i finally killed my bar

[upandcommer]

my bar sprocket finally wore out on my wild thing. I need a replacement only thing is I have 5 18" chains for it all consumer safety chains I would love to go to a smaller bar for more cutting power but i hate to sell the used chains as they have all been sharpened maybe twice. SO i need a new 18" bar for it it takes lo pro chains what is the difference on lo profile versus the other standard stuff it is 3/8 .50 chain will any bar work or do i need a lo profile bar as well??
edit: btw i musta gotten lucky this saw is 6 years old and is on it's second bar and zero new engine parts a good maitenece program can make a piece of poop run forever laughs.

 

[Diesel JD]

Wow, that's pretty good out of a Wild Thing. Call baileys and see if they have any Double Guard or Pro91 bars for the Poulan small saw mount. I like the pro91 but it may not be available for that saw. Another possibility may be an Arbor Pro bar, same thing. Yes you need 3/8 low profile bar to run your chains. Also be sure to check your chain drive sprocket and clutch drum to see if they are in good sahpe or need replacement.

 

[xander9727]

Just have the 18" chains shortened to 14" or 16" chains. Your local shop could do it for a few bucks. Heck I'd do it if you lived close.

 

[JPP]

Yeah, shorten the chains.
I put a 14" Oregon bar on my 38cc Poulan per advise from this board and it works great!!!
18" is too long for these sized Poulans. I am keeping my 18" bar and chain "just in case" I want to use it.

My Poulan is 11 years old. All I have ever done is routine maintenance on it and it still runs great and I have cut a lot of wood with it.

 

[skwerl]

Shortening the chains is an option, but keep in mind that many retailers geared towards homeowners don't even have a chain breaker and spinner in the shop. I asked my local guy about shortening a dozen chains for me last year and he started spouting some crap about "Liability, we can't do that on your used chains of unknown origin becvause our insurance won't let us" bullcrap. I ended up buying my own chain breaker and spinner over that crap, I may never buy another chain from them again.

Anyways, you will need to find an actual saw shop to shorten chains, not a lawnmower selling poser-shop that happens to carry a few saws and boxed chains.

 

[upandcommer]

I have a buddy who used to have a lawnmower repair shop

he says he has a breaker spinner set up and he will help me to use it to shorten my own chains. Wow gotta love a guy who is willing to not only do the work for free but help you to learn to do it too. p.s. he says he has 4 rolls of chain why not just make some new ones gotta love friends like that gonna teach me to make my own chains out of his stock room. The world needs more guys like him I help him cut wood for his woodpile he fixes all my saws and gives me chains and sharpens all my chains and now is gonna help me get all my stuff set up the way I want it.

 

[JPP]

he says he has a breaker spinner set up and he will help me to use it to shorten my own chains. Wow gotta love a guy who is willing to not only do the work for free but help you to learn to do it too. p.s. he says he has 4 rolls of chain why not just make some new ones gotta love friends like that gonna teach me to make my own chains out of his stock room. The world needs more guys like him I help him cut wood for his woodpile he fixes all my saws and gives me chains and sharpens all my chains and now is gonna help me get all my stuff set up the way I want it.

Keep being friends with that guy.

Sounds like you are set. So...put the 14" bar and chain on that Wild Thing and you will be glad.

 

[Mike mandry]

I went to 3 local dealers last week looking for a loop of non safety, Stihl semi chisel in 3/8 X .050 X 71 drivers.

For starters none of them would sell me non safety chain "You dont need it", "Your not a pro" we cant sell you that blah blah blah........

Same story on making me a loop. "We cant do that its dangerous"

Finally stopped in a Stihl dealer that I have never been to. Little mom & pop joint. I was really impressed with these people. Been there 51 years & really knew their stuff. Friendly as heck to boot

The place was tiny, about the size of a 3 car garage.

Same family runs it. 3 generations now. And.....they made me a chain.

Looks like I found me a new dealer. Gues where I will be buying my new 046 from ?????

They still had a sign on the front with a picture of a Homelite SEZ on it from way back. Yes, the used to sell Homies & then went with Stihl in the mid 80's

 

[Cut4fun]

14" bar

I would get a 14" bar and some matching Windsor non-safety chain. They say that baileys woodsman pro is good too. Havnt tried it yet. Sell the 18" on ebay or have them shortened for back ups.

 

[Diesel JD]

Interesting...some of these shops won't give you what you want. I sent my friend who has a Poulan in Crapsman wrapper to an Oregon/Stihl dealer looking for a loop of 91VS or Stihl 63PM and they wouldn't sell it to him! I guess they think they have to keep people from hurting themselves. Maybe I'd worry about it if I thought I might get sued too. But it is plain aggravating.

 

[upandcommer]

i picked up an oregon bar today

i grabbed a 14" to throw on her today now to just shorten my current chains and we will all be good. Thank to all who helped to realise the obviouse just use my current chains on a shorter bar.

 

[geofore]

chains/bars

It may be the shop didn't have the 91vs or 63pm in stock but gave a different excuse. I've seen rm instead of rs put on saws because the shop didn't have rs in stock. They look in their book and see what they have that's the nearest match and that's what you end up with unless you want to wait for them to order it special for you. You're kind of stuck if the saw has to be back on the job today or tomorrow morning. How many shops would order a 100' roll if you're the only one asking and all you want is one loop? It's more you can have what we have in stock or wait till we can get what you asked for. Showing up with a Wildthing and asking for an aggressive chain I'd have to question your sanity:jawdrop:

 

[xander9727]

Showing up with a Wildthing and asking for an aggressive chain I'd have to question your sanity:jawdrop:

But it's called a WILDthing........shouldn't it have some crazy chain on it?

 

[Lakeside53]

But it's called a WILDthing........shouldn't it have some crazy chain on it?

With a l ttle time and effort, and a box of repair parts, you could make a chain with every second cutter on backwards. It would look cool... but...

 

[Diesel JD]

why not...it does have a chain brake and a front hand guard?

 

[geofore]

crazy

But it's called a WILDthing........shouldn't it have some crazy chain on it?[/QUOTE
I hate to send him one of these Pro91 bars and loops of 91 vs chain I have, they're only 16". Running a short bar might hurt his ego. er ah, I meant to say (Wildthing) saw. Once you're happy with an 18" bar you wouldn't want to downsize to a shorter one even if would cut faster and have more grunt in the wood. Besides I have to save these for Bob. Bob gave me his 55Rancher last year, said it wasn't running good. It ran fine, so I sent it out and had DozerDan modify it. Bob called last week and asked if I could get him a more aggressive chain. After the better part of a year with safety chain Bob's probably ready for a more aggressive chain or his needs sharpened by someone other than Bob.