Defective Stihl Chainsaw Chain

[BrianK]

Think that might be pretty easy to zap that hump with a grinder no? Wouldn't have to touch the cutter either.

I could easily take it off with my Dremel, no problem.

But is there any reason to? I guess if I couldn't get the Timberline carbide in there at all, I'd need to do something with it.

 

[MasterMech]

Once you can get a file/cutter in there ok then that little hump will have little, if any, effect on the chain.

 

[BJ64]

I could easily take it off with my Dremel, no problem.

But is there are reason to? I guess if I couldn't get the Timberline carbide in there at all, I'd need to do something with it.

It looks certain that if the Timberline ever got on the hump, it would make hash out of it. That is one mean looking rig!

I'll have to retract some of what I said in post #23. If a person could get the chain at half price it could be made to work and be a good deal if one already had the tools.

On the other hand, a person could get a cheaper chain at a lawn and garden store that works fine right out of the box. I might have to do that if the matter is not cleared up by the time I need another chain.

It would be best if Stihl fixes the problem so we could go on like it never happened.

 

[HittinSteel]

I was thinking along the same line Wkpoor and SmokinJ about using a Dremel tool on the hump, but you guys make a good point about "50% off" and "full price".

Should I admit that I bought two of these darn chains?

I might consider selling the other one for half my money back if somebody wanted to take a rotary tool to the hump, but look closely at BrianK's third photo. I'm not familiar with the Timberline sharpener with the carbide tool that BrianK used, but it took the face off the cutting edge to where it is almost 90 degrees to the wood while the hump seems untouched. I had the same results when I tried to gouge the hump out with a round file. It took the face off the cutter while the hump only had a scratch.

I'm not so sure that half price would be a good deal.

Can't you just return it to the dealer for an exchange? If not I'd be looking in to switching to Oregon LGX

 

[BJ64]

Can't you just return it to the dealer for an exchange? If not I'd be looking in to switching to Oregon LGX

I can return it for refund, and in fact the dealer was going to do that but I had a brain storm and decided to hang onto it for a bit. If I have to switch to Oregon LGX for a while then it is no big deal - and BTW, thanks for giving me an option to check out if it comes to that.

I was able to talk to Stihl Tech support last Thursday (4-12), they said that they would investigate the matter and I was satisfied with that. Later I got to thinking about how are they going to be able to investigate this if they don't have a clue where to start. If I could talk to tech support again or if Roger Phelps would come back and view the thread, I would send them the other retail package and the two samples of roll chain that I have. That way they would have something to work with.

Perhaps I should explain my motive for dogging this thing.

Fist - I don't want anyone to have this problem. If you are buying chain of any brand, inspect it before you buy it. The hump in my chain is rather tiny but it is an aggravation to deal with. If you find a chain with much of a hump, reject it and explain the matter to the dealer. I'm sure they would rather deal with the field rep than a few dissatisfied customers.

Second - Stihl has many years and a lot of effort invested in building a reputation. We can't expect any person or organization to reach perfection, but we do expect them to meat expectations created by the reputation (way to many "-tions" in that line). When a company messes up, I think somebody needs to point out the problem and give them the chance to fix it. I suppose this is my turn.

Anyway, that is why I'm hanging on to the other chain for now.

 

[MasterMech]

Try PM'ing Roger. It should drop an email in his inbox.

 

[BJ64]

Try PM'ing Roger. It should drop an email in his inbox.

Good idea!

 

[Flatbedford]

Roger seems to have lost interest.

 

[Mroverkill]

roger roger

 

[Roger Phelps]

Thanks for the photos. We are looking in to it and hope to get back to you all soon. I do want to check though that the chains were bought at a STIHL dealer. Had to ask. Again, appreciate the feedback.

 

[Roger Phelps]

P.S., you all will have to have to excuse any lapses. I travel quite a bit for the company and am not always in the office or have access to the site (my official issues Blackberry is not the best platform to interact). I assure you I and the rest of the STIHL team are very interested.

 

[BJ64]

I believe this matter is being properly addressed by Stihl.

Roger has shown the pictures to others at the company and he has requested samples of the chain that I had saved back.

He should have them tomorrow.

 

[Roger Phelps]

Folks, wanted to close the loop on this topic. I just got off the phone with the head of saw chain production in Switzerland. The STIHL RSC3 chain undergoes an extra step in production where the cutting angle is ground by a high-tech machine to produce the absolute best cutting performance for the chain straight out the box. The byproduct of that process, however, is the little hump that BJ pointed out. Makes it appear that the 13/64” file doesn’t fit. However that is the proper file, and when it comes time for you to file your chain, a few passes with the file should take the nub off and you are back to regular filing.

I want to thank BJ for bringing this up to us and I hope that I have answered the question. We take a great deal of pride in the production of STIHL chain and take a number of extra steps that our competitor’s don’t. You can read about all the features of STIHL chain here. (broken link removed to http://www.stihllibrary.com/pdfs/WhyBuySawChain.pdf)

I look forward to future conversations with this group.

 

[Bocefus78]

Good info! Thanks for staying with this and providing answers to us all Roger!

 

[greythorn3]

thst sharpener looks great! wish i hadent bought the hf one now