Narrow Kerf bar & ‘standard’ chains

[Niall]

Is the combination going to kill me?
Oregon 15” speedcut bar, narrow kerf.
Stihl .325 0.050” chain, not NK
(Have 2 new 20lpx chains too)

I’m not dropping trees and not cutting anything too challenging.

I’ve no problem with it wearing a bar faster. At the moment the saw cuts like nothing I’ve ever used before, so as long as I’m not in imminent danger of death I’ll keep going?

Amateur/Rookie mistakes I’m putting all this down to

 

[dsell]

Should work fine, no safety issues.

 

[Bobby Kirbos]

I run that combo (standard chain/NK bar) on my 490. Zero issues, no increased wear on the bar.

Going the other way (NK chain on standard bar) will cause problems since the chain does not cut a wide enough kerf to give enough clearance for the bar.

 

[svk]

I have ran them a few times with no issues.

 

[barton174]

I run a NK bar and standard chain, as well, on my Husqvarna 440. No issues.

Mike

Sent from my Moto Z (2) using Tapatalk

 

[SawTroll]

It works quite well on some saws, but on other saws there isn't room for the standard chain under the clutch cover with the thinner NK bar on the saw. Production tolerances also is a factor, so it may vary even with the same saw model (but it usually doesn't).
When present, this issue can be solved by using shims around the bar bolt (you have to figure out yourself if on the inside or outside of the bar, or both + how thick they need to be.

The practice won't hurt anything as long as there is room for the chain - at least not for "light" use.

Standard .325 Stihl chain in .050 is a bit wider than standard Oregon in .050 (and in .058), as all gauges are on the .063 "chassis" - so at least theoretically it is more likely to create the mentioned issue. How far the cutters are filed back also may matter in "borderline" cases.

 

[Niall]

Thanks for the help.
Great info @ SawTroll

Saw is a 550xp and didn’t notice any issues with clearance but I’ll take it apart later and make sure clearance isn’t an issue anywhere, it’ll be well marked by now if it is

 

[computeruser]

Works fine. That is what I run. Hundreds of hours of use. No problems. Go for it.

 

[SawTroll]

Thanks for the help.
Great info @ SawTroll

Saw is a 550xp and didn’t notice any issues with clearance but I’ll take it apart later and make sure clearance isn’t an issue anywhere, it’ll be well marked by now if it is

The 550xp family of saws often has been reported to have a clearance issue with this bar and chain combination, unlike the earlier 346xp family. I don't know if this still is the case with current 550xp saws - but I would take a really close look before using it without shimming the bar on a 550.

Regardless, this is about combining parts that aren't supposed to be used together, so there is no reason to complain if it doesn't work.