Bow bars

[ericm979]

We could put a bow on a Stihl without cutting the clutch cover. I remember a time here when an XL12 with a bow was real popular.

That's what we were running with the USFS in the '80s. The red ones. You had to cut the clutch cover a little to use the clearing bow bar.

The guards we used were simple strips of aluminum, with bends along the long axis. They were bolted to either side of the bar. The bends offset the part of the strip that was along side the chain for clearance. The edges stuck up above the chain. With a strip on both sides, to get to the chain you would have to stick something down between the strips. The guards covered the run along the bottom to the stinger and along most of the top of the bar. I've not seen a pic of a bow bar set up with that much guard. You can only cut with the nose, but that's what you're supposed to be doing with these bars anyhow.

One time I was stepped back while cutting and tripped over something. I landed on my butt with a running saw in my lap. Between the guards and the chaps and my habit of taking my finger off the throttle when not cutting, it didn't end up tragic.

 

[ATpro]

I'd like to see some vidios of bow bars in action being used by someone that knows how to use them the correct way.

 

[46 Poulan]

I really like my bow saws..........

 

[Brushwacker]

Great vidio. I wanna try 1 now. They work well with 3/8 chain or is .404 better?
I remember an older feller that I thought he said the bows were very good for limbing also ?
Thinking maybe I can find 1 for my 041 super or would a lighter saw have more advantages with a bow?

 

[Cord_Nipper]

That's what we were running with the USFS in the '80s. The red ones. You had to cut the clutch cover a little to use the clearing bow bar.

Picked this up a few years back in a pawn shop for $100.
One of my favorites.
Dad has an older blue XL with bow along with Super Wiz 66 with a bow.

 

[Maintenance supervisor]

I'd like to see some vidios of bow bars in action being used by someone that knows how to use them the correct way.

My best effort

 

[ATpro]

Great vidio. I wanna try 1 now. They work well with 3/8 chain or is .404 better?
I remember an older feller that I thought he said the bows were very good for limbing also ?
Thinking maybe I can find 1 for my 041 super or would a lighter saw have more advantages with a bow?

Not good for limbing, the saw can kick back, use a bar for limbing and cutdown.

 

[rwoods]

Brushwacker, think tall southern pine trees with no branches except at the top, that is a pulp bow's prime element in my experience.

Ron

 

[ATpro]

This was what the Bow Saw was used for, it was bucking!
Makes a great firewood saw also. Have a poulan 4000 and poulan 4400 with bow. Both saws are 42 years old and I bought them new and they still run like new, Poulan Counter-vibe saws were the best saws poulan ever made.

 

[VW Splitter]

otherwise a kickback can kill you - decapitation, split skull, etc.
Ron

I know how dangerous a regular chainsaw is but how much more dangerous is a bow bar for bucking?

 

[rwoods]

I know how dangerous a regular chainsaw is but how much more dangerous is a bow bar for bucking?

I try to avoid that question as my thoughts are usually contrary to the diehard bow saw fans. I think they are too dangerous for the casual or new chainsaw user.

If you ever use one in the right circumstances, you can see why they are loved - in a clear location with a branch less stem, bucking is like a stroll in the park. But catch something in the upper quadrant and all h e double hockey sticks can happen. That long radius will accelerate a kickback far faster and with more momentum than any straight bar saw. It can be strong enough to rip the saw out of your forward grip. Product liability lawsuits over deaths by decapitation or massive facial or chest injuries is why Stihl and other saw manufacturers dropped them. Other mechanization in the industry probably influenced that as well. IDK.

I don’t know how effective chain brakes are - you will see many without the brake just due to the age. Newer saws weren’t made for bows so you see different modifications to the clutch covers/brakes to fit them.

The other enhanced dangers of a bow are getting your hand or leg in the bar, and tripping hazards. Some newer setups have guards top and bottom. I would never run one without a top guard. The older saws I am familiar with kept the bottom of the bar on a plane relatively similar to a straight bar so the leg danger should be pretty much the same. For some reason, some of the newer saws are just the reverse with the bottom of the bar angled down towards your leg. I think they may just be mounted wrong to clear the clutch cover. IDK But personally, I wouldn’t run one of those even with a bottom guard. Many times you will see them with no guards, which is just crazy. They came with factory guards in the early 60s.

