Narrow Kerf, any measurements?

[dacron]

Hello, I am new here, but have been scouring the archives for information. I am very interested in narrow kerf .325 chain. I understand that the actual kerf is variable. I am surprised that I can find no references to actual bar thicknesses. I just measured two new standard .325 bars, my oregon pro-lite measures 0.275", and a Husqvarna laminated bar (pro-lite?) measures 0.285". both measurements are with paint. I am wondering how much thinner the narrow kerf bars are. I have heard that NK chain will work on standard bars until in has been sharpened to the point that the kerf is reduced, and the standard bar drags.

Can anyone tell me the widths of their bars and whether they work well with NK .325 or not?

Thanks

 

[Deleted member 149229]

Hello, I am new here, but have been scouring the archives for information. I am very interested in narrow kerf .325 chain. I understand that the actual kerf is variable. I am surprised that I can find no references to actual bar thicknesses. I just measured two new standard .325 bars, my oregon pro-lite measures 0.275", and a Husqvarna laminated bar (pro-lite?) measures 0.285". both measurements are with paint. I am wondering how much thinner the narrow kerf bars are. I have heard that NK chain will work on standard bars until in has been sharpened to the point that the kerf is reduced, and the standard bar drags.

Can anyone tell me the widths of their bars and whether they work well with NK .325 or not?

Thanks

I can tell you that the Oregon site states that NK chain must be used with NK bar.

 

[svk]

I have a .325 NK bar (somewhere) and a NK chain that I can measure for you this weekend if nobody else answers first.

 

[scottr]

Dacron , back around late 2003 my 16" .050 gauge Oregon Micro-Lite .325 Narrow Kerf Bar bent easier than what I thought was reasonable so I measured the thickness and it was 0.153" , compared to my neighbors Husqvarna 350 18" .325" .050 gauge Narrow Kerf Bar that was made by Oregon and it was 0.159" .

 

[Philbert]

Welcome to A.S.!

I understand that narrow kerf chain is popular in Europe, and is equipped on many Husqvarna saws. It came as standard on my Husqvarna 353, and I continue to use it. I like it.

As @Dahmer notes, it is supposed to be used only on narrow kerf bars, due to the reduced clearance, and the thinner rails. As a result, the thinner bars are more flexible. I recommend running it on narrow kerf bars. Oregon's newer 'SpeedCut', narrow kerf bars are laminated (glued instead of just riveted) to make them stiffer.
(see posts 141 - 156 in this thread: https://www.arboristsite.com/commun...ow-kerf-chain-and-speedcut-guide-bars.285694/)

There can be variation between brands of chains.

Oregon calls it 'MicroLite': http://en.oregonproducts.com/pdf/95VPX_A106981-AA_low-res.pdf
and 'SpeedCut': https://www.oregonproducts.com/speedcut

Husqvarna calls it 'PIXEL': https://www.husqvarna.com/us/access...sp33g-semi-chisel-pixel-325-1-3-mm/581643656/

Carlton calls it 'Narrow Kerf': (pages 5-6) http://content.yudu.com/web/y5b2/0A...h/resources/index.htm?referrerUrl=#noRedirect

I measured a few narrow kerf bars. per your request:
- Husqvarna OEM (16" nominal) 0.151"
- Husqvarna OEM (20" nominal) 0.153"
- Oregon Pro-Lite (16" nominal) 0.155"
- Oregon SpeedCut (16" nominal) 0.155"


Philbert

 

[svk]

Welcome to A.S.!

I understand that narrow kerf chain is popular in Europe, and is equipped on many Husqvarna saws. It came as standard on my Husqvarna 353, and I continue to use it. I like it.

As @Dahmer notes, it is supposed to be used only on narrow kerf bars, due to the reduced clearance, and the thinner rails. As a result, the thinner bars are more flexible. I recommend running it on narrow kerf bars. Oregon's newer 'SpeedCut', narrow kerf bars are laminated (glued instead of just riveted) to make them stiffer.
(see posts 141 - 156 in this thread: https://www.arboristsite.com/commun...ow-kerf-chain-and-speedcut-guide-bars.285694/)

There can be variation between brands of chains.

