chain saw bars

[1MajorTom]

when cutting firewood or felling a tree, what size bar and chain for your chainsaw do you prefer?

[Uranus]

Thats kindof newbie question. I would think you would us a bar big enough to cut trough the diameter of the wood being cut. But not use one too big. 2-16" diameter use 18" bar but not a 36" bar

[dcondon]

I always use at least a 18" bar. One reason is because I don't like to be bending over all day using a short bar.

[godzilla]

Depends on the size of the wood you're cutting. Obviously you don't want a 3' bar for 10" wood. You also don't want a 16" bar for 3' diameter logs.

[Runner]

You also have to know that your saw has enough ample power to pull a chain of that length. I've seen people underpower a saw plenty of times. Remember,... gear toward the hardwood.

[Lugnut]

Like everybody says, the right size for the job, but if I only was going to have 1 saw I would want an 18" - big enough to get through just about anything but not extremely overkill either for smaller stuff. Right now I've got a 20" Stihl and a 14" Echo so I can pretty much choose the right saw for the job. Before these I only had an underpowered 18" Poulan but made due with it.

[Wells]

I typically do all my tree work with a 16" bar and rarely do I find myself in need of a larger bar, but with that being said I also don't do alot of tree work through out the year.

[mdvaden]

when cutting firewood or felling a tree, what size bar and chain for your chainsaw do you prefer?

More than one.

Almost everybody I know that does that professionally, has more than one saw.

It's not a question of what size, but how many sizes. Now if it's just firewood, many folks I know use 20" and a light, strong saw. Firewood cutting usually means holding a saw for much more time than cutting trees.

Even the country clubs I worked at years ago, had 3 or 4 chainsaws to match the right saw to certain trunk sizes.

My saws range from small Echo, to medium Stihl, maxing with a Husky 385XP - bars all the way to 30".

[Rickco]

14' Echo: climbing/bucket saw
24" Husky 372: Just about anything
36" Husky 395: Big stuff
54" bar for the 395. Yes it does get used. A couple of times I've had to cut from both sides with it.

[carcrz]

54" bar for the 395. Yes it does get used. A couple of times I've had to cut from both sides with it.

I'd like to see that tree!

[Kate Butler]

I do a fair amount of tree work and have 6 saws ranging in size from an older, metal-bodied Stihl 200 climbing saw to a Dolmar 7900 (the BIG dog) and including a Stihl telescoping pole saw.

The saw that gets the most use is the Stihl 026 with the 16" bar. It's followed closely by the telescoping saw (saves a LOT of climbing). I do keep multiple bars and chains for all the saws except the pole saw and the 200.

I find it a LOT easier to keep multiple sharp chains and swap them out as needed and then sharpen many all at once - instead of sharpening each one every time it dulls out.

[topsites]

It depends some on the job, and some on the size of the engine BUT careful, you have to know what you can handle !!!

The best way to define what you can handle is, when that saw is going full steam and the chain hits something that stops it cold, can you HOLD the saw as if nothing had happened, or will it kick back?
Because you can put a 6-foot bar on a saw, so long you got a small motorcycle engine powering it.
And when that thing gets fugly with you, I hope you got a lot more strength than I do :laugh:

For me, the smaller saws are no issue, but I've tried a larger saw once or twice, and when it gets to where the power scares me, I leave it alone.
I think mine's a 16 or an 18", can't remember, small saw, like an 021 or maybe it's a 210, dunno...
It's not that important to me, tree work is not my main line and most of what I do involves small branches and limbs.
But I've used the same saw to cut down some serious wood, a 16-18" bar WILL cut through a 24-28" trunk, you cut down one side and then the other, just the bigger saws take less time.
Still, big wood is scary.

So if you're a first-timer, I would start small (16-18"), and work your way up.

[crab]

thats what chain breaks & chaps are for.i run my 044s with 16 inch bars depending on what I'm doing,less area faster cuts,18 is way to much bar for a saw under 40cc in my opinion,I'm sure its great for cutting a shrub here and there but not for real tree work.running a chainsaw has much more to do with technique than equipment,try taking a basic safety course thruogh you're local dealer.

[GreenN'Clean]

I use a 20" 55 cc saw

[1MajorTom]

ah, ok, the reason I asked this question, was to see what most people are comfortable using. I bought a stihl chainsaw this christmas for matt, he already had another chainsaw with an 18" bar. so when I asked the dealer what he thought matt would like, he said the 16". so that's what I got, price difference didn't matter, it was only like a 10 buck price difference. matt ended up going back today and got the 18", he said that's what he is most comfortable using. he doesn't do much tree work either.

