stihl 661 large bar info???

[waterweasle]

hey guys, new guy here hoping someone might be able to give me advice, I have a new 661 that ive been running on my 30inch alsaka mill, I have an option at a larger tree truck I would like to cut, its 37' across I have no problem upgrading to a larger mill, 48". but stihl only lists the 661 with a 36in bar, I need bigger and would like to stick with the 3/8 gauge, anyone know if a bar like this exists?

thanks in advance

 

[Ryan'smilling]

You should be able to find a 42" bar with a 3/8 tip. Otherwise, you'll have to swap tips. Also, 3/8 is the pitch, not the gauge. Regarding gauge, you'll probably be stuck with .063 gauge in a bar that long. It's a better gauge for that application anyway, and if you ever want to run .404 pitch, you'll need that gauge anyway.

 

[Ryan'smilling]

If you need to go bigger than that, you're gonna run out of oiler capacity. It might be possible with an auxillary oiler, but you're gonna run into power issues at some point also.

 

[waterweasle]

You should be able to find a 42" bar with a 3/8 tip. Otherwise, you'll have to swap tips. Also, 3/8 is the pitch, not the gauge. Regarding gauge, you'll probably be stuck with .063 gauge in a bar that long. It's a better gauge for that application anyway, and if you ever want to run .404 pitch, you'll need that gauge anyway.

Yeah I'm still new to all the numbers. Any brand bars you could recommend? This is going to be used for cross cutting not ripping

 

[waterweasle]

Yeah I'm still new to all the numbers. Any brand bars you could recommend? This is going to be used for cross cutting not ripping

The stump is just over 37"wide, I won't be using the large Bar often. Just for when something interesting shows up

 

[Ryan'smilling]

Yeah I'm still new to all the numbers. Any brand bars you could recommend? This is going to be used for cross cutting not ripping

Stihl ES bars are good. The tsumara bars are very good also. Cannon is the best for solid bars (versus reduced weight), but they come with a matching price tag. Oregon and Forester are gonna be the cheapest options. Oregon is the better of the two, but also pricier.

There isn't much you can't cut with a 36" bar, but it's good to be prepared I suppose. A 36" is relatively manageable also, compared to longer bars.

 

[waterweasle]

i can't get past the 37" width even with a 36"bar. Seeing as you lose some width do to the. Mill mounts, Unless I'm not looking at something correctly

 

[Ryan'smilling]

i can't get past the 37" width even with a 36"bar. Seeing as you lose some width do to the. Mill mounts, Unless I'm not looking at something correctly

Sorry, you had me confused when you said it'd be used for cross cutting, not ripping. Cross cutting is cutting like you buck wood for firewood, or cutting a board shorter. Milling is not cross cutting.

 

[waterweasle]

Sorry, you had me confused when you said it'd be used for cross cutting, not ripping. Cross cutting is cutting like you buck wood for firewood, or cutting a board shorter. Milling is not cross cutting.

Right I'm wanting to cut large cookies from the tree truck using the mill to get parallel cookies, its roughly oval with 37" being the narrowest, so I need a bar big enough to clear that while mounted in the mill, Hope that clears it up

 

[Ryan'smilling]

Right I'm wanting to cut large cookies from the tree truck using the mill to get parallel cookies, its roughly oval with 37" being the narrowest, so I need a bar big enough to clear that while mounted in the mill, Hope that clears it up

Interesting. Do you need them to be so precise that you can't achieve that with a freehand cut?

 

[waterweasle]

Interesting. Do you need them to be so precise that you can't achieve that with a freehand cut?

Would be easier to use the mill, rather than screwing it up, as I would eventually do. Lol

 

[rarefish383]

Wait for SeMoTony to see this, he has used some bigger bars on smaller saws. Since I collect bigger saws I call anything under a 100CC's smaller, 100CC's to 150CC's regular, and over 150 Bigger, Joe.

 

[rarefish383]

Oh, welcome, Joe.

 

[Brian72]

One thing to watch is making sure the mounts are the same. My buddy gave me a 42" .404 bar to try but it doesn't mount on my 661. Many of the longer bars are made for the biggest stihls which are a different mount. If you have a good saw shop I'd check with them or even some of the site sponsors here. To get a 37" cut, you'll probably need at least a 42" bar and definitely an auxiliary oiler.

Sent from my E6782 using Tapatalk

 

[waterweasle]

One thing to watch is making sure the mounts are the same. My buddy gave me a 42" .404 bar to try but it doesn't mount on my 661. Many of the longer bars are made for the biggest stihls which are a different mount. If you have a good saw shop I'd check with them or even some of the site sponsors here. To get a 37" cut, you'll probably need at least a 42" bar and definitely an auxiliary oiler.

Sent from my E6782 using Tapatalk

Visited the dealer where I bought my saw, any bar he saw that was bigger than 36. Was for the 880. At a .404. And said I would also have to change the sprocket and clutch. IF that was even possible...............I'd rather stay with the 3/8. 0.50 as that's what I'm running when using it to rip slabs...............just can't find a bar that meets those specs

 

[Brian72]

Visited the dealer where I bought my saw, any bar he saw that was bigger than 36. Was for the 880. At a .404. And said I would also have to change the sprocket and clutch. IF that was even possible...............I'd rather stay with the 3/8. 0.50 as that's what I'm running when using it to rip slabs...............just can't find a bar that meets those specs

You're probably gonna have to look at other brands. Try looking for a local logging supply company near you. I'm not trying to be a smarta## but most dealers don't deal much with the heavy timber stuff. Not saying they're a bad dealer, just not their expertise. I'm sure somebody makes them.

Sent from my E6782 using Tapatalk

 

[waterweasle]

You're probably gonna have to look at other brands. Try looking for a local logging supply company near you. I'm not trying to be a smarta## but most dealers don't deal much with the heavy timber stuff. Not saying they're a bad dealer, just not their expertise. I'm sure somebody makes them.

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And that's why I'm here, Lol not much large logging places near where I live. Heheh

 

[Brian72]

Granberg makes a 44" double-ended bar. It lists for $330. You'll need to buy the helper handle to run it or run dual powerheads. They make bigger too.

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[JTM]

Madsens has Oregon 42", 3/8, .05 for that saw.

 

[waterweasle]

Granberg makes a 44" double-ended bar. It lists for $330. You'll need to buy the helper handle to run it or run dual powerheads. They make bigger too.

Sent from my E6782 using Tapatalk

Yeah saw those in action on YouTube, pretty cool, But a little more than I want to spend at the moment, Trying spend as little as possible for this one job, until I can save for bigger things..............before this stumps gets trashed