Chane gauge

[Andyshine77]

What's the best gauge chain to use with a 372xp with a 24" bar?

Thanks.

 

[jokers]

Hi Andre,

Welcome to AS.

Whatever gauge is most commomnly available to you, either .050 or .058, since the chassis are the same and only the thickness of the drive tangs is different.

Russ

 

[Andyshine77]

Thank you.

 

[tony marks]

was me in your position.. id take it in let a dealer match it corrwctly.. if u areconcerned at all about whether .50 is strong enough for saw. not a problem jmo .
good luck..

 

[Kneejerk Bombas]

If you are buying both bar and chain, I think the thinner the better. Who wants to lug around extra steel? You see, a thicker drive tang means the bar has to be thicker to accommodate it.

I asked why stihl puts an .063, 325 chain on the 026 stock. The only thing they could come up with was the inferior spur sprocket would wear out too quickly running a thin 050 chain, so to solve this they made the chain and bar thicker, instead of going to a rim system.

 

[Crofter]

Mike: I think that you may be mistaken in saying the 58 guage bar has more steel in it than the 50 gua. The outside dimension is the same on the bar so the reverse of what you say is true, but I stand to be corrected.

Who did you ask about Stils use of 063 chain and who is the "they" who supposedly referred to inferior spur sprockets requiring the benefit of thicker drive links. What is your source?

Frank

 

[NeTree]

Originally posted by Crofter
Mike: I think that you may be mistaken in saying the 58 guage bar has more steel in it than the 50 gua. The outside dimension is the same on the bar so the reverse of what you say is true, but I stand to be corrected.

Frank

But wouldn't that mean the bar rails are progressively thinner as the guage gets thicker?

 

[jokers]

Originally posted by RockyJSquirrel
See what gauge your bar is and buy that gauge chain.

Once again, Brian is right! Everyone else overlooked the obvious.

I`ve heard Mike`s wear theory put forth before but never gave it any credibilty, never heard it as official from Stihl either.

I`ve had 026s with spur sprockets, both non-Pros.

I honestly think that Stihl perpetuates the use of .063 gauge on the smaller saws because they believe that the typical small saw consumer isn`t savvy enough to realize that you can buy chain anywhere but from a Stihl dealer. You`ll notice that the bigger, actually medium, like the 036 - 046 Stihls have been outfitted .050 gauge for awhile.

Russ

 

[Newfie]

"know-it-all jerk"

Well Russ, If anything, Brian has always been truthful. And I thought he was just opinionated.

 

[sedanman]

Stihl and Husqvarna agree to disagree. Stihl puts .063 on their stuff because Husqvarna uses .058 on a lot of theirs. The aftermarket generally has poor support of .063 so the pro users would pitch a major fit if the larger saws came with something they could only get from Stihl hence the use of .050 on the bigger saws. .058 would probably be a better choice for all 3/8 chain but the 2 companies have to be different from each other rather than "admit" the other was right. All the other saw manufacturers share a smaller piece of market and don't have the clout to dictate to chain manufacturers to have anything other than what's already available. How we ever ended up with 4 guages, .043,.050,.058,.063 and 5 pitches 1/4, .325, 3/8 lp, 3/8 and .404 with what, 25(?) tail patterns is beyond me. The fact that anyone can get the right bar/chain/sprocket is amazing.

 

[Tony Snyder]

I stock some .063 in both 3/8ths and .325. I sell a little .063 by .325 but almost no .063 by 3/8ths.

I just went to the shop and checked some .063 groove bars vs .050 groove bars for Stihl tail pattern. and the .063 bars were thicker than the .050s. I had never really concerned myself with that before. These were all solid bars. I dont know if you would get the same outcome on laminated bars, I didn't happen to have any. (.063 vs .050 I mean)

 

[Kneejerk Bombas]

Originally posted by sedanman
.058 would probably be a better choice for all 3/8 chain but the 2 companies have to be different from each other rather than "admit" the other was right.

Why do you feel .058 is better?

My source of info on the drive tang/rim spur was a Stihl manufatcurers representitive at a local trade show. I don't quite buy it either.

