Let’s Talk 404

[Squareground3691]

Makes sense.

On the mm, did you clean out the factory port? Or just add the 2nd?

Left it alone it’s pretty good, just added extra port ,

 

[mainer_in_ak]

Oregon discontinued 8 pin .404 rim sprockets. I'm gonna get my remaining ones gold-plated. Put them on ebay for $1000.

 

[hacskaroly]

Oregon discontinued 8 pin .404 rim sprockets. I'm gonna get my remaining ones gold-plated. Put them on ebay for $1000.

A true bayer!

 

[Homemade]

I better hold on to mine then.

 

[Homemade]

I better hold on to mine then.

 

[Squareground3691]

Oregon discontinued 8 pin .404 rim sprockets. I'm gonna get my remaining ones gold-plated. Put them on ebay for $1000.

Oregon Rim, 404-8 Sd7, 10 Pack, Orego #ORC-13313 - Yard Parts and Accessories - PartsWarehouse

Oregon Rim, 404-8 Sd7, 10 Pack, Orego #ORC-13313 - Yard Parts and Accessories. Largest Selection, Best Prices, Free Shipping Available at PartsWarehouse.com

www.partswarehouse.com

 

[Al Smith]

IF I have not already posted before all of my large saws,over 100 cc use .404 .Some run 7 tooth and some 8 tooth .The avatar saw ,Homelite 2100 S is rather rare and at the time Homelite only offered 8 tooth rims which are 6 spline drive .My understanding is that Oregon at that time offered the clutch sit up in 7 spline but they are rare as a hen's tooth .
All that said from my perspective on those large saws they don't care if it's a 7 or 8 tooth because they've got the grunt to pull either ,with gusto .Those big old Paul Bunyan saws you aren't concerned if they will eat through a 12 cant like a beaver on steroids but rather will they chew up a 4 foot oak in woods conditions .Fact the main reason they last so long is quite frankly they don't see much run time .

 

[Bill G]

I better hold on to mine then. View attachment 423836

What is your opinion of that adapter?

 

[Bill G]

IF I have not already posted before all of my large saws,over 100 cc use .404 .Some run 7 tooth and some 8 tooth .The avatar saw ,Homelite 2100 S is rather rare and at the time Homelite only offered 8 tooth rims which are 6 spline drive .My understanding is that Oregon at that time offered the clutch sit up in 7 spline but they are rare as a hen's tooth .
All that said from my perspective on those large saws they don't care if it's a 7 or 8 tooth because they've got the grunt to pull either ,with gusto .Those big old Paul Bunyan saws you aren't concerned if they will eat through a 12 cant like a beaver on steroids but rather will they chew up a 4 foot oak in woods conditions .Fact the main reason they last so long is quite frankly they don't see much run time .

Homelite offered a 7 spline drum for the 2100

 

[Al Smith]

Now that I didn't know .I've got a complete new OEM set up for a 2100 I stumbled on to .On that subject I think with some creativity a drum from a Mac 125 could be adapted by perhaps using a bushing in place of a bearing .Doing that with an Oregon drum you could use 3/8" chain .although I have no idea why you would want to .

 

[Homemade]

What is your opinion of that adapter?

Works great. I have an 090G and it was an ice saw, so it had a 1/2” pitch ice chain when I got it. It’s hard to find 1/2 chain in any fashion so with the adapter, I was able to run .404 and even 3/8 on the saw. Unfortunately 3/8 wasn’t wide enough and the bar was hanging up in the cut, and even 404 had a hard time putting a load on the saw in 24” oak. Now with a new 1/2” semi chisel chain fitted I’m going to test it out this weekend in a big willow.

 

[Bill G]

I bought one of the adapters when Matt had them made. It sat around here awhile unused and I sold it to someone else. Many years ago I bought a few NOS original Stihl .404 gears from Bryce. I know later he had his father-in-law's shop in the Philippines make some. I have also been lucky enough to buy 090G's with .404 gears. I can run them on the BLK's also. I have also been fortunate to locate a large supply of new and used 1/2 chain. I have a decent amount of 1/2 chisel also. Many years ago at Baraboo I ran two 090G's. I had .404 on one and 1/2 chisel on the other

As for the Homelites there are 7 spline drums around for the 2100. I have a few. I prefer to run 3/8 on everything I can. I even run 3/8 on my gear drive Homelites such as the 3100, 995, and 770GS shifter. It is faster in the cut but would not be good for a long bar.

Here is a video from 2005 of me running 3/8 on a 3100.

 

[Bill G]

Here is a 770GS running 3/8

 

[mainer_in_ak]

Homelite offered a 7 spline drum for the 2100

Bill, how long ago was .050 gauge .404 chain used? Was it common back then?

Weirdest thing:
Removed a .404 nose sprocket off a new-old-stock, homelite-mount 32" bar. It was an .050 gauge bar?!

Maybe 1980 or 1979 oregon bar.

 

[Bill G]

Hello,

Honestly the short answer is I do not know. The .404 in .050 gauge is actually a real oddity. I could dig through my old Oregon books and see but I can tell you it was listed in them longer than it was used if that makes any sense. In all the years playing around with the old vintage saws the first time I had to search out .404 in .050 was for a Homelite. I have a few of the Homelite XL-15 saws which are the gear drive versions of the Super XL/XL-12 variants. They are not an internal gear drive and have a external planetary gear drive cover that as far as I know only came in .404. The problem is the majority of the bars for those saws were .050 gauge. I had a bow bar here I wanted to run on a XL-15 but of course it was .050 gauge and the saw was .404. I had to scrounge around and find some chain but it was hard.

 

[Wilhelm]

Oregon chipper .404" .050"

 

[Squareground3691]

Oregon chipper .404" .050"

View attachment 424287View attachment 424288View attachment 424289

You run that on the ur big Dolmar ,

 

[Bill G]

I called up Frawleys Saw shop a few weeks back just to see if they might still have a bit of .050/.404. He got a good laugh when I asked. Heck the worst they can say is no...........

 

[Wilhelm]

You run that on the ur big Dolmar ,

They are 65DL/20" loops.
I have a hard nose bar for them and run the setup on my primary Dolmar PS-7900 for bucking dirty logs.

 

[Bill G]

They are 65DL/20" loops.
I have a hard nose bar for them and run the setup on my primary Dolmar PS-7900 for bucking dirty logs.

I am going to shoot you a Pm in about 5 minutes and see if we can talk about saws and issues with folks over on your continent.