OK where was I!:monkey:
I've looked at the bar closely. It's flat and the rails are even and smooth. The depth on the rakers is right for hardwood.
The only thing I see is the 72 is worn right off some of the drivers and they mike almost .009" too thin.
I like my cheap grinder because I can set the top plate angle semi accurately and then bring the wheel down just in front of the chain. Then I bend the whole grinder over the 1/16" or whatever, and just touch the cutter. I give it a zip zip zip and it's done. Unlike most people who use a grinder, I re-set the chain stop when I flip around to do the other side of the chain. I just got a Dolmar delivered today that I got off ebay. The chain was obviously done on a grinder the popular way:
Put chain on grinder.
Set top plate angle.
Set chain stop.
Grind one side of chain.
Flip top plate angle.
Grind other side.
If you do it this way, you get your left cutters shorter then your right.
I'm pretty sure my problem is the drivers of the chain. There's just too much slop and the chain is too long and has too many drive links and too many cutters. It needs to fit tighter to work
If it was a .404, it might be OK.
If it was full skip, it might be OK.
Bottom line, I don't want to buy a loop and find out it's not the problem.
I'd rather get a 24" bar and a couple loops and call it a day.
32" is kool but not necessary for me.