There is a <<very used for 51" bar>> on ebay now, about $90-$100 incl shipping? Any way to buy parts to convert to .404 chain?= about $0.52/DL new Baileyonline. Good Luck
As long as the gauge of the drivers is correct, a drive sprocket is all that would be needed. Most are hard-nosed which don't care what they guide. The roller tips didnt have sprockets either, just a grooved wheel. I dont recall having ever seen a sprocket tip bar from that era. I wonder if there were any?
I don't really want to put smaller chain on a vintage geardrive though.
What I'll likely have to settle for is semi chisel chain, which is still floating around in partial rolls etc.
I've been to several sheds & shops of old timer SW OR cutters in the past while tagging along with elders. You could see that they all had a stock of old stuff. Bars & chains hanging along a wall, boxes similar in size to chain spools. I'm sure somewhere there is a load of this riveted gold I've been robbed of, just sitting patiently for some descendant to probably throw in a recycling bin......
If my chain was indeed lost while in transport, I can almost guarantee that it was promptly thrown in the trash by whoever found it..
If anyone working for FedEx actually knew what it was that they saw falling out of a package, I would bet money that they're a member here..