Larger Husqvarna Saws - Bar and Chain Info and Education

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Koot Kraftsman

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Hello all, I'm typically found messing around with smaller vintage saws (less than 70cc) but I had a newer ported 372xp and 2100cd fall into my lap as part of a larger trade. I will also be purchasing a 395xp as well, to round out my range of saws. My problem is that although I've run big saws before, I've never owned any myself over 70cc and I'm naive when it comes to bar/chain combos for saws in general and the knowledge gets less when entering a new class of saw. To top it off, these are my first Husqvarna saws.

Soon, I will be moving to a remote piece of land in the mountains of NW Montana and have some pretty big timber up there that I'll be harvesting not only for firewood but for building a few large timber frames, bandsaw milling and the occasional slab milling with a chainsaw mill.

I'm no stranger to saws but bar and chain combos have always been my kryptonite and always leave me confused and frustrated with all the different options. I guess what I mean to say is once I get a setup I like on a certain saw, the knowledge gets dumped and I just keep buying the same chain when needed. I've always run 3/8 .050 bar and chain combos and I'd like to keep it that way but as I mentioned, I've typically run smaller saws and don't know if that is even possible. As I work my way up in saw size and looking for a setup online, I see the gauge seems to get bigger but I'm hesitant to buy different gauges because that will limit my ability to swap around bar and chain combos.

I'm looking to buy Tsumura bars and run Husky chain. I'm hoping someone can share info the product or part numbers I need to shop for, to put a 28" 3/8 .050 bar and chain (full chisel skip tooth as well as full comp) on the 372xp and a 36" bar and chain (full chisel skip tooth) on the 395xp & 2100cd.

I'm not sure if those combos even exist in 3/8 .050 for the longer bar and chain setups, perhaps this is where those with experience can educate a brother? At what point is it a must to step up in gauge and why?? Also, I'm as clear as mud regarding fitment of say a Stihl bar on a Husky, I'm thinking if I try and put a 28" bar and chain rom a Stihl onto a Husky it prbably isn't going to work, am I right?

If there is already a thread on this, I couldn't find it but if a good one does exist and you know where it is, a link would be awesome

Thanks!
 
I would definitely go 3/8 .063 on the 36". You can definitely get a 28" bar in 3/8 .050 however some prefer it in .063.
No big deal to get Stihl bar on huskys, all you need is an adapter which is available online/ebay and you need to take a round file and make the chain adjuster holes on the bar slightly larger to accommodate a 372. At least that was my experience, your milage may vary.
 
28", 372xp 3/8 .050 or .058 , 395xp up to a 42" with Exj .063 , for the 2100 I would do .404 after all its not a cookie cutter champion but rather a torque monster, Oregon sells. 404 bars from 26" to 42" with the D009 mount for these saws.
These are only my suggestions but being in a remote area would definitely get me to go .404 on one of the big girls.
 
Thanks for the input so far! I have been able to find 28" Husqvarna 3/8 .050 bars all day long but all the 28" Tsumura bars that fit Husky are all 3/8 .058 from what I've been able to find anyways.

I'm not terribly opposed to going up a notch in gauge especially for my task specific saws but I would lose "options" of mismatching and swapping bar/chain between different saws if I needed to and more importantly, why would I, if I don't have to (seriously, because I really don't know)? Meaning what advantage does going up in gauge give you? What situation makes a .058 or .063 bar/chain more desirable for a saw?

Also, I've never even seen a .404 pitch chain much less know what advantages it longer pitch gives you and am SUPER curious why you (Maintenance supervisor) said "These are only my suggestions but being in a remote area would definitely get me to go .404 on one of the big girls." I imagine going to a .404 pitch, I would need to swap out sprockets? If so, which one is advised to put on there and why?
 
Found this

http://www.madsens1.com/muu_barchain.htm

How To Measure Chain Gauge​

Gauge
The gauge of a chain refers to the thickness of its drive links.

It is determined by measuring the portion of the drive link that fits into the groove of the guide bar. It is usually expressed in thousandths of an inch: .050" or .063".

