What Stihl Chain Will Fit My Power Saw?

Chain Gauge

• Every chain saw chain runs around a metal guide bar. For this to happen, each chain uses a series of runners, called drive links, which look like little teeth and that fit into the grooves in the guide bar. The thickness of these drive links is important because it must match precisely with the thickness of the groove in the guide bar. If the drive links are too thick, they won’t slide smoothly over the bar, and if they’re too thin, the chain won’t stay on the bar.

Chain Pitch

• The middle part of the chain, called the rivets, connects the drive links and the teeth together. These rivets are evenly spaced throughout the chain because they need to pass over the drive sprocket on the clutch and the sprocket on the nose of the guide bar. The pitch of the chain measures the distance of any three rivets divided by two. This measurement basically tells the size of the chain, because this number must match with the size of the sprockets.

Chain Length

• Chain saw chains vary widely in length for the different size of bars they get put on. Guide bars can range in size from 12 to 40 or more inches long. If the chain is off by even an inch, it won’t work on your guide bar. The length of the chains counts the number of drive links on the inner ring of your chain. Most often, Stihl chains will have this number stamped into the side of the chain, somewhere on the rivets.

Getting the Chain

• Operators need to locate the measurements of their saw’s sprocket, the gauge of the guide bar and the depth of the sprockets on the clutch and the nose of the guide bar. These measurements are typically found in your chain saw’s operator's manual. On some chain saws, the numbers are stamped near the bottom heel of the guide bar, listed in a string of numbers.