Do Chainsaw Bars Wear Out?

[Iplayfarmer]

I have an old McCulloch ProMac 605 that I am in the process of re-building. The sprocket and chain are both in need of replacement, but I was wondering about the bar. Do bars go bad? How would I know? The Chain wouldn't stay tight, but I think that's more due to the tensioning mechanisms than due to the bar.


I'm not much of a chainsaw guy. Any help is appreciated.

 

[Travelover]

The slot gets too wide and allows the chain to slop back and forth.

 

[WantedWolf]

The above is sometimes true, if the bar rails still look good and the rest of the bar is in decent shape you can often gain a few more miles by fliping the bar upside down. At least that is the case with my 026

 

[/pine]

The pros flip their bars over whenever they put a sharp chain on...this helps keep the bar from wearing so fast...

[edited] sorry I missed the same advice in the previous post...

 

[boatyard]

Working for a tree service, we flipped the bar over with every filing/sharpening. We used a putty knife to clean the slot at the turning or more often if needed, to keep oil flowing. We also regularly filed the edges of the bar to remove any burr that built up and to square the edge if it had worn unevenly. At some point this will no longer work and you will need to replace the bar. A burned edge, which is usually caused by a blocked oiler and/or a dull blade, is damage to the temper of the bar and and will cause it to wear much quicker. Keep your oil flowing and your blade sharp. And the slot will wear until it is too wide, and can not be fixed.
Christopher

 

[Scooby074]

Christopher is right.

Bars wear. Rotate your bar when sharpening.

A worn bar will affect the tracking of your chain and make it hard to keep it properly tensioned.

You can extend the life of a bar by going to the next thicker chain, assuming the bar is straight and true and hasnt had the temper taken out of it.BUT realistically, id just replace it. A new bar and chain isnt that expensive.

 

[Cat_Driver]

Everything wears out, including me , I'm beat.

 

[Iplayfarmer]

Sounds like the bars on both my chainsaws are worn. Neither stays tracked very well, and they don't stay tensioned.

 

[Scooby074]

Sounds like the bars on both my chainsaws are worn. Neither stays tracked very well, and they don't stay tensioned.

A new bar and chain will be money well spent. I couldnt keep my chain tight or tracking on my husky 51. Changed bar to a new Oregon Pro Match and chain to a Stihl. Saw works better than new. IMHO the Stihl chain is 10x better than the Oregon, but YMMV.

A tip then tensioning chain id to pull up on the tip of the bar as you tighten. Also the proper tension is when you can no longer pull the lower chain's drive links out of the bar and the chain "snaps" back. Alot of people run their chains too loose.

 

[LBrown59]

I have an old McCulloch ProMac 605 that I am in the process of re-building. The sprocket and chain are both in need of replacement, but I was wondering about the bar. Do bars go bad? How would I know? The Chain wouldn't stay tight, but I think that's more due to the tensioning mechanisms than due to the bar.


I'm not much of a chainsaw guy. Any help is appreciated.

Yes they do.
A dual chain and or dirt and grit will cause excessive or uneven wear on the bar.

 

[WantedWolf]

A tip then tensioning chain id to pull up on the tip of the bar as you tighten. Also the proper tension is when you can no longer pull the lower chain's drive links out of the bar and the chain "snaps" back. Alot of people run their chains too loose.

Good advice
the chain stretches as it heats up and sags.
I keep the dead and dying chains and bars for the dirt jobs where you cant avoid a nose dive, probably no the safest but it saves the new 100$ bar and chain (not to expensive hey Scooby074

 

[Scooby074]

Good advice
the chain stretches as it heats up and sags.
I keep the dead and dying chains and bars for the dirt jobs where you cant avoid a nose dive, probably no the safest but it saves the new 100$ bar and chain (not to expensive hey Scooby074

Good idea keeping the old chains and bars. Also helps if you get a saw pinched bad. You can remove the motor, and build a saw with the old bar to cut out your new pinched bar.

100 bones???? what you running? My newest bar was ~35 (16" oregon power match) and the chain was around 20 IIRC.

