Supplier for ANSI 25 roller chain tools

[BurningSky]

Hello, I'm having trouble locating tools for working with ANSI 25 hardened steel chain. Could anyone recommend a supplier? The typical places McMaster, Grainger, MSC have either nothing or not many things. I at least have a cheapo chain breaker but want to check chain stretch, and would just generally like to see what tools are available to make jobs easier. Thanks!

 

[MikeHalloran]

ISTR that the constrction of #25 is different from, e.g. #35, so chain wear and stretch will always be more of a problem, so the first alternative to consider is larger chain. For karts, of course, #25 is traditional, so all you can do is use better lube.

A search for "roller chain tools" without the quotes was productive, and suggests that you expand your inquiries to include Sears and Amazon, as well as chatting up your local motorcycle dealers.

That said, the tool business is such that only a few people actually make a given tool, and everybody else resells it, so you won't see much variety, other than cheap copies, which deserve some respect for their fragility.

Also, roller chain is (nominally) simple, so I would be surprised to find any tools that were terribly expensive, or especially, electronic. If you could describe your specific needs in more detail, someone might be able to suggest a tool from another trade that would help, or suggest a way to make a custome tool for your operation. That latter is more likely if there's a hint of a market.







Mike Halloran
Pembroke Pines, FL, USA

 

[BurningSky]

Thanks for the thoughts Mike. I am not aware of any differences between 25 and the larger sizes, but I have worked mostly with the 25 chain as due to space constraints it is my only option. From my searching it appears that go-karts use at least 35. It would be great to find a standard product that uses 25 chain.

Amazon is notoriously hard to search, but, it looks like all chain breakers are of this design:

http://www.builderdepot.com/SPEECO_1/prodimg/6884027.jpg

- this is the tool I use and I find it tricky to use, especially with the small 25 chain.

McMaster has a nice selection of tools for measuring, holding, and breaking chain:

http://www.mcmaster.com/#chain-tools

but they're exclusively available for larger size chain. The point about making a tool is good, I suppose I could make a wear gauge.