# What bar length on 272xp Husky?



## grover (Apr 1, 2007)

*What bar length on 372xp Husky?*

Hello, This a first time post and am asking advice. I own 20 acres of maple, basswood and red and white pine. I have started to harvest some of the wood. I have a small saw mill just around the corner...very convenient! The maple is no more than 20” or so in dia. ,same with the basswood which I want to thin out and have sawn into blocks for carving. I have about 200 red pine ,some of which are 24” in diam. I want to put up a pole building and will be harvesting some of that this year yet. The white pine is larger compared to the other trees …30” to 38” in diameter. I would like to start taking them out and slabing them ,at least some of it for tables. In recent years when storms have come through the big white pine are coming down and I think they might be reaching the end of there growing cycle. All that I have is a Stihl 026 with a 16” bar and it screams! Has bean working so far for felling the maples and for bucking and limbing. I would like to get a Husky 372xp for felling the big pines and maybe for use on a chain saw mill setup for slicing up smaller lengths for turning blocks. Also might use the power head on one of those capstain winches for pulling logs out to my main loop. But the main use would be felling the bigger trees. I was looking at a 28” bar for this saw. Do you think this would be a good choice? In the past I had a Stihl 042 farm boss with a 24” bar and had no trouble handling it but at the time I didn’t own any land and only used it for slicing up firewood ,not felling trees. I’m ready to pull the trigger on this saw but am unsure of the bar length. Any help would be appreciated! Thanks


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## stihl 440 (Apr 1, 2007)

*20"*

I would put a 20" bar on it and get either a 28 or 24 as a bigger bar. This saw balances perfect with a 20" But it will pull 24's and 28's easily. And 20's are better for in the woods, because you'll get tired of swinging that long bar around through green brier's and brush. My 460 and 440 both have 20's on them. And for bar brands, oregon,woodsmanpro(cannon),windsor,GBtitanium. Welcome to AS!  :rockn:


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## blis (Apr 1, 2007)

I'd get either 20" or 22", its long enough to tackle those smaller trees easily and long enough to fell timber up to 40"-44" inches....


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## grover (Apr 1, 2007)

Hey thanks for the info! If I only need a 20" or so bar there is a fellow selling a like new Stihl MS360 he bought new last fall. I think I might be able to get it for $450 ...it only has a 18" bar though. Now I have to figure the cost of a new 20" bar onto that vs a new 272xp husky with say a 24" bar for $640 shipped? Which way would you go? Dropping the trees is the easy part! Limbing, dragging them to the side loading trailer I built, loading and unloading at mill and then finding a place to stack the wood to dry takes the time when you are working by yourself. I can't do that many trees at once but I do want the best saw I can buy and have it last.


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## Ekka (Apr 1, 2007)

I'd take a Husky 272 over the 361 Stihl if I were you, way nice saw and relatively light enough.

What is the average dia of the trees you need to fell at the cutting point?


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## grover (Apr 1, 2007)

I'm not doing alot of sawing at once. Just taking a few trees out at a time. This saw was being prchased for white pines 30" to 36" in dia. I think I only have about 12 that big. Lots of red pine up to 24" dia. I won't be carrying it around much and I would like to be safer on the big trees. I figure it only takes one to do you in!


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## clearance (Apr 1, 2007)

Ekka said:


> I'd take a Husky 272 over the 361 Stihl if I were you, way nice saw and relatively light enough.
> 
> What is the average dia of the trees you need to fell at the cutting point?



Yes, so would I, no-brainer.


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## BC_Logger (Apr 1, 2007)

I would go with the 372 with a 24 bar that way you could run skip or full


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## grover (Apr 1, 2007)

Thank you all for the advice. BC Logger that sounds like the way to go. So I run the skip when I'm cutting the big stuff and the full for the smaller diameter? That was what I was looking for ..the reason to get a certain size bar and not limit myself. The Stihl 026 ...I know it's a smaller saw but with a sharp chain that thing does the job for limbing and felling smaller trees with the 16" bar, and it's light.


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## stihl 440 (Apr 1, 2007)

*be prepared*

Be prepared, if you think that 026 is fast, then wait till you try a 272 or 372. 272's and 372's will blow the little 026 in the weeds(away). But yes 026's are good firewood saws.  :hmm3grin2orange:


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## Ekka (Apr 2, 2007)

grover dude

watch this video, and spend ya money at the other bar. :hmm3grin2orange: 

http://www.arboristsite.com/showthread.php?t=46527

24" bar can do 40" trees no sweat.


