Chain not sliding inside the gauge but riding on the top of nose sprocket teeth.

[NAKATA]

Good evening Gents!

I need your expert opinion on the following matter:

Is this gap between the bar`s gauge and the chain on the nose normal or the chain has to be touching and sliding on the gauge?

My opinion is that the chain has to slide on the gauge and not riding on the sprocket teeth as it create too much stress on the sprocket teeth bearing.

See photos bellow!

 

[Franny K]

The drive links fold around the teeth at the nose and if you see sparks it is because it is rubbing. If the first picture has sort of rounded tips after the chain is removed for viewing it is the correct one for 3/8lp but if the tips are kind of pointy that tip is for full sized 3/8.

 

[J D]

The whole point of the sprocket nose is to stop the chain riding on the bar rails. If the chain rides on the bar rails around the tip it has to be a hard nose bar with considerably harder metal... in this situation there is more friction, drag & wear (but no sprocket to get clogged up or fail). In most situations the increase in cutting power that goes along with a sprocket tip is well worth their use, & in the situation that a quality bar would likely outlast the sprocket they are generally replaceable

 

[Matt81]

The sprocket nose is designed to fully support the chain. There should be a gap to prevent extra friction and wear and a slowing down of the chain speed. Over time as the sprocket nose teeth wear down the chain will eventually touch the bar nose. Often you will start to see sparks when this gets bad enough. Time for a new sprocket nose if your bar supports this or a new bar if it does not.

Never had a sprocket nose bearing fail yet from a correctly tightened chain in around 30 years of cutting. It is what they are designed to do after all.

Also the gauge of a bar is the width of the groove where your chain drivers run in. The drivers of the chain must have the same gauge to work properly. Sounds like you are using the word gauge to refer to the gap between the bar nose and the chain.