Best 16" bar, pitch,&chain combo for ported 550xp

[Willard]

Bumping this old "best 16" b/c for 550XP" thread.
I cut and remove alot of spruce in my area and in the smaller stuff I setup my 550XP with a 16" .050 3/8" bar cut down to 14".
Replaced the dogs with a smooth bumper and the best chain is....Stihl 33TS (Topic Super) and Oregon 76 LG.
Beautiful smooooth, strong and quick cutting 3/8" chisel chain NLA that doesn't require a Picco or LoPro bar or sprocket.

I still have quite a bit of the chain in both brands. Bigger then a .325 but smaller then a standard 3/8 chain. Yes as pic shows back in the 1980's chain out of the box didn't have alot of sideplate angle. Enduser had to file that in himself.
I wish they'd make it again.

 

[srcarr52]

A well ported 550 will like 3/8's chain. It's more durable and can clear chips better than lopro.

 

[MG2186]

A well ported 550 will like 3/8's chain. It's more durable and can clear chips better than lopro.

I run 72DL 3/8 on both my ported 2153 and 2253. They handle them beautifully

 

[Willard]

A well ported 550 will like 3/8's chain. It's more durable and can clear chips better than lopro.

As I said with my example in my above post my 550XP was setup for small limby spruce with a 14" bar and 33TS and 76LG chain. Didn't need to be ported either.

Here a pic of a full size 3/8 cutter on my 76LG chain.
40 years ago I built my race chain on a 76LG chassis with all full size 3/8 cutters, I called it a 3/8 High Tooth chain.

 

[srcarr52]

I run 72DL 3/8 on both my ported 2153 and 2253. They handle them beautifully

Yup, I run an 18" 3/8, 68 drivers on my ported 550. It's a hot setup, especially with square ground chain.

 

[Willard]

Unfortunately I sold my 550 last spring , I can do everything it can do with my 562XP.

Back in the 1970s, 1980s and early 1990s our logging company made us fallers use 9 tooth sprocket nose safety bars like the Windsor Mini Pro and Oregon banana and PowerMatch DoubleGuard bars to reduce kickback injuries with our short 16"- 20" bars. We were running these on 034 to 064. 630/266 to 920/288 saws.

We'd run 33RS/72LP-LG chain on them but in smaller limby spruce they'd derail easily so we ran the smaller 33TS/ 76LG chain that didn't have a problem derailing on these small radious nose bars.

Here's a pic of a 30 year old 16" Windsor Mini Pro bar I sold with my 550XP last spring.
Last pic is a 35 year old USA made Oregon 5mm file that I filed the 33TS/76LG chain with. In between size of a 3/16" and 13/64" file. Made better chip clearance and chip flow on those lower cutters. Best quality file I ever used and still have cases of them from collecting over the years from auctions etc.

 

[MG2186]

Yup, I run an 18" 3/8, 68 drivers on my ported 550. It's a hot setup, especially with square ground chain.

Well of course square ground

 

[Willard]

As I said with my example in my above post my 550XP was setup for small limby spruce with a 14" bar and 33TS and 76LG chain. Didn't need to be ported either.

Here a pic of a full size 3/8 cutter on my 76LG chain.
40 years ago I built my race chain on a 76LG chassis with all full size 3/8 cutters, I called it a 3/8 High Tooth chain.
View attachment 147271

I love this pic. Unbelievable how many people today still don't know how we did this over 40 years ago.
One of the best kept secrets building race chain

 

[Hedgerow]

I love this pic. Unbelievable how many people today still don't know how we did this over 40 years ago.
One of the best kept secrets building race chain
View attachment 147276

Eh.. Sort of a secret..
I still see a few here and there.
I've got some loops that are stamped Mac..

 

[Hedgerow]

 

[Willard]

Eh.. Sort of a secret..
I still see a few here and there.
I've got some loops that are stamped Mac..

Yep you and I know there are a few of us who remember from the old days.
370 Mac rebadged 76LG. Or is that the chain Homelite/Sabre tried to market after trying to copy Oregons patent by buying a few thousand feet of Oregon's 76 chain ?

 

[Farmchuck]

I recently came across a quantity of
34LG chain in 66dl loops. So it looks like that will be my set up for the foreseeable future. I am enjoying all the insight into what everyone else is using. It is most educational/enjoyable!

 

[Farmchuck]

It does cut quite well other than the fact that a lot of the pole wood I got this year is pretty dirty what with all the rain we’ve had in or area.

 

[CR888]

I love this pic. Unbelievable how many people today still don't know how we did this over 40 years ago.
One of the best kept secrets building race chain
View attachment 147276

Hey Willard, how did the combination of high tooth & low tooth in full house sequence cut? Did the low cutters bite wood or go along for the ride?

 

[Willard]

Hey Willard, how did the combination of high tooth & low tooth in full house sequence cut? Did the low cutters bite wood or go along for the ride?

CR888, I didn't explain what I did there very well. When I took that pic of the chain I was just demonstrating how the full size 3/8 cutter fits on the 76LG chassis.

When I used to built my race chain I would replace all the smaller 76LG cutters with the big 72 cutters. So what I ended up with was a "high tooth" 3/8 cutter chain thanks to the lower 76 chassis.
Better chip clearance and flow and the chassis still retains its full case hardened links for strength.

 

[CR888]

OK gotcha. You may find new love for the 550 when you see the new changes that are coming. They are gaining a little weight but are refined for reliability. They have a new darker grey clutch cover.