I just bought all the stuff to make my own chains and am quite pleased with this. I figure chains for a 36 inch bar will cost about $14 each not including the cost of the tools (which I look at as a one time expense).
The best part is I can get any size bar I want and make my own chains for it.
So before if I wanted a different sized bar, I would need to get the bar and at least 4 chains. So maybe looking at $250 to do this.
I bought the breaker and spinner kit from Bailey's. Also the Woodsman Pro chain scale, which is three stickers you stick on your "work bench" and use it to figure out how long of chain you need for a particular bar.
The thing is you need an 8 ft. distance for these stickers to be all layed out. I don't have an 8 ft. work bench. So what I did was stick the stickers on a 2" x 6" and 8 ft. long piece of wood. Then I can place this piece of wood on a table.
To measure your chain... Your bar will have a picture of a chain drive link and then a number. Like my 3/8 pitch 32 inch bar says 105. So I just lay the chain off the reel onto the chain scale (on my 2 x 6 x 8 ft piece of wood) and stick the end of the chain in the finishing nail installed on the wood per the instructions, then pull it tight on the 3/8 scale. Then I adjusted it back a little so the chain drive links would line up with the markings on the 3/8 scale. Then I put masking tape around that last link which covered number 105 so I would know where to break the link. (The chain scale has numbers on it to indicate how many drive links. Like 1, 2, 3, 4, etc.)
They assume you know all about this chain breaking/spinning stuff, so the instructions are little or none. Some of the instructions were not sent with my stuff, but I found them on the Bailey's web site where the individual spinner or breaker was listed for sale.
The instructions don't relate to what you get. For the breaker there are extra parts. I called and they said these were for harvester chains, but for my 3/8 pitch chains, they said to use the installed tip for breaking my chain.
Then there is a rectangular little bar for the breaker. I figured out you stick this in the same sized slot below the punch and this holds a large rectangular metal piece in place. The large rectangular piece has the same size slots in it as the holding piece and this is for holding the large metal piece in place. The slots in the large metal piece are marked. For example one says 3/8. The 3/8 is the large slot *below* where it says 3/8 (not the small slot above where it says 3/8).
Also, for the breaker, they said to place the punch exactly in the center of the rivet before pulling the handle down. I learned I had to break two rivets before the chain would come undone. The bottom chain link has the rivets stuck to it, so you are just releasing the top plate by punching the rivets, so therefore need to punch two rivets to release the plate!
I don't know this stuff!
The spinner "squishes" the rivets. The new chain in a reel also comes with the connectors to connect the chain together. So you squish a rivet with one handle, then turn the other handle and this spins (or smoothes out) the squished rivet! Makes it a nice and smooth round shape. Stick a drop of oil in there before squishing and spinning as the directions say.
The various spinning parts for the spinner are labeled, but not the same as what the directions say! I have 3/8 pitch chain. The instructions say to use the "13" anvil used on 354, 3/8, and 404. Well there are 6 "anvils" and two slots in which to place these on the spinner. Luckily 3 will only fit in one side, so I could tell which went where. Then the anvils are marked with dots and nowhere does it say "13". Instead they have one dot, two dots, or three dots. Then there is a plastic anvil tool storage holder which has 6 holes. Two holes have 3 dots, two holes 2 dots, and two holes 1 dot. Then below the row for the two 2 dot anvils, it says 404 and 375...
So the information I have to go by is...
-The instructions which say: "13" anvil used on 354, 3/8, and 404.
-The dots to place the anvils in the correct spots on the tool holder.
-And 404 and 375 printed below the second row of the tool holder.
So I guessed that I should use the two anvils marked with two dots because the 404 number was the same as the instructions said for 3/8!
Then I was able to put each anvil into the correct holder on the spinner because one was hex shaped and would only go into that holder.
Then there was an extra small part which came with this and the instructions didn't say anything about it! I learned that I needed to stick this small round part into the round holder first before sticking in the round anvil. This was so the spinner could squish small enough for my 3/8 chain. It extends the anvil out a bit more.
Then nothing in instructions on how tight to squish the rivets other than not too tight. What I did was I noticed the chain links had a bit of play in them. So I squished a bit then checked the play of the adjoining link. If too much play, then squish a little more. When play same as other links, then done! (If too tight, not good of course because the links would not be able to go around bends.)
Another thing is the chain breaker and spinner needs to be mounted to a table or work bench with screws or it will be almost impossible to use them.
Anyway they need better instructions for these things!
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