The gauge measurement of a saw chain tells a pro user about the strength of a chain's drive links. Thicker drive links are usually stronger, but they are heavier. Weight affects performance, and to maximize cutting speed, weight should be kept to a minimum. Like most things in life, there are compromises. Pro saw chain is no different. The rule usually is: Run the lightest gauge chain that stays together and gives you decent service life.

What Most Pro Users Run: Several years ago .063" was most popular. Today, the trend is shifting toward .050". .058" is popular in some areas, but it is rarely used in the Pacific Northwest.

What Most Harvesters Run: Harvesters that run .404" usually run .080" gauge chain. Harvesters that run 3/4" pitch chain run .122" gauge chain.

Saw Setup: The gauge of the chain and the groove in the bar must match.
 
Thanks for the input so far! I have been able to find 28" Husqvarna 3/8 .050 bars all day long but all the 28" Tsumura bars that fit Husky are all 3/8 .058 from what I've been able to find anyways.

I'm not terribly opposed to going up a notch in gauge especially for my task specific saws but I would lose "options" of mismatching and swapping bar/chain between different saws if I needed to and more importantly, why would I, if I don't have to (seriously, because I really don't know)? Meaning what advantage does going up in gauge give you? What situation makes a .058 or .063 bar/chain more desirable for a saw?

Also, I've never even seen a .404 pitch chain much less know what advantages it longer pitch gives you and am SUPER curious why you (Maintenance supervisor) said "These are only my suggestions but being in a remote area would definitely get me to go .404 on one of the big girls." I imagine going to a .404 pitch, I would need to swap out sprockets? If so, which one is advised to put on there and why?
Rim sprockets are available for .404 and sprocket tips for the bars (.063 only).
The only reason I suggested. 404 for a remote area is that the chassis of the .404 is more robust and larger as well as the tooth being larger which provides a longer lifespan in the event of a grounding or foreign object incident.
It also has less teeth per loop then 3/8ths which speeds up the sharpening process.
 
Thanks for the input so far! I have been able to find 28" Husqvarna 3/8 .050 bars all day long but all the 28" Tsumura bars that fit Husky are all 3/8 .058 from what I've been able to find anyways.

I'm not terribly opposed to going up a notch in gauge especially for my task specific saws but I would lose "options" of mismatching and swapping bar/chain between different saws if I needed to and more importantly, why would I, if I don't have to (seriously, because I really don't know)? Meaning what advantage does going up in gauge give you? What situation makes a .058 or .063 bar/chain more desirable for a saw?

Also, I've never even seen a .404 pitch chain much less know what advantages it longer pitch gives you and am SUPER curious why you (Maintenance supervisor) said "These are only my suggestions but being in a remote area would definitely get me to go .404 on one of the big girls." I imagine going to a .404 pitch, I would need to swap out sprockets? If so, which one is advised to put on there and why?
Sort of buying a roll of chain, I'm not seeing an advantage to having all 0.050 b/c combos. If all your bars 24 inches or less are 0.050, all your 28 inch bars are 0.058 gauge and all your 36 inch bars are 0.063, what does it matter? You aren't gonna be running a 36 inch chain on a 28 inch bar, so the gauge shouldn't matter. It's not like the sprocket cares what gauge the chain is, it only cares about the pitch. Also, 0.063 is common on the bigger bars because (supposedly) it is less likely to break and carries more oil.
 
I "standardised" all my 3/8 over 20" to 0.063- mainly because I buy rolls not loops, good bars are EXTREMELY expensive here, Sugi Hara are the cheapest by far of the "good" bars and it is easier to find 0.063 ones even in D009 here.
Plus 0.050 is almost unheard of here- unless you are one of them funny types that rave about how ahead of their time old Mac saws were and how you still run them because they can keep up with Farmboss and Rancher saws.
So you do what you do to suit your local conditions and local supply. I believe some parts of the States it is easier to find 0.050 and in other parts it is easier to find 0.063?
Personally for 30" and up on the 2100 I too would be running .404, it is just bigger, beefier, tougher and as suggested above, the cutters last way longer and you have no fear that you will be over working the 2100 by using it, but it will make your own input as the cutter a whole lot less taxing.
 
