.050 Bar vs .063 pros cons

[redbull660]

what are the pros of running a .063 bar vs a .050 bar and what are the cons? Thanks!

(I have my own ideas on this but want to be objective and get some other opinions)

 

[mdavlee]

.063" will carry more oil down the bar channel. I like running it on 28" and up bars.

 

[fearofpavement]

This has been discussed on the forum quite regularly. I don't feel like there is much difference from a performance standpoint and the primary reasons for there being so many gauges is that different manufacturers use different gauge chains on new saws. Stihl uses .063 on quite a few saws and Husky has used a lot of .058 gauge. In very large bars, they pretty much only come in .063.

I have bars of every gauge from .043 running 3/8 micro chain to .063 in 404 pitch. I just get bars to fit the saws and then find chains to fit the bars. I don't lose a lot of sleep thinking about it. Keep your chains sharp no matter what the gauge if you want to cut fast.

I will say that of chains that I've actually had "break" the .043 is in first place

 

[redbull660]

is there big difference in weight?

 

[mdavlee]

is there big difference in weight?

About an ounce on a 32" bar.

 

[Trx250r180]

on my oregon light bars the .063 are not as flimsy as the .050 ,28 and 32 inch .063 i think will stretch less than .050 also on bigger saws with longer bars ,and like mdalve said the oiling to the tip is much better

 

[treesmith]

We run .063 on everything from a ported ms261 and bigger, all 3/8 except the 088 which is .404 .063. Don't know if it's better than .058 but I'm happy, cuts well, doesn't seem to jam in cuts so much but that might just be in my head. I've got some spare .058 chain so I'll have a look and compare

Sent from my GT-I9210T

 

[Homelite410]

I think when it comes down to it the difference is more metal around the rivets which is where it counts.

 

[Macman125]

.063 will handle more power. Its what I run on my sp125. I would be afraid to run .050 or .058 on it in fear that I would snap them.

 

[striderzz]

Stihl uses .063 on quite a few saws and Husky has used a lot of .058 gauge. In very large bars, they pretty much only come in .063.

I think this is highly regional though. Where I am, everything comes in .050 up to 36" for Stihl and Husky. .058 is unknown here and .063 is much less common than .050. Never seen a bar larger than 36" in a store around here and I don't know your definition of "very large bars" so maybe 36" isn't that big.

At any rate, everything around here is .050 that I can find, so I stick with that for ease of supply.

-n

 

[treesmith]

48" and 60" on a
Stihl 88 are never far away in Oz

Sent from my GT-I9210T

 

[striderzz]

Around here you can order them but I haven't seen any in stock. Ordering is 1 or 2 days away though here...

-n

 

[windthrown]

I have run both, saw virtually no difference between them. 050 is far more common in the US with 3/8 std B&C, especially in the west. Also more chain profiles are available from Stihl in 050, like skip. I sold all my 063 B&C years ago and all I run now is 3/8 std 050 on my large mount Stihl saws, from 16 to 32 inch.

 

[bluestripes]

The .050, .058, and .063 stihl chains all use the same connectors. The drivers are all the same the .050 and .058 just have the bottom part of the driver machined down from .063. I don't really see why .063 would handle more power? But that's just me

 

[Homelite410]

The .050, .058, and .063 stihl chains all use the same connectors. The drivers are all the same the .050 and .058 just have the bottom part of the driver machined down from .063. I don't really see why .063 would handle more power? But that's just me

In stihl chain yes! Other chains are may not be necked down so its .050 or .058 thick at the top as well. I have yet to pull a chain in two, but I have a chain that popped the rivet heads off of a cutter tho. It was an .063 chisel semi skip Oregon.

 

[Franny K]

If discussing 0.325 chain the 0.050 would bring the narrow kerf stuff into the discussion.

It seems Oregon thin down the part that goes into the bar from .058 to .050 with the preset tie strap different for .063. The narrow kerf being it's own chassis not sharing preset tie straps with anything else at least the way it seems.

 

[Macman125]

I had a 32" on my mac running .050 and snapped 3 chains. After switching to .063 I have not had any troubles.

 

[Homelite410]

I had a 32" on my mac running .050 and snapped 3 chains. After switching to .063 I have not had any troubles.

Yup!

 

[SawTroll]

I think when it comes down to it the difference is more metal around the rivets which is where it counts.

Well, some times there is only the drive tangs that are different.
As far as I know it is not this way with Oregon chain, but I suspect it is with Stihl? I have no idea regarding other brands....

 

[Franny K]

http://www.oregonproducts.com/pdfs/20LPX_107042-AB_low-res.pdf

Look at the parts list at the bottom of page two. There isn't any more material around the rivets as evidenced that the right and left cutter and tie strap are all the same part. Only the preset tie strap is different and chances are that is only in the length of the cylinder that contacts the drivers which are different. Perhaps the increased failures (.050 model) are due to more rigidly constrained drivers (.063 model) in the drive sprocket assuming it isn't spur type.