.050 or .058 for a 550xp

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Hi Guys;
I'm getting myself a 550xp mkII for Christmas probably from chainsawsdirect and they give the option of a 18in 325 in either .050 or .058. Any thoughts on one vs the other?

Joe
I would go with what ever is more popular in your area. Here its .050. Just makes buying chains locally more convenient. One is no better than the other in my opinion. I don't even know why they offer both. It's only 8 thousandths of an inch difference.

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Ran .325” & 3/8” 050” ga for many decades. But my dealer sold me .058” ga recently are they phasing out .050” ga? I wonder if someday all you will have is .063” ga? Maybe in 50 years?

What bars are available in .050” ga? Years ago I ran .325” .050ga. LG. I think my new 353 when I purchased it came with .325” .058” ga chain.
 
Here, the only quick access to chains that I have is Stihl dealer. Everything they have on the rack is .050". I can order .058", but it takes a few days, and I have to pay extra for shipping. So, I'm going to wear my bar out, then get an oregon or cannon .050" bar and go with that on my husky 365.
 
Ran .325” & 3/8” 050” ga for many decades. But my dealer sold me .058” ga recently are they phasing out .050” ga? I wonder if someday all you will have is .063” ga? Maybe in 50 years?

What bars are available in .050” ga? Years ago I ran .325” .050ga. LG.

My national chainsaw pusher (web shop) that is the main source of milling equipment here, 99% of what he stocks is .050.
 
It’s also a regional thing. I haven’t heard anything about Stihl phasing it out. My guess is some dealers may not want to stock different gauge chain, and are trying to convince their customer base to converge on a common size with “rumors.”
 
Lo pro / Picco top handles, pole saws get 050. The rest get 063 whether is Husky, Stihl, .325/ 3/8/ .404 or even 1/2". You can swap bar noses and turn 3/8 bars into .404 etc. Good oiling, less drive tang maintenance/damage and virtually eliminates hard chips getting jammed in bar rails or seizing up nose sprockets. I have a few 050 3/8 bars I bought out of the US and soon realised why all Aussie delivered saws are sold with 063. Every day I'd be scraping out jammed wood from within the rails. With 063 compressed air will remove everything. But 'your' conditions dictate what works best and if I was cutting soft species 050 would likely be OK. Many use it successfully without any issues what so ever. It just depends. The only bars sold here by dealers in 050 are for Picco, you could go to every Stihl dealer (430+) across the country and find not one full size 3/8 050 bar. Only place you can source them is online from independent traders even then they are few to find. So gauge does have its performance difference, question is does it matter to 'you' or not.
 
The largest shop around here has Husky & Stihl. Stocks .058 & .063 Stihl chain, any config you could want. Very little or no .050. I bought from them for years, but order Oregon .058 now.
 
I always thought every body started with .050 until bar got sloppy then to 058 and finally 063. After three sizes likely will have to rebuild saw completely. Or you could really get sick of saw by then and chuck it into scrap pile. I have only had to do that a couple of times. Thanks
 

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