Chain Saw Recommendations

[Jim Stewart]

Rich, you mention large honeysuckle! Are these bush honeysuckle? If so they are a worthy adversary. Tough wood! The husky you have should do fine for the larger trees. Depending on the trees you will have to be concerned the re-sprouting of some species like honey locust, bush honeysuckle. I used Tordon stump killer and it is very effective. for honeysuckle vines you can use roundup but caution here because you will kill all of the grasses as well. you will have erosion issues then. Crossbow will kill the honeysuckle vines as well and not kill the grass, but it cost more.
I have a Stihl 044 and I would use it for the large stuff. a smaller tree trimming saw would be good for the 3" stuff.
I think the tracked skid-steer with a bush hog is a good way to go. maybe you can buy an outfit and then sell it when your done. You could spot spray the area in small tracks immediately as you are done. to kill the stuff you need to work with fresh cuts. Best of luck.

[Rich Riddle]

Jim,

The botanist claims the are Amur honeysuckle. They might have started as shrubs but many are now tree-like and quite large. According to Wikipedia, the Amur honeysuckle can grow to 20 feet tall. As you can see by the small size of the chipper in the photographs, these are that tall. Thanks for the information on the stump killer. Anything that will kill the honeysuckle but keep grass and vines is a winner.

[Mark Bolton]

Mark,

Thanks for that information. Guess other chains would work on the Husqvarna 435 other than Husqvarna chains. Oregon didn't seem to offer a direct replacement. Does one only note the pitch, angle, width, etc. when ordering a non-factory type of blade. I did purchase a Husqvarna chain sharpening file set. It seems to work well. The original chain proved so far beyond repair that it had to be discarded. Sharp does make quite a difference.

You can call out your saw or the chain spec's to any where selling chains and they can give you the chain to fit. Your only real decision is the tooth shape/geometry. The round chisel is the norm because its a little more forgiving, less aggressive, and reportedly less kickback. The Piccos (square full chisel) from what I have always seen are pretty much what anyone in the timber industry uses. I believe its about the most popular chain sold but often times local dealers will warn about kickback because I think they generally deal with homeowners. I have never had an issue with kickback to be honest but a lot of that has to do with your raker height as well.

You can likely do some reading on the internet about hand sharpening but I just use a file and a file handle, no guides or anything. One file size larger than your chain calls for. Most chains will have a score line on the tooth representing the optimum angle and max file depth. I simply flatten this out a little (square your file to the bar a bit more). The steep angle they recommend you file to makes a super sharp and fast cutting chain but it also dulls very quickly. And of course remember that if your cutting this brush close to the ground and rain has splashed mud up on the trunks and so on, you may sharpen as another post replied, every time you re-fuel. It may just be three light licks per tooth but none the less it will be needed.

I think regardless of chain type, if you got in the routine of sharpening well, and sharpening often, you'd be surprised how well your current saw does. I know your opting for the brush cutter route now, but its all good info. That buddy of mine (logger) really was a wealth of knowledge. I own 115 acres with about 75 of it timber and have a small sawmill and working around him (stealing his knowledge the entire time) has been a major benefit. To watch a guy who does that stuff in his sleep is just mind blowing to me.

P.S.
Remember too that you have to periodically file your rakers down slightly with a flat file after several sharpenings. If you dont, the tooth height will be at the same level or lower than the tip of the raker and you will suffer.

[Rich Riddle]

Well the "chain saw" arrived in the mail yesterday. Here is the Husqvarna 345 bush cutter. Took about an hour to assemble. Thanks to all those who offered opinions toward the correct tool. Was able to pick this up at a much cheaper price online. It's superior in category (professional grade) to many of the smaller Stihl's that would have been similarly priced (homeowner grade).

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[Tyler Keniston]

sharpening a bit flatter (less file angle) which gives the edge a little more support

Assuming this is in reference to the top plate angle, which I assumed based on this:

(square your file to the bar a bit more

... I am not sure that in particular would actually beef up an edge. I do see how a larger file would do this however.

I was taught that the top plate angle is more analogous to the set of a saw than any sort of angle that will affect edge durability. So you're affectively only reducing the set (loose analogy, not exactly I'm sure).
If you think about the cutter tooth as a plane blade, the top plate angle would be similar to skewing a plane during planing. It is independent of the iron bevel angle (sharpening angle).
Not that, in the end, that really matters or has any bearing on your brush situation

[Brett Robson]

I think this might just be the ticket! Forget the chain saw!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jJS1ImtGVCw

[Rich Riddle]

I think this might just be the ticket! Forget the chain saw!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jJS1ImtGVCw

If it wasn't for the steep terrain and no access for large tools, that would work great. I owe a great deal of gratitude to whoever recommended heavy duty brush cutters. The Husqvarna cut the work to twenty percent the time.

[Tom M King]

I'm glad it worked out. I was a little worried about it.