Bar Gauge

[D._Frederick]

My old apple tree blew down in a wind storm yesterday, it was about 3 ft diameter at knee high.

Anyway, it is an excuse to buy a 372 Husqvarna before they are all gone. I want to get it with a 24 inch bar. What gauge  should I get, the Windsor bar comes in 0.050 or 0.058 inches?  It will be used mainly for cutting fir for fire wood.

[fishhuntcutwood]

Either will work fine, but .050 is far more common.

Jeff

[rebocardo]

.50 3/8

I would buy the Husky 372 with a 20" bar with full comp 72V chain and a 32" bar with 30RCS.  The 30RCS (full skip) I would skip if most of your trees are small diameter and just go with 72V on the 32" too. The 372 should have enough HP to full it through softwood.

With the 32" 72V, on a fir or pine tree it makes it easy to delimb the tree without bending over so much. I have a 28" on my Husky 365, but, if I had gone with a 372 I would have surely gone 32" now that I know better.

Once the tree is down and delimbed, you can switch to the 20" for better balance and to quickly rip through the trunk and to make the rounds into firewood.

[D._Frederick]

I would like some schooling on gauge of chain saw bars. I see Baileys  have 3 gauge size for 3/8 chain. I know that the gauge is the width of the slot in the bar. There must be a benefit  for have the following sizes of 0.050, 0.058, and 0.063?  Does the gauge effect the bar stiffness. or does the 0.050 have a higher chain speed that the wider gauges? Does gauge effect the size kurf the chain cuts?

Please help!

[Ironwood]

Rebocardo,

  I call that the "reach out and touch someone" feature to the long bar. It makes lugging the big saws around worth it for sure. Reid

[StihlDoc]

I would like some schooling on gauge of chain saw bars. I see Baileys  have 3 gauge size for 3/8 chain. I know that the gauge is the width of the slot in the bar. There must be a benefit  for have the following sizes of 0.050, 0.058, and 0.063?  Does the gauge effect the bar stiffness. or does the 0.050 have a higher chain speed that the wider gauges? Does gauge effect the size kurf the chain cuts?

Please help!

The different chain gauges came about due to marketing by the chain and bar manufacturers in the 60's and 70's. Each coming up with different gauges to try and "persuade" the market to use only their brand of bar and chain. The 3 gauges of .050", .058" and .063" (1.3 mm, 1.5 mm, 1.6 mm) has become the accepted standard for all chain saws utilizing 3/8" pitch chain.

There really is no benefit between .050", .058" or .063" gauge any longer. Years ago, if you had a .050" gauge chain, the drive link was only .050" thick over its entire profile. At that time a .063" gauge chain would have stronger drive links vs. a .050" gauge chain. However now, the 3/8" pitch chain produced by the major chain manufacturers have drive links that are .063" thick at the rivet area where strength is important. They "step down" the drive link tang to a .058" or .050" thickness where it fits into the bar rail. The most popular and readily availble gauge for 3/8" pitch chain is .050" and that is what I recommend because bars and chain loops are readily available and are more competitively priced.

[D._Frederick]

THANKS GUYS,

[Hoop]

If you run an Oregon bar, you're better off with a .058 gauge bar.  Why?  The bar will slop out far too quickly.  Cutting soft woods like aspen or basswood in May or June requires that you have a tight bar & chain.  No sideways slop in the chain as it runs in the bar rail.

If you have one of those bar rail tightener tools, you can bring the rails of the bar back into tightness.....for a while.  Eventually though, the bar will be too slopped out to run Oregon 73LG chain.  You'll have to run Oregon 75LG chain (.063).  This will tighten things up between the inner rails of the bar and the chain.

I have ran .050 gauge Oregon bars.  They slop out just like the .058 gauge bars (far too soon).  It is however, a frustrating experience to get a 73LG chain into a worn .050 gauge Oregon bar.  I usually wind up throwing the .050 gauge bar in the scrap heap.....as they are too slopped out to do any serious work......but still won't accept a 73LG chain.

At the end of the day, the .058 gauge bar will last longer.

[JD_Kid]

Hi ya's
this may sound a tad strange  but i have heard  from a few people  they start out with a .050 bar and once they get a bit of wear  can take the slop out if it by running .058 chain  ..don't know if this is an old wifes tale but  could be something in it 
catch ya
JD Kid

[StihlDoc]

You can get a little more use out of a bar by going from a .050" gauge chain to .058" gauge chain or from .058" to .063" gauge as the inside of the bar rails wear. However, you should at minimum dress the bar rails so they are even and square before installing the new chain. You should also re-groove the bar to the new gauge so the inside of the rails are evenly machined. Most people don't have access to a bar rail re-groover and you don't find many saw dealers with them anymore. If you don't "dress" your bar you will accelerate the wear to your new chain.

[sawguy21]

Funny, I think Jeff said the 050 is the most common. We hardly see any of the Oregon 72 anymore.  We keep a small roll for the guys with old Homelites, Pioneers and McCullochs but 73 is the big seller. Yet .325 is almost all .050. Must be regional preferences.

[outdoortype]

D. Frederick,
  I bought a new saw this past Christmas & it came with a .058 gauge bar.  I've found that while not as common as the .050 gauge in 3/8" pitch it is still readily available.  Getsaws.com has the Oregon 73LG (.058 gauge) for around $12 plus s&h.  If you appreciate Stihl brand chains, look for their Part# 35RS-XX.  I heard that Stihl discontinued .058 gauge but I was able to find one at my local dealer.