GB bars has anyone run these?

[beaglebriar]

I don't care about the paint either. But others that read this forum do. Just allowing them to make an informed decision

I like paint Kevvy.

 

[srcarr52]

Great bars. Seems they need dressed after about one chain is wore out on it and then it takes a long time to get another burr on it.

My guess is that it takes a while for the alloy to work harden. I noticed the same thing. After you knock the burr of the rest of the rail is pretty darn tough.

 

[beaglebriar]

I have a pair of them in 16". They're Echo mount converted to K095. They do the job.

 

[Czed]

yes
I bought a dozen these were 8.00 per from lcs
Stamped made in Australia
The paint is the same as jonsered handle bar
Paint
It wears off in minutes.
Good bars no issue's.

 

[Cut4fun]

Just because they have Australia on the bar dont mean it was made in Australia. The only ones in the link I posted made in Australia is the Ti and white pro tops.
Rest China. The arbor series - Arborpro and Arbortech China.

Pull post from link =

MCW from Oz

As you'd know there have been a number of posts and threads here and on other forums regarding the production of GB bars and which country they've been coming from. I have been involved in a number of these posts/threads and this has been ongoing for many years.
There have been some changes in the packaging and bar labelling over the last few years that have not really made sense from a marketing point of view. For example the "Made In Australia" name is a major selling point. It is no different to seeing "Made In Germany" or "Made In The USA" on a product - you know it will be good with the odd exception.
For some reason GB changed their labelling to simply "Australia" and it could be assumed that something had changed in their manufacturing process. There was no feedback from anybody at GB and the rumour mill started. The fact that Stens in the US were no longer the GB distributor there also added fuel to the fire.

Now I am man enough to admit that in one of the threads here I had a fair crack at Gregg the other day who is now the US GB distributor. I basically said that no proof existed on GB's manufacturing in Australia and it is fair to say that even some Australian chainsaw dealers with GB accounts were unsure of what was going on at GB.

No doubt Gregg contacted GB in Australia regarding my posts and all of a sudden Michael Kennedy who is the managing director of GB in Australia has joined AS and set the record straight in "The All Aussie Dribble Thread". He has offered me a tour of the GB Australian manufacturing plant which I unfortunately can't take on at this stage (being an 8 hour drive!) and has outlined exactly what is going on there. He set me straight on a number of things and I've never been happier to be proven wrong! I use GB Pro Tops and Ti bars regularly however everything I use is old stock - they are some of the best bars on the market and I have 24" and 32" Pro Tops here with around 500 hours on them which have a lot of life left in them yet. To hear that they are still being made in Australia is awesome!

Therefore...

The GB harvester bars, the GB Ti bars, and the GB Pro Tops are STILL being made in Australia. They have NEVER been made overseas!!!

Their consumer line of bars are not and are coming from China. This isn't uncommon and basically all consumer priced bars are now coming out of Asia with Stihl being the exception (there may be others?).

The fact that somebody from GB has finally had the time to respond to AS member's questions and concerns is great. I have always stated that I'd really like to be proven wrong on GB and I finally have been

I'd like to apologise to Gregg but would also like to thank him for prompting somebody from GB to come in and set the record straight. I've quoted some of Michael's posts below which outlines a number of points.

This was Michael's response to a question about their packaging...
Michael Kennedy said:

It's a funny question because the cover (sleeve) on the Ti and ProTops is the only part of it that was not made in Australia.
The sleeves have always been printed in China. Although the bearings are from Switzerland.


MCW Swiss bearings explains why you can't bloody kill the nose on a Pro Top!!! I don't think anybody would complain about Swiss bearings being used.

This was the response to me regarding GB's harvester bars which I'd always been told were produced in Australia...

Michael Kennedy said:

Thanks Matt, it's true in Australia here we are mainly focussed on harvester bars because that's where we can still compete. Also the extra long chainsaw bars, double ended mill bars, all Lucas Mill bars and any other specialist bars are a big part of the Aussie business. In Australia we're not too fussed about competing with the consumer range of bars because it simply isn't economical to do so. However, we do still have a good list of loyal dealers that keep the chainsaw side of it ticking along. As I explained to Gregg and as I will explain again here the cost of producing the Ti bars is quite prohibitive but if people are prepared to pay for the quality and if the margins are still there we will continue to do so. I cannot be any clearer than this - Ti & ProTop bars have never been made anywhere else but Australia.

