Chain Saw Carrier
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3RRL
Super Member
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- Oct 20, 2005
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- Tractor
- 55HP 4WD KAMA 554 and 4 x 4 Jinma 284
</font><font color="blue" class="small">( Yup, the 28" bar hangs down too low...)</font>
Hate to say this, but I think you got 8" more than I do? /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif
Hate to say this, but I think you got 8" more than I do? /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif
John_Mc
Elite Member
- Joined
- Aug 11, 2001
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- Monkton, Vermont
- Tractor
- NH TC33D Modified with belly pan, limb risers & FOPS. Honda Pioneer 520 & antique Coot UTV
</font><font color="blue" class="small">( Yup, the 28" bar hangs down too low and hits the front wheel in certain positions. )</font>
I didn't know there was anything left in Vermont requiring a 28" bar... /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif
John Mc
I didn't know there was anything left in Vermont requiring a 28" bar... /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif
John Mc
Highbeam
Super Member
The long bar minimizes the bending over one must do, makes kickback slower, and has more teeth to dull so a chain should last longer.
John_Mc
Elite Member
- Joined
- Aug 11, 2001
- Messages
- 4,560
- Location
- Monkton, Vermont
- Tractor
- NH TC33D Modified with belly pan, limb risers & FOPS. Honda Pioneer 520 & antique Coot UTV
</font><font color="blue" class="small">( The long bar minimizes the bending over one must do, makes kickback slower, and has more teeth to dull so a chain should last longer.
)</font>
Hey, it was a joke. Trees tend to grow slower here in VT, and there are not a lot of them around here that big. In clearing for my pond this winter out of a couple dozen good sized trees dropped, there was only one I had to work at from both sides with a 16" bar. Now that stand was not particularly old, but there are a lot of woodlots that could say the same thing around here (or at the most they could say the same if they stepped up to just an 18 or 20" bar). When it came time to look at a second chainsaw, I bought another 16" bar (though with a bigger engine than my first one). I'd rather have the light weight and ease of use, even if it means a bit more time spent on the rare occasion I tackle that two footer.
As you noted, there are some good reasons other than large trees why someone might consider a large bar (one of them is that they already have a saw with a shorter bar). There are also some good reasons not to go long: even a few extra ounces add up to a lot of fatigue in a days worth of work in the woods; you're at the wrong end of a larger lever; it can get unwieldly in close quarters or on rough terrain; more momentum behind a larger bar if it does kick back, it takes longer to sharpen (unless you are using a "skip tooth" chain, though in that case you've countered the "longer lasting argument). A lot of these advantages may make no difference to someone with a lot more strength and endurance than I have, but for me, the advantage leans towards shorter bars.
To each his own... There are situations which call for one or the other. though I'd argue that if you are using a longer bar merely to extend your reach, you are better off just getting closer to the work in most cases. Less arm strain, and generally safer.
Not trying to start a big argument over bar length, not trying to force my opinion on others. Shorter just works better for me. Might feel differently if I lived in another part of the country, with different conditions.
John Mc
)</font>
Hey, it was a joke. Trees tend to grow slower here in VT, and there are not a lot of them around here that big. In clearing for my pond this winter out of a couple dozen good sized trees dropped, there was only one I had to work at from both sides with a 16" bar. Now that stand was not particularly old, but there are a lot of woodlots that could say the same thing around here (or at the most they could say the same if they stepped up to just an 18 or 20" bar). When it came time to look at a second chainsaw, I bought another 16" bar (though with a bigger engine than my first one). I'd rather have the light weight and ease of use, even if it means a bit more time spent on the rare occasion I tackle that two footer.
As you noted, there are some good reasons other than large trees why someone might consider a large bar (one of them is that they already have a saw with a shorter bar). There are also some good reasons not to go long: even a few extra ounces add up to a lot of fatigue in a days worth of work in the woods; you're at the wrong end of a larger lever; it can get unwieldly in close quarters or on rough terrain; more momentum behind a larger bar if it does kick back, it takes longer to sharpen (unless you are using a "skip tooth" chain, though in that case you've countered the "longer lasting argument). A lot of these advantages may make no difference to someone with a lot more strength and endurance than I have, but for me, the advantage leans towards shorter bars.
To each his own... There are situations which call for one or the other. though I'd argue that if you are using a longer bar merely to extend your reach, you are better off just getting closer to the work in most cases. Less arm strain, and generally safer.
Not trying to start a big argument over bar length, not trying to force my opinion on others. Shorter just works better for me. Might feel differently if I lived in another part of the country, with different conditions.
John Mc
OP
hayden
Veteran Member
Both have their place - that's why I have two saws with two different length bars. Other than stumps, I agree the 28" bar is long. I haven't found many logs that are more than an 18" or 20" bar can handle in a single cut.
MikeD74T
Veteran Member
Like you said, there's a place for all size bars. A few years ago I cut trees with my father & his friend. We had a spare Jonsered with a 48" blade. It only went to jobs for show. The customer response was fun when we showed up without a bucket truck & they weren't sure we had enough equipment. The "big" saw convinced them we knew what we were doing. Actually we usually cut only trees that a bucket truck couldn't get to.