Bad Rivet job? Bailey's Woodland Pro Chain - Need Advice

[PG Carver]

Hello I recently bought from Bailey's a 33 inch Carlton bar and chain for my Stihl 880, and I think the chain might have a bad rivet job. The chain is Woodland Pro .404, .063, skip tooth. Since I make my own 3/8 lo-profile chain loops at home, I instantly went to inspect the rivet job on this 33 inch chain that I just bought from Bailey's. Once I found the link I was shocked on how poorly the rivet job looked. I was always told that the rivet should not be cracked, sheared or dismembered in any way so the structural integrity of the rivet does not get compromised. And a properly spun rivet should resemble the factory stamped rivets on the chain which have a clean mushroom head. The rivets on the Bailey's chain I received were sheared, cracked and looked uneven.

I emailed Bailey's with a picture of the rivet and they mailed me a replacement chain. I just went inspected the replacement chain and it seems to have another poor looking rivet job too. Since both of them look crumby, I thought to myself maybe 404 rivets are supposed to look like that?

Can you guys check out the pictures of the rivet job on chain number 1 & 2, and let me know if you think they are safe to use? I would be very appreciative of your advice. The reason why I am so cautious is because this is going on a Stihl 880 with a ton of power. And I would prefer not to have a 6 foot piece of 404 chain wrapped around my arm or leg like a snake. If you guys think I should not use them, I will re-contact Bailey's and tell them to make it right.

Thank you!

T.J.

 

[singinwoodwackr]

Hello I recently bought from Bailey's a 33 inch Carlton bar and chain for my Stihl 880, and I think the chain might have a bad rivet job. The chain is Woodland Pro .404, .063, skip tooth. Since I make my own 3/8 lo-profile chain loops at home, I instantly went to inspect the rivet job on this 33 inch chain that I just bought from Bailey's. Once I found the link I was shocked on how poorly the rivet job looked. I was always told that the rivet should not be cracked, sheared or dismembered in any way so the structural integrity of the rivet does not get compromised. And a properly spun rivet should resemble the factory stamped rivets on the chain which have a clean mushroom head. The rivets on the Bailey's chain I received were sheared, cracked and looked uneven.

I emailed Bailey's with a picture of the rivet and they mailed me a replacement chain. I just went inspected the replacement chain and it seems to have another poor looking rivet job too. Since both of them look crumby, I thought to myself maybe 404 rivets are supposed to look like that?

Can you guys check out the pictures of the rivet job on chain number 1 & 2, and let me know if you think they are safe to use? I would be very appreciative of your advice. The reason why I am so cautious is because this is going on a Stihl 880 with a ton of power. And I would prefer not to have a 6 foot piece of 404 chain wrapped around my arm or leg like a snake. If you guys think I should not use them, I will re-contact Bailey's and tell them to make it right.

Thank you!

T.J.

are the joints free, ie, don't bind? There is plenty of 'meat' in the rivet, IMO. I'd run it. That looks like the link where the chain was put together...sloppy but will work.

 

[cutforfun]

Looks a little sloppy, i would make a cut few cuts with it and i bet it looks fine after that:msp_confused:

 

[SkippyKtm]

No biggie, they should have used some oil on the spinner anvil to prevent what you're seeing there.
If it were mine, I'd run it.

 

[srcarr52]

Their spinner anvil is just getting old and worn so it's not cutting the flash off as you'd normally see. The mushroomed part that is all cracked is just excess material that would normally get cut off by the tall sides of the anvil, it will probably fall off when in use. As long as the joint is tight and you can't get your fingernail under the rivet head it's fine.

 

[Fish]

You got 2 chains? Cool......


No, the rivets will be fine. Hell half of these guys here reuse the old preset tiestraps.........

 

[PG Carver]

Cool. Thank you for all of the replies. I will run the chain in confidence.

To answer some questions, the chain link does not bind and there is not a gap between the strap and the rivet head. Thanks again!

 

[singinwoodwackr]

You got 2 chains? Cool......


No, the rivets will be fine. Hell half of these guys here reuse the old preset tiestraps.........

half? LOL, I bet most of us do that