MCW Finally this was Michael's response to a web link from a Chinese company who said they had entered into a business relationship with GB a few years ago (Tom Beerens owns GB)...

Michael Kennedy said

Qirui Tools do not and will not make GB Arbor Series bars. These bars and noses are stock left over from a failed partnership between Tom Beerens and Wang Wei Ming (owner of Qirui Tools). They set up a company and factory together to make consumer bars and for whatever reason they had a falling out. Qirui got left holding the stock and Tom has set up his own factory in China where he has lived for the past 3 years or so. Qirui has been trying to offload these bars for quite some time now.


MCW Good stuff Gregg with your new business and your customers can rest assured that if they buy a Ti bar or Pro Top it is definitely Made In Australia and that they'll be buying one of the best bars ever made with a nose sprocket that can't be killed!

 

[Czed]

Just because they have Australia on the bar dont mean it was made in Australia. The only ones in the link I posted made in Australia is the Ti and white pro tops.
Rest China. The arbor series - Arborpro and Arbortech China.

Pull post from link =

MCW from Oz

As you'd know there have been a number of posts and threads here and on other forums regarding the production of GB bars and which country they've been coming from. I have been involved in a number of these posts/threads and this has been ongoing for many years.
There have been some changes in the packaging and bar labelling over the last few years that have not really made sense from a marketing point of view. For example the "Made In Australia" name is a major selling point. It is no different to seeing "Made In Germany" or "Made In The USA" on a product - you know it will be good with the odd exception.
For some reason GB changed their labelling to simply "Australia" and it could be assumed that something had changed in their manufacturing process. There was no feedback from anybody at GB and the rumour mill started. The fact that Stens in the US were no longer the GB distributor there also added fuel to the fire.

Now I am man enough to admit that in one of the threads here I had a fair crack at Gregg the other day who is now the US GB distributor. I basically said that no proof existed on GB's manufacturing in Australia and it is fair to say that even some Australian chainsaw dealers with GB accounts were unsure of what was going on at GB.

No doubt Gregg contacted GB in Australia regarding my posts and all of a sudden Michael Kennedy who is the managing director of GB in Australia has joined AS and set the record straight in "The All Aussie Dribble Thread". He has offered me a tour of the GB Australian manufacturing plant which I unfortunately can't take on at this stage (being an 8 hour drive!) and has outlined exactly what is going on there. He set me straight on a number of things and I've never been happier to be proven wrong! I use GB Pro Tops and Ti bars regularly however everything I use is old stock - they are some of the best bars on the market and I have 24" and 32" Pro Tops here with around 500 hours on them which have a lot of life left in them yet. To hear that they are still being made in Australia is awesome!

Therefore...

The GB harvester bars, the GB Ti bars, and the GB Pro Tops are STILL being made in Australia. They have NEVER been made overseas!!!

Their consumer line of bars are not and are coming from China. This isn't uncommon and basically all consumer priced bars are now coming out of Asia with Stihl being the exception (there may be others?).

The fact that somebody from GB has finally had the time to respond to AS member's questions and concerns is great. I have always stated that I'd really like to be proven wrong on GB and I finally have been

I'd like to apologise to Gregg but would also like to thank him for prompting somebody from GB to come in and set the record straight. I've quoted some of Michael's posts below which outlines a number of points.

This was Michael's response to a question about their packaging...
Michael Kennedy said:

It's a funny question because the cover (sleeve) on the Ti and ProTops is the only part of it that was not made in Australia.
The sleeves have always been printed in China. Although the bearings are from Switzerland.


MCW Swiss bearings explains why you can't bloody kill the nose on a Pro Top!!! I don't think anybody would complain about Swiss bearings being used.

This was the response to me regarding GB's harvester bars which I'd always been told were produced in Australia...

