Iggesund Forest chainsaw guide bar

[wde_1978]

The story behind my "Iggesund Forest R2" guide bar purchase​

Last year I purchased a used low hours Dolmar PS-7900 with a 20" b&c to accompany my PS-6400.
I got hooked and started wishing for bigger wood to cut.
My wish came true upon my this years firewood purchase - oak tree trunks 50+" at their base.
While bucking up those trunks I wished for a longer bar - but apparently not a single dealer/shop had bars over 24" in stock and they didn't feel compelled to bother ordering one just for me.
Searching for alternatives I found a German website/shop selling "Iggesund Forest R2" bars ranging from 15" to 36" in length , offering 3/8" and .404 pitch , .058 and .063 gauge , as well as a choice of large Stihl and Large Husqvarna mount.
Considering the neglect-able difference in price between the 36" and the 30" bar I leaned heavily towards the 36" even though I knew I would seldom require it. I also chose to stay with my currents setups pitch & gauge , which are 3/8"/.058.
Two weeks ago a in Germany residing friend of mine asked me whether I needed something he could bring along whilst coming to Croatia on vacation and I was all "hell yeah!".
I pointed him to the website and asked him to buy 1 36" Iggesund Forrest R2 bar (3/8" ; .058 ; large Husqvarna mount) , 2 Carlton chains (chisel ; full complement ; 115DL) and as a small add-on 2 aluminum wedges that were nicely priced.
The whole order including shipping within Germany summed up to 145 Euro (~162 USD , shipping to Croatia was possible and would have added 30 Euro shipping cost).
Considering I was ready to pay about 100 Euro just for a 28" OEM Husqvarna bar , I was feeling really happy that the dealer claimed it out of stock and me NOT buying one.
On last Friday I got a visit from my friend tagging along my order and I kind of realized that I might have over done it as 36" is quite a bar to have mounted on a handheld chainsaw ("as rare as a unicorn" comes to mind in my area of living!).
I'm happy with my purchase and now , again , wish for some big firewood to buck!

My purchase:



The Iggesund Forest R2 bar offers true 36" of length when mounted on my PS-7900 , wearing a 7 tooth sprocket (sorry for the blurry picture):


The Iggesund Forest bar features a non replaceable bar nose with the sprocket being secured by 6 rivets.
As far as I managed to find out the sprocket itself is made by Oregon:

 

[wde_1978]

The Iggesund Forest R2 bar weighs about 2440 gram , and a new 115DL Carlton chain about 540 gram.
For comparison a OEM Dolmar 20" bar weighs in at 1180 gram , and a Dolmar 72DL chain at 350 gram.
Needless to say that the Iggesund Forest R2 bar throws my Dolmar PS-7900 out of balance quite a bit!

Photo shoot of my Dolmar PS-7900 wearing a 36" bar for the first time:




As You can see , the 36" Iggesung Forest R2 bar throws the Dolmar PS-7900 way out of balance and I already gave it a thought how to combat that nose heaviness - custom spikes/felling dogs with a longer lower spike and a "ballast" skid plate came to mind.
Even milling out the center of the bar could/should reduce nose heaviness , but that is not an option for me on a brand new bar.
One thing is for sure , whilst wearing this bar there will be no drop-starting off the saw!

The PS-7900's upper right AV mount seems to be challenged as well as the bars weight is pulling the power head section down , real usage in wood will show how it will hold up.
I made some pictures of the AV with a 20" bar and then the 36" bar mounted , but I didn't manage to capture the gravity of the stress difference so I won't be posting those.

Another fact will be that this bar will always have to be taken off , for one because the saw is so much out of balance that it is uncomfortable to carry with one hand only.
Secondly , my saw storing room can't possibly fit the PS-7900 while it is wearing a bar that long (yes , it is a fairly small room)!

While further inspecting my new Iggesund Forest R2 bar I came upon a small defect.
It has a small chunk of steel been chipped of on the outer side of the rail!
It looks as if it would not affect functionality as the inner side of the rail is smooth , and the affected area is very close to the PH mount , but one still has to wonder how much they hardened the bar for steel to chip off like that.
The affected area is painted/laminated , so I guess the rail chipped during the production process.

 

[CapitaineHaddoc]

Nice bar, but for the price it could use a replaceable tip.

