too much bar?

[cumminstinkerer]

My ms 290 with a muffler mod and then tuned proper runs pretty bad ass with a 20 inch stihl yellow chain, the ms391 with no mods other than tuned good is hell on wheels with a 25, I would like to learn how to sharpen to a better cutting chain though for sure on both saws

 

[cumminstinkerer]

this may not be the right place to throw this out but oh well, how close to a true vertical on the cutter are you guys going, we use a bench sharpener most of the time for speed, have been running the wheel at 60 degrees, would I be ahead to go closer to vertical?

 

[turnkey4099]

When I buy saws, I shop for the bar length I need for a saw that is rated for x" max (currently 32" max). Buy it with that bar length and chain but also buy a bar one size smaller (if Idon't already ahve one) (currently 32" max) occasionally. My stable now is from 14" top handle to 32" 441 with 16/20/25/28 available. Most cutting is with 20" or 24"

441/32 really goes in softwood and does fine in oak and locust but I wonder about the oiling working that stuff.

 

[Wood Doctor]

I have lots of customers who ask me to bump the size of the bar they mount on their saws. I tend to tell them that is a no-no, especially when one guy running a 28" bar on a Stihl MS440 wanted me to mount a 32". I told him he was already over the max bar.

A saw will usually tell you that it's got a bar too long on board. It runs sluggish and bogs. That's what my Stihl MS361 tells me whenever I ask it to run with a 25". What the saw is trying to tell me is, "Go get that 046 Mag or your Echo CS-670 or that Makita 6401 with the big bore kit."

 

[NSMaple1]

From my experience, around here, saws come with shorter bars unless you option up. Longer ones cost more, after all....

 

[Deleted member 117362]

I think Buckin Billy Ray would say you're not getting down into the gullet enough though. Too small a file maybe?

Agree, needs more C.

 

[woodfarmer]

I run 20” .325 on my 2150

 

[bfrazier]

Agree, needs more C.

"Get the gullet!"

 

[bfrazier]

Hotsaw competition Chain:

 

[Trapper_Pete]

I got a 7/32 file in that guide and went around and touched up all the cutters with a few pulls , I can get more gullet on it later , but there was a noticeable difference pulling the 7/32 through after having sharpened with the 13/64 the last few times . it was a little dark for this picture but it is a little more open. but this chain was still cutting well

 

[Trapper_Pete]

I have lots of customers who ask me to bump the size of the bar they mount on their saws. I tend to tell them that is a no-no, especially when one guy running a 28" bar on a Stihl MS440 wanted me to mount a 32". I told him he was already over the max bar.

A saw will usually tell you that it's got a bar too long on board. It runs sluggish and bogs. That's what my Stihl MS361 tells me whenever I ask it to run with a 25". What the saw is trying to tell me is, "Go get that 046 Mag or your Echo CS-670 or that Makita 6401 with the big bore kit."

my 20 inch on the 50cc saw was telling me it was right at the edge with chisel chain , not as much with the green stihl low kick back safety stuff. but then that doesn't pull much of a chip. then again cutting took longer with the safety chain.

but that is gone now

looking at a bigger saw around 70cc probably a jred 2172 my dealer has on the shelf.

 

[sb47]

I run a 20'' bar even on small HP saws for the reach they afford. When I'm limbing a downed tree, a longer bar helps keep me from bending over so far and is easier on the back. I'm not looking to make a saw look bad azz or impress anyone.
Sure a longer bar takes more HP to get the full potential, but I don't expect a low HP saw with a long bar to run a long bar as good as a bigger power head. Noodling firewood with a longer bar is the way to go for several reasons. If your cutting 18'' lengths and need to noodle down big rounds, you can get safely through the round with a little of the tip sticking out the other side. Also by having more tip sticking out the back side helps prevent kick back. You end up with a saw with a longer reach but with a lighter power head. You also end up with more cutting teeth on a longer bar. I'm not trying to win a saw contest or looking for speed cutting, It simple works better for what I do.

