Definitely paint the ends, plastic based paint,2 or three coats as soon as it's cut.

Thanks Cal .
The Guy at the Stihl shop rang me a few days after I bought the saw ( a month ago ) and GB Forestry was who he recommended , I wrote it down but then lost the note ,and forgot the name, which is why I'm asking here now . Ill give them a call and make sure it matches my saw tomorrow.

Ill see how I go with the slabbing . Its a huge tree and I don't want to spend a week cutting slabs. I do have some machine options later on for converting the wood into smaller sections . But if the slabbing is going well I could well stick with it.

Rob

Just check what chain the bar suits, you will be running 3/8 chain at the moment. The bars as standard from gb come with a sprocket nose to suit.404 chain. Try and get them to change the nose to 3/8 as it has a thinner kerf (narrower cut) and it will save you from changing your drive sprocket over.


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Originally Posted by Cal

Just check what chain the bar suits, you will be running 3/8 chain at the moment. The bars as standard from gb come with a sprocket nose to suit.404 chain. Try and get them to change the nose to 3/8 as it has a thinner kerf (narrower cut) and it will save you from changing your drive sprocket over.

I've tested the differences in kerf for a few different chains across a number of ripping and cross cuts and I was surprised to see that the difference between 404 and 3/8 was so small.

1) the 404 cross cut was 0.365"
2) 3/8 regular cross cut was 0.341"
3) LP cross cut was 0.316"
4) LP ripping chain was 0.320"

The difference between 404 and 3/8 was only 0.024" or 7%

That's good to know BobL, thanks.
What do you use 3/8 or .404 on long bars?

I want to stick with 3/8 so I can leave the 42" bar in the mill and swap between it and the 28" bar for bucking and cleaning up the logs without swapping drive sprockets. Does this sound feasible?


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Originally Posted by Cal

That's good to know BobL, thanks.
What do you use 3/8 or .404 on long bars?

I want to stick with 3/8 so I can leave the 42" bar in the mill and swap between it and the 28" bar for bucking and cleaning up the logs without swapping drive sprockets. Does this sound feasible?


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I have 3/8 on everything mainly because I don't want to have multiple chain pitch sizes on hand - I already have more than 20 chains of different lengths etc

The 60" Stihl bar I got came with a loop of 404 and had a 404 sprocket nose on it.
I replaced that nose with a roller nose because what it handles depends only on the gauge (drive link thickness) which is 0.063"
To replace the nose I had to make and add an adapter plate - I made it out of a damaged circular blade.

allgo.jpg

The roller nose replacements are now near impossible to get so I was lucky to get a couple while they were still around.

For my 441 I use Lopro 3/8 which does have a significantly smaller kerf but I don't think its a good idea to use this chain on large saws in hard wood.

I Rang GB Forestry and ordered the 42" bar . They have the 42 in 3/8 pitch ready to go .

I could probably do with 4 long chains for the long bar for now.

GB forestry don't sell rolls of skip tooth.

If I wanted to make my own lengths of chain up would it be best to get a roll of standard chain and cut off every second tooth and re grind the remaining teeth to 5 degrees ?

Edit . Are Hurricane Chains average as well ? What Brand and where is recommended in buying your own 100 ft rolls and joining your own ?

Rob

Originally Posted by auscab

I Rang GB Forestry and ordered the 42" bar . They have the 42 in 3/8 pitch ready to go .

I could probably do with 4 long chains for the long bar for now.

GB forestry don't sell rolls of skip tooth.

If I wanted to make my own lengths of chain up would it be best to get a roll of standard chain and cut off every second tooth and re grind the remaining teeth to 5 degrees ?

Its not essential to use skip tooth.
I used skip toothed chain to mill about 30 logs and then switched to full comp and that's all I have ever use.
I found skip toothed chain clears sawdust a bit better but goes blunt a bit faster because there are fewer cutters on the chain.
So the cutting time for a slab ends up being about the same

OTOH full comp chain takes longer to touch up/sharpen but is stays sharp longer.

