Thread: 660 Blades

Originally Posted by Barterbuilt

Hello All
I would like some advice on blades for the MS660.

First bit of advice is: chainsaws use BARs, blades are for knives, swords and band or circular saws.

So far I've got a 20" , 25" and 36" which I think I should give me a fair amount of scope. The 20" I'll use on the ms390 for limbing.
I'd like to keep with the 3/8 063 chains, so with this in mind can you run a bigger bar than 36" for the occasional bigger stick?

Yes you should be able to run a 42" bar (36" of cut) with a 660 and a well sharpened chain.
Some have even run a 60" bar but I suspect that they do it slowly.

Constantly changing bars and chains becomes a right PITA

I have most of the bars and chains between 16 and 60", but 90% of the time I use a 42" bar and if I need bigger I swap to the 60".
This is the only swap I make and I use the 42" bar right down to as small as 18" - its just easier.
Long chain takes longer to sharpen but also longer to go blunt and stays cooler.

Sometimes for small logs I use my 441 with the 25" bar and the lopro chain which creates a narrower kerf but you really need different drive and nose sprockets to do this on a regular basis.

Ok Bars not blades, sorry.

Thanks Bob
Another question if I may..
The auxilary oiler, should this drip on the chain or should I put a hole into the chain track?

Thanks
Andrew

Originally Posted by Barterbuilt

Ok Bars not blades, sorry

No need to apologise .

Another question if I may..
The auxilary oiler, should this drip on the chain or should I put a hole into the chain track?

Swings and roundabouts with this one.
Holes in tracks get blocked, and dripolators get knocked out of alignment.

I prefer the dripolator set with a small gap (<1 mm) so that the oil wicks out onto the line between the bar and chain
You can usuallys see a bit of a pool of oil on the bar and that provides some indication that it's working.
Like this.

and lastly, any preference on the bar nose setup, sprocket, changable sprocket or hard nose.

Thanks

Originally Posted by Barterbuilt

and lastly, any preference on the bar nose setup, sprocket, changable sprocket or hard nose.

Thanks

I have used them all but have no real preferences.
Solid noses need good control on chain tension - too much and it wears the nose and chain and places a small extra load on the saw - too little and the chain comes off easier than sprocket. OTOH the bar clamps can be much closer to the bar nose compared to a sprocket/roller nose so you get more cutting width that way, although drilling the bar through the central bearing is THE way to go with apr roller and sprocket nose. Then you can bolt the bar to the mill and ditch the bar clamps. This makes it far quicker to swap out chains etc.

I reckon roller noses are probably the best because they don't you can swap to any chain pitch although that is not a common thing to do anyway. It's also getting very hard to find roller noses.