3/8 pitch chain on old saws

[boda65]

Apparently while I was sleeping they quit making .404 .058 skip chain. I was looking at Oregon 58J a couple years ago but didn't buy any, I guess I shouldn't have procrastinated.

So, my question is this: Does 3/8 chain give a wide enough kerf for vintage big McCulloch blades? If so I can find plenty of 3/8 .058 chain. Are there any disadvantages? The only .404 .058 skip tooth chain I find on fleabay is about $112 delivered for 25 feet, a little salty but I'll pay it if there are advantages to the .404 pitch.
Thanks for your help, guys!

 

[CR888]

I don't' have much expertise with older Mac 'blades' that were made for 1/2" or .404 chain. You may need to put some calibers to measure width of you .058 .404 bar and compare its width to a known 3/8 058 bar. That will at least tell us if there is much/any difference. My guess is it should be OK but let's not make a mistake & measure.

 

[boda65]

HA! I had to reread my own post! That's hilarious I called it a blade. In my defense, I have been reading a bunch of old McCulloch literature and they did call them blades back then. Anyways, I will mike some old BARS and see how they compare. I'm about positive the kerf is wider than the bar thickness, but with the old bars being so much "taller" I didn't know if it would be more likely to pinch in a smaller kerf. I thought maybe someone here had experience with 3/8 pitch on vintage big frame saw bars.