Are forester bars ok for milling?

[TheLaundryMan]

Finally got something bigger than my current bar can mill. Am I going to regret it if I save some coin and buy the forester? Thinking this 52” Forester 52" Chainsaw Bar for Stihl Chainsaw D025 Mount
I’m sure some of y’all got useful information on the subject. Didn’t see a recent thread discussing if brand make a big difference. (I wanna know how the story ends with the guy trying to weld two together though). Let me know what your opinions are. Will the cheap bar wear out significantly faster, will it sag more? Will it have Russian spies hiding inside it that attack when I open the package.
Thanks!

 

[ammoaddict]

I know they are good for cutting wood, can't say about milling. I have a 20" one. It's a good bar.

 

[TheLaundryMan]

Yeah I wouldn’t sweat it with a normal sized bar, I’m worried with that much chain slinging around it seems cause for more to go wrong. You know?

 

[Pepster]

Haven't tried their laminated bars but have used their solid steel Platinum series (24") & very happy so far (prolly 2 tanks run time so far).

Gave $50 for it brand new, Stihl dealership.
I'd buy another one from my limited experience.

 

[windblown]

No experience with anything that big bar wise. I have two 24" Foresters that I've milled with. One a standard bar as shown in your photo. The other a Platinum series. Both needed some dressing when new to get the height even. Oddly the Platnum needed a lot more work that the std bar did. I don't have a huge amount of time on either but they're straight and the gauge slot on both are consistent, not too tight, not too sloppy. Oiler holes are a bit small but I haven't had trouble with the one in use clogging when on the saw.

 

[Pepster]

I had to open up my oil holes on my D009 mount also.
Very happy now.

I like mine.
I'm prolly gonna buy a 16" (k095) for one of my Craftsman 3.3's (54cc).

 

[ammoaddict]

I had to open up my oil holes on my D009 mount also.
Very happy now.

I like mine.
I'm prolly gonna buy a 16" (k095) for one of my Craftsman 3.3's (54cc).

I got one of those recently, haven't had time to get it running yet.

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[TheLaundryMan]

I’ll be running an aux oiler anyways. I’ll go ahead and open up the oiler hole a bit though. Thanks for the tip! Think I’m gonna place my order tonight

 

[Pepster]

I got one of those recently, haven't had time to get it running yet.

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Your gonna like it .
Built like a frigging TANK!
I have the Blue & Yellow label, & a gold label.
I've owned one over 20 years straight.

 

[Pepster]

I got one of those recently, haven't had time to get it running yet.

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MM & rim drive.
Rim drive & Tsumura bar really smoothed mine out.

 

[Pepster]

Haven't tried their laminated bars but have used their solid steel Platinum series (24") & very happy so far (prolly 2 tanks run time so far).

Gave $50 for it brand new, Stihl dealership.
I'd buy another one from my limited experience.
View attachment 973652

 

[Captain Bruce]

Finally got something bigger than my current bar can mill. Am I going to regret it if I save some coin and buy the forester? Thinking this 52” Forester 52" Chainsaw Bar for Stihl Chainsaw D025 Mount
I’m sure some of y’all got useful information on the subject. Didn’t see a recent thread discussing if brand make a big difference. (I wanna know how the story ends with the guy trying to weld two together though). Let me know what your opinions are. Will the cheap bar wear out significantly faster, will it sag more? Will it have Russian spies hiding inside it that attack when I open the package.
Thanks!

A bar is a bar. Forester makes a great product. The log has no brain, and the saw doesn't have a choice. Buy it. As to welding 2 bars together, that was a hoax.

 

[Pepster]

Your gonna like it .
Built like a frigging TANK!
I have the Blue & Yellow label, & a gold label.
I've owned one over 20

A bar is a bar. Forester makes a great product. The log has no brain, and the saw doesn't have a choice. Buy it. As to welding 2 bars together, that was a hoax.

To certain lengths, then it gets difficult & expensive.

 

[Pepster]

68cc vintage tuned Shindaiwa 695 24" bar.
Only saw I ever owned that hated THE WORLD!

 

[Pepster]

---

Came with a 28" bar.

 

[ammoaddict]

MM & rim drive.
Rim drive & Tsumura bar really smoothed mine out.

Thanks. Curious as to what kind of muffler mod and where you got the rim set up? This one has the spur and it's pretty worn.

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[anlrolfe]

I've got a little Forester B&C on MS180. I got it.because it was cheep and I had a stump to dig/cut out. It spent the 1st part of its life cutting more dirt than wood. Between fast wear and chain stretch I had to retighten several times to get the project done. Now that it's been cleaned well and back to normal use I haven't noticed any overt issues.

 

[HumBurner]

My lone forester bar is okay. I don't know enough about the brand to say.

The tip it came with wasn't seated tight from the factory. I ran it a little and had to replace it.

Took it to a shop who swapped the tip. It still didn't fit right. They ground on it some, making it fit, but has a little bit of play and isn't even with the bar at the edge points where they meet.

It works, but im very aware on the rare occasions I use that bar. It is now the backup bar.


The point of meeting probably has a factory defect in it which allows it to set unevenly. Wasn't worth junking the bar over.

 

[gnef]

I've been milling with the 56" forester bar with my 661 for over a year now. I think it has been a great value, and I even bought a second one recently to keep as a backup.

I will admit that it probably isn't as good as a GB or Canon, but it also doesn't cost nearly as much as either of those!

A couple of issues to keep in mind though. I've found some increased wear on the tail end of the bar where the chain hits right after the rim sprocket. I believe that is primarily due to low tension when the chain gets warm and stretches a bit in the cut - I've seen the chain lift off the bar when revving for subsequent cuts. I try to keep it tight, but with 168 drivers, a little bit of stretch multiplies very quickly. I do expect to wear through the bar eventually, which is why I went ahead and bought a spare, and I also have a spare tip that I keep on hand, just in case. I also used calipers on the groove, and found it a bit wider than .063 as compared to my other bars, but it didn't both me too much - I might get a bar squeezing tool and tighten it up a bit in the future if it causes me any problems.

 

[djg james]

What gauge are ALL of you getting on those long bars? 0.050? 0.063?