Stihl 020AVP bar options?

[EJay]

I'm just a homeowner with a 3/4 acre wooded lot, using my saw to take down the occasional tree, trimming, cleanup after storms, and so forth.

I have an early 020AVP that my dad bought new in the early 1970s with a 16" 1/4P .050 bar. The bar is worn out. The chain 'flops' a lot in the bar. The saw otherwise is running quite well. I'd really like to stay with this saw. Its been in my family for decades and my mom even cut off the end of her thumb with it (successfully reattached!)

What are my best options here for a bar?

Do the tools that tighten up the rails work worth a damn? Or is this something a chainsaw shop can repair?

Is there a way to swap out the 3/8 sprocket tip in a new bar with my 1/4?

I know I can buy a used bar, but I'm concerned I'm buying someone else's worn out bar. I'm willing to go to 14". I presume I can have links removed from my 16" chain to knock it down to 14?

If anyone reading has a 16" in decent condition for sale (or even a 14), feel free to PM me.

Converting to 3/8 is doable, but I'd need a bar, chain, oil gear, and sprocket, and I'm probably well into the cost of a new saw (or a decent used one).

I've seen I can still get new .043 bars in 1/4. One part number is 3005 008 3409 (14"). I realize I'd need a new chain too. Any reason this wouldn't work?

Finally, it seems that carving bars are available in 1/4". Are those at all suitable for my maintenance purposes?

Sorry if these are dumb newbie questions.

 

[Ax-man]

If it was my saw I would swap that 1/4 pitch over to 3/8 pitch LP Picco chain in either .043 gauge or .050 with a 14 or 16 in. bar. Yes you will have to change your sprocket and oiler gear but those same parts are still used in the MS 200 /201 so they are still available . A 14 in. bar is best for a 020 38 mm AVP which is probably what your saw is. The 020 super 40 mm AVP would run a 16 in. bar no problem

I am not a big fan of 1/4 because it isn't readily available like 3/8 pitch and there are more cutters to file and it needs it's own special file and it's doesn't really sharpen that good . You can get by with a 5/32 file but I think 1/8 is recommended. . A saw set-up with 1/4 pitch chain and a carving bar is a chainsaw carving thing for doing fine details in a carving. A carving bar doesn't lend itself to well for regular tree cutting due to it's profile and the dime tip hard nose tip. A carving bar and chain isn't tensioned the same as a regular bar. You will burn the bar up tensioning the chain like a regular saw. A sprocket tip bar is much better for regular tree cutting. About the only time you would want to use a carving bar on a tree is for fine pruning cuts on an apple tree as an example.

 

[singinwoodwackr]

I'm just a homeowner with a 3/4 acre wooded lot, using my saw to take down the occasional tree, trimming, cleanup after storms, and so forth.

I have an early 020AVP that my dad bought new in the early 1970s with a 16" 1/4P .050 bar. The bar is worn out. The chain 'flops' a lot in the bar. The saw otherwise is running quite well. I'd really like to stay with this saw. Its been in my family for decades and my mom even cut off the end of her thumb with it (successfully reattached!)

What are my best options here for a bar?

Do the tools that tighten up the rails work worth a damn? Or is this something a chainsaw shop can repair?

Is there a way to swap out the 3/8 sprocket tip in a new bar with my 1/4?

I know I can buy a used bar, but I'm concerned I'm buying someone else's worn out bar. I'm willing to go to 14". I presume I can have links removed from my 16" chain to knock it down to 14?

If anyone reading has a 16" in decent condition for sale (or even a 14), feel free to PM me.

Converting to 3/8 is doable, but I'd need a bar, chain, oil gear, and sprocket, and I'm probably well into the cost of a new saw (or a decent used one).

I've seen I can still get new .043 bars in 1/4. One part number is 3005 008 3409 (14"). I realize I'd need a new chain too. Any reason this wouldn't work?

Finally, it seems that carving bars are available in 1/4". Are those at all suitable for my maintenance purposes?

Sorry if these are dumb newbie questions.

Have a bench vice and a 1" vertical belt sander?
If you are good at finesse you can careful close the rails...takes a while. Then dress the bar on the sander after making sure the table is perfectly 90* to the belt platten.

I've gotten some extra life out of many bars over the years.
This also assumes the groove still has enough depth.

 

[EJay]

Have a bench vice and a 1" vertical belt sander?
If you are good at finesse you can careful close the rails...takes a while. Then dress the bar on the sander after making sure the table is perfectly 90* to the belt platten.

I've gotten some extra life out of many bars over the years.
This also assumes the groove still has enough depth.

I'm intrigued. I have a vise, an anvil too, and a 6x9 belt sander. So do I just use something like a ball peen hammer to try to close the gap? Do I use something like feeler gauges to keep from closing the gap too much?

 

[singinwoodwackr]

I'm intrigued. I have a vise, an anvil too, and a 6x9 belt sander. So do I just use something like a ball peen hammer to try to close the gap? Do I use something like feeler gauges to keep from closing the gap too much?

No hammer...
Use the vise to carefully pinch the rails in sections...the width of the vise. It is a tricky process but works.
I use a small length of chain as a guage.
Go too far and use a brick chisel or other wide bladed chisel and hammer... carefully...to open it up a tad. Finesse is mandatory.

 

[EJay]

Ok I gave that a spin, and it seems to have helped a lot. Tightening it too much was simply not going to be a problem. Even without a shim between the rails, it was a lot of work to get it to move at all. As in, put all my weight on the vise handle till the edges touch, and they'd still spring most of the way back.

It was .070 or more in places and I got it down to .058-.063 at the worst, and that was a huge improvement. I dressed the edges square on the disc sander. Thanks so much for the tip. I could probably get it further if I really tried. I could literally hear noises from the bar when it would move.

I've got a few small trees to clean up tomorrow so I'll probably put it through its paces a bit.

With all that said, I'll keep my eye out for a NOS or good condition used bar. I learned today too that an Archer bar in .043 / 1/4P is available in 10, 12, and 14" lengths for about $30 with a chain, delivered, and thats cheap enough to experiment with for the amount I'll use it.

The bad part is I've been reading this site a lot and now I'm seeing all these other saws I could talk myself into!

 

[John Lyngdal]

I might have a Stihl 1/4" bar at home if you are still looking for a replacement. I'm on vacation at the moment, but will look for it when I get back home next week.

 

[EJay]

I might have a Stihl 1/4" bar at home if you are still looking for a replacement. I'm on vacation at the moment, but will look for it when I get back home next week.

Thanks!

 

[EJay]

Testing today went well. I took down a dead 8" alder. It went down wrong which had nothing to do with the bar. I cut face and back cuts, and when I went to push it to get it started, i pushed the hinge out (it was rotted, didn't know it!), so it went basically 180 degrees from my intended fall. Fortunately, my escape route worked

Anyhow, the bar was cutting fine, and I used it to buck up the alder and some other stuff. I have a problem with it dying and not restarting when warm, but that will be for a different thread.