Full Wrap vs. 3/4 Wrap?

rfwoody

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I don't live in the Pacific NW, but I just got an ms461 with wrap handles (I believe they are 3/4 wrap), and I really like the feel of this (to me) heavier chainsaw.

I have an ms660 which I use for milling -- which is lately seeming a little to heavy/unwieldy to use for falling.

...But I'm thinking about putting a wrap handle the on the ms660 so it will feel better in my hands.

Question is... should I get a 3/4 wrap handle or a Full wrap handle?

P.S. I still need to learn how to take full advantage of the (3/4?) wrap handles... e.g. doing face cuts and back cut all from same side of the tree.

Thanks a lot for any responses!
 
Only downside of a full wrap handle is you can't cut dirty stump wood with it. That's what a stump grinder is for. Much more ergonomic. Useful in the tree where the position of the bar (top side or bottom side of powerhead) in relation to your climbing gear/ rigging gear can make a difference.
 
Stock handlebars only come in 3/4 on stihls as far as I know, that and half, no full. A guy I used 5o cut with had some after market full wraps though. Dunno where he got em. This was on 066.

In all but very rare circumstances you should always face the tree from the same side you back it up, its more accurate and youre not under the side lean. Only reason to change sides is when your bar is too short to reach through ( which is often) and you need to clean up a face, or corner up the backcut. Even then youre more often in front of the tree or behind it rather than actually on the other side. Average tree- face and backup from same side.
 
I like making low stump cuts because my stump guy charges me less. I'm also fairly ambidextrous handling a saw so it really doesn't matter not having the extra handle on the sprocket side. I prefer keeping one hand on the rear handle and one on the top of the top handle, left or right makes no difference. Also the full wrap handle makes it a pain in the ass to pull the sprocket cover for cleaning or chain swaps. If somebody gave me a saw with a full wrap handle I'd buy a regular handle for it.
 
In all but very rare circumstances you should always face the tree from the same side you back it up

+1. And you can do that with regular or wrap handlebars.
 
Many customers don't want to pay more for a stump grinding, so I have to ALAP the stumps often. Even the sprocket cover is cumbersome!

Beside that, it's very rare that I miss the extra part of a round handle during a cut.
 
+1. And you can do that with regular or wrap handlebars.

Cory if you are doing this by switching hands. Remember every time you run a saw left handed it is not how the saw was designed.

I am left handed and it's great to be ambidextrous, but as soon as you cut left hand on trigger you are nine times out of ten putting yourself in a worse position for kickback.

3/4 wrap was on everyone of my saws except for the top handles.

Yes I can switch hit on a saw no problem, and sometimes it's nescessary. But 3/4 wrap gives you the most, safest, ergonomic, positioning options possible.

As for cutting stumps. I never had an issue cutting as low as I liked with a 3/4 wrap and I was the one grinding the stumps.

I found the only thing I didn't like about a 3/4 wrap is if somehow you got your hands on a 1/2 wrap it can be kind of dangerous going for the 3/4 section when it's not there.
 
Many customers don't want to pay more for a stump grinding, so I have to ALAP the stumps often. Even the sprocket cover is cumbersome!

Beside that, it's very rare that I miss the extra part of a round handle during a cut.



Nobody wants to pay for stump grinding. Hope you're charging for an ALAP cut over a standard cut.

Included in the cost of removal, a stump 4-6" above the soil line. $300 for grind and clean-up, $50 for cutting ALAP. Easy for them to pay $50 if you explain that it is the worst type of cutting, with the most chance of hitting metal/ rocks, wear and tear, need for sharpening.




The difference in cut height is a few inches between the two wraps.

There is probably considerably more bar and chain wear with ALAP cutting. You're most times going to have to do hard, continuous cutting with a hard to keep sharp chain, in dusty conditions. Time/ tools for sharpening should be accounted for.

I cut stumps as low as reasonable for stump grinding. Seems to work out. Rather have better ergonomics for most of the saws operating time. To each, their own.
 
