You guys got me deciding to buy several spare chain blades instead of
getting a roll of chain and tossing out dull pieces.

My 16" bar uses a chain the Craftsman sells for $20. I found two other
online places that sell it for $30.

Is a 16" chain a 16" chain a 16" chain? Or are they make/model specific?

I'd think I could beat the Sears price, but Googled and DogPiled it and
couldn't. Online sources of inexpensive chain blades welcome.

sorry there not all the same

I have several electric chain saws, when a chain gets dull I just swap
saws.

Saves lots of time!

Later I can sharpen tighten or fix whatrever broke

Buy an Oregon Blade, they last the longest for me and my chainsaw gets heavy
use! It's worth the 20 bucks, and really unless you work a saw like I do
having one extra blade should suffice. I only have two extra blades per saw,
I can usually use one blade for a whole season, I do sharpen it regularly
though, the spares are there in case of breakage and then they usually get
rotated out of play after a season. Basically I buy one blade a year and
always have two on hand.
Searcher

"RB" wrote in message
.. .

SNIPS


Is a 16" chain a 16" chain a 16" chain? Or are they make/model
specific?

No, there are lots of variations in 16" chains. (And 14" and 12" and 18",
etc.) Pitch, tooth height, offsets, etc. All a function of the saw's
manufacturer's design.

--
Jim McLaughlin

Reply address is deliberately munged.
If you really need to reply directly, try:
jimdotmclaughlinatcomcastdotcom

And you know it is a dotnet not a dotcom
address.

RB wrote:
You guys got me deciding to buy several spare chain blades instead of
getting a roll of chain and tossing out dull pieces.

My 16" bar uses a chain the Craftsman sells for $20. I found two other
online places that sell it for $30.

Is a 16" chain a 16" chain a 16" chain? Or are they make/model specific?

I'd think I could beat the Sears price, but Googled and DogPiled it and
couldn't. Online sources of inexpensive chain blades welcome.



There are an amazing range of chain types and sometimes it isn't obvious
from looking what sort of chain is right for any given saw and purpose.
The biggest difference is chain pitch and then comes tooth type and then
comes kerf width then you have specialty materials to consider.

Personally, I've had great luck buying my loops (as they call a
ready-made chainsaw chain in the industry) from Bailey's. The biggest
problem there is that there is just so much available that it can put
one into a coma trying to figure out what is what. But contacting their
service people is easy and they really know everything there is to know
about turning trees into sawdust. BTW: their cost for most standard
chain types seems to be around $0.22 per drive link.

http://www.baileys-online.com/

--
John McGaw
[Knoxville, TN, USA]
http://johnmcgaw.com

RB wrote:
You guys got me deciding to buy several spare chain blades instead of
getting a roll of chain and tossing out dull pieces.

My 16" bar uses a chain the Craftsman sells for $20. I found two other
online places that sell it for $30.

Is a 16" chain a 16" chain a 16" chain? Or are they make/model specific?

I'd think I could beat the Sears price, but Googled and DogPiled it and
couldn't. Online sources of inexpensive chain blades welcome.



The length of the chain should be about the same
and the saw be able to adjust to slight
variations. However, different saws use different
chains, either the width or the shape of the teeth
and possibly the spacing on the drive. I haven't
checked in the last 2 months or so, but Walmart
sells the standard Oregon chain that many saws use
in a two pack that cost about $15 per chain. $30
a chain sounds pretty high unless it is a
specialized chain.

Shopdog wrote:
Buy an Oregon Blade, they last the longest for me and my chainsaw gets heavy
use! It's worth the 20 bucks, and really unless you work a saw like I do
having one extra blade should suffice. I only have two extra blades per saw,
I can usually use one blade for a whole season, I do sharpen it regularly
though, the spares are there in case of breakage and then they usually get
rotated out of play after a season. Basically I buy one blade a year and
always have two on hand.
Searcher


Ummm. You confuse newbies when you don't use the
correct terminology. The chain is what you
sharpen and it runs in the blade. But I agree
with the rest, Walmart Lowes, and lots of places
sell Oregon chains and blades. Though I've never
bought a replacement blade; flip them over
regularly and lightly draw file them from time to
time to account for wear.

Technically, the "blade" is called a bar.

OH, for the OP, Please do yourself a favor and buu and use PLENTY of bar
oil. Always fill the bar oil when you add gas.

Searcher

Shopdog wrote:
Technically, the "blade" is called a bar.

OH, for the OP, Please do yourself a favor and buu and use PLENTY of bar
oil. Always fill the bar oil when you add gas.

Searcher


Damn. Had blade on the mind. Bar it is!

We use them so often and without thinking we call the chain a "blade"
because it is what does the cutting. To many the whole bar and chain is
referred to as the "blade" Most times when in your own circle we can refer
to such things as we wish, mainly cause we all know what we are talking
about.

Searcher

There are different sizes (which are not interchangable). The most
common are .325 chain, and 3/8 chain. Homelite also has a "lo pro"
chain which isn't interchangable with the others.

In order to adapt to differnet bar lengths, chains can have different
number of links. My old saws had 3/8 chain, and 59 or 60 links. For 16
inch bar.

There are different types of teeth, a chain with different teeth (but
same size chain). Semi chisel is one common type. Chisel and chipper
are different types.

$20 a loop sounds about right.

--

Christopher A. Young
You can't shout down a troll.
You have to starve them.
..

"RB" wrote in message
.. .
You guys got me deciding to buy several spare chain blades instead of
getting a roll of chain and tossing out dull pieces.

My 16" bar uses a chain the Craftsman sells for $20. I found two
other
online places that sell it for $30.

Is a 16" chain a 16" chain a 16" chain? Or are they make/model
specific?

I'd think I could beat the Sears price, but Googled and DogPiled it
and
couldn't. Online sources of inexpensive chain blades welcome.