can somebody help me find the correct chain for my mculloch pm510

[wes44]

sorry if it sounds like a silly question, I have already tried searching online but to no avail.

purchased an old pm510 recently for $10 as I need a "Junker" to cut some fire damaged wood at a friends property that I don't want to use my regular saw (shindawa 377) as it creates a lot of soot and dirt on the saw..

complete strip and service later (new carb gaskets) clean / set points, flush congealed oil and gas out of tank, inspect rings / piston etc and it now starts as it should, idles and has good throttle response etc. So far the only purchase has been a new plug (previous owner had a gasketed plug fitted where it should have been a taper).. the carb kit was included with the saw.

The only problem is there was no chain with the saw. the previous owner had written 0.50 / 79 / 1/4" on the bar in marker but it seems an odd size? Hopefully somebody has a definitive answer and looking online I can only find reference to "these saws used a 3/8 chain although some came with a 1/4"" but no chain lengths.

I've checked the clutch sprocket and bar and its as follows

90772 TMR 17 16" hard nose.
clutch sprocket is 85504 8T 1/4"

so the 0.50 gauge and 1/4" are correct but is it really 79 drive links?

Thanks if anyone knows the answer.

ps: not used 1/4" chain before so if there are any specific types that people are familiar with for this type of saw i'd appreciate any feedback too.



Regards.

 

[jetsam]

There do appear to be a few places on the web that sell loops of Oregon 25 series chain at 79 dl if you want to go that way. Looks like that chain will cost 4x what the saw did, and the saw may or may not have been a bargain to start with. (Also, if you order from someone who makes the chain to order off a dusty old spool, they may not want the return when you discover that the 79 sharpied on the bar was the guy's age or favorite number or something. )

My preference would be to switch the sprocket and put an old 3/8 bar and chain from another saw on it and call it a day. You lose some power from the wider kerf and taller tooth but it's cheaper than buying a chain, and sharpening 1/4" chain sucks anyway. Just have to see if you have a bar that matches up and get a 3/8 sprocket.