We do have .063 on our 36" bars and the logic is the bar is thicker and therefore stronger. The weight isn't much of a factor with the big saw because it isn't a limbing saw (not much throwing it around).
If I had it to do over, I would just have all the 3/8" saws be .050.

 

[kam]

".063 bars were thicker than the .050"...Tony

Does that mean the cutters are wider on 3/8-.063 than 3/8-.050 ,that would require more torque and hp to drive the chain?

If 3/8-.063 cutters are not wider, then the kerf leaves less clearance.

 

[Tony Snyder]

I would say, yes, the kerf leaves more or less clearance depending on the bar thickness. It was only about .008" difference, and yes I know that raises another question because the number don't add up as you would expect. But, I cannot see that it makes much difference.

My sales are best on .058 gauge stuff, because I sell European saws(but not Stihl). It is the Japanese saws and Stihls that require the .050 gauge.

The .043 gauge is the most aggravation to me, it is just an invention we didn't need. sorta like the Intenz bars.

The above is just another reason that the marketers should be called marketeers as in racketeers, not a very honorable occupation. A marketeer is just a marketer without honor. Many of these sales executives we have making up the sales hype today would make P T Barnum look like an angle.

 

[NeTree]

Originally posted by Tony Snyder

The .043 gauge is the most aggravation to me, it is just an invention we didn't need. sorta like the Intenz bars.

Ya got THAT right.

 

[eyolf]

Sedan posts that we have 4 pitches, and 4 giuages. It's not all that long ago that a dealer might expect to field requests for .354 (McCulloch), 7/16", 1/2" plus 9/16" chain, too. I've got an old homelite solid bar with .050 groove, fits a 4-20, so would most likely have been used with 1/2" chain. Every piece of 1/2" chain I have is .063. I've got 9/16" chain in .063 and something bigger, about 5/64" (.080?)...One old McCulloch has a bar worn enough to accept the big drivers, which leads me to think it may have been sold as a band-aid fix for worn bars.

Leaving out 5/8" and 3/4" chain? I've not seen any on a hand-held chain saw yet (I haven't slighted the big exhibition hotsaws, they just don't count for this discussion, LOL)

Anybody else got any oddball sizes?

 

[Kneejerk Bombas]

Originally posted by Tony Snyder


The .043 gauge is the most aggravation to me, it is just an invention we didn't need. sorta like the Intenz bars.

It may sem like a sales angle to you, but from the guys liek me in the feild using the tools it makes sense. Are you going to have me running 3/8" .058 chain on my power prunner just so you don't have to stock different size chains?

And what's wrong with the Intenz bars? If you have an old saw wiothout the side tensioner, it's a nice thing to have.

Now if you want to gripe about something valid, how about Stihls 15 or 20 different gas and oil cap sizes? I have a whole box of replacement caps in various sizes, yet never have the one I need!

 

[jokers]

Mike,

Why don`t you run the .050 gauge lo pro? It`s actually a good product compared to the .043.

Russ

 

[NeTree]

Originally posted by Mike Maas
Are you going to have me running 3/8" .058 chain on my power prunner just so you don't have to stock different size chains?

No, I run 3/8" x .050 on most stuff so *I* don't have to.

And what's wrong with the Intenz bars? If you have an old saw wiothout the side tensioner, it's a nice thing to have.

Wouldn't a nice cleaner running, safer, lighter modern saw already have one?

 

[Kneejerk Bombas]

Erik and Jokers, the micro chains are quite a bit smaller than LP and cut a narrower kerf. On small saws this translates to faster cutting. My power prunner needs all the help it can get, theres quite a power loss with a small motor and a 12' shaft. The small chain makes it cut, it can't pull lp. I bet this advantage is the same for many of the small saws.
I tried 3/8" chain on saws like stock 026 and it cuts slower than .325 by a long shot. I'm not running 3/8" just so I don't have different size chains to deal with.
Narrow kerf chain cut 15% faster than lp. That's like the difference muffler work makes!

Brian, there is no down side to the Intenz. If you think front tensioner screws are not a factor, why did they all go to side tensioners?
A couple of my old saws were so bad you couldn't use a scrench, it wouldn't fit, you had to get a screwdriver.

To me, it's the sum of all the little things that makes a saw great, or junk.