chainsaw chain questions

good place to start.
http://www.oregonchain.com/index.htm

carlton has good info also. don't have the exact site link. about 30 pages of good info.

big_fish said:

does anyone know of a good site for a little info on chains (like different sizes or pitches ) or maybe someone here can help I know there is 1/4 in .325 and 3/8 pitch my husqvarna according to their web site is a .325 but at the bottom of the page it has the different bar and chain combos you can get with the saw and they are all 3/8 and my poulan saws take a 3/8 chain but the teeth on the 455 are bigger I'm not sure I understand I was looking at my chain boxes the chains come in and on said .325 and the other has 3/8 but they both have my saw on the part where it says what saws it fits thanks

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I'm not sure what exactly you want to know. Since I started working on saws 40 years ago, many of the larger gear-drive saws had 1/2", 7/16" or 5/8" chain, which you don't see much anymore. I worked for the first Stihl dealer in the US, and the early Stihl saws had .404 chain which you also don't see much anymore. Even the smaller saws, like the 040, 040G, and early 041 saws had .404" chain.

There's a lot to know about chain, especially when you go outside the scope of small, one-man saws.

In brief, a chain is described by - it pitch (1/4", .325, 3/8", .404, 7/16, 1/2", 5/8", etc.). Also, it's chipper profile (chisel, semi-chisel, low-profile,etc.). Also, it's drive-tang thickness usually referred to as gauge (.050. .063", etc.), also it's type of raker e.g. "antikickback", also the amount of cutters versus drive tangs e.g. "skip chain", etc. Then also chain is sometimes sold by cute names that don't mean anything. Years ago - I think it was Homelite that took 3/8" pitch chain, but put small cutters on it and called it "Pico" chain. Now it's generically called "low profile 3/8" chain."

Personally, I find saw chains more confusing than ever since now, they are often sold with NO specs - just part numbers. I've also noticed that there is still NO standard for gauge. Some Husky saws come with .063" thickness, and some Stihls come with .050" and the two won't fit the same bar. Gets confusing. Bar-slot gauge needs to match the chain gauge.

My 455 came with a 20" bar. It was 3/8" .050 with 72 drive links. I've since put an 18" bar on & the saw is much happier in hardwood.
Al

big_fish said:

I dont under stand how there is a 3/8 lo pro chain then a 3/8 pmn then you go to .325 then you have the regular 3/8 chain I was under the understanding that your pitch(.325,3/8 ect) was the length of three rivets thats whats confusing me because a 3/8 lo pro would not work on my rancher my sprocket wouldn't drive the links

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Chain pitch is the distance between any three consecutive rivets divided by two. 3/8" regular chain and 3/8" low-profile ought to measure the same - but can't say I've ever checked. It is also possible that the drive-tangs are shaped differently. I do know that .325 often gets confused with low-profile 3/8". I have a couple of cheap "garage sale" Poulan 55 cc saws and they have .325" chain. Several times I've looked at replacement chains for sale at Walmart - and they are not marked by the pitch - just by some cute name and part # - so it's not always easy to tell at a glance. I don't understand why chains aren't simply marked by their pitch and gauge anymore. Of course, I gripe about everything. I can't figure why - I can hop into a new $60,000 farm tractor and there is NO writing on any controls - just little cartoons I can't figure out. I get on a 1930 John Deere tractor and all is labeled in clear English. Now - when I thought we were supposed to be more literate - we have to read cartoons.

Worse yet . . . I walked into a restaurant recently while travellling. I wanted to take a leak in the mens room. Well, there were two bathrooms - and both had no writing. Just a figurine on each door and each had short hair and earrings. I was not smart enough to figure out which was the mens room and which was the ladies - unless, maybe, neither were? I left and took a leak outside in bushes - they were rated multi-gender.

all chain company's have their own letter/numbering systems & they all go out of their way to make sure the parts don't fit with the other chains out there & they keep you confused on what is what.i have been trying to EDUCATE my customers .......it's a losing proposition.....for 30+years

Your Poulan takes 3/8" Low Profile chain (.365") instead of "real" 3/8" chain (.375"), a totally different creature. 3/8"LP is a narrower, lighter-duty chain that tends to only come in semi-chisel and is often encumbered with the most horrendous of anti-kickback crap.

computeruser said:

Your Poulan takes 3/8" Low Profile chain (.365") instead of "real" 3/8" chain (.375"), a totally different creature. .

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Not any of my Poulans. Three are 3.3 c.i. (55 cc) Pro-saws and one is a smaller 2.8 c.i. Pro all have .325" chain, not LP 3/8". Oregon chain #33SL.

jdemaris said:

computeruser said:

Your Poulan takes 3/8" Low Profile chain (.365") instead of "real" 3/8" chain (.375"), a totally different creature. .

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Not any of my Poulans. Three are 3.3 c.i. (55 cc) Pro-saws and one is a smaller 2.8 c.i. Pro all have .325" chain, not LP 3/8". Oregon chain #33SL.

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No doubt. I was guessing that his was a smaller saw running 3/8" LP given the comment about the cutter size.