Making Stihl MS440 Bars fit a Husqvarna 372 X-Torq

Reddog

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I had asked some questions in another thread and Ed L, Mangus and Holmen Tree where very helpful in showing me some options. Thank you.

So here is what I did, if it helps some one else good. :)
First you need some sort of stud adapter, you could purchase or make your own.
Here is what I made using simple shop tools.
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I ordered a 10 pack of .5 dia with a .250 thru hole 3/16 thick aluminum spacer from Mcmaster Carr Part# 92510A761.
Put 4 of them on a 1/4 bolt and tighten. Place in a drill press and then us a file to reduce the outside dia. to .470
Take a block of wood of plastic and drill a 1/2 hole through, then cut a slot so it will squeeze down when clamped.
Place a bushing in the hole clamp down and then drill the center out using an 11/32 drill. It will drill enough oversized to fit the 9mm stud.
Now the bar is 3/16 thick so you will need to reduce the thickness a few thousands. I just place the bushing over a screw head in the bench and take a couple swipes on each side with the file. Debur and your bushings are complete. A not about filing aluminum, it likes to gum up files use WD-40 or kerosene on your file to keep it from sticking. And a wire brush or file card help to clean out the teeth.

Now on to the Bar modifications.
First thing I did was to chamfer the oil holes using a die grinder and 1/8 carbide burr, as the Stihl holes are half a hole dia higher on the bar.
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Next place layout lines to show 1/2 longer slot towards the nose end.
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Then using a .045 cutoff wheel in my 4 1/2" grinder, I held tight to the sides and moved forward.
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Then flip the bar over and finish the slots from the other side.
Then remove the material in the middle.
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Use a file to debur.

Now you need to decide if you want to grind down the tensioning pin or drill out the hardened bar to 1/4" clearance. I chose to remove and grind down the pin on the bench grinder to fit the .230 dia hole.

Here is how it looks mounted.

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I picked 1/2" because on all the bars I tried 16", 20" and 28", that seemed like the best number to have room to mount the Stihl length chain.
So now I can swap my current bars and chains between both brands.

If you have a mill and lathe great use them. I didn't and need to come up with an alternative bush plan.
Enjoy! :D
 
  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
  • #3
No, I just prefer Stihl bars and chains over the other makes available.
Plus with my switch from Stihl to Husky I need to use up my extras.
Plus everything I did only took 2-3 hours, made four bushings and converted 4 bars. Almost took me longer to type than do.:)
 
Nice. The Stihl ES bars do seem to last forever compared to the Oregon bars, and it seems like Oregon has bought up virtually every other brand on the market. I ran GB bars for years but they are no longer available and I've used up almost all my stash. Seems like a bit of work but considering other options it's a very good alternative.
 
I just had to open a 16" new bar I bought for a Partner 550 just a tad to fit the shoulders 268/272 I put it on.
 
Those adaptors are basically what I've done with the exception mine are made of steel .

The first few I carved the whole thing to size from round stock .The last few I just went to the tool room at work and got scrape ends of metric round stock from the scape tub .

The thing about Stihl bars or those intended to go on a Stihl is they are readily available where some of the older mount designs are not .
 
Nice. The Stihl ES bars do seem to last forever compared to the Oregon bars, and it seems like Oregon has bought up virtually every other brand on the market. I ran GB bars for years but they are no longer available and I've used up almost all my stash. Seems like a bit of work but considering other options it's a very good alternative.
I think you could order GB on line if nothing else..

http://www.gbbar.com.au/
 
  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
  • #8
Magnus, when I had looked to order GB online I could not find the orange titanium line any more. And from what I had read those where the bars everyone liked.
 
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