On Mon, 18 Sep 2017 09:57:41 -0700, wrote:

On Sun, 17 Sep 2017 19:55:50 -0700, Jeff Liebermann
wrote:

On Sat, 16 Sep 2017 20:23:21 -0700, Jeff Liebermann
wrote:
(...)

Forgive me, for I have splurged. My shiny new Stihl MS180 is a nice
saw but has a weakness. The chain 0.043 gauge instead of the more
common 0.050. The stock narrow chain cuts nicely and fast, but needs
to be sharpened too often. In cutting up some scrap lumber today, I
had to sharpen it after only about 30 min run time. My other saws can
go for hours between sharpenings.

I found this YouTube video on how to fix the problem:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DrFM-8C-qV0
A little digging found a replacement bar and chain on eBay:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/192054090789
For $19 and a 4-6 week wait, it seems like a tolerable risk.

The guy at the Stihl store told me I can put a different and longer
bar on mine. So I'm gonna do what you did.

The stock bar is 16" while the most common replacements mentioned are
14". There seems to be some variation in the way the bars are
measured. If you look at the video above, the 14" bar appears to be
only about 1" shorter, not 2". I ordered a 14" bar because I couldn't
find a cheap 16" bar and chain and I have a big saw with a 24" bar.
Trying to drive a long bar with only a 32cc engine is not going to
work well.

The skinny chain also does
not cut as fast as the .05 chain because of the safety anti-kickback
feature in the skinny chain. I bought the fastest cutting .043 chain I
could find but it still doesn't cut as fast as the non-kickback chain
does.

Thanks. I've never tried a low-kickback chain. I have a bar nose
kickback protection plate on some of my bars. They work, but prevents
me from cutting oversized logs. Otherwise, I'm just careful not to
dig the nose into the ground or notch in the cut.

BTW, I have been using chain saws for about 40 years and have always
tried to be safe.

My involvement with chainsaws started when I bought this house in
1973. That would be 44 years. However, I'm getting too old for doing
my own firewood and have been buying my firewood for exorbitant
prices.

I always tried hard to avoid kickback after I saw
the scars on a fellow worker's arm from a saw kicking back. I never,
until this last summer, had a saw kick back hard enough that it got
even close to a body part. But it finally happened and the chain brake
worked just like it was supposed to. Even if the chain had hit me it
would have been stopped. Those brakes are a great idea. I never set
the saw down without first engaging the brake.

I've been lucky so far but have had a few close calls. The chain
brake saved me once, but that was enough. Oddly, I have had more near
accidents when starting a chainsaw than running one. I tend to get
sloppy when tired and it shows when starting. These days, I always
start a saw on the ground, not tree climber style in the air. I
should lock the brake more often, but often forget.

Good luck and I'll let you know how the bar and chain transplant work.

Eric

--
Jeff Liebermann
150 Felker St #D http://www.LearnByDestroying.com
Santa Cruz CA 95060 http://802.11junk.com
Skype: JeffLiebermann AE6KS 831-336-2558