I touch up after every tank full of fuel so 4 loops would not be enough for a days milling. I reckon its better to

By 5º I assume you mean top plate filing angle? I use 10º - 5 -10 doesn't matter as long as you don't go near zero otherwise the chain may bind.

Thanks again for the information Bob, I have read a lot of your posts on here and arboristsite and your knowledge, explanations and help are outstanding. I really appreciate your input, thank you [emoji106]

Rob, what did the bar end up costing you? The price I had was from my local retailer which was $210 + freight (whatever that cost is?)


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Originally Posted by Cal

Thanks again for the information Bob, I have read a lot of your posts on here and arboristsite and your knowledge, explanations and help are outstanding. I really appreciate your input, thank you [emoji106]

I agree with Cal on that Bob, I probably haven't read as much as Cal But your always there on the good threads I have read so far.

Originally Posted by Cal

Rob, what did the bar end up costing you? The price I had was from my local retailer which was $210 + freight (whatever that cost is?)

The first thing they wanted to know Cal was my location, so that one of their retailers could sell the item to me. I'm 2.5 hours by car SE of Melbourne and they didn't have a retailer down this way so they did deal with me . The price was $195.13 + gst + freight of $14.30.
A Total of $228.94

Originally Posted by BobL

Its not essential to use skip tooth.
I used skip toothed chain to mill about 30 logs and then switched to full comp and that's all I have ever use.
I found skip toothed chain clears sawdust a bit better but goes blunt a bit faster because there are fewer cutters on the chain.
So the cutting time for a slab ends up being about the same

OTOH full comp chain takes longer to touch up/sharpen but is stays sharp longer.

I touch up after every tank full of fuel so 4 loops would not be enough for a days milling. I reckon its better to

By 5º I assume you mean top plate filing angle? I use 10º - 5 -10 doesn't matter as long as you don't go near zero otherwise the chain may bind.

Yeah Bob I did mean the top plate (filing edit )angle. If 10º is good I'll copy that thanks .

So you just Buy standard Full Compliment chain and grind to 10º for your milling and what you don't use as milling chain stays on the roll as standard cross cut chain ? That sounds like a great economical way to go if I got that right!

Rob

Originally Posted by auscab

Yeah Bob I did mean the top plate filling angle. If 10º is good I'll copy that thanks .

So you just Buy standard Full Compliment chain and grind to 10º for your milling and what you don't use as milling chain stays on the roll as standard cross cut chain ? That sounds like a great economical way to go if I got that right!

Rob

Yep thats what I do. I have bars from 25" to 60" that use that 3/8 chain.
Lo pro 3/8 is used on 20 and 25" bars.

I have two chain cases like this one made from old power tool boxes plus a heap of other loops that don't fit in the cases.
newcase2.jpg

I have a Stihl 660 with a 36", 42" and 60" bar running on a home made alaskan with 404 chain. The 36" I mill with normal and skip chain. The 42 I use more often than not, just the size of the logs, and use it with a skip and double skip chain. I rarely use the 60", but go slow when I do with a double or triple skip chain, the largest being a 1.2m wide Crows Ash. I buy std chain and skip chain, then grind off teeth to form the double and triple skip chains. When running the 42" and 60" bars I use the extra chain oil feeder to the bar

Originally Posted by BobL

Yep thats what I do. I have bars from 25" to 60" that use that 3/8 chain.
Lo pro 3/8 is used on 20 and 25" bars.

I have two chain cases like this one made from old power tool boxes plus a heap of other loops that don't fit in the cases.

That looks nice and neat! I think I may have a box or two left somewhere like that .
I did throw a lot of them out some time back though !!
I may have to reclaim the one I used for Maps for chain saw parts or make a wooden one .

Ive probably read it but have forgotten . What do you mill with again Bob a Stihl 880 or 660 ?

Rob