Well, I never thought at that, but I agree completely on the wear part. Even more, I recently discovered that on dry and bare ground, the 440's muffler blows some loose dirt directly where the back chain enters in the stump! Stupid design.

One between many things to change in my price setting.
 
I like a 15/16ths wrap.

You must be French!!!

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I like making low stump cuts because my stump guy charges me less. I'm also fairly ambidextrous handling a saw so it really doesn't matter not having the extra handle on the sprocket side. I prefer keeping one hand on the rear handle and one on the top of the top handle, left or right makes no difference. Also the full wrap handle makes it a pain in the ass to pull the sprocket cover for cleaning or chain swaps. If somebody gave me a saw with a full wrap handle I'd buy a regular handle for it.

I thought so too, on all points, but I was wrong.

It is worth it.
 
Cory if you are doing this by switching hands. Remember every time you run a saw left handed it is not how the saw was designed.

I am left handed and it's great to be ambidextrous, but as soon as you cut left hand on trigger you are nine times out of ten putting yourself in a worse position for kickback.

3/4 wrap was on everyone of my saws except for the top handles.

Yes I can switch hit on a saw no problem, and sometimes it's nescessary. But 3/4 wrap gives you the most, safest, ergonomic, positioning options possible.

As for cutting stumps. I never had an issue cutting as low as I liked with a 3/4 wrap and I was the one grinding the stumps.

I found the only thing I didn't like about a 3/4 wrap is if somehow you got your hands on a 1/2 wrap it can be kind of dangerous going for the 3/4 section when it's not there.

This is all correct, so listen and learn, kids. All the other stuff is noise.
 
I got my stumps as low as I wanted, yesterday.

I bet they spend the money on grinding. Koi pond business in yard. Pics today. Koi, not stumps.
 
Every blue moon or so, the PNW get's something right & you gotta run with it :)
Great for climbing & felling in general, especially as I am left handed, but my forestry saws still wear normal handles- I'd be slung off site in a heartbeat leaving stumps high.
As you can see I am playing my favourite game of attempting to dry all my shit out before tomorrow!
 

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Every blue moon or so, the PNW get's something right & you gotta run with it :)
Great for climbing & felling in general, especially as I am left handed, but my forestry saws still wear normal handles- I'd be slung off site in a heartbeat leaving stumps high.
As you can see I am playing my favourite game of attempting to dry all my shit out before tomorrow!

If 2" is a concern, a quick boot kick where the wrap portion of the handle would touch the ground will fix that.
 
If 2" is a concern, a quick boot kick where the wrap portion of the handle would touch the ground will fix that.
In ideal circumstance, rocks and root flares, rock hard ground don't kick well.
 
Somebody really needs to measure the difference in width between a 1/2 wrap and a 3/4 wrap?

I ran my business for almost a decade with stumpgrinding as a service and never once considered running 1/2 wraps because I couldn't dpcut a stump low enough. Just my experience with it.
 
I sold all removals that weren't getting ground as alap without cutting dirt.

I've told it here before. But when people would get stupid about stump heights I'd tell them asking me to cut dirt with my saw would be the equivalent of asking a butcher to take his knives and run them across pavement. I just refused to do it. I'm not risking/dulling a razor of a felling saw to cut down into root flare and all the nasty filthiness to be found in those bottom 2"s.

If for some reason I absolutely had to cut a stump stupidly low, I'd use a beater saw, bar and chain for it.

Otherwise I'm not going to 'tie my hands' for all my cutting by using a 1/2 wrap bar so that I can make the final cut 1 or 2"s lower and into the dirtiest part of the tree. Uh uh.
 
And because I enjoy fanning the flames of controversy..........

I know it's regional but Willie must know and get a little red in the face every time he picks up a 1/2 wrap. Because.....well......in the pnw a 1/2 wrap is like a beginner saw, like what you'd give your child for their first powerhead.

:P lol :D
 
Haha, go sweep a chimney or make a snow man!

Any more I don't bid "alap", I say "cut stump low". When they ask how low I show them a place an inch or 2 above the dirt. They want it in the dirt now, I tell them that it's a stump grinding job.
 
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