[LawnInOrder]

redmax 14" 3100 - climbing saw
husky 16" 141 - small limbs and 1-4" tree felling
(2) husky 20" 359- use the saw the most for limbing big limbs, and tree fallings.Best All around tree saw IMO.
husky 36" 395 - Used for the big trees. Only use it once a a while

I own the redmax. the rest are my dad's saws
That's what we use here
LawnInOrder

[RedWolf]

I use three saws. I do pulp wood hualing on the side when it gets slow here. I have three old homelite model BIGRED saws. One has a bow bar the other has a 20" bar and the last has a 18" bar. They are old heavy loud but they still run like new and I have cut some really nasty stuff with them. Oldsaw helped me get one of them going when the carb sh** the bed.Now its back up and cuttin pulp. I need to get a smaller saw. what brand seems to be the best now a days guys and gals?:confused:

[Kate Butler]

I've always (20 years) been a Stihl girl, but now my loyalties are evenly split between Stihl and Dolmar. The Dolmar 7900 is one BADASS saw! Gotta say that the big Huskies I've tried out have been splendid also.

[lwcmattlifter]

The big question here is what model saw did you buy him? You don't want to put too much bar on a saw that can't pull it. We do a lot of cutting and have several saws:

(2) 026 with 16" bars
MS310 w/20" for sale
Ms361 w/20" or sale
046 20-28"
066 20-36"

For firewood I like just enough bar to make it all the way through the cut on one side. Light weight and balance is the key especially if you are doing the same motion for hours at a time. I usually use a 026 for climbing/limbing branches on felled trees and the 046 with a 20 or 25" bar for bucking. The 026's get used the most because they are light and easy to maneuver. While the 026 can use a bigger bar it's just too slow in 16" and up hardwood.

[1MajorTom]

The big question here is what model saw did you buy him?
MS 290......

[Lazer_Z]

MS 290......
That's a nice little saw you bought him. I have 2 regular saws and 1 pole saw #1 Saw is an older 025 that has an 18" bar on it, #2 Saw is an MS260PRO with a 20" bar. Jodi, if Matt sees the need he could go 2" bigger and get a 20" for the 290 as well.

Rob

[lwcmattlifter]

18" is a great size for a 290. It will pull a 20" bar fine also.

[1MajorTom]

thanks for the tip about the 20" bar. I'll tell him. He always likes to take a pic of any equipment he gets, as it won't be shiny and new for very long. :hammerhead:

[dcondon]

ah, ok, the reason I asked this question, was to see what most people are comfortable using. I bought a stihl chainsaw this christmas for matt, he already had another chainsaw with an 18" bar. so when I asked the dealer what he thought matt would like, he said the 16". so that's what I got, price difference didn't matter, it was only like a 10 buck price difference. matt ended up going back today and got the 18", he said that's what he is most comfortable using. he doesn't do much tree work either.


What did I tell ya Jodi!!:hammerhead: J/K

[Lazer_Z]

Jodi, If you don't mind me asking, what did that case cost? I'd like to get 2 for my saw's.

Thanks
Rob

[qualitylandscaping]

My personal favorite saw..

Stihl MS361 w/ 20" bar.. Just about perfect for anything..

We have a few bucket saws as small as 14" and have some big ones pushing 4'. But for everyday, simple work.. I would go 18-24".

[Lugnut]

Lazer, the cases go for about 30 bucks

[Lazer_Z]

Thanks Lugnut, that's cheaper than I thought.

Rob

[1MajorTom]

Jodi, If you don't mind me asking, what did that case cost? I'd like to get 2 for my saw's.

Thanks
Rob
Sorry Rob, just saw this. It was $38.95 with a free chain. plus our dealer gave matt another free chain to go with it as a christmas present.

[lawnpro724]

I have 20" johnserd chain saw that handles everything I do. I also have two extra chains on hand in case I need to change out chains if one get to dull.

[crab]

All right you can call me an as$h%^&, but if you cant sharpen you're own saw I'm sorry but you have no business running it in the first place.

[lawnpro724]

All right you can call me an as$h%^&, but if you cant sharpen you're own saw I'm sorry but you have no business running it in the first place.

I don't know if your post is directed at me or not and I do sharpen my chains if I have time or I will take them in and get them sharpend at the shop for a couple of dollars, worth that to me. I keep extra chains on hand when we go out to do work and take them with us in case we need to change them out if the one were using gets dull. I don't think your going to go back and sharpen your chain in the middle of a job. I just dont think thats smart business but thats just my 17yrs of commercial experience.

[1MajorTom]

All right you can call me an as$h%^&, but if you cant sharpen you're own saw I'm sorry but you have no business running it in the first place.
are you saying you are not an advocate of carrying an extra chain or two while on the job???