What's the better bar for plunge cutting?

[ChainsawAl]

Hey there. 

I haven't had experience in using a dime tip bar yet. But just waiting for my new chainsaw to come in the post with a dime tip bar on it (very excited 😁) Was wondering if they are easier to cut through when you plunge cut into wood, compared to your standard bar?

 

Also how loose should the chain be on a dime tip bar, heard so.nahybsaybto have it really loose but how loose is loose? 🤣

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[wisewood]

Hey there. 
I haven't had experience in using a dime tip bar yet. But just waiting for my new chainsaw to come in the post with a dime tip bar on it (very excited [emoji16]) Was wondering if they are easier to cut through when you plunge cut into wood, compared to your standard bar?
 
Also how loose should the chain be on a dime tip bar, heard so.nahybsaybto have it really loose but how loose is loose? 🤣
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Congrats on a new saw [emoji108] what have you bought?
There's little to no kickback with dime tips so in that sense bore cutting is easier and safer. Having said that, a dime tip is really just for the detailing, any major cutting should still be done with more robust bars.
In regards to chain tension, I would recommend slacken off until you can see at least a couple of drive links under the bar[emoji106]

[gobbypunk]

Yep same as

[ChainsawAl]

@wisewood it's a Stihl m170, been looking at one for such a long time that I finally got one. Cool, ok, so so you usually use an standard bar to do your bore cutting with?

 

Couple of drive links, as in the distance from the bar right?

[wisewood]

@wisewood it's a Stihl m170, been looking at one for such a long time that I finally got one. Cool, ok, so so you usually use an standard bar to do your bore cutting with?
 
Couple of drive links, as in the distance from the bar right?

Cool, depends on what you're trying to achieve with bore cutting. If it's big areas and blocking out then use a standard bar on a bigger saw. If it's small scale the dime bar will be fine.
The drive links run in the groove of the bar, if you slacken off the tension until the chain hangs/droops on underside of the bar. If you can see a couple of the drive links in their entirety then that's about right.
One more tip, is to file or grind a couple of mm off the back/rear of each cutter. This will stop the backs of the cutters kicking out as they pass round the narrow bar tip. It will make boring much easier and will avoid any unnecessary wear and tear on both chain and bar [emoji106]

[wisewood]

@wisewood it's a Stihl m170, been looking at one for such a long time that I finally got one. Cool, ok, so so you usually use an standard bar to do your bore cutting with?
 
Couple of drive links, as in the distance from the bar right?

I run mine a bit slacker, this is an r7 tip, bit smaller than a dime tip. You can see the DL drive links fully out of the bar groove/slot.

[ChainsawAl]

@wisewood is this loose enough, I've just bought a new Stihl chain to fit my dime bar. And wondering if this is loose enough.

 

Also do I need to file the backs off the teeth, as the teeth seem to be sloping back anyway

Thanks

 

[wisewood]

@wisewood is this loose enough, I've just bought a new Stihl chain to fit my dime bar. And wondering if this is loose enough.
 
Also do I need to file the backs off the teeth, as the teeth seem to be sloping back anyway
Thanks
 

Looks ok[emoji106] try it and see. A tad looser won't do any harm either.
In regards to the heels of the cutters, if you set down the saw so that you can manually draw the chain around the tip( like when you're sharpening). If you can butt the tip up to a flat piece of wood at a right angle to the bar. Get your eye level with the tip from the side and see if the heels protrude any more than the cutting edge as they pass around the tip. If they do, file them back [emoji106]

[ChainsawAl]

Cheers mate, tried it out yesterday. It seems to be working fine, but might need to check more thoroughlyas  I couldn't really tell if they were protruding.