Saw advice please

[dervishcarving]

Hi peeps. hope yo are all enjoying teh wet weather? Its rubbish up here in scotland, barely got anythign carved in the past 2 weeks.

So i have a question about saws.

I use my electric at home and i completely love it (B&Q brand, 2200 wat, 18 inch oregon bar, cuts like a dream)

For bigger work i recently bought a husky (440e with 18 inch bar) and it cuts even nicer BUT i notice the husky bar has horrible kick whenever i get close to the top-side of the bar end. WAY more kick than the Oregon bar (i used to have a petrol saw with an 19inch oregon bar). I think i am going to struggle doing much detailing work (hollowing out etc) with this husky bar but of course i wil get used to it eventually I'm sure. I want to compliment it with a small, lightweight saw with a 10 inch carving bar but Im not sure which to go for (and having spent a lot on the Husky).

So... 2 questions:

1- is this normal for the Husky bars? this extra-sensitive nature?

2- Can anyone advise on a cheepish carving set-up? More for detail work and so dosnt have to put out that much power as i have the Husky to do the dog-work

Im hoping splinter or other more-experienced carvers will be able to give me some advice and even some websites to buy from

cheers, Dave

[Old WoodChip]

What chains do you use? I would look more towards the chain but sure you will get a few better answers.

good luck, stay safe

[dervishcarving]

Thats a very good point. Its the chain that came with the saw/bar.

[jrose]

If you look into the cheapest homeowner level saws - Stihl MS171, Husky 236 (think that's the right model), etc... they tend to come with a 12 or 14" bar which tapers significantly to the end, not as much as a carving bar but will let you get a lot more detail with very low kickback. This will let you get a feeling of what a carving bar will allow, before spending £80+ on a carving bar, chain and sprocket.

 

They don't have a great deal of power, but for about £150 they're hard to beat IMO.

 

Personally I use a Efco MT3500 for carving, I don't use carving bars just the standard bar as shown below.

 

 

[dervishcarving]

I agree with you completely Joe, the stihl bars taper nicely as do the oregon bars, at least compared to the husky bars I quite like the saw you mention, especially at 150, i am now looking if its possible to fit a carving bar to one. Not immediately, but eventually i think i will want to. Power is not an issue for detail work, for power my big 'un does fine. I am hoping that a few of the experienced carvers will post their opinions as this might be a useful thread for any new carvers who join

[jrose]

you can definitely fit a carving bar to the Stihl, as they produce their own carving bar chain and sprocket. For any others, I'd contact one of the below suppliers and have a chat with them.

 

Cannon Bars UK - Recommended chainsaw Fitment

Ed Robinson's Wooden Things. Cannon carving bars - buy direct from a carver.

[dervishcarving]

It was the efco i was wondering about, have contacted them to ask. Thank you for your advice Joe, it is much appreciated

[jrose]

No worries, like I said I don't use carving bars myself so my knowledge is limited - I did try one, but found it more limiting than useful.

 

I did see a little Efco on ebay a while back fitted up for carving, but not sure where to get the bits from! So it must be possible...

[Rob D]

Pretty much all the carving bars have generic mounts i.e. they fit all the small Stihl, Husky etc. -...

 

So the oregon and cannon carving bars will fit your Husky 440. I think this saw is 40cc so maybe a slightly longer bar i.e. 12" or 14" would be best.

 

Do you want to run 1/4" chain? - Then you need to find out if this Husky can run 1/4" chain. This is determined by the drive sprocket. If you have a rim and sprocket set up I have 1/4" drive rims. If you have a spur sprocket you'll have to see if Husky do a 1/4" drive sprocket.

 

If you're happy to run 3/8 lo pro chain the next size up you'll prob find your Husky may be running .325 chain.... so again you'll need a new rim or drive sprocket.

 

Lastly your first question about kickback - the smaller the nose radius the less chance of kickback. So a wider larger nose will give greater chance of kickback. But the chain also has a large bearing on kickback....

 

Try not to associate 'Husky bars have lots of kickback and Oregon bars don't' as each manufacturer produces a range of bars in the same length. Some of the Stihl and Oregon bars have larger radius nose sprockets that give better performance cross cutting but much bigger kickback.

 

So you could get a carving set up for your Husky, or a carving bar for your B and Q electric saw? (sorry can't find the mount but should fit), or a new set up altogether. I have the Stihl 192 and it's great - all the more puzzling why Stihl have stopped producing them

[Rob D]

 

I did see a little Efco on ebay a while back fitted up for carving, but not sure where to get the bits from! So it must be possible...

 

 

The small efcos share the same mount as small huskys so carving bars will fit fine.... just need to make sure the drive sprocket matches the chain you're using.