Bar Brands: What's good and what's junk?

[Jon1212]

the two stacks to the immediate left of the orange labeled Stihl bar are all Husqvarna bars of different types/sizes/brands
come on over and pick them up, riffraff is always welcome, if you need more ballast for the trip back I can throw in a few boxes of 030/031 and TS350 parts
Dave

Be a bit of a drive. If you decide you want to unload some of those Husqvarna bars, I'm always interested in 3/8 050 and 063. K095, or D009.

I probably have some unique 3003 bars, and various other wall hangers you might like in trade.

 

[altair]

I thought Sugi Hara were good bars, and they probably are. But just bought one for the little Shinny 352s, and the oiler holes don't line up well, too big, and they get clogged up real quick resulting in a dry bar. Double checked with dealer and its the right bar. Bit disappointing really, as the original Shinny bar was perfect. Here in NZ a new 14" bar and chain is $100 odd. Yet the Sugi Hara on the MS440 is great. Nightmare finding a bar for the 352s, might have to order a genuine Shinny one, as this new 14 inch one won't last long with no oil..and I get pissed off having to strip the bar off every tank to clean it.

 

[wde_1978]

I thought Sugi Hara were good bars, and they probably are. But just bought one for the little Shinny 352s, and the oiler holes don't line up well, too big, and they get clogged up real quick resulting in a dry bar. Double checked with dealer and its the right bar. Bit disappointing really, as the original Shinny bar was perfect. Here in NZ a new 14" bar and chain is $100 odd. Yet the Sugi Hara on the MS440 is great. Nightmare finding a bar for the 352s, might have to order a genuine Shinny one, as this new 14 inch one won't last long with no oil..and I get pissed off having to strip the bar off every tank to clean it.

Widen the hole into the right direction (to the saws oil outlet) with a carbide burr to make it work more reliable!

I widened one oiler hole sideways on my oldest Dolmar bar to see whether I could get more oil to flow - it seems to make a noticeable difference.
I also had issues with chips clogging the oiler hole - widening it sideways solved that problem.

There are many reports about the Dolmar PS-6400/7300/7900 saws not putting out sufficient oil for bars longer then 28-30" , thus I before hand widened one hole on my new 36" Iggesund Forest bar so I can just flip it around if I notice it gets insufficient oil when I finally get to use it.

 

[Big_Wood]

the newer husky/oregon bars are likely the worst but they work just fine with higher maintenance. i got a 33"cannon i bought 5-6 years ago , 33" power match and a 30" powermatch i bought last year i've been trying to use up but they just keep going. i even lent the 30" oregon to a buddy only to have him cut through his hinge and fold the bar in his undercut as the tree went down hammered her back straight, made him buy me a new loop of stihl RS, and she's back in service of course, i'd rather have a cannon or a tsumura but those oregons do the job. dress a worn out oregon then go dress a worn out tsumura or cannon. pretty much need a grinder to dress those cannon/tsumura's cause the rails are so hard those bar rail dressers a guy can buy take forever. i still think the GB's have gotta be near the best value. i got a 24" pro top i bought back 10-12 years ago. dressed and pinched so many times it's retarded and it still works great and cuts perfectly straight. mind you, i don't need a 24" that often and i tried to preserve it by using up other bars through the years. it survives about 8 oregon 24" bars. i'm tsumura bent currently though.

 

[computeruser]

Those pictured bars sure have a lot of paint left on them...a testament to their durability or their lack of use?

 

[Wood Doctor]

Replaceable tips make a lot of sense and cents. Last year I saved a logger $600 when I replaced 8 tips on 8 bars that he was ready to throw away. All of the bars were either 32" or 36". The tips usually wear out first and the rest of the bar is still usable.

 

[spike60]

Well, it's going back a while, but some great bar bands were Rat Race Choir, E. Walker Band and Whitewood. Rat Race and Walker did lot's of Zeppelin and Eagles stuff; some Skynyrd. Whitewood was a great Southern Rock cover band.

Oh, wait a minute. Bar brands. Sorry guys; been a rough week.

