Chainsaw Repair

i'd grind them down. the damage happens due to people not cleaning the surfaces while putting the bar back on or when they loosen it up to retighten the chain. crud gets in there and gives you a false tightening. once you start the saw and start cutting, the dirt falls out, leaving you with a slightly loose bar. most homeowners complain of the chain being tight, but it loosens off when they start cutting. and this confuses them. so they just gorilla arm them tighter to the point the bar starts cutting into the sides (or worse). the bar will do this also when it's just loose enough to move around a bit aswell, like on the tooless side covers.
i agree on adding the metal plae to the side cover. i have no idea why it wouldn't be common practice on a plastic side cover. don't know their thinking other than that huge extra cost of adding it and the idea that these saws were only meant to last a couple few years before the clutch cover would ever need replacing or cleaning up.