DO CHAINSAW BARS MAKE THAT MUCH DIFFERENCE ?

[banjoman57]

if they make much difference in oregon the best bar you can get ? (i am talking 16 inch bar)

 

[ammoaddict]

Depends on your intended use. There are different grades of oregon bars. They are not the best but usually good enough

 

[wildwes]

Oregon bars are OK, but are not as cheap as they once were. IMHO, it's wiser to spend the extra money to buy a Stihl or Tsumura, or even a Sugihara on a saw that you're going to be using much.

What kind of saw are you putting the bar on, and are you looking for a 16" bar in .325 or 3/8" pitch?

 

[Jasonrkba]

Home owner saw or even someone who cuts a cord a year, Oregon is fine. Nothing lasts forever. Learn how to dress a bar and file a chain.

 

[wildwes]

Home owner saw or even someone who cuts a cord a year, Oregon is fine. Nothing lasts forever. Learn how to dress a bar and file a chain.

And sometimes you can find Oregon bars on clearance in box stores cheap. I have a 16" Prolite that I got on clearance for $25, with a full chisel chain.

I hate to say it, but I also have a few saws with green letter Forester bars that have been ok for cheap bars on saws that don't see a lot of use. It was the same deal with them, I bought them because they were cheap enough that I didn't care if they wore out a little quicker.

Oh, and for the OP, if you have an adjustable oiler, make sure it is oiling the bar well- even the best bars aren't going to last long if they're run dry.

 

[NSEric]

For blocking up fire wood the cheap bars are fine.
If you have to do bore cutting while falling trees you will destroy a cheap bar quickly, the tips wont stand it.

 

[Seachaser]

And sometimes you can find Oregon bars on clearance in box stores cheap. I have a 16" Prolite that I got on clearance for $25, with a full chisel chain.

I hate to say it, but I also have a few saws with green letter Forester bars that have been ok for cheap bars on saws that don't see a lot of use. It was the same deal with them, I bought them because they were cheap enough that I didn't care if they wore out a little quicker.

Oh, and for the OP, if you have an adjustable oiler, make sure it is oiling the bar well- even the best bars aren't going to last long if they're run dry.

Yep! Some hardware stores mark down new, old stock. Especially on smaller bars.

 

[muddy42]

Oregon bars are good solid middle of the road bars. Bars are a consumable, so if you buy cheap or light, it will wear faster. But if you buy expensive or heavy, you might still damage it sooner than normal and then the extra cost/weight was for nothing.

Take you time and let the teeth do the cutting without pushing the saw into the wood, which will heat and stress the bar.

 

[banjoman57]

its a 3/8" 57 chain ,,,not to be used alot,, just wondered if it would be worth going to another bar for occasional use. its a factory echo bar as of now.

 

[sonny580]

For occasional use ANYTHING will work! I use whatever I can get and do heavy cutting with them ( logging) and they last a long time for me. Dont push them,--keep oilers working, dress the bars often, keep chains super sharp and your good for many trees/days of cutting.

 

[wildwes]

its a 3/8" 57 chain ,,,not to be used alot,, just wondered if it would be worth going to another bar for occasional use. its a factory echo bar as of now.

I don't personally see why an oregon bar wouldn't work just fine for you, although if it was mine I probably wouldn't change bars unless the current one was worn out.
That being said, my opinions are worth exactly what you paid for them

 

[Mad Professor]

its a 3/8" 57 chain ,,,not to be used alot,, just wondered if it would be worth going to another bar for occasional use. its a factory echo bar as of now.

Picco/lo pro or regular 3/8?

 

[muddy42]

its a 3/8" 57 chain ,,,not to be used alot,, just wondered if it would be worth going to another bar for occasional use. its a factory echo bar as of now.

For occasional use, any bar will do. keep the chain sharp, don't push and make sure its oiling well - it'll last for years.

 

[KostasVolos]

Keeping the maintenance,operation and usage (as possible) same
( dressing ,cleaning,oiling ,not pressing /pushing into the wood,sharp chains ,etc ) the main differences I have noticed personally between few brands I 've used and/or currently using ,
regarding 16" ,laminated bars :

Oregon AdvanceCut ( Gray painted in EU ) : A rather soft bar.Rails tend to wear easily if chain tension is not ideal,bar tip/nose is very prone to bend if pinched .Has rather good rust resistance .Poor sprocket durability.

Stihl Rollomatic E : Much more robust bar than the Oregon .Still ,
easy to bend the tip if pinched.
Also high rust resistant .Quite durable sprocket .Quite durable rails.

Sugihara /Tsumura laminated:
By far the best bars I 've used.
Really tough to wear rails.Unbendable and stiff bars ,
almost like being solid ones.
I bet that there are solid bars that are less stiff than those laminated ones.Extremely robust tips and sprockets .Only downside is that they both lack on the rust resistance thing.Quite prone to rust .They are also heavier bars than the Oregon and Stihl ones.I like Tsumura laminated bars more ,since I find them to be a bit tougher than the laminated Sugi ones.Just by a tiny tad ,though.

 

[sliceoflife]

My cheap (holzformma) bar has had the rails pinched/needing to be fixed a few times. Haven't had to do that yet on my "brand name" bars... but honestly could be coincidence... I've used that bar the most too.

I'll say this... After drilling through both name brand and cheap bars... the cheap bar was as hard or harder... so that's not a problem.... I'd worry more about quality of bearings in sprockets/etc personally.