I knew the basics, I already knew what gauge and pitch meant but why people run bigger/smaller than .050 or longer/shorter than 3/8 didn't make much sense to me. I just like to keep everything simple I guess and 3/8 .050 has always seemed like a great middle of the road that I never needed to stray from... until now apparently ha. The bigger heftier chain does make a lot of sense now, thanks for the clarification. And yes, I want to be able to just buy by the roll since I'm going to be more than an hour drive from the nearest chain retailer and I'll be doing the vast majority of my felling in the winter where I'd be looking at a few hour drive and that's if travel by car/truck is even possible, longer than that by snow machine trails. I guess I'll just have to do some homework now that you guys have given me plenty haha (thanks, seriously), choose what gauge and pitch chain I want to run for each class of saw and then simply buy a roll for each.

Will my homework teach me what I'll need to know about size rim sprocket to run? Running bigger saws is just new to me and is opening my eyes to a whole new world lol.

I'm a funny Mac guy too... if you couldn't tell by my avatar. I just like to run all the old saws period. Mac, Homies, Stihl, Husky, Deere, Remington, you name it, they are all cool (to me) to one extent or another but I definitely own more Macs than anything else.
 
Will my homework teach me what I'll need to know about size rim sprocket to run? Running bigger saws is just new to me and is opening my eyes to a whole new world lol.
The golden rule for sprockets is 7 pin for regular use (read: more torque, "less" speed), 8 pin for milling or a short bar on a big saw (read: faster chain speed, less powa).
 
After doing my homework and considering all the factors you guys have enlightened me with, this is what I am thinking:

372xp: 24" bar/chain 3/8 .050, full comp (current setup)
28" bar/chain 3/8 .063 full skip
395xp: 36" and up bar/chain: 3/8 .063 full skip
2100cd: 28" and up bar/chain .404 .063 full skip

All square chisel (round filed since I hand file... always have, always will, it's my end of the day, wind down therapy lol), I'll be leaving all the round semi-chisel dirty work for my smaller saws.

Speaking of hand filing, what's the best file size for the bigger chains?

7 pin sprockets for all (appropriate gauge for bar/chain)

What are you all's opinion on the best chain (manufacturers) I've always gone with the same brand of chain for the saw it's on, I never dove into the "who has the best chain" topic. Are there better rim sprocket manufacturers out there too or best to stick with OEM?
 
I personally like Oregon for the consistency and price, if I could afford it I might buy more stihl chain.
As far as rim sprockets I buy Oregon and when I teach chainsaw safety class I buy a sleeve of ten in any brand to hand out . Its any where from 15$ to 20$ bucks for 10 3/8ths ,the .404 tend to be more.
I would bet your 2100 would pull a 8 pin rim sprocket in .404 if you get skip micro chisel chain.
7/32ths file for all , older .404 I sometimes use a 1/4" file .
 
Good point on the full house chain, I have been use to hardwoods here in the midwest. Although I will miss all the hardwoods from a builder's/woodworking perspective, the softwoods will be welcomed from the wood cutting/splitting aspect and the timber I have on my land up there is mainly Doug Fir, Larch and white pine, so still outstanding for structural timber.

So taking this one saw at a time, I've decided for the 372 to run 3/8 .063, I found the Tsumura bar I want but finding good chain for it is proving to be more challenging. I don't know a lot about who makes the best chain and so forth, I know I really like the Stihl and Husqvarna chain I've run in the past as well as Oregon Chain but it seems nobody sells a loop for the bar. I will be buying by the roll eventually but before I buy a roll, I want to make sure I like the bar/chain combo. What I can find are a bunch of unbranded & lower end chain from names I've never heard of... a little frustrating.
I'm looking for this chain (to fit a 28" 3/8 .063 D009 Tsumura Bar):

3/8 pitch
.063 Gauge
92DL
Round ground
Full chisel
Full comp

Am I missing something? I would think this chain would be all over the place, anyone know where I can find one made by Husky or Oregon or maybe a better brand I don't know about? I'm not even trying to find a Stihl version, although they have been my preferred chain for all my Stihl saws thus far.
 

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