Bar mount and chain pitch options?

[ampamp]

So as I'm researching new saws I see some saws say small bar mount and some say large (i.e. 357xp small, 362xp large). Does this impact the type of bar you buy for your saw. I'm trying to keep everything as smilar as possible. fyi...was looking at the Hus 365 too.

Also, I forget which one, but one of those saws I mentioned says chain pitch 0.325, 3/8. I know what chain pitch is, but is this just an option on the saw. Do you order one with the pitch you want. What's better? I generally have .325, 0.58, 72 drive teeth setup, but as I look at the bigger saws....I see everything changes.

All advice welcome. Thanks.

 

[bogydave]

There are lots of options. Oregon sells bar & chain combos & you can change the drive link rim & set up a saw with just about anything you want.
I'd say, "there is no ""better"". Preference, type of cutting & chain saw power are things to consider when setting up a saw.
Most come with a standard set up which matches the saw well. Some shops ask what bar & chain you want.
I consider below 55cc a small saw, 55 to 65 medium 65cc & up a large saw.

A 20" bar on a 60 cc saw, with a full comp chisel chain 3/8, .050, 72 DL is a standard for fire wood cutting & a good all around saw.
You can get a 16" &/or a 25" bar & then have lots of versatility, or just use the 20" for everything.
I believe "pitch" has to do with the radius of the nose of the bar, .325 is a small tight radius & lighter weight bar, 3/8(.375) medium standard & .404 os a big radius & a pretty big & heavy bar.

Most saw specs by weight are without the bar & chain, fuel & oil. So a 14 lbs saw & a 25" bar & chain full of gas & oil is getting near ±18 lbs. (a guess)
The 3/8 X .050 size bar seems to have a wider selection of readily available chain types.
Smaller cc saw & a longer bar, you can go to a skip chain if needed to keep the rpm up.

I found a 60cc saw with a 20" bar to fit 95% of my cutting needs. I have an old small 16" saw for a back up & small stuff (you can find one pretty cheap on CL)

If one saw, money not the issue: (16" to 25" (28") bar & plenty of power & reasonable weight) Husq a little lighter weight)
http://www.stihlusa.com/chainsaws/MS362.html
or
http://www.husqvarna.com/us/forest/products/xp-saws/562-xp/#specifications

2nd choice & a quite a bit cheaper MS311 or Husq 359 or 460
You can put a 25" bar on these, may just need a skip chain.
I got the 359, happy so far.

Other good saws out there, these 2 brands just my preference, & I'm partial to Husq, lighter weight & easier starting (old man comfort saw) LOL

 

[wkpoor]

I'm with you on that. Since I make my own chains I prefer to just have one type of chain in stock for almost all my saws. Somewhere on the net there is a document showing all the bar mounts the industry has to offer. Having bars that will sawp to all you saws isn't going to happen unless all your saws are over 60cc. But you can have all your bar specs be say, 3/8, .050, XX. If you run ported saws you can even share exact chain types between bigger and smaller saws. Example my PP346 45cc runs the exact same chain as my Solo681 81cc on a 16"bar just can't swap the bar itself. BTW .050 is most standard DL width. .058 is a Husky size OEM and .063 is a Stihl OEM size. I do one some .058 just because I got a heck of a deal on a roll of the chain.

 

[MasterMech]

I think Stihl has the least potential for confusion on bar mounts cause there's only 3 I know of. A small mount for everything smaller than 50cc's (the MS250 and smaller) and the large mount for everything over 50cc's (MS261 and up) except the MS880 which has it's own jumbo mount. Husky has quite the mixed bag of bar mounts depending on saw size/age.

Chain pitch also seems to revolve around displacement 30-40 cc saws love 3/8 low-pro or picco chain, 40-60cc saws do well with .325, and 60cc + are almost universally 3/8" pitch until you get into the 90-100cc saws that often run .404 but even those are often setup with 3/8".

 

[wkpoor]

404 is a dinosaur. Most run 3/8 on any large size saw now.