question for the craftsman/roper experts

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jimmyj

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I have inherited my fathers old craftsman 917.353750 3.7 17" chainsaw. I have gotten this running and it seems to run very well and have lots of power. the last time it was used someone busted a tooth on the end of the bar sprocket. I need to replace the bar and get a new chain. I have searched and searched and not finding much. I have determined it is a .325 pitch with
.05 gauge chain with 71 drive links. the clutch and drive sprocket and in excellent shape. I am looking for someone that can tell me a useable guide bar and chain that will work for this saw. I don't mind going up or down an inch or so to a 16" or 18" guide and chain as it seems there are no 17" chains available. But I need to know what I can use. Any help would be greatly appreciated. By the way it will be used only occasionally for light duty around the house work.
 
Do u still have the orig bar? The mount type should be marked on it


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I take it this is a 3700 model with the 3.7 engine, if so it uses an Oregon D176 mount bar. Seems limited in choices, either Oregon, Carleton 24/27 mount and GB in E or EX mount pattern.

This is the roper not the poulan


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Is the Roper/ Craftsman era the old saws that mostly used 3/8' chain and bars? I can`t picture them, they were not sold up here until the mid 80`s so I am guessing they were Beard Poulans by then, like the 306 A models.
 
I was just checking my old chain and bar books, no listing in there for a Roper based Craftsman so they must be real old saws. Should have clued in when the OP posted a 917 lead on the model number.
 
The Roper and Poulan use the Oregon D176 (McCulloch) mount.

Finding one in .325” pitch. IDK [emoji848]

Hopefully it has a rim drive and one can change it easily to 3/8”. [emoji1696]

Well that is what my bar/chain book says but I thought the older saws used 3/8" chain. I just can`t picture what they looked like, if I seen a pict it brings back any memories of what the saw used.
 
yep roper type. needs .325 pitch .05 gauge and oem on this one is a 17" bar and chain with 71 drive links. I found where some have gone 16" or 18" but cant find the part numbers. I really do not want to have to pull the clutch and go the route of changing the drive. seems everyone has a big problem getting the clutches off of these. any advice is appreciated.
 
Just throwing it out there..... and I could be wrong. Someone please confirm or shoot holes in this post.:innocent:

I think Stihl makes a 0.325/0.050 bar that will fit the mounting bolts. The only downside (if you want to call it that) is that you will need to drill new oil holes in the bar.
 
Just throwing it out there..... and I could be wrong. Someone please confirm or shoot holes in this post.:innocent:

I think Stihl makes a 0.325/0.050 bar that will fit the mounting bolts. The only downside (if you want to call it that) is that you will need to drill new oil holes in the bar.
when you say drill new holes, can you give me a little more detail? I can drill but I need to know where and diameter etc.
 
Oiler holes to match what the current bar has


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ok let me ask a dumb question. after doing a lot of research I need to know this: when looking for a chain does the pitch which I need of .325 determine what sprocket I need on the clutch? I am thinking this is the case. And if so there are plenty of chains available in the .325 pitch and .05 gauge and I just need to find a bar that will fit my unit and then the correct length chain. Am I figuring this correctly or I a missing something? Sorry about the lack of understanding on this but I am new to the technical stuff of chainsaws.
 
Yes, clutch sprocket and bar sprocket must match. eg: .325. What is the stud slot width of the current bar? eg: 8.2mm, When you know that, you can look for compatible bars, paying attn to oiler holes. If 8.0-8.2mm, A D176 McCulloch bar may work. They have plenty in .325 up to 20".
 
ok I talked with Oregon on this. They say the mount is the D082 type. They say it is no longer made and has not been available for long time. I mentioned others have modified a bar to make it work. They said impossible and to not believe this. I think this is a good joke and they do not know what capabilities some individuals have.

If anyone here has modified a guide bar to make it work please tell me which mount you used and what you had to do.
 
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