A friend has the big Dewalt with the 20" bar and it wouldn't noodle blocks worth a damn due to the long noodles getting jammed up in the side cover, so I eliminated the side cover and replaced it with a section of flat plate aluminum the same shape as the base of the bar. Now it noodles about as well as you could expect a 3/8LP chain to do. If you try this on a saw with the same problem, make sure the replacement covers the bar oil hole and has a clearance slot for the tensioner nub if it sticks through the bar. If your saw has an outboard chain guide plate, you might just need a stack of washers under the bar nuts.