 

[Wood Doctor]

Did a quick search on this thread and nobody mentioned Carlton. The professional series especially at one time was a great bar, but I'm not sure if it's still being made. I have several of them. Here's one in action: a 36", .404 mounted on an 084:

 

[nnero]

We have a Carlton speed tip on the 041 and its been great.

 

[Big_Wood]

Replaceable tips make a lot of sense and cents. Last year I saved a logger $600 when I replaced 8 tips on 8 bars that he was ready to throw away. All of the bars were either 32" or 36". The tips usually wear out first and the rest of the bar is still usable.

That's a sad thing about a lot of loggers. I find mostly the greeny's are that way. If a guy works in the woods and doesn't know basic **** like changing a bar tip, or dressing/pinching rails then maybe he should choose a different profession. Equipment maintenance is a huge thing to working efficiently. A lot of loggers can't even tune a saw and are running piggy saws up on the hill.

 

[Gypo Logger]

Just the other day I saw a NIB 30" Carlton bar. It was painted all black with Carlton in large red lettering. I want that bar! Has anyone seen a Carlton bar like that?

Did a quick search on this thread and nobody mentioned Carlton. The professional series especially at one time was a great bar, but I'm not sure if it's still being made. I have several of them. Here's one in action: a 36", .404 mounted on an 084:

 

[Wood Doctor]

Just the other day I saw a NIB 30" Carlton bar. It was painted all black with Carlton in large red lettering. I want that bar! Has anyone seen a Carlton bar like that?

I own two of them -- 30" and 28". Both are 3/8 pitch, 063 gauge, and awaiting service. They are hard to find.

 

[Gypo Logger]

Nice! If I get this bar and its an 063, Im gonna use 058 73LG.

I own two of them -- 30" and 28". Both are 3/8 pitch, 063 gauge, and awaiting service. They are hard to find.

 

[weimedog]

For me Sugihara's did well but they got too expensive when folks got in between us and the supplier who was quite reasonable ...so I gave up on them. Now I use Total bars and I really like Stihl bar & chains but they have to be adapted to my saws and they have the wrong letters on them... so for the foreseeable future Total bars & Oregon or Stihl chains will be on my saws.

 

[Onan18]

Total Bars Rock! . And Ashokan Turf and Timber is THE place to get them from.

Joe

 

[Philbert]

And does anyone know a good/thorough bar mount pattern list of any sort. . . now if only I could find info on new saws.

Not sure if this link will post from my phone:
http://content.yudu.com/web/y5b2/0A1k7eb/OregonBigCat2015/html/index.html?page=138

Anyway, Google 'Oregon Chain';
select 'North America';
'Professional';
'Products';
'2015 Forestry and OEP Products';
and you should get to a large, on-line catalog.

Starting around page 138 are silhouettes of current guide bar tails and applications.

Welcome to A.S.!

Philbert

 

[james927]

Hey guys, thanks for all the replies and info.
I find it funny that not long after I asked about bars, I bought a handful on non-running saws real cheap, and one came with a brand new oregon bar on it.
And one had the tiniest bar I've ever seen...


And here's my pile of saws not counting Stihls and Husqvarnas. They weren't all bought together, I just keep an eye out on craiglist!

 

[catbuster]

For Stihl saws I use Stihl bars. They're a top quality bar, and make the best chain too. For anything else, I'll use GB bars.

 

[Rx7man]

I got a XL12 with a nice 20" hardnose bar on it.. stole it from the XL12 and it's on my L65 now.

I think until you get above 20" it's not worth having a replaceable tip on a roller nose bar, since the bar isn't all that expensive.. now when you're up in to the 30" + range, it becomes well worthwhile.

I've found Sandvik hacksaw blades to be the best you can find, and from what I've seen the chainsaw bars look pretty good too.
I personally prefer unpainted bars

 

[Jimbo209]

This is the 36"Tsumura that I use in my Alaskan style mill nice big round hole for heaps of oil for the.063 chain . Second is the Sugihara 32"light multi fit with a smaller angled hole, not sure which is better, these blokes will know