020 with clearing bow bar

[Ax-Man]

Butch thought I got lost due to the change over. I told him I would get a post in soon. Thought I would do one better and start a thread for kicks.

This saw was bought new back in the 80's for about $ 550.00 which was mucho dinero for a saw back then. The saw is a 020 Super with the electronic ignition and chain brake. It served as a climbing and bucket saw till the 020 T 's and the MS 200's came along which made this saw a dinosaur.

It was a top handle up until a few weeks ago. I swapped out the top handle for a rear handle and made it into an AVP so to speak and modified that clearing bow bar to fit the saw. I did all this on Sunday morning, early pm.

The saw is very rough looking from years of service but still runs very good. I was going to tear it down and overhaul it and pretty it up with some paint and new outside parts to restore it. I decided against it as I have enough new parts that I have been collecting for awhile that I can still literally make a new 020 Super from scratch. I can pretend it was my first new 020 if I ever get it together

I got a deal on the bar from my dealer. It was brand new. He called it a bush bar and could never sell it. The bar isn't all that practical for cutting but it does add to my 020 collection with something different. I didn't have to alter the clutch cover for the bar to fit so I can switch every thing back if I have to. I left the safety guards off the bar. I have been playing around with it a little and they just got in the way

WOW the new picture program for downloading is awesome. It has my old pics on file

 

[MasterBlaster]

YES.

 

[Altissimus]

that is one for the collection ... that style Bar , crazy ..

 

[Ax-Man]

I see that.

 

[Newfie]

Bow bar used for cutting small stuff like christmas trees when you are stump jumping all day long. Likes to kick bakc and bite if not used properly.

 

[stig]

Isn't there some protective devices missing from that bar?

 

[PCTREE]

Chaps???

 

[Newfie]

I'm pretty sure that's what the bar is supposed to look like. Never used one though.

 

[Altissimus]

I don't believe they even sell Bow Bars in the US

 

[stig]

Far as I know, the US was the only place you could get them.
Bailey's used to have them.
They are in my 2007 catalog, but no longer on the web-page.

And looking at the pics, I was right: the chain should be enclosed at the top and bottom sections of the bar, and only open at the round part.

 

[TreeDimensional]

I left the safety guards off the bar. I have been playing around with it a little and they just got in the way

WOW )

Reading all the post helps!:roll:

 

[Underwor]

The were open clear around in the 60's, with just a big tooth on the end to help steady it as you pushed it through the brush or small trees you were cutting.

 

[Ax-Man]

The concept of the clearing bow is a Homelite brainchild from back in the late 50's or 60's. When they first came out they didn't have guards. You could buck up a small log on the ground or like Newfie metioned cut small standing trees like Christmas trees using the nose without getting pinched and then use the bottom of the bar to do some limbing.

The darn thing works but it is dangerious without the guards. You really have to pay attention to what you are doing. It really isn't practical for every day type cutting. The spike gets in the way if your using like a regular chainsaw and if your cutting brush on the ground using the nose or cutting with the bottom of the bar small limbs get hung in the open center of the bar. If you try to cut with a clearing bow like a regular bar the bottom and top of the clearing bow bar have to follow in the same plane. If the cut is a little off the bottom will through easy enough but the top of the bar gets in a bind so it really isn't as easy to cut with one like a straight bar. With the top and bottom guards on it you can only use the front of the bar.

I have a few other saws with bows both clearing and bucking bow which are much bigger. They work great for sawing wood laying flat on the ground. You can go much faster and smoother if your cutting firewood because you use the weight of the saw to plunge down through the wood without getting pinched in the kerf. A bow is limiting because you can only cut wood easily and safely by what the size of the nose will allow you to cut.

 

[Al Smith]

I have no clue when a bow bar came out .I used one in the early 60's on a Mac 250 when that model was newly on the market if that tells you anything .

They are made for pulp wood and the like .My cousin and I cut osage orange fence posts by the thousands with that and an old Clinton direct drive .The bow on the Mac did have the guarding though .

They cut like lightning because with the curvature of the bar you are presenting a lot of tooth to the wood .I have one in the shed, large McCulloch mount that I submitted a picture of some time ago .It's doubtful I'll ever use it .

 

[wiley_p]

Some of the Shot crews in South zone used them into the early 90's. I punched line in with them some. Didn't work well for me, could cut way faster standing straighter running a 28-32" bar. Plus when actual diameter needed cut, the bow bar sucks bad.