Is this normal??

What the hell.

18" bar, 74 links, .325 pitch, .063 gauge.

I have to check the other chain but I do believe it should not be like this.

 

After thinking about it I guess it must be because of the length of the chain. But why would they design it like that in the first place?

 

Sounds right to me. My 290 had a 16" chain same size just 67 drive links. 20" of the same has 81 DL.

 

What exactly is the concern here? Not seeing the problem in the pic...

 

Two cutters in the same direction instead of alternating....

 

Ah, gotcha...perfectly normal...just has to do with the length of the chain...I would say I have more that are that way than not...

 

Are you talking about the double cutter? The chain has an odd number of cutters and has to double up somewhere. Its a good starting and finishing point when sharpening.

 

Bingo!

 

I'm not sure, but I feel like the 18 inch bar may be the cross over size. My 20 inch goes to .50" pitch.

 

Thanks.

Yeah I guess it depends on the pitch and the overall length. My 14" .3125" chain on the Makita is not like that. And it depends on the height of the bar as well I'm guessing. Slightly skinner and they could have subtracted one tooth and vice versa......On an oregon replacement chain I got for the Makita there is one link that has a little "Oregon" stamped on it. On the same spec chain from Oregon that I bought from Bailey's it did not have that stamp.

 

Normal for that size chain. Like Brad said a good place to start/stop filing. All my Stihl chains 18" and under are like that.

 

Most full comp chains are like that somewhere. Just depends like brenndatomu said, odd number of cutters gets you a double. Chain gauge seems kind of regional to me, around here .050 is the most common. East & West seems .063 is the more common. No clue why.