What would happen if you ran .050 gauge chain on a .058 guage bar?

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I doubt that you will notice any difference.

I had a .058 bar on a used chainsaw and no one around here stocked .058 .325 chain. So I ran .050 on the chainsaw until I came across a nice used .050 bar.
 
I wouldn't make a habit of it but if you had to do it in a pinch it's fine. I've actually bought at least two saws used that had 050 in an 058 bar, and the chains were well worn.

If you think about it, you may have poorer quality oiling, especially with some of the more advanced chains that have oilomatic or lubrilink channels that essentially wick the oil up toward the chain by some sort of channel that might rely on the oil being sort of held or trapped by the bar rails. If there's a huge gap here then chain speed alone might not be sufficient and your chain might not oil as well. Your chain may also chatter or wander more when starting a cut (especially in smaller material)

Over time my guess is you'd have greater wear on both the rails and the chain.

I just wouldn't make a habit of it. In a pinch it should be fine but chains and bars are cheap enough that its not worth fussing with too much.
 
There is almost no combination of bar and chain that can't be readily found. So why would you want to do this? It obviously isn't right. What advantage could there be?
 
This Could be like the Amsoil Thread. You can run 100:1 in your saws but In the long run is it worth it?
the .058 bar isnt made to run a .050 chain do it right the first time and you wont regret it later
 
I found a good deal on .058 guage bar but no chain included and my dealer ( or any other dealer close by) does not have .058 guage chain.

Get a roll, a chain break and spinner, and you will be self sufficient. If not, I'll bet somebody here on AS will spin up chains for you for less than what you are paying from your "dealer".
 
A lot of the bars on our race saws are
63 gauge and we run a 58 gauge chain
on them. It takes a long time to break
in a bar. I would run a new 50 gauge
chain on a new 58 gauge bar.For a short
time until the bar broke in!!
 
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I put a .058 loop on a .063 out of cornfusion one day. It ran fine, but as described.
At first I figured I had neglected the teeth or rakers on one side with the file, but got good chips while cutting a nice radius.
Had me baffled untill I changed out the loop and miked it before putting it on the proper nail. I completely forgot that I had a couple loops of .058 and never even thought about it.

Stay safe!
Dingeryote
 
Shouldn't the drive be changed also?

The rim sprockets are not sensitive to chain gauge. .050", .058", & .063" - one rim can run all three gauges

They are sensitive to chain pitch which is the .325" & 3/8" type numbers.

The rim sprocket usually has the pitch # cast into the side.
 
I wouldn't make a habit of it but if you had to do it in a pinch it's fine. I've actually bought at least two saws used that had 050 in an 058 bar, and the chains were well worn.

If you think about it, you may have poorer quality oiling, especially with some of the more advanced chains that have oilomatic or lubrilink channels that essentially wick the oil up toward the chain by some sort of channel that might rely on the oil being sort of held or trapped by the bar rails. If there's a huge gap here then chain speed alone might not be sufficient and your chain might not oil as well. Your chain may also chatter or wander more when starting a cut (especially in smaller material)

Over time my guess is you'd have greater wear on both the rails and the chain.

I just wouldn't make a habit of it. In a pinch it should be fine but chains and bars are cheap enough that its not worth fussing with too much.

:agree2: - but that greater wear will start happening immediately, and crooked cutting will always be a risk.
 
Many of the older Tsunarma bars are listed as .050 - .058 so I don't know an answer to this. Look at Roanoaker Craigslist post on the Jonsered he got.
 
A lot of the bars on our race saws are
63 gauge and we run a 58 gauge chain
on them. It takes a long time to break
in a bar. I would run a new 50 gauge
chain on a new 58 gauge bar.For a short
time until the bar broke in!!
Just what constitutes a "broken in bar"?

When I was a dead rookie I never thought about the bar and chain interacting. Now that I've moved up to rookie, it occurs to me that the chain moving across the bar must polish the bar. More polish - less friction. Some bars are better than others, just like Stihl chain is harder than most other chain, different steel.
 
My concern would be what others have stated. Cutting crooked, wear on both bar & chain. I have a .50 gauge roller nose bar that I thought was a little sloppy. I used a .58 gauge chain on it, with excellent results. But, that is opposite of what wanting to do. Probably work in a pinch though.

:cheers:
Gregg,
 
Years ago, I accidentally put a .050" chain on a .058" bar and it worked fine. Cut straight and all. Cut a bunch of wood and got full life from the chain. Bar is still good to this day.

I would not do it purposely though. No reason to do so. :confused:
 
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