A big danger is they are intoxicating - back to the stroll in the park - you can easily forget you are using something that requires constant attention to your surroundings and that can be seriously unforgiving when you don’t. That is why mine is on the shelf. It was my grandfather’s. I would pay a pretty penny to have my father’s beside it.

Ron

 

[VW Splitter]

Ron, very in lighting. I was toying with the idea of getting a bow bar. I need one like I need a hole in my head. I have a 1980 model Lumbard AP42 saw which I believe is the same as a homelite saw. It’s around a 69cc saw. Antique. It’s the first saw I ever owned. I quit using it years ago because it has zero safety features. I was thinking about getting it out of retirement and getting a bow bar for it. It being dangerous was the reason I put it up. Putting a bow bar on a already dangerous saw might not be one of my best ideas.

 

[ATpro]

Ron, very in lighting. I was toying with the idea of getting a bow bar. I need one like I need a hole in my head.

Been running one for 42 years and never had a problem with a kickback. As long as you use it right it's as safe or safer than a bar saw. As long as you keep the gig engaged with the cut it can't kick back. On the other hand a bar saw can kick back any time if the tip engages something even in a cut.
As long as you follow proper running gidelines you will be ok. Don't rev. the saw and get off the trigger when disengaging from the cut, make sure the gig is engaged at all times, for only bucking, and make sure there is nothing to cause a kick back around. It's true it can have a more violent kick back but that is the reason you stand to the side when you cut with one. Also if the upper and lower guards are in place it covers most of the blade that can cut you.

 

[ATpro]

I think they are too dangerous for the casual or new chainsaw user.

True, but I think to main reason they were removed from production was the way some loggers were using them, especially pup wooders. They were using them one handed for cut down saws where they would place one hand on the tree to push and the other to run the saw. When and lf the gig lost contact with the tree a kick back could happen.

 

[Abbeville TSI]

If this thread goes on much longer, I'm going to get a bow for one of my saws or buy another saw to put a bow on, I do miss 'em.

 

[rwoods]

... .
As long as you follow proper running gidelines you will be ok. Don't rev. the saw and get off the trigger when disengaging from the cut, make sure the gig is engaged at all times, for only bucking, and make sure there is nothing to cause a kick back around. It's true it can have a more violent kick back but that is the reason you stand to the side when you cut with one. ... .

All true. But you must be disciplined. Many aren't and are far too casual. Or they just didn't see something in the path of the upper quadrant. Couple that with the temptation to use it inappropriately because sitting it down and getting a straight bar saw is too much of an inconvenience, and you have a sure-fire recipe for serious injury.

42 years of running - you must have picked yours up about the same time I put mine on the shelf. Poulans with bows seem to have been popular around that time.

Ron

 

[camel2019]

Camel do you know who made your Tecomaster 6?
Kash

Looks like it might actually be a mono other models of eatons power products saws are Clinton’s though.

 

[sandman2234]

I am in the process of trying to get my old Homelite Super Wiz gear drive bow saw back into service. I am tired of bending over to cut a log into firewood!
David from jax

 

[ATpro]

Or they just didn't see something in the path of the upper quadrant.

Even that's not a problem if the gig is engaged, you just got to get off the cut on the upper quadrant before disengaging the gig. As long as the gig is engaged the saw can't kick back. I've cut smaller firewood in a stack where I cut 3 of 4 trees at a time, no problem as long as the gig is engaged in a cut. They are one hell of a back saver, the chain stays sharper longer because more links in the chain, you will increase productive maybe 30%, and the bar didn't pinch because you could push it on through the cut. If you cut fire wood a bow saw makes it so much easier.

 

[rwoods]

I should have been more specific regarding that kickback hazard.

IMLE in the right hands and circumstances, a bow’s efficiency can’t be beat by a straight bar. However, I am just one that needs to stay away from them. I don’t think I am the only one in that category which is why I discourage their popularization.

Ron