Analyst Man
ArboristSite Guru
Analyst Man, I didn't notice if you had a particular saw in question or just saws in general. If your talking about swapping an 18" for a 16" on a Wild Thing, I don't think you will see or feel any difference. On my old Homelite 1050 with the 24" bar, I can carry it around by the handle and it is balanced, it's comfortable to use, and is so loud that it impresses the girls and scares the trees. The same saw with the 36" bar, and it is very nose heavy. Just to walk around with it you have to use both hands and the weight pulls on your back noticabley. It's still so loud that it impresses the girls and scares the trees, but it beats my poor 53 year old body to a pulp. It might cut just as fast but it feels like every cut is never ending. When I had to make a living with that saw, I actually have 2 of them, I had a long bar on one, short bar on the other. I would use the long bar only as needed and grab the shorty. I feel that every extra ounce of weight I have to control is worth 10 seconds in a cut. Thoughts of an old fat guy, Joe.
Rarefish383, no particular saw or size, just chainsaws in general. Your thoughts about the extra weight are noteworthy, and it makes sense that at the end of a day you’re going to feel every extra ounce if you do this for a living. But my point was only that I couldn’t see the where you would pick up much speed in the cuts if you went to a 2 inch shorter bar. I read somewhere that some saws perform much better with a 14 inch VS a 16 inch bar, and I couldn’t see how 2 inches could make much difference. If I’m dropping one black oak for firewood, where’s the advantage of going with a 2 inch shorter bar?