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## BC_Logger (Apr 2, 2007)

on the 372 I would run skip all the time , for the 026 I would run full 

hope that helps 

BC_logger


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## newguy18 (Apr 2, 2007)

*what i recomend*



grover said:


> Hello, This a first time post and am asking advice. I own 20 acres of maple, basswood and red and white pine. I have started to harvest some of the wood. I have a small saw mill just around the corner...very convenient! The maple is no more than 20” or so in dia. ,same with the basswood which I want to thin out and have sawn into blocks for carving. I have about 200 red pine ,some of which are 24” in diam. I want to put up a pole building and will be harvesting some of that this year yet. The white pine is larger compared to the other trees …30” to 38” in diameter. I would like to start taking them out and slabing them ,at least some of it for tables. In recent years when storms have come through the big white pine are coming down and I think they might be reaching the end of there growing cycle. All that I have is a Stihl 026 with a 16” bar and it screams! Has bean working so far for felling the maples and for bucking and limbing. I would like to get a Husky 272xp for felling the big pines and maybe for use on a chain saw mill setup for slicing up smaller lengths for turning blocks. Also might use the power head on one of those capstain winches for pulling logs out to my main loop. But the main use would be felling the bigger trees. I was looking at a 28” bar for this saw. Do you think this would be a good choice? In the past I had a Stihl 042 farm boss with a 24” bar and had no trouble handling it but at the time I didn’t own any land and only used it for slicing up firewood ,not felling trees. I’m ready to pull the trigger on this saw but am unsure of the bar length. Any help would be appreciated! Thanks



hi my name is bill howe.i would go with a 24 inch bar in my opinion there really isnt that much of a diffrence in weight and balancing from that of a 20 inch bar but defenitly trust your gut feeling.if you see a saw that you think is perfect for your hands balance cutting style or budget go ahead and buy it.what did you mean when you said your little saw screamed? if it needs fixed email me with the problem or problems your haveing and i will offer advice on fixing it.if you dont think you can fix it send it to bill howe 13939 80th place live oak florida 32060 and i will be happy to fix it for you.


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## grover (Apr 2, 2007)

Hey EKKA.....good video! I also downloaded the productive felling book you linked to.....lots of what I need to know. That other guy was right ..I do need more experience ,only one way to get! Carefully! He was also right my other saw WAS too underpowered to try something like that. The last tree I dropped over the Christmas break was a 24" hard maple and I did not feel comfortable but it worked.....that's why I'm going back with a bigger saw.


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## SawTroll (Apr 2, 2007)

BC_Logger said:


> I would go with the 372 with a 24 bar that way you could run skip or full



Yes, the way to go, I think - but I don't see the need for skip with that setup, for pine.

...and I would like a 20" bar also, for the smaller stuff.  :biggrinbounce2:


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## BC_Logger (Apr 3, 2007)

SawTroll said:


> Yes, the way to go, I think - but I don't see the need for skip with that setup, for pine.
> 
> ...and I would like a 20" bar also, for the smaller stuff.  :biggrinbounce2:



why would you not run skip for that set up ?


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## ben14826 (Apr 3, 2007)

I am primarily a stihl guy, but in this case I would also recommend the 372 xp. It is a very nice saw. I've used one to cut all of the species you listed and it works great for all of them. I would recommend the 24" since that's what I've used the most on a 372. I had no problem in weeds and briars. That said a 20" would be fine I'm sure. I wouldn't say you need skip chain either. That saw will pull regular full chisel all day long no problem. I've cut huge oak and maples with a 24" and regular chain and it has no problem. A 361 with a 24" and full chain might not be so good.


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## grover (Apr 6, 2007)

*Pulled the trigger*

I want to thank everybody for the all information about everything. Learned alot! I ordered the 372xp from Norwalk today. I got the 24" bar. They send 3 chains with that and I believe all that they would be sending was the Oregon 72LG type chain. Recieved an email they also shipped it today  got the power case also. I will have to go to Bailey's and order the skip type chain. When I was a kid my dad had a Hodaka motorcycle dealership. Maybe some of you from the Pacific Northwest remember those! Anyway I replaced many a scored piston and/or cylinder from people who did not break them in properly. Do you recommend a richer oil and gas mixture to start out with? 

Also is there a link that shows how to do the exhaust mod on that saw...should I wait till after the break in period to do any of that?


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## SawTroll (Apr 6, 2007)

BC_Logger said:


> why would you not run skip for that set up ?



Full comp will probably cut faster, and will be smoother in the cut.


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## grover (Apr 7, 2007)

I placed an order at Baily's. I got a length of both skip and regular in the semi chisel as was recomended by Engineeringnerd in another post to use with the 24" bar. I also picked up a Carlton 20" sprocket tip bar on closeout and a couple of loops of chain for that ,Woodsman pro SC and RC. I will use the 20" bar during the break in as was recomended by Saw Troll I believe, and not get into any heavy felling right away. I will see what works best for me after it starts to get broken in. I should be set with everything I need to experiment. Thanks again guys! Grover


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## stihl 440 (Apr 7, 2007)

*20"*



grover said:


> I placed an order at Baily's. I got a length of both skip and regular in the semi chisel as was recomended by Engineeringnerd in another post to use with the 24" bar. I also picked up a Carlton 20" sprocket tip bar on closeout and a couple of loops of chain for that ,Woodsman pro SC and RC. I will use the 20" bar during the break in as was recomended by Saw Troll I believe, and not get into any heavy felling right away. I will see what works best for me after it starts to get broken in. I should be set with everything I need to experiment. Thanks again guys! Grover



You will probably want to use the 20" bar more than the 24" because it is lighter and there is a lot more power.    :rockn:


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