What do the stamped letters/numbers mean on my chainsaw bar?

Each Forester Chainsaw bar has a Code/Part number stamped into the side of the bar to give the user a specific set of information. First and foremost it acts as a part number of the bar, but it also gives you the specifications of that bar as well.

Let’s look at this Bar – You will see the number “S205072W” stamped into the side of it.

The Letter is designed to give you the Brand/Mount of the the Chainsaw this bar was designed to fit. The “S” is geared towards “Stihl” Brand. Stihl is unique as their bars mounts will only fit Stihl brand saws. Forester makes bars for many different brands as well.

The next 2 digits “20” simply tell the length of the bar. This bar is 20”. Forester bars range anywhere from 8" through 72" in incremental sizing.

Following the length is the gauge of the bar. The gauge of the bar is the open distance between the rails where the chain slides. There are 4 gauges that Forester produces bars for. You can see the code and the gauge in the table below. On this bar “50” means it’s a .050 gauge.

The final set of numbers show how many drive links are in the chainsaw chain that will run on that specific bar. This bar has “72” stamped, so it would need a 72 drive link chain. Drive link count can range anywhere from 28 to 210 depending on your bar size. 

Finally there may be a letter found at the end of the bar. This bar shows a “W” at the end which means it is the Forester Professional bar with a replaceable tip. Below is a chart to see what the letters actually mean.

Some bars have an extra set of numbers in the middle which will tell the pitch of the chain. These are typically on the Husqvarna and Poulan bar mounts, due to them fitting multiple brands. On this Husqvarna bar “HJ20385072FP”, the “38” means that it has a 3/8” Pitch. Not all bars will designate pitch on the stamp.

There you have it, now you can quickly find out all of the information about your Forester bar if you want to order replacement chains or another bar.