Michael Kennedy said:

Thanks Matt, it's true in Australia here we are mainly focussed on harvester bars because that's where we can still compete. Also the extra long chainsaw bars, double ended mill bars, all Lucas Mill bars and any other specialist bars are a big part of the Aussie business. In Australia we're not too fussed about competing with the consumer range of bars because it simply isn't economical to do so. However, we do still have a good list of loyal dealers that keep the chainsaw side of it ticking along. As I explained to Gregg and as I will explain again here the cost of producing the Ti bars is quite prohibitive but if people are prepared to pay for the quality and if the margins are still there we will continue to do so. I cannot be any clearer than this - Ti & ProTop bars have never been made anywhere else but Australia.

MCW Finally this was Michael's response to a web link from a Chinese company who said they had entered into a business relationship with GB a few years ago (Tom Beerens owns GB)...

Michael Kennedy said

Qirui Tools do not and will not make GB Arbor Series bars. These bars and noses are stock left over from a failed partnership between Tom Beerens and Wang Wei Ming (owner of Qirui Tools). They set up a company and factory together to make consumer bars and for whatever reason they had a falling out. Qirui got left holding the stock and Tom has set up his own factory in China where he has lived for the past 3 years or so. Qirui has been trying to offload these bars for quite some time now.


MCW Good stuff Gregg with your new business and your customers can rest assured that if they buy a Ti bar or Pro Top it is definitely Made In Australia and that they'll be buying one of the best bars ever made with a nose sprocket that can't be killed!

Tell gregg i want my 96.00 plus shipping back
For pain and suffering.

 

[Lightning Performance]

I love my old, new to me GB. Thinking it was a CN42 one peice roller nose. Holding up well in stumps and on the mill. None repairable tip, welded. If it craps out then it will get a replaceable Cannon roller nose.

 

[Cut4fun]

Tell gregg i want my 96.00 plus shipping back
For pain and suffering.

Need a laughing like here.

 

[Cut4fun]

I love my old, new to me GB. Thinking it was a CN42 one peice roller nose. Holding up well in stumps and on the mill. None repairable tip, welded. If it craps out then it will get a replaceable Cannon roller nose.

Had a guy here with one of those in a 60" I think, years ago in stihl mount. Just know it was a much longer bar not sure on exact inch.

 

[Derf]

I have a bunch of the old TI CN 40 bars, a 32”, a 24”, a 20”, and a 16”. They were all made in Australia a long time ago. They wear very hard, after their first wire bead forms and is filed off it just doesn’t seem to wear any more. The noses all use 6-rivet tips for durability. These bars are better than Oregon and at least as good if not better than the Japanese bars. The only issues I have are
- the paint isn’t durable
- on the 24” bar the oil hole is just a tad small and was partially obscured with paint requiring me to drill it out.
- they are heavy! It’s like a canon in weight, but the fit and finish isn’t as nice (though the price is much cheaper). They are usually the heaviest bar in any size category. The TI doesn’t mean any light weight, just a Titanium Nitride doping/coating in the bar rail. (Upside: If you’ve ever been a machinist and bought carbide tooling with a TiN coating, you’ll understand how wear resistant it is. Well, this bar has the same stuff in the rails.)

Great bars. At least the old ones. Not sure about the new ones, where they are made, or how they hold up.

 

[deye223]

Never had a problem with oiling and if anyone thinks the paint thing is a problem they are in the wrong job .
I did one nose in 7 years and it was my fault.
Just wish I could get the old bars but like all things old they are gone for good ......

 

[kfd518]

I never got the notification that wonkeydonk tagged me in sorry!
Not a bad bar I don’t have a bunch of time on the arbor pro bar. It only has 3 rivers in tip but not really designed for heavy bore cutting or tip use anyways.
It seems OK for its intended purpose I would like a titanium but I haven’t gotten my mits on one yet.
Want ingbsome good options for Lightweight 020t bar.

 

[karrl]

If anyone is interested in the 16-18 inch bar the link in the first post has them for 23-25 bucks. Shipping is ~25 but it doesn’t go up much if you buy multiple. After running a file over a gb ti, Oregon, new Husky, and a stihl es rails one after the other the GB had the hardest rails. Also the bearing in the roller nose was the smoothest and it was probably the heaviest. I think they should be great firewood bars so I ordered a couple more.

It’s funny. I’m pretty sure I bought Jimbears 18in bar listed on here and then looked for info on here on it and found jimbears post here about buying one. Jim gave me a good deal for a barely used one but I figured this was also a good deal people might want to know about.

 

[Motorka]

Got some nos, cheap.