 

[Iplayfarmer]

So now that we are discussing bars and chains, the current chain is a skip chain. Any advantages and disadvantages to a skip chain vs. a regular chain?

 

[smfcpacfp]

You should check the depth of the groove in the guidebar periodically. If it is too shallow, the teeth on the inside of the chain will wear quickly as well . The drive sprocket also wears out and can affect the saw and bar's performance.

 

[WantedWolf]

Good idea keeping the old chains and bars. Also helps if you get a saw pinched bad. You can remove the motor, and build a saw with the old bar to cut out your new pinched bar.

100 bones???? what you running? My newest bar was ~35 (16" oregon power match) and the chain was around 20 IIRC.

The saw is a Stihl 026
the details of the last bar and chain are
Stihl oilomatic chain (23 rsc 67) 3637 002 0067
Stihl rollomatic 16" bar 3003 003 7113

and the total is $96.55 canadian, now I didnt shop around, i needed it for the weekend and was at EJ Mower so I took what they had, and they thru in a 6$ file (it says Stihl too)
that was last summer, so I guess I should start looking for a better deal before I need another.

 

[20 20]

The biggest enemy to a chainsaw is ,.,..,.,..,. dull chain. But even with that said everything does wear out eventually. I flip the bar every new chain and check the bar to make sure it is wearing even. I also place some grease into the grove of the bar before putting the chain back on. This helps wear in the new chain and helps the bar last a bit longer. Proper chain tension and a sharp blade will help to had a much longer bar life.

 

[LD1]

So now that we are discussing bars and chains, the current chain is a skip chain. Any advantages and disadvantages to a skip chain vs. a regular chain?

Skip chain has less cutter, hence the name.

The advantages are only seen with longer bars like 28"+. With fewer cutters, it is not as big of a load on a saw and the saw can stay at the optimal RPM through the cut.

Advantage two is that their is more room in front of the cutter for chips o build up. If you picture a chain, as you cut, the chups pile up in front of the cutter. Once the area between that cutter and the one in front of it is full, that tooth will quit cutting. Skip chains have more room for the chips to pile up, and keeps the cutter a cuttin longer.

Their is really no advantage to skip chain on smaller than 28" bars, unless you have an underpowered saw and need to run a bigger bar than it can handle with the full comp chain.

 

[art]

We often sell skip chain to make up for low power or to big of a bar. We have often run a 3/8" chain with .325 cutters which will do the same. We have not done this with our name brand saws but we have helped customers get more performance from their saws by doing this. If a customer gets to big of a bar and not enough engine this would help cure the problem.

We often find that when people are having trouble with the chain tension that the sprockets are in need of replacement do to the grooves that the teeth have made are to inconsistant to tighten against.

 

[Scooby074]

The saw is a Stihl 026
the details of the last bar and chain are
Stihl oilomatic chain (23 rsc 67) 3637 002 0067
Stihl rollomatic 16" bar 3003 003 7113

and the total is $96.55 canadian, now I didnt shop around, i needed it for the weekend and was at EJ Mower so I took what they had, and they thru in a 6$ file (it says Stihl too)
that was last summer, so I guess I should start looking for a better deal before I need another.

Yep there's better deals. Found my invoice from 2 mths ago, i dont think they ship but If your ever in NS however try Century Saw.

For my Husky 51

Stihl 3638 002 0064 25RSC 24 Chain $16.99

Oregon Pro Lite 158slgk095 Bar $32.95

SubTotal $49.94
minus combo discount $ 3.00
Total $46.94

 

[Iplayfarmer]

I went to the small engine shop today. No sprocket. No air filter. As for the bar and chain, the new gal behind the counter was much less than helpful.

I ordered the sprocket and air filter from ordertree.com. They just turned up in an internet search and looked good enough; so I ordered.

I threw the bar, chain and old sprocket in the truck so that I can take it with me tomorrow to the shop. Hopefully with an old bar to look at I can get a replacement chain. I think the bar is okay based on the discussion in this thread. I'll try to get the oldtimer in the saw shop to look at it tomorrow. He'll know for sure. I'll try to go when miss "your saw is too old I can't help you" is on lunch break or something.