Bow Bar uses?

[ontario026]

I was just looking at bars at Bailey's, and I noticed 'bow bars'?? I have never seen anything like it, what is the primary use of the 'bow bars'

Thanks

Matthew

 

[Al Smith]

Pulp wood

They are used as pulp wood cutters,and brush clearing bars.The design is such that you can just plunge then through a small tree,and they won't normally bind.I used these as a teenager to cut fence posts of osage orange,and black locust.I have one,on an old 250 McCulloch,that is a restoration project,but have not seen one used in years.

 

[heviarti]

so what's the spike at the tip for?

 

[glens]

To act as a stop so the brush caught by the chain will get cut instead of just swept out of the way.

 

[Al Smith]

It takes a little getting used to,to use one of these bars,but they are the cats meow for light cuts[8" or less].Never,and I repeat,never use one without the "spike".These things kick like a mule.

 

[Bill G]

The bow will allow you to plunge cut wood that is laying on the ground without bending over as much as with a standard bar. The problem is when you hit dirt.

Bill

 

[heviarti]

I missed a 10-10 with a bow bar on ebay. I cut alot of brush and sawmill trash. We used to have a guy named Wayne that used to work with us. Wayne got very dead, so I can't ask him to clarify what he meant, but he always talked about "Cutting upside-down" with a bow bar. I also know there are two forms of bow bar, as my other 4-30 A book covers both styles. there's also a big Mac bow bar on ebay right now.

I'd quite frankly want to see one of these at work before I attempt to use one.

also, 6-10 runs like a charm now. I had my great uncle tune it.

 

[Bill G]

Wayne got very dead,

Hopefully not from using the bow bar.

Bill

 

[heviarti]

naw, he was mowing his lawn and his heart exploded. I never knew anyone better with music trivia. now when i hear the one song he didn't recognize by artist and title, I miss him.

 

[Blowdown1]

can you get kinda dead?

 

[woodshop]

As Bill G alluded to... we used to use a bow saw to buck logs on the landing, was much easier on back and knees than using standard saw when doing it all day long. We used that spike at end to find the dirt before the chain did when you started cutting, and as kindof a lever to "pry" the bow into the log. Added benefit as I recall... on a landing with several skidders working, when you were hunched down bucking a big log with regular saw, you were not as visible to skidders, they didn't see you right away, and you couldn't't see them until they were right on top of you. When using that bow saw, you never knelt down far, and could watch and see the skidder coming from way back, and they could better see you.

Yes... severe kickback... one of our guys was limbing with one, and was reaching up high with it (I know...stupid) and it kicked back into his face. The bow hit his hard hat right in front of his forhead, sawed a big gash in the plastic before the teeth grabbed it and pulled the hard hat off. He got away with some stiches on nose and cheek and was back to work the next day, shaken but alive. Had he not been wearing headgear, I think he would have died that day in the woods, seeing what the saw did to the hard hat. Dangerous business. No room for stupid mistakes.

Dave

 

[heviarti]

sure, but how much saw was that bar on?

 

[woodshop]

Don't remember exactly what saw was attached to that bar, but most of our bucking saws at that time were Homelite 429? Was not a huge saw, comparable to say a 365 or 372. Remember this was about 1979, the company used only (pro?) Homelites and Macs back then. We had one or two small Stihl's on the landing for trimming, but they were the first saws we had with the safety stuff, locking bar etc, and none of the guys liked them.

Dave