Sandvik Bar: Source

[ron in sc]

I could use a new bar for my Poulan 3400. I have a Sandvik on it now. The bar has the following information on it. 4589-49, 1.3mm/.050", .375/61DL.

I have three chains, two are 61 drive links and one has 60 drive links.

I don't mind getting another brand of bar, I just want to be sure it will fit.

 

[TonyM]

The bar you need is either Windsor:

16UXL50STA (Speed Tip - Replaceable sprocket tip)
16UXL50SPNA (Super Pro - Laminated bar)

These call for 60 drive links.

Windsor/Sandvik Application Selector

 

[Lawn Masters]

Thats new.

 

[ray benson]

Thanks Tony, the site is bookmarked.

 

[ron in sc]

TonyM,

Thanks for your response.

Two questions:
1-How do I decide which of two bars I should get?
2-While bars call for 60 drive links will they work with 61? The one chain I have with 60 links is about worn out and the two with 61 are in good shape, in fact one of the chains is a Stihl.
3- Is one of the bars more expensive?

 

[TonyM]

The Speed Tip bars are more money, roughly 30% more. Unless you are doing a lot of plunge cutting, a bar usualy is wore out before the sprocket, so a replaceable tip isn't much of an advantage. The Speed Tip bars are a little stiffer, though.

A 61 driver chain will probably work, but you may run out of tensioning adjustment. It is no big deal to remove a drive link from the chain, however, if that is the case.

I just picked up the GB line, and I'm interested to see how they hold up. They have a couple more options. They offer a solid non-replaceable sprocket nose bar that is a step up from a laminated bar, and they offer a Titanium Bar (not that it's made from titanium) that is a replaceable sprocket nose with harder rails and higher quality tip. Their prices look very competitve.

 

[ron in sc]

Is the wear in photo include the portion that is included in the replaceable tip?

The bar I have looks to be spot welded together, is that what they call a laminated bar?

 

[TonyM]

That is about where the bar would end and the tip start on a replaceable tip bar. That is a Super Pro laminated bar you have.

 

[sedanman]

That's a laminated bar. The wear is the result of the chain being too loose. If this were a solid bar with a replaceable tip the area that is worn would likely be renewed with a new tip. I have a Stihl bar (actually a Stihl branded Windsor) that had similar damage when I got it, a new tip brought it back from the dead.

 

[geofore]

wear

Is the wear in photo include the portion that is included in the replaceable tip?

The bar I have looks to be spot welded together, is that what they call a laminated bar?

The wear is only on the top as if the bar has never been flipped over in it's lifetime. To spread that wear out FLIP the bar over once in a while so it wears on the bottom also. It will add to the lifetime of the bar.

 

[SawTroll]

The wear is only on the top as if the bar has never been flipped over in it's lifetime. To spread that wear out FLIP the bar over once in a while so it wears on the bottom also. It will add to the lifetime of the bar.

Agree, flipping the bar will spread the problem.

As far as I know, too tight a chain will cause a similiar condition at the bottom of the bar tip.

Correct chain tension is the best way to avoid exsessive wear in the nose area of the bar!

 

[ron in sc]

too tight a chain will cause a similiar condition at the bottom of the bar tip

I'm not positive but I think the wear in the photo occurred when the bar was flipped the other way, so it occurred when it was on the bottom. I do abuse this saw, cut with the tip, both top and bottom as well as go straight in. Maybe my abuse contributed to this wear pattern. Anyway, I've had it for 24 years, with the current bar being my third, so I can not complain.

I know I've been guilty of overtightening the chain too.

 

[SawTroll]

.........
I know I've been guilty of overtightening the chain too.

Me too, that's why I know about it!

 

[njforestfire]

So that averages out to be 8 years life per bar...pretty darn good. I am always wishing I can get 3-4 years per bar. Using Windsor bars.

 

[John Ellison]

Maybe I'm wrong, but I think you get that wear on the bottom of the bar even if its correctly tensioned.

John

 

[John Ellison]

So that averages out to be 8 years life per bar...pretty darn good. I am always wishing I can get 3-4 years per bar. Using Windsor bars.

Hey, even a measly 3 yrs. is pretty good, that over 26,000 hrs.

John

 

[galde]

Ron: Several factors enter into premature bar wear. A worn sprocket will eat even a brand new chain very quickly. The chain will then do a number on the bar. The drive sprocket, the chain, and the bar all are part of the same mechanism, and if any one is bad, the others will be adversely affected. The chain should be of the correct gauge, be kept very sharp (if it throws dust instead of nice shavings, sharpen or replace with a sharp spare!) and filed to the proper angles, and proper chain tension maintained. It is common for chain to be run too loose. This is hard on the chain, the sprocket, and the bar. While cutting, the drive links are pushed out to the tips of the drive sprocket, which puts excessive battering forces on the outer tips of both the drive links and the sprocket teeth. If you observe a too-loose chain at the tip of the bar while running out of the cut, you will see the chain arcing outward away from the bar nose at the bottom of the nose. The chain then crashes back against the bar just back of the nose bottom, which pounds out the rails at this point. Another factor is uneven wear on the rails due to the chain teeth being unequal in size and/or sharpness. The rails need to be kept square and even. You can test this by placing the (unmounted) bar on a smoth, hard, level surface. If it leans or tips over, then it is time to square and polish the rails. The chain side straps should not touch the rails at the nose of a bar with a nose sprocket. If there is contact here, either the chain's drive links, the nose sprocket, or both are excessively worn. The bar groove must be deeper than the drive link depth. The rim sprocket is superior to the spur sprocket because it supports the chain better, especially in high-powered saws.

 

[SawTroll]

Chain issues

There was an excellent tread on chain issues last year:
http://www.arboristsite.com/showthread.php?t=14338&highlight=Chain+issues
It is a pity that RJS has deleted his posts, though....... .......as his contribution was valuable!