Chainsaw Bar Thread

[Nutball]

Do we have an official chainsaw bar thread?

I think one could perhaps be useful to discuss all things bar related, such as quality and life span, brand comparison, actual gauge when new vs advertised gauge, non standard B&C combos that work (low profile on standard bars, ect), design, mods, sprockets...

If we don't have one maybe this can be it and have it stickied.


Anyway, I'd like to point out my findings on some .043 Oregon bars I just got, and some Echos while I'm at it. I like a tight b/c fit, and noticed how a 14" .043 oregon bar seemed to wear out fast in my opinion. Now I think it was made with a loose fit. I prefer the tighter fit to get a longer life, and help avoid crooked cuts while allowing more control to intentionally curve a cut if needed.

Keep in mind these new bars still have paint in the groove to wear out. They are all laminated
Oregon xx4MLEA041 16" and 12" .043 measured .046-.051 averaging .0475. A bit loose to start with
A .050 chain measuring .050 fit into random parts of the .043 bars as expected.

Echo 14" .050 measured around .0545. A bit loose to start with
Echo 20" .050 measured .0505-.0535 averaged .0525. Good

And just because
My used (around 20 tanks) Total .050 is about .055-56
My used twice (1-2 tanks) Oregon 42" .063 is .067-685

I tend to call it quits when a bar exceeds about .015 bigger than the chain. Am I just too meticulous or what?

This 14" Echo bar sprocket is interesting: missing a rivet and lots of ventilation. Do you think it keeps it cleaner or dirtier in there?

 

[Gary Courtney]

Took a Doo9 36" oregon and cut to fit stihl 3003. Oiler holes look to line up. Any problems forseen ?

 

[Nutball]

Oops, I bought my first Archer bar. So far so good, but I won't be keeping it around long enough to see how hard the metal is.

I give them points for being milled, and for including good maintenance info, well pictures at the very least. Much more than what the big name brands do. Maybe that's cuz Archer has little to loose by its customers getting a longer life out of their stuff since it is such a lower cost than other brands.

It's a .050 bar, I measured .055-57 all around, sanded away the paint and rough metal and got .0585. Weight: 3.425lbs

Very thick paint. No groove flare at the mount end to help the DLs in. A little rough around the edges, probably from the painting process.

 

[Nutball]

It is the loosest fitting bar I've ever seen on a saw. Feels like the bolt slot is 2mm too wide, and I can move the bar tip up and down like 2-3". Calls for 81DL and that starts out new with the tensioner well over half way out. I think there's enough room to use a 80DL, and Archer & Oregon do make 80DL chains.

 

[Gary Courtney]

I have a 30" stihl hardnose 3002 mount for a stihl 070 that is .063. I put a rim clutch on my 070 and I am running a 3/8 -.063 chain. I would like to find a bar with large mount to fit 070 adjuster that has a 3/8 sprocket nose instead of hardnose . any help is much coveted. Would not mind having to drill second set of holes as long as I have sprocket nose.

 

[Nutball]

Maybe take some measurements of the diameters of the stud and tensioner with it's tension range and relative location to each other as well as the size, length, and location of the oil outlet. Then maybe we could check our bars to see if one will either fit, or accept modifications to fit.

I'd assume Archer could make money on selling discontinued designs.

 

[Al Smith]

Generally speaking a person can adapt just about any bar to any saw .Limitations are usually the width of the heel .Not all will be a good choice .Stihl bar mounts no matter who made them IMO are the easiest to adapt
and they are plentiful . That Homelite 2100S in my avatar has a 48" hardnose new old stock McCulloch bar ,just a little work on the tightener and oiler hole .It also has a mid size 36" Stihl mount using spacers and some adjustments to the oiler and tightener .Both bars will also work on a 125 McCulloch .I have a 42" Stihl bar from 066 size with the slot widened and used on an 084 Stihl .With spacers it could be used on the afore mentioned saws .

 

[Nutball]

What are all the brands that make 1/4" .043 Echo 041 mount bars? I ask because I don't know nearly as many bar brands as is out there. Oregon doesn't have any, and I don't want to use archer for this. I saw where Sugihara bars must use Sugihara chains to fit the sprocket nose.

 

[blueox4]

I have a Dolmar ps-6100 with the stock bar and chain. The couple times I’ve used it it really ripped through the maple I was cutting for firewood. I bought a Oregon Pro-Lite bar for a spare bar but wonder what a premium bar such as a Cannon SuperBar brings to the table as opposed to a Chinese made bar like the Oregon?

