I recently was given a Stihl 025 chainsaw. I works fine. Great in fact. But it has an 18 inch bar. I would like to put at least a 20 inch bar. I haven't gone to a Stihl dealer yet as I suspect they might focus on selling me a larger saw. I am just trying to find out if anyone has experience with putting a larger bar on the 025 model saw. I would love to hear about some real-like experience from users of this saw. thanks.
-
April 2025 Turning Challenge: Turn an Egg! (click here for details) -
Congratulations to Kelly Shaw winner of the March 2025 Turning Challenge (click here for details) -
Congratulations to Ellen Starr for "Lotus Temple" being selected as Turning of the Week for 21 April, 2025 (click here for details) -
Welcome new registering member. Your username must be your real First and Last name (for example: John Doe). "Screen names" and "handles" are not allowed and your registration will be deleted if you don't use your real name. Also, do not use all caps nor all lower case.
Stihl chainsaw question
- Thread starter Dennis Powers
- Start date
I owned a 250 Stihl that I put a 20 inch bar on and it slowed the saw down considerably. I’ve owned and used many Stihl chainsaws of all sizes. My experience has been that the recommendations made by the dealer are mostly spot on. IMHO, a 20” bar needs a bigger motor.
Like Tim, my experience with the Stihl dealers has always been very good. I believe they have charts for all their saws with what upgrades are compatible based on a few factors. I would call a dealer and take their recommendation for primarily safety reasons and to prevent damage to your saw if you try and have it do things it wasn't engineered for.
- Joined
- Feb 28, 2021
- Messages
- 1,568
- Likes
- 1,372
- Location
- Roulette, PA
- Website
- www.reallyruralwoodworks.com
what the others said. Plus, it isn't just the bar size in consideration, chain comes into play too. Low profile and narrower kerf chains reduce the amount of power needed to drive the chain through wood, though it does sacrifice some things (cutter longevity and efficiency, to name a couple) So you can get a saw with a 20 inch bar and a "small as possible" chain that may be stretching a saw's power threshold to the limit, but that usually comes in to around minimum of 45cc.
for a serious 20 inch bar & chain that does the job and does it well, you probably want to look at saws above 60cc. There ARE "farm duty" saws in the 50 to 55cc range that come standard with full size 20 inch bar & chain, and they work quite well, but would be somewhat underpowered for professional use (Though I know some loggers that buy them since they are cheaper, and use them for their landing/bucking saws) So, for running pretty much any 20 inch bar, you'd need to look at saws starting in the 50cc range and up.
for a serious 20 inch bar & chain that does the job and does it well, you probably want to look at saws above 60cc. There ARE "farm duty" saws in the 50 to 55cc range that come standard with full size 20 inch bar & chain, and they work quite well, but would be somewhat underpowered for professional use (Though I know some loggers that buy them since they are cheaper, and use them for their landing/bucking saws) So, for running pretty much any 20 inch bar, you'd need to look at saws starting in the 50cc range and up.
- Joined
- Apr 27, 2004
- Messages
- 9,160
- Likes
- 5,760
- Location
- Lakeland, Florida
- Website
- www.hockenberywoodturning.com
I’m sure there are dealers who upsale. My experiences with dealers in MD and Fl is they focus on what you want the saw to do then make recommendations.
The manual says 18” bar. See page 53.
The manual says 18” bar. See page 53.
It also comes down to why you want a larger bar.
A while back, I posed the question to a couple of tree guys locally, who said that they routinely cut trees that are up to about 2x the bar length.
For bowl roughing, I don't particularly like cutting logs larger than my bar is long to avoid those kerf lines when things don't line up accordingly. Not really an issue when I had only a 12" lathe, but now with a 20, I have to be a bit more careful. I have both a 16" and 20" saw and find I reach for the smaller one more often than not, simply due to it being lighter. The 20" saw is much more powerful, but the 16" cuts smooth and accurately with a sharp chain. Neither saw works well with a dull chain, duh.
A while back, I posed the question to a couple of tree guys locally, who said that they routinely cut trees that are up to about 2x the bar length.
For bowl roughing, I don't particularly like cutting logs larger than my bar is long to avoid those kerf lines when things don't line up accordingly. Not really an issue when I had only a 12" lathe, but now with a 20, I have to be a bit more careful. I have both a 16" and 20" saw and find I reach for the smaller one more often than not, simply due to it being lighter. The 20" saw is much more powerful, but the 16" cuts smooth and accurately with a sharp chain. Neither saw works well with a dull chain, duh.
Per the manufacture's spec sheet, the 025 is rated for a 12 inch to 18 inch bar length. The recommended bar length is 16 inches.
Do go to the chain saw stores for information, and not the big box stores. Those that sell and service the saws for those who really use them, the pros, can tell you a lot more than the big box store clerks. I went in to see about getting my yearly service on my saw, and was told no way. They are short on help, and only deal with the pros.
robo hippy
robo hippy
I have a MS271 Farm Boss with the 18 inch bar. I have a 20 inch bar I have put on it, but it does lose power with the longer bar. I cut with it and could notice a pretty significant difference. Probably more horsepower would help.... Also, Reed is right, go to a Stihl dealer. They are WAY more helpful.
I've got the Farm Boss - and have used a 20" bar exclusively on it for the last 12 years or so. Plenty of power for large dia maple and madrone we get locally, even the large dia maple that requires cuts from both sides. I even rip the bigger stuff. Since I've never used a smaller bar on it I guess I don't know what I'm missing.
Last edited:
The idea that for a short time in a full depth cut that small difference in bar length could be felt surprises me. 2" on one side of the bar is like what, 5 or 6 teeth?
I've always used a skip tooth ripping blade so there's even fewer teeth difference...
I also have a Stihl 271 with a 20" bar. Stihl lists that as an option on the 271, though they recommend a shorter bar. Crosscutting, it works OK, but ripping to make blanks, it really struggles with a full length cut, even when keeping the bar at an angle (or slope). I assume it's because the full length of the bar is engaged in the cut and the engine just doesn't have the power to handle so many teeth cutting at once. The 025 might have more hp than the 250/251, but I doubt it can truly handle a 20" bar.
When did this turn to ripping? OP didn't mention that.
I have ripping chains for my saws. I talked to the Husky/Sthil chainsaw store and they asked me what I was doing. I told them about cutting up log blanks for making bowls and they suggested the skip tooth chains. It doesn't cross cut as well as the standard chain, but it still goes through as long as the chain is sharp.
There are CBN wheels for the chainsaw sharpeners.
robo hippy
There are CBN wheels for the chainsaw sharpeners.
robo hippy
I had a couple smaller chainsaws that just just could not do the job, some got so hot they quit while cutting, so in 2006 I bought a Stihl MS 361 with 2 bars, an 18" and a 24", the recommended size is for a 20" bar, but 18" would cut most of my logs and is easier handled in the bush, I still use that saw, same bar with just one extra chain for it, the 24" bar has been used several times for larger logs, saw will cut fine with the larger bar, but I can tell it is working hard.
I would say use the bar size it is made for and it will last you a long time, if you do need to cut larger wood, you can go from side to side and cut larger size logs than the 20" ones, I've had to do that a few times when my 24" bar was too short, that is better than burning out the saw, IMO.
I would say use the bar size it is made for and it will last you a long time, if you do need to cut larger wood, you can go from side to side and cut larger size logs than the 20" ones, I've had to do that a few times when my 24" bar was too short, that is better than burning out the saw, IMO.
Well, it's a woodturning forum, so I assume that many of us, maybe the majority, use their chain saw to rip the logs through the pith into 2 half logs. Is that a problem?
Thank you everyone. This is exactly what I wanted. Real life feedback. All of your advice is appreciated.
No, not a problem. I just had the feeling that there was a misunderstanding from what the OP really meant. Sorry. I don't cut from the end grain and don't need a ripping chain. In fact I can choke up a saw with the long curls from working from the side.