Oregon calls it 'MicroLite': http://en.oregonproducts.com/pdf/95VPX_A106981-AA_low-res.pdf
and 'SpeedCut': https://www.oregonproducts.com/speedcut

Husqvarna calls it 'PIXEL': https://www.husqvarna.com/us/access...sp33g-semi-chisel-pixel-325-1-3-mm/581643656/

Carlton calls it 'Narrow Kerf': (pages 5-6) http://content.yudu.com/web/y5b2/0A...h/resources/index.htm?referrerUrl=#noRedirect

I measured a few narrow kerf bars. per your request:
- Husqvarna OEM (16" nominal) 0.151"
- Husqvarna OEM (20" nominal) 0.153"
- Oregon Pro-Lite (16" nominal) 0.155"
- Oregon SpeedCut (16" nominal) 0.155"


Philbert

Do you happen to have any NK versus standard .325 chains available to measure the cutter width? Otherwise I can grab that.

 

[Philbert]

Do you happen to have any NK versus standard .325 chains available to measure the cutter width?.

Hard to measure, since the cutters may 'overlap' in the center and you really want to measure 'kerf'. Might need to sandwich between 2 straight edges, but then there can be some slop. Good luck!

Philbert

 

[dacron]

Thanks for the replies everyone! in the near future Ill compare a 325 NK, probably 95TXL, to 20LPX, both new chains on a new bar. I'll do my best to get good measurements of kerf width.

 

[Philbert]

Look forward to your posts!

Try to get a feel how the 2 chains feel in the same wood (side-by-side swapping).

Philbert

 

[dacron]

Hello, I finally got some saws out & cutting. Tested, were an oregon pro-lite 20" .050 gauge .325 pitch bar using Oregon 95TXL, a Tsumura 375ZR2 18" .058 gauge .325" gauge bar using Oregon 21BPX, and an Oregon Powermatch 36" .063 gauge 3/8 bar using woodland pro (carlton) 33SC semi chisel. All bars and chains were new.

Kerfs are hard to measure, I have a great set of calipers, but my cuts weren't the most consistent. I only cut about an inch into a decent quality softwood 4x4, 4x each, and the results were pretty obvious to the eye. But I don't want to spend all day coming up with measurements I can defend, so they are approximate.

95TXL - 0.265"

21BPX - 0.285"

33SC - 0.320"

I expected more of a difference. But they place where I assumed they would. My interest in narrow kerf is mostly for milling. If I could mill a log quicker, and get another board out of it, Id attempt setting up my new 395xp with a non standard chain.

How would you test kerf widths? Saws used are a 550XP for .325, and a 395xp for 3/8.

 

[scottr]

Hello, I finally got some saws out & cutting. Tested, were an oregon pro-lite 20" .050 gauge .325 pitch bar using Oregon 95TXL, a Tsumura 375ZR2 18" .058 gauge .325" gauge bar using Oregon 21BPX, and an Oregon Powermatch 36" .063 gauge 3/8 bar using woodland pro (carlton) 33SC semi chisel. All bars and chains were new.

Kerfs are hard to measure, I have a great set of calipers, but my cuts weren't the most consistent. I only cut about an inch into a decent quality softwood 4x4, 4x each, and the results were pretty obvious to the eye. But I don't want to spend all day coming up with measurements I can defend, so they are approximate.

95TXL - 0.265"

21BPX - 0.285"

33SC - 0.320"

I expected more of a difference. But they place where I assumed they would. My interest in narrow kerf is mostly for milling. If I could mill a log quicker, and get another board out of it, Id attempt setting up my new 395xp with a non standard chain.

How would you test kerf widths? Saws used are a 550XP for .325, and a 395xp for 3/8.

I would make a cut and use a feeler gauge to measure the kerf .

 

[Cliff Baxter]

Hello, I finally got some saws out & cutting. Tested, were an oregon pro-lite 20" .050 gauge .325 pitch bar using Oregon 95TXL, a Tsumura 375ZR2 18" .058 gauge .325" gauge bar using Oregon 21BPX, and an Oregon Powermatch 36" .063 gauge 3/8 bar using woodland pro (carlton) 33SC semi chisel. All bars and chains were new.

Kerfs are hard to measure, I have a great set of calipers, but my cuts weren't the most consistent. I only cut about an inch into a decent quality softwood 4x4, 4x each, and the results were pretty obvious to the eye. But I don't want to spend all day coming up with measurements I can defend, so they are approximate.

95TXL - 0.265"

21BPX - 0.285"

33SC - 0.320"

I expected more of a difference. But they place where I assumed they would. My interest in narrow kerf is mostly for milling. If I could mill a log quicker, and get another board out of it, Id attempt setting up my new 395xp with a non standard chain.

How would you test kerf widths? Saws used are a 550XP for .325, and a 395xp for 3/8.

So the 0.265 is narrow kerf and the 0.285 is standard chain. The other is irrelevant as 3/8 cuts a wider kerf and semi chisel cuts a wider kerf. You could put 325 sprocket bar and chain on your 395 but you'd break a lot of chains