What's a good, heavy duty bar?

M

mrdiesel

TreeHouser
Joined
Mar 7, 2013
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Location
Sydney, Australia
Hey all,

Im looking for some new bars, initially for a 660 but ill also be replacing the bars on the 575 and 3120 within the next six months. I want to get all bars in 3/8 . 058. Im mainly using the saws for ripping or felling so weight isn't a real concern. If im blocking down its generally with the 575. A lot of my work is hardwoods and stringy barks.

Are there any bars which stand out from the rest? Or bar and chain combos? I use full skip chain unless im blocking down where i use semi chisel

Cheers
 
How abusive are you? I use Oregon bars. Not the strongest, not the hardest, but for me, I can buy them 2 miles from my house. I never bend them or wear the belly out, and very seldom do I blow a sprocket tip. Stihl bars are good. Better then Oregon. It depends how rough you are. If tyou are rough, get a GB.
 
I agree with Chris, though some bar brands seems to be harder steel and wear less quick, it doesn't seem like you need anything beyond standard average for what you are doing. I think you must mean semi-skip, not semi chisel, at the end of your post.
 
GB makes the best wearing bars IMO.

Cannon are very good, too. But they are too expensive.
 
Stihl ES bars are damn good bars. The Husqvarna bars sold in the USA used to be rebadged Oregon Pro bars. Which are good bars too.

If money is not a prob... then the Cannon bars really can't be beat.

Gary
 
#1 Cannon, #2 GB Titanium, the orange ones if you can find them,#3 is the Stihl ES bars. I have a Forester that is wearing decent, and I can't hardly stand the new Oreogon bars!
 
I have not had good luck with Windsor or forester. The foresters I bought wore out along the rails quickly and the Windsor sprocket tips blew out a lot. It also seemed the Windsor oil port was always clogged.
 
  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
  • #9
I dont think im to harsh on the bars, i dont bend them or anything. Im more looking for the best value and reliability
 
One of my bars that I consider about the best is a Windsor "speed tip", I think is the model. The steel seems very hard. It is old. Do they still make Windsor bars? Clicking on Baileys Windsor bars link takes you to Carlton.
 
I don't think the actual Windser bars exist any more .You can however get replacement tips which I think are aftermarket .Fact just last summer I replaced a .404 with a 3/8" on a 32" Mac 10 series mount style .

I think it was Forester or something like that .Probabley not as good as OEM but no more than I will use it it should be okay .
 
Im not nuts over the current Windsor branded bars. I logged with 2 of them and each left me displeased and wanting another brand. They don't stand up to bore cutting very well.
 
I bought a bunch two years ago and found the same thing, Chris.

Recently we've been using some various Carlton stuff that Bailey's had a closeout sale on. We paid about 1/3 per bar of what we would pay for bars here, but decided that constantly having to clen of burrs and file the bars stright is more hassle than the savings in price is worth.

So next season we'll go back to importing GB bars from Germany.
 
For production logging, Id want the best bar I could afford. For residential treework, its not worth it like it is with logging.
 
Just about all of my Stihl branded bars came from throw aways from tree services .They get hammered pretty badly because I'd venture a guess in that kind of work much more cuts would be made in less than favorable conditions .

90 percent of those damaged and worn bars I can save by truing the rails on a big belt sander .They're fine for my limited usage .In my casual observation they really don't appear to be much better than any other brand although that subject is and has been debated .
 
Based on experience, those bars get hammered by careless or uneducated employees. Loggers get deep in the woods, often with one saw, and a jug of gas, and a jug of oil. They often take that once single saw and use it all day, every day. It rides in the skidder with them, or in their hands all day. The name of the game with logging is production. Walking out to the landing to switch saws is not the common approach. A little burr on the bar, often gets annoying and filed off right on the spot when the saw needs gas. Most loggers have one favorite saw day to day based on the particular cut they are working. That one saw rides in with them in the morning, and comes out in the afternoon. For that, they keep it in top working order, because it isn't as simple as reaching into the saw cabinet on the chip truck and just grabbing one that is cutting better and letting someone else file out the issues on the first saw.

It is safe to say Stihl uses harder metals on their bars and chains. I have proven that to myself time and again based on the brand of file I ise to correct the issues or sharpen the chain. Oregon files struggle through Stihl metal, yet cut like a dream on other brands. It takes a premium metal file to get the best results on stihl bars and chains. Ive also used hydraulic presses to try and correct mild bends in bars from employee misuse. Stihl bars take more pressure to correct then most other brands including Oregon, Windsor, forester, and carlton.
 
Well yeah all true --but my only experiance with loggers are the local crowd few as they are .These clowns are cowboys ,rough as a cob on equipment .They don't just bend them they break them .

Some of the trimmers aren't tough on things and some are but more the later than the former I'll have to say .Keep in mind we're talking 10-12 dollar an hour ground help here .Just facts as it goes locally .

I could elaborate on the countless abused saws I've saved from the brink but it would just be more of what I've said for years .Not worth repeating .
 
Anyone have experience with sugi hara bars? just wonder how they compare to other brands.
 
If you can actually get ahold of one, I'm told between the Stihl and GB Titanium. But I've never run one and never found one!
 
Good question. I see them regularly at the auctions here, but have not yet owned one, or know anybody that has. The prices they ask, they ought to be good, and somewhere in my memory I think I recall hearing that they were desirable.
 
The old were great. I never seen or run a tuffer bar! They don't seem to wear at all and still are not ruff on chains.

The newer I don't know. They appear to be just as good, but I have not tried any.


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Iv got a white sugihara bar on my topper, seems fine although I'm fairly gentle on bars, never bent one in normal use.
 
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