High speed .325 on 372?

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Cj genever

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Anyone running a short bat with narrow chain on a larger saw with large rim? I need to do the torque calculations, but I expect that the chain would handle the power so long as it is converted to speed by reducing torque with a large rim. Thoughts?
 
Yeah, I'm running a .325 NK bar on a modded 029 with a 390 jug (64cc). It runs a 9 pin and is insane for limbing, it will still buck big logs with the 20" bar buried in Ozzie hardwood and that's with the rakers dropped to the 'softwood' setting on the raker plate. The lightweight laminated bar changed the handling of the saw to where it is 'tail heavy' and with both hands supporting the powerhead the saw feels lighter than it is. The ugly POS has become my go-to saw.

The chain can handle the power, the chain pulls apart at the drive links and they are the same for standard .325. The biggest problem with NK is the bar wear is accelerated, but I'm just a firewood hack so it should last a fair while. I've been running it for two years now and looks like it has several more years left in it.
 
l've been running windsor rsn 15" 58dl .325 058 on a Husky 555 (59cc) with a 9pin rim sprocket and like it. High chain speed with a little torque for sub 14" wood. l put a 16" picco bar on my ported 660....but it didn't last long and was not that nice.
 
Wow, nk? You guys took it even further than what I was thinking. I will calculate the torque and match that of a sub 60cc pro saw with a7 pin. I'm thinking 3.5hp base.
 
I put a different piston in the oil pump to double the oil output. It tends to make a mess, but I like it like that - I know the bar is getting lots of lube.

As far as chain stretch, the NK chain has the same bearing surface (drive link cross section) as standard .325, so chain wear isn't a problem, but there is less contact surface on the bar to distribute the load so the bar wears faster because there is greater lbs/inch on the heel of the cutter. For saws over 60cc I wouldn't suggest it for commercial work, but for a 68 year old firewood hack like me, the ugly POS can go longer than I can.

For a 372 you would need a 'small mount' configuration to get the NK bar on. I had to do a fair bit of tweaking to get the NK Husky bar on a Stihl mount. Not a big deal once I figured it out the details (new oil groove, redrill the bar, different tensioner), but a crazy swap like this is something you have to work through before you jump into it.

Oh, I also found that I needed a set of double spikes to help keep the cut straight during a bucking cut. It cut so fast, and with the more flexible bar, I found that I was weaving all over the place. Now I can pivot on the double spikes to keep the cut straight - it made the saw much more useable for bucking cuts. If you put a NK bar on a 372, I would expect that you would need the double spikes.
 
It looks like Husky makes a large mount .325. I want a20" bar for the 372 anyway. I would run round ground chisel most the time
 

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