3120XP Large Bar Size

[Torquin]

Just got a 3120XP. It's supposedly never had gas run through it. The guy bought it new and never used it.
Anyway, this will be a stumping saw, and for the really big stuff, like over 36".
I have a few questions so I don't oversize my bar/chain too much (as if you could with this saw )
I have seen a bar as large as 84" that will fit this saw. Can I go this big?
I will get smaller ones also, such as 72", 60", and 48" or 44", and run the smallest one I can for a particular job.
At what point will I max out the oiler's capabilities?

I'm thinking of getting full-skip Stihl chains for the bars but I wonder if there is a point, with these bar sizes, where I would want to get no-skip chains because the full skip would bite so hard. I have a little experience with this as my MS270 will not pull a half skip with just the weight of the saw, in White Oak. My 372XP pulls the Full-skip just fine though.
Not sure on what pitch yet. Should I go with 3/8" or .404?

On the bars, which ones to get? I have seen the GB Titanium bars out there, up to 84", and wonder if they would be a good choice. I tried the Oregon bar and chain selector and it did not go over 42" for the 3120XP.

Thanks,
Chris

 

[computeruser]

I'm sure that it can pull the 84", but who the heck wants to contend with a bar that large unless it is absolutely necessary? They get flexible, chains fall off, it takes three hands to get the bar and chain mounted up and tensioned, and it becomes really unwieldy once you get past 4'.

If you can get by with a 42-48" bar, all the better for you and for your frustration level. It will require less manual pumping of the supplemental oiler, will be easier to sharpen, and will be able to be carried with one hand.

For chains, skip is required on bars that long in the interest of good chip clearance. It is easy to get chips packed in the kerf and stall the chain on the long bars. And if your chain gets loose, chips can get between the chain and the bar and seize it up, which is a pain to deal with. GB Titanium of Cannon/WoodsmanPro would be the way to go for bars.

For bars over 42" I would run .404 in the interest of chip clearance and the slightly wider kerf.

 

[Kneejerk Bombas]

I agree with the above comments, those long bars suck to use, stick with only what you need.
When you get over 3 feet, the 404 will work better.

 

[Freakingstang]

First thing first, Merry Christmas



2nd, Where in the hell do you need an 84" bar east of the mississippi?

My 084 with a 41" has not been used much....Erh, not once because it had to be used. a 36" will get you what you need 99.99975% of the time.


i know what my 084 weighs with the 41" bar and full of fuel and oil It isn't light! Anything over 42-48" just seems a little silly to me on the east coast. If you are going to use it to mill, that is one thing, but to whip out the big saw with the 7' bar (that is 84" btw) and stump a 3 foot tree.... you see where I going I hope.

I would hate to try and put that 72" or 84" and chain on the saw by myself, that just seems like it would be punishment for something I did to an enemy. lol

As for the long bars, I would stick with 404 for durability and chip clearance as mentioned above. I'd probably look at the GB TI bars for a little weigh reduction, but it is still gonna be a heavy sob.

 

[rbtree]

I have a six foot bar that I don't need....


But everybody's right, stick with a shorter bar.......I rarely use my 60" one...

 

[Torquin]

First thing first, Merry Christmas



2nd, Where in the hell do you need an 84" bar east of the mississippi?

First, back atcha.
Second, . I imagine a 60" or larger bar, will seldom be used, but we do have some right good sized Oaks here in Va. You know, the ones that are over 100 years and the carpenter ants, or whatever, finally got to it.
We have run across a few so far that our largest bar, a 32" on a 371XP, would not reach across, and I see bigger ones in the future.
The 3120XP came with a 36" bar on it which I may put on the 372XP and I will go up a size or so on the 3120. I figure I will just swap bars for whatever size I need, over 36", on the 3120 as it should pull anything I want.
I would suppose if I get a 60" bar I'd get on like the GB, which has the helper handle mount on the tip, being it IS so large.
I don't absolutely know how big a bar I will ever need at this point (who does?), but I am trying to research and know my options so I will be able to handle whatever come up in the future.
Since I don't know that much about evaluating bars and chains for a particular job ast this point, I figured I should ask the knowledgable people here.
Computeruser, where would I get a suplemental oiler, and how does it works/mount? Or are you saying there needs to be a guy at the tip pouring bar oil in it during the cut?

Thanks for your time,
Chris

 

[Freakingstang]

First, back atcha.
Second, . I imagine a 60" or larger bar, will seldom be used, but we do have some right good sized Oaks here in Va. You know, the ones that are over 100 years and the carpenter ants, or whatever, finally got to it.
We have run across a few so far that our largest bar, a 32" on a 371XP, would not reach across, and I see bigger ones in the future.
The 3120XP came with a 36" bar on it which I may put on the 372XP and I will go up a size or so on the 3120. I figure I will just swap bars for whatever size I need, over 36", on the 3120 as it should pull anything I want.
I would suppose if I get a 60" bar I'd get on like the GB, which has the helper handle mount on the tip, being it IS so large.
I don't absolutely know how big a bar I will ever need at this point (who does?), but I am trying to research and know my options so I will be able to handle whatever come up in the future.
Since I don't know that much about evaluating bars and chains for a particular job ast this point, I figured I should ask the knowledgable people here.
Computeruser, where would I get a suplemental oiler, and how does it works/mount? Or are you saying there needs to be a guy at the tip pouring bar oil in it during the cut?

Thanks for your time,
Chris

a 36" bar for a 372 is way too much bar.

you do realize a 36" bar will take down a 70" tree? That is almost 6 foot diameter

Long bars are neat and cool until you have to buy one, buy chains for them, sharpen those chains and actually used them.

Yup there are 10 foot diameter trees out there, but for the once in a lifetime cut, I wouldn't spend 300+ dollars in a setup like that.

Not to mention, the saw isn't going to pull a bar like that in hardwood like you think. You get way over 36" and it would be faster to cut from both sides with a 36".

 

[sawinredneck]

I have a 32" GB Titanium, at full throttle out of wood you can watch it flex!! If more than eight inches of it is sticking out the other side of a cut, you can watch it flex!!

32" gives me a cut of 64" across, plus whatever I need to notch and bore cut inside the notches. I figure if I can't take it down with that, I probably don't have any buisness trying!!!!

I would love to have one of those big beasts of a saw, and the COOL factor of a 60" plus bar hanging on the wall would blow anybody I know away, but I don't NEED one.
Just a little food for thought.

 

[B_Turner]

Unless you are cutting fancy instrument grade wood (burls, quilted maple, etc) I think 50 inch is the most bar most of us will even need. I've only encountered two trees that a 42 inch bar wouldn't reach half way through.

Price the long bars and chains before you get too carried away. I would start with an Oregon 42. A good size and cheap.

 

[computeruser]

a 36" bar for a 372 is way too much bar.

you do realize a 36" bar will take down a 70" tree? That is almost 6 foot diameter

Long bars are neat and cool until you have to buy one, buy chains for them, sharpen those chains and actually used them.

Yup there are 10 foot diameter trees out there, but for the once in a lifetime cut, I wouldn't spend 300+ dollars in a setup like that.

Not to mention, the saw isn't going to pull a bar like that in hardwood like you think. You get way over 36" and it would be faster to cut from both sides with a 36".

Yup.

Gotta say, 42" is a good compromise. Rigid enough, cheap enough, nimble enough, and you can easily keep your chainspeed up and cut clear.

This was amusing:

But this was more productive and easier to manage, in my opinion:

 

[joesawer]

When running a long bar, you need to cut a little and blow those chops out before you cut more. On a bar as long as you are talking about you spend more time blowing chips than you spend cutting. This spinning the shain without cutting carries extra oil around the bar. You would find much more use for a 42" bar than for a 60+" bar with a helper handle and oiler, unless of course you are milling.

 

[Tree Sling'r]

I don't understand the "complex" of people wanting these long bars. I cut big trees and buck them all the time with nothing bigger than a 32" or an occasional 36".
I've bucked giant logs with 32s. It's technique, butthen again it's your pocket book, if a long bar makes you feel like a bad azz than more power to ya.

 

[clearance]

I don't understand the "complex" of people wanting these long bars. I cut big trees and buck them all the time with nothing bigger than a 32" or an occasional