The MS150 Has Arrived

[mastermind7864]

I'll spend some time seeing what options we have in sprocket and bars......

 

[Al Smith]

If that little rascal takes a special chain that would be typical of Stihl to come up with that nonsense of something only they make .

 

[mastermind7864]

They play that game a lot don't they Al?

 

[CurSedVoyce]

It would be interesting to see if you could use a pole saw bar or something on it... Sproket?... wellll...... that's a wild card.

 

[HolmenTree]

WIllard, why do you say the Bailey's quarter pitch is for carvers? I think that is mainly who they are marketing to, but it is not safety chain (they might have some that is) and is just like the standard here that comes on some small saws, not for carving. I bought a bunch of loops for the Zenoah, but had to order a different dl count from the pre-made loops they sell. Is there something particular about chain for carving that is different? Looks the same as regular chain to my eye.

Jay, in my Baileys master catalog they don't even list the 1/4 chain in the front chain section, only in the back with the carving section. Yes it's rebadged Carlton without the oversized safety ramp on the depth gauge. Baileys quotes some of their brand name rebadged Carlton Woodland Pro chain is non safety and not recommended for casual users , but they only say that to protect their butts . They mention nothing with the Oregon chain they sell which has some of the same features as the WP chain.
So I guess their 1/4 chain is based wholly on their carver customers. Japan? yeah I can see a different market.

Here's some pics of my Woodland Pro 1/4 chain on the bottom and Stihl's beautiful 1/4 on top . Notice the Stihl chain has the fatter sloped depth gauge which here in "no lawsuit" Canada is regarded as a safety chain. Also notice the Stihl has modified "boat tail" cutters done right at their factory, this chain is designed for the carver market with the smallest of carving bar tips.
Last pic is Fiona's MS200 and my 346XP both converted over to 1/4" with the stash of brand new Windsor Mini Pro bars I found. I have noses for these bars in 1/4, .325, 3/8 LoPro and 3/8 standard.

 

[Al Smith]

That stigma goes with just about any German engineered thing there is .We deal with it all time at work .If they get too chitty about it before too long the stuff gets retrofitted and they get cut off .Simple as that .

Now as a general rule the stuff is top notch it's just after a while it becomes a chore to repair with only one source of parts .

 

[mastermind7864]

Willard, you are saying that 1/4" pitch .043 gauge is available from Baileys?

Stihl is a big pain in my ass Al. They make a great, durable product.......but getting parts at good prices, with shipping is near impossible.

 

[HolmenTree]

Willard, you are saying that 1/4" pitch .043 gauge is available from Baileys?

All my 1/4 chain is .050
I'm not up to date on Stihl's new product, the .043 1/4 is news to me.
I 'll have to stop in at the local Stihl dealer and take a closer look at that 1/4 chain on the battery power saw they have on their display.

 

[Al Smith]

Eventually Stihl or whomever if there is a big enough market somebody will make parts .They might be okay or they might not be depending .This little saw is too new though for any after market stuff .

 

[watsonr]

Eventually Stihl or whomever if there is a big enough market somebody will make parts .They might be okay or they might not be depending .This little saw is too new though for any after market stuff .

Its to new for even the dealer to get parts!

 

[HolmenTree]

I just stepped out the Stihl dealers shop and had the 71 Pm3 chain in my hands for the first time.
Man that is tiny little chain! I got pics of it on a battery saw on my cell .don't know if I can transfer the pic here but will for sure tonite at home.
The dealers 2011-2012 catalog has the chain listed but they never stocked it.

 

[Al Smith]

I don't know weather it is or not .If the dealers in Tenn use the same distributer as they do here which is out of Cincinnati Ohio that guy is pretty much up to date on about every thing .In defense of Stihl generally speaking they do about as good as Caterpilar or John Deere with getting parts.

The dealer I patronize orders twice a week so usually within 4 days I have it . Of course some dealers are azzholes and are reluctant to order parts .Find one who will .Fact I can order parts via the telephone but as required by Stihls franchise agreement I have to pick them up at the place of business .

 

[woodworkingboy]

Things get so complicated with legality issues and such. The quarter pitch WP chain is what I purchased, didn't know it was really Carlton. I don't use the little Zenoah much, but it seems to work ok with that chain. A gardner friend of mine uses his all the time for which I also bought a number of loops. He probably wouldn't much notice differences, and him being a pissed off character all the time, i probably wouldn't notice it if he did. I've wondered why Bailey's seems to only associate that chain with carving, just assumed that a greater number of people using it for other purposes is something that hasn't yet filtered into their consciousness.

 

[DMc]

...Man that is tiny little chain! ...

It is that! Not sure I would change that fact either. This saw is a keeper. It is without a doubt the best trimming saw I have ever used.

David

 

[CurSedVoyce]

The last loop of 1/4 by Stihl I saw at the shop, I believe was for a 14" bar. It also cost about 35.00 as I recall...

 

[HolmenTree]

Here's the pics of the 71PM3 ,I think it is a good fit for a stock MS150 doing pruning only, should make a nice smooth cut.

 

[HolmenTree]

Damn Stihl has smart marketing ,not only did they recently introduce a chisel Picco I just looked closer at this new 71PM3 chain and see they reinvented the extended pitch chain now from a 1/4 chain.
Let me explain, when Stihl developed the 3/8 Picco extended pitch chain in 1979 the trend at the time was 1/4"chain which was designed for small underpowered saws and a big market for small cheap consumer saws that needed a cheap chain. 1/4 pitch with more pieces per foot was too expensive to make a consumer grade low cost chain, so what the big chain companies did was take a 1/4" cutter and "extend " it to a 3/8 chassis.
So what I'm saying is the 3/8 Picco has a 1/4 chain cutter bit but the cutter is stretched with a longer area between the depth gauge resulting in a lower profile to make it a 3/8 pitch chain.

Now having said all this I see Stihl went one step smaller and made a low profile stretched out 1/4" chain with a even smaller cutter bit. What should this cutter be then in true size 1/8" or 3/16"?
Compare my 2 pics of Stihls regular 1/4-.050 chain to their new 1/4"-.043 and see the low profile "extended pitch".

 

[watsonr]

Anything new on this saw... video maybe of the before's/afters?

 

[Pelorus]

The bottom chain in bottom photo looks like the teeth have a back slope to them.

 

[MasterBlaster]

All teeth do, that's why you've gotta bring the rakers down as you file. I wonder why they don't make them level? What's the reason for the angle?

 

[Pelorus]

Not referring to the top of the teeth, but the cutting angle, Butch.
Looks like the file needs to be lower in the gullet to give the teeth a bit of hook.

 

[MasterBlaster]

Ahh, sorry - I'm still on my first cup o joe.

 

[Pelorus]

It's 10:40 and warming up (snow at zero risk of melting) so am gonna have to do my all for Queen, country, and the bankers pretty soon.

 

[mastermind7864]

Randy, I've yet to locate a new chain for it. Can you get one?

 

[woodworkingboy]

Butch, seems like most cutters have the angle clearance going on, saw blades as well. Probably if you get pitch or burnt deposits on the cutter, you don't want it rubbing. Rubbing would ad to buildup fast.