There's a dealer near me who just start selling this brand of bars, I'll give em a try.

 

[wde_1978]

I have a 9 years old OEM Dolmar/Oregon bar on my Dolmar PS-6400 , the way it looks the rails will give up before the sprocket craps out.

I also have several old worn 14" OEM Dolmar bars for/of my Sachs-Dolmar 105 (and R.I.P. Sachs-Dolmar 285) , all but one of them have functional sprockets!
The damaged one has the sprocket snapped in half , most likely from bore cutting.

I don't rate replaceable bar tips high as I never had/encountered them in the first place.
You can't miss what You don't know.

I think Iggesund Forest actually did have bars with replaceable tips , don't know whether they still offer them though.

Besides , this 36" bar is priced at 70Euro/78USD - at that price I do not expect the nose to be replaceable.
Especially when considering the same store I got the bar from wants ~20Euro/22USD for a replacement tip/nose assembly , and ~15Euro/16.5USD for a replacement sprocket.

I am in maidens waters , this is the 2nd non OEM bar I ever purchased - up until this Year I always went OEM for everything (chains, bars , oil, parts).

 

[cgraham1]

I think the limiting factor with running a bar that length on a Dolmar 7900, is the oiler. Mine is fine with a 28", but doesn't oil a 32" very well. I know that some people on here have been able to modify their oilers for more flow, and that's something you should look into, to avoid burning the rails on that beautiful bar.

 

[SawTroll]

I understand that Iggesund bars are quite popular in Sweden, mainly because they last a long time, compared to what they cost. I understand they are quite heavy though?

 

[wde_1978]

I think the limiting factor with running a bar that length on a Dolmar 7900, is the oiler. Mine is fine with a 28", but doesn't oil a 32" very well. I know that some people on here have been able to modify their oilers for more flow, and that's something you should look into, to avoid burning the rails on that beautiful bar.

Yes , I know about the bar/chain lubrication issue regarding the PS-6400/7900 series saws.
This forum caused quite a dilemma for me while trying to decide and settle on a bar length and I realize that 32" is about the biggest length that is recommended - mostly due to oiling issues!
36" and above are barely mentioned and usually inquire oiler mods to increase oil output.

If I notice that my PS-7900 doesn't oil this bar enough I will first try and grind the oiling holes of the bar sideways.
I did this on one side of my PS-6400's 9 years old 20" OEM Dolmar bar and am convinced that it allows for a little more oil flow and reduces the possibility of chips clogging the hole.

Considering my current needs this bar will see very little use , it should keep me company for years to come!

Did you buy this from Sweden?

No!
German distributor , online shop , includes 19% VAT!
You like?

 

[SawTroll]

I think the limiting factor with running a bar that length on a Dolmar 7900, is the oiler. Mine is fine with a 28", but doesn't oil a 32" very well. I know that some people on here have been able to modify their oilers for more flow, and that's something you should look into, to avoid burning the rails on that beautiful bar.

So do I - but I haven't actually tried it.

 

[SawTroll]

.....

No!
German distributor , online shop , includes 19% VAT!
You like?

Yes, I did see that when reading your posts closer...

 

[nnero]

I got a 32" GB titanium bar and chain for $60 recently. Haven't used it yet and won't until I get the oiler in the 7900 up to snuff. I see it puked it's oil out everywhere in the shop and it barely oils the 20" sufficiently. So it looks like I'll be pulling it back out.

The setup you have looks good and will come in handy for specific applications. Keep us updated!! Ours will be used mostly for cleaning up pine and hemlock so they fit on the sawmill carriage better. If you don't mind I'll post pics of mine when I finally get it mounted instead of starting a new a separate thread.

 

[nnero]

Here's some pics in front of the 6100. The orange is washed out only in the pics

 

[wde_1978]

I got a 32" GB titanium bar and chain for $60 recently. Haven't used it yet and won't until I get the oiler in the 7900 up to snuff. I see it puked it's oil out everywhere in the shop and it barely oils the 20" sufficiently. So it looks like I'll be pulling it back out.

The setup you have looks good and will come in handy for specific applications. Keep us updated!! Ours will be used mostly for cleaning up pine and hemlock so they fit on the sawmill carriage better. If you don't mind I'll post pics of mine when I finally get it mounted instead of starting a new a separate thread.

Here's some pics in front of the 6100. The orange is washed out only in the pics
View attachment 433028 View attachment 433029 View attachment 433030

You suck!
60 bucks for a 32" GB bar and a chain is a awesome price!
The shop I got my Iggesund Forest bar from also carries GB bars , but there is a gap in the offered bar lengths.
GB Titanium 16" - 20" at a price I payed for the Iggesund , and then GB Titanium Pro 50" and 60" at a price four times what You payed Yours.

That bar looks really nice , would like to see it mounted on Your PS-7900!

Does the 32" bar make the PS-7900 as nose heavy as the 36" one does?

That is odd , both my big saws , 6400 & 7900 , supply more then enough oil for the 20" bars they came with.
You might have a defective oil pump or faulty oil lines!?

 

[nnero]

Yeah it was a really good deal esp w/ Oregon chain too. I haven't actually mounted it yet but I would assume it would still be nose heavy.

The saw I built my 7900 from was whooped. I have a oil pump rebuild kit already and will probably get new lines when I pull the pump put to rebuild it. I don't think the Total bar is the issue.

 

[wde_1978]

I understand that Iggesund bars are quite popular in Sweden, mainly because they last a long time, compared to what they cost. I understand they are quite heavy though?

They are supposedly laser cut out of a single solid steel sheet with the rails being milled in.

This 36" R2 bar is slightly thicker and taller then the 20" OEM Dolmar/Oregon bars that I have.
It showed almost 2.5 kg on a simple kitchen scale , so yes it is quite heavy considering the PS-7900's PH is rated at 6.3 kg!

 

[wde_1978]

Finally had the opportunity to try my Iggesund Forest R2 bar and give my Dolmar PS-7900 a workout she never experienced thus far!

It cost me a dull 115DL round filed chisel chain though!

The workout object?
A walnut root ball which had been unearthed a year ago, about 44" wide at the narrower side, still dirt infected.
Cut two slices intended for table tops, the first cut went well, the second not so much as I must have gotten into embedded dirt about 2/3 through the cut. Also the second cut was directly through the roots - needless to say that the chain wasn't very happy and refused to bite. I had to reduce throttle to decrease chain speed and give the chain time to grab on to the hard root wood.

Pictures below.
Never mind the loose chain, I was about to switch the bar out for a 20" when I thought of taking some pictures, as such the bar nuts were already loose and the chain loosened up.

 

[wyk]

Nice bar, but for the price it could use a replaceable tip.

There's a dealer near me who just start selling this brand of bars, I'll give em a try.

The tips are replaceable, even on the non replaceble tip ones(the bearing and sprocket slide right out, but require you to remove 6 rivets...).

I find they weigh a bit less than the Oregon bars in the 30" range(I have a 30" Iggesund R2). The oil channel is rather deep.

 

[SawTroll]

.....

I had to reduce throttle to decrease chain speed and give the chain time to grab on to the hard root wood.

......

That's taking a big risk at frying the top end, as chainsaws tend to run lean on partial throttle!

 

[benp]

36" wrecked the balance for me on my 394. I only used it a handful of times then hung it up for the tired 32" that it replaced.

36" wants to yard dart like a drunk on Saturday at noon.


32" is right as rain and the 394 returns to my everything go to saw.


I like those bars!! I am going to have to research them.

I like your style with pushing the 7900 like that. I assume its stock?

 

[wde_1978]

That's taking a big risk at frying the top end, as chainsaws tend to run lean on partial throttle!

She ain't made from chocolate or butter, she can take a bit of heat.
And if I am really that un-lucky and fry her on a partial cut I can bolt the spare OEM P&C kit I have on and add a lesson to my experience.

I like those bars!! I am going to have to research them.

I like your style with pushing the 7900 like that. I assume its stock?

The Iggesund Forest R2 bars are very competitively priced over 20" length, 20" and under cost about as much as OEM - that is in my area!
I like the fact that they are laser cut from solid steel.

Yes, other then a modest muffler mod my Dolmar PS-7900 is completely stock and she is pulling this 36"/115DL round filed chisel setup with serious authority!
I was quite impressed myself with how well the PS-7900 handles this bar & chain.

 

[wyk]