How long do you get out of a bar?

J

Jasonk

Participating member
I have a 385 xp that I can not seem to keep a straight bar on. Oregon or husqvarna, I'm changing it every two months give or take depending on the amount of use. Dressing the bar doesn't seem to help its more like a tweak or slight bend. Don't have this problem with my 3120 or any other ground saws. Any advice would be great.
 
jason... I feel your pain. The biggest thing I have found is stump cuts,employees not making under cuts and pinching the bar. I have found that small sticks and wedges will increase the life of your bar. don't keep forcing your chainsaw if its not taking out small chips and gliding like a hot knife threw butter. Thats the advice I have and I still go through a couple bars every 6 months. good luck
 
No disrepeat!This maybe touchy for some people.

Main reason bars don't last long.Heat!..Rapping the saw out oiler not keeping up with the chain speed,chain moves so fast oil not even sticking to the bar or chain,Cutters start bending over from the heat,Then you have the people that rock the saw to get the chain to bite heating the bar even more.


Back cuts you find people pulling the bar out moving it in and out of the back cut building heat in the bar.

Heat the bar up so much chain moves around in the bar rails forceing the bar to bend with the cut cause the chain is moving up an down in the cut.

I get about 2yrs if I up keep my bars.I let the chain do the work.Never use a powered. Grinders on the chain cause it only heats the chain up taking the hardness away.Back cuts I always use the top of the bar forcing wood chips in the cut less back set.If the chain slows down on cutting I pull the bar out pour some bar oil on the bar to cut the temp down.


Hope this helps out.Good luck keep it safe
 
Heat does a lot of harm to a bar but I have never seen heat bend the bar. People bend bars. Improper cutting technique, pinching and wrenching. When you watch a guy pinch the saw, the first thing he does is try to pull it out before the chain stops spinning. When it doenst pull out he tries harder and harder. This is where bars bend. Wedges and a little encouragement from the boss can solve this rather simply. Tell them it the saw pinches, get a wedge or another saw.

Heats primary cause in a bar is a dull chain or over tention. Many people cant tell the difference between a sharp and dull chain, or they just dont care. If my saw is not cutting exactly the way I want it to I stop and sharpen it. If sharpening doesnt fix the problem then I look at the bar for burs.

Its all in how you train your guys, and how much time you give them to complete the job. If you are rushing them constantly then they will wrench on that pinched saw, or not sharpen the dull one. If you give them the time and encouragement too take care of the saws they will. My crane operator at my old job used to have files and a saw at his station almost all the time, and our saws were never dull.
 
Also if you are having issues with the oregon and husky bars (the same thing) you might try a sandvik or windsor. They are a much higher quality bar, but you will pay for them.
 
I do understand both the effects of heat and excessive abuse, but This seems to be the only saw I have this issue with. I thinking will try a better bar....can't hurt.
 
cutting in the bush , 6 weeks max on a bar , , the higher the power on a saw the shorter time period the bar last . One of the main problems is heat like everyone says but I'm finding the bar oil today is pretty crappy and that is half the trouble and some of this bar oil is brand name stuff , In 100F weather I can burn a bar up in no time as the oil just cannot keep up to the heat , I cut just over 500 apple trees the last week with my new 550 and the bar was finished
 
Up keep is the key to making your bar last!I up keep my bar after every job.

Ontheropes..the sprocket is part of the up keep.spur/rim drim should be replaced every two chains.Every new drive I get two chains to switch back an forth when chains are done I replace the spur or rim drive system.The bearing should be greased after every job to help keep dirt out.the sprocket/drum moves side to side it should be replaced.
 
I have done testing for both Oregon and Stihl , greasing all depends on your area in my area cause so much sand blows around you donot grease as the sand just goes to the grease , we got over double the life out of parts not greasing compared to greasing and as far as tips go the higher the hp of the saw the shorter life the tip lives , in the winter time falling in deep snow you will not get a week out of a tip period , the snow keeps cooling the tip and the tip sprocket will break
 
Never had that problem in the winter time.But I treat snow as it was dirt.I use woodland pro bars a little more money out of your pocket but the bars last a little long if handled right.Where you live plays a big part.Sand is small an will eat bearings for lunch.
 
Woodland pro, I'll have to check it out. I just toasted the tip of my 36" STIHL bar. I think it's replaceable. I was also told for a few extra bucks you might as well buy a new bar. I was happy with the STIHL bar, but I'd like to mix it up, any suggestions?

Either way, I seem to get great life out of the STIHL bar.
 
[ QUOTE ]
Woodland pro, I'll have to check it out. I just toasted the tip of my 36" STIHL bar. I think it's replaceable. I was also told for a few extra bucks you might as well buy a new bar. I was happy with the STIHL bar, but I'd like to mix it up, any suggestions?

Either way, I seem to get great life out of the STIHL bar.

[/ QUOTE ]

A few extra bucks??? 36" bar is around $100. the tip is around $20. Ill take a few extra bucks any day.
 
I take it you say replace it and go from there. Sounds good to me, I figured it was more of a 80/40 ratio. Do you typically have the shop install it? Looks like the bar may be 5 years old, kinda rough shape, but still worked fine before the tip toasted....

was looking at the Oregon Bar on treestuff runs $85ish, wonder if its any lighter? or is a bar just a bar?
 
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