 

[Trapper_Pete]

I completely understand running the 20 inch bar for limbing , I did it and very much liked standing more upright and the reach it gave.

but limbing with the larger bar isn't putting the stress on the saw that that burying the hole bar in a log bucking 24+ inch in diameter rounds and repeating it 10-12 times until your out of gas , gas up then repeating again.

there is a place for the longer bar in limbing and occasional larger rounds .

dealers selling over bar-ed saws get away with it frequently because few people really work their saw , most are not going to cut round after round of 24+ wood

 

[CR888]

The oiler & AV springs should also factor in ones decision of what bar size to run.

 

[Trapper_Pete]

The oiler & AV springs should also factor in ones decision of what bar size to run.

wouldn't that be more for extremes if the decision is a 16 , 18 or 20 inch bar on a 50cc saw is 2 or 4 inches really going to change the need for oil that much that either the oilier on it's most open setting or a non adjustable oilier should be insufficient like wise for the anti vibe springs?

 

[sb47]

I completely understand running the 20 inch bar for limbing , I did it and very much liked standing more upright and the reach it gave.

but limbing with the larger bar isn't putting the stress on the saw that that burying the hole bar in a log bucking 24+ inch in diameter rounds and repeating it 10-12 times until your out of gas , gas up then repeating again.

there is a place for the longer bar in limbing and occasional larger rounds .

dealers selling over bar-ed saws get away with it frequently because few people really work their saw , most are not going to cut round after round of 24+ wood

It's up to the buyer to do there research on anything they buy and not trust the person selling what ever it is. It's the same with anything you buy. Research, research, research, then start shopping. And with the internet, it's so easy to do these days.
I ran a ms 290 with a 20'' bar (still do) witch is not a high dollar saw and is the maximum bar recommended for it, I run it hard for hours running tank after tank cutting 40" rounds only stopping long enough to sharpen the chain and refuel, in 100 degree heat.
I do have a ms 362 that I sometimes run a 24'' bar to get through some of the bigger wood but I generally run a 20'' on it as well. And in my opinion the 362 doesn't run a 20'' bar any better then the 24'. I have also found when the bar is too short for the wood your cutting that it is harder on the saw. If you can have some of the tip sticking all the way through, it cuts faster and better then when the tip doesn't go all the way through. After running a saw for a while you learn there is a sweet spot (correct angle) that a saw cuts at it's best. You can feel it when it hits that sweet spot and the saw really starts sinking into the wood sending out a shower of long thick stringy chips. You soon learn how much pressure you can put on the saw before it starts to bog down (sweet spot) You just have to learn the limits of the saw bar combo's ability and don't over work it.
I just bought a new ms 261 c witch is very close to the same size as the 290 but with a lighter power head. Right off the bat I could tell with the lighter power head, I have to put a little more pressure on it to make it cut the same as the 290. The heavier power head works better because I can just let the weight of the saw do most of the work. Basically letting the saw cut under it's own weight without having to add any more to it by forcing it. Again hitting that sweet spot where the saw cuts its best.

 

[turnkey4099]

I have lots of customers who ask me to bump the size of the bar they mount on their saws. I tend to tell them that is a no-no, especially when one guy running a 28" bar on a Stihl MS440 wanted me to mount a 32". I told him he was already over the max bar.

A saw will usually tell you that it's got a bar too long on board. It runs sluggish and bogs. That's what my Stihl MS361 tells me whenever I ask it to run with a 25". What the saw is trying to tell me is, "Go get that 046 Mag or your Echo CS-670 or that Makita 6401 with the big bore kit."

The Stihl 441 (dunno about the 440) is rated max 32"
The Stihl 361 is rated max 25".

That is per the dealer, I didn't check the manuals

I have cut locust and oak with both saw&bar combos and they do just fine.

 

[James Miller]

Heres a carlton with one side done and the other pretty much off the roll.

I tend to run the smallest bar possible to get the job done.

 

[GVS]

View attachment 689960 Heres a carlton with one side done and the other pretty much off the roll.

I tend to run the smallest bar possible to get the job done.

Sure is getting close to the strap.

 

[Skeans]

A few ways to look at longer bars and why


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