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
SNIPS
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.
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.
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.
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
Thanks. It grates on the ear to hear "blade" and a chain also called a "blade".
A good on-line source for chainsaws, tools, chains, bars etc is
Chains should be a lot cheaper than $20 there.
To order a chain, you need to specify the number of drivers and chain size.
I always turn the oil adjust screw to max as soon as I get a new or used saw if they have one.
Harry K
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.
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