 

[cus_deluxe]

I saw where Sugihara bars must use Sugihara chains to fit the sprocket nose.

Never heard of sugi chain, bars dont care what brand the chain is, so long as pitch, gauge and drive link count match up

 

[cus_deluxe]

wonder what a premium bar such as a Cannon SuperBar brings to the table as opposed to a Chinese made bar like the Oregon?

Better quality steel, more durable, lasts longer etc.

 

[RI Chevy]

I saw where Sugihara bars must use Sugihara chains to fit the sprocket nose.

I do not believe this statement to be true.

 

[Nutball]

Further looking showed me Sugihara and Stihl are not compatible in 1/4 pitch, but oregon could be compatible with all of them.

 

[Nutball]

Will this work? If so, how dangerous?

10-3/8



I'm thinking I'll wear welding gloves too first time I try this.

 

[Nutball]

Meanwhile I see this thread and these posts : http://opeforum.com/threads/hard-hats-work.15703/

A few of us stood and watched at last year’s NYGTG as one of our members threw a chain.
Chain ripped open the saw’s fuel tank and made contact with the operator’s chaps. Had it not been for those chaps, there would have been blood and fuel on the ground.
Wish I got it on video.

It would have been a great video. When things like that happens its good to look at what went right, what went wrong and what could have happened.

went right:
Chaps saved injury
went wrong:
Chain derailed for some reason. Why? Not tight enough,big sprocket, problem with the bar...

Could have happened:
fuel started a fire.
chain hit a bystander

OK, so dangerous in general, but is there a general rule advising how far it is safe to go before failure is EXPECTED based on sprocket size compared to certain bar mount sizes and chain speeds?

I know a 7-3/8 works pretty well on large mount bars. I have had more derailures than I'd like with an 8-3/8 with a 20" .050 on a 90cc muffler mod saw, but I'm assuming engine power stretching the .050 chain in combination with slightly misaligned cuts, or cutting stacks of brush had a lot to do with it.

I'm thinking if I try the 10t, I'll grind a wide V groove through a good length of the bar, probably all the way to just where it extends out of the clutch cover.

 

[Nutball]

I mistakenly ordered a non Pro Archer bar, just the timber max which is a laminated bar. If I had known I would have at least gotten one gauge size down. Anyway I immediately knew what to check for having had cheap laminated 18" bars before, one of which is the razorback shown above. My fears were confirmed: one side of the .063 bar had around .066->.07 and the other side had .071 to .077 or.080. Very uneven along the length too. The paint is still on it effectively making the gauge narrower right now, but that will wear soon and that paint is thick. According to my first post here, I decided to set a throw away limit at .015 larger than the chain gauge. This new bar is already on the edge of being too "worn out" to use, but has one usable side for however long that lasts.

Luckily I got it with the intention of it being a racing bar for my chinese 660 and not a frequent use bar.

 

[Graf]

Further looking showed me Sugihara and Stihl are not compatible in 1/4 pitch, but oregon could be compatible with all of them.

I can confirm, despite the same pitch Stihl chain matches uncorrectly on Sugi nose sprocket, slightly different drive link size

Fortunately Sugi chains are good as well, not as Stihl but represent a reliable alternative

 

[chiselbit]

Does anyone know where I can find Sugihara bars longer than 36”? I saw a couple on a UK website, I don’t think they were lightweight. but none in US ( that I have seen) I guess the next question should be: are they lighter than Cannon bars? Specifically I am looking for a 42” .063 for a 661 and something around a 56” in .404 for an 880. Hoping to go lighter than the Cannons

 

[Nutball]

I'm not impressed with my first Sugi bar I just got. 32" .063 Husqy 4.24lbs and balances .5" behind the CG of a 32" Stihl .050 4.67lbs which is narrower in the middle and wider at the ends, maybe a tad bit longer too.

UK seems to get all the good Sugis too, and I don't see a website with every bar listed where people can import them. I'd like to see lighter designs, and a hard nose quarter or looney tip .043 10-16"universal mount.

 

[Nutball]

Apparently a 041 bar will work on an Echo 490. I put a 12" bar on my 490, and the very first turn of the chain, it jumped the rails. The chain was tight, but the next go round I tightened it more and pushed the bar all the way down instead of up like I'm used to. The mount sizes are pretty similar in enough ways.

If poulan bars are the same, then maybe you can put up to a 20" 3/8 on the 490.