What's the history of so many chain sizes ? Is part of it a metric to USA conversion ? I mean Pitches of 1/4", .325", 3/8", .404", pico (low profile) Gauges of , .043", .050", .058", .o63" .080" Now you can tell me that 8/ thousandths of an inch between .050 to .058 or 5 /thousandths between .058 & .063 will make or break performance. But I'm skeptical . If a small saw like my 14" wimpy craftsman can have a 3/8 X .050 x low profile cutter & a 460 can have a a 3/8 x .050 full size cutter, then why can't a standard of 3/8" X .050 (or .058 ) be a reasonable pitch & gauge to be a standard. Save on tooling & manufacturing, IMO. One benefit my be that it could/would/should bring down the cost , Oh My
Not an expert bit the smaller chains leave a smaller kerf which takes less HP to pull them in the cut which is why small saws use them. Gauges....you got me?
Wider gauge is stronger, it will also carry more oil on a long bar, but I agree. Most of us would be quite fine with 3/8 .050. A lot of it is regional. No such thing as .063 here, and you only get .058 at the husky dealer.
Historically there were more options in the past with 7/16, 1/2 and 9/16 being available. Larger pitch chains typically have a wider gauge, the chains are stronger and the wider channel in the bar allows more oil to be carried the length of the bar.
All the different combos mean you generally have to go back the dealer that sold the saw... Around here finding .325 / .063 non safety chain anywhere but the local Stihl dealer is next to impossible. Same for .058 and Husky.
Heavier gauge chain makes it stronger to handle more HP or longer bars, but has negligible affect on performance. I for one would like to see .058 go away. Major PITA, too many homeowners running .050 on .058 bars, and as an in-between size, it's really not necessary. Chain pitch however plays a big role in performance, especially matching the chain to the power available. I have an old Remington SL-9 (46cc) that hauls 3/8" chain around the 16" bar but it does so much slower and with a lot more "low end" than a modern saw. Modern saws have much less torque down low in the RPM range and like to rev up well past what my SL-9 would even consider running at. Every chain pitch seems to have at least a niche where no other performs quite the same. It's not always about performance either. 1/4" is all but extinct these days but some arborists like how smooth and clean the cuts it leaves behind are. I think I heard some carvers like it too? Goes around a dime tipped bar better than 3/8" Picco/Low-Pro.
Yes the smaller the pitch , the better it goes around a smaller nosed bar with more stability. The best clean - smooth cut, to me, would be square chisel, but with less room for the bar to wobble in the narrow kerf with 1/4", makes sense, (lightweight too) Stihl don't make .043 gauge that I could find . Not sure what/where that is used anyway. Maybe some real old saws.. So some gradual change is happening.
3/8"P .043 is on everything they build under 35cc. MS170, Ms180, MS192(T) are the popular ones plus all of the pole saws run .043. It's called Picco Micro Mini. PMM3/PMMC3 in Stihl-speak.
Just don't see it on the Stihl chain list, http://www.stihlusa.com/products/chain-saws/saw-chains/ all the small stuff & PMM3 stuff says .050. Must still make it for the saws that take it.
I too, see no use for the .058 gauge.. Honestly, .050 could go away and only someone like me would whine about it. The 3/8 Lowpro chains are .050, and that suits them well, and the picco is tiny, and only used in its very slim kerf, to help the cut speed of very low hp saws... I really do like the new 3/8 lp chains from Stihl. They take a small hp saw and make it cut like a little light saber.. That would be the new PS and PS3..
Nobody around here is stocking PS or PS3 chain. I really want to try it. I have some .050" PM loops kicking around that are IMO by far the best Picco/Low-Pro chain you can buy until PS came along. I actually like the PMM (.043) stuff too on the baby saws. Sure works good on the MS170/180.
Nothin wrong with the PM.. That's the semi chisel version cutters on the same .050 chassis as PS, right?
The picco is just not very strong.. I've broken half a dozen of them. Of course they're for smaller saws, so it's not a big deal, but I think they've reached the slimmest point at which you can run on a saw.. Sure wouldn't want them any thinner. For what they're designed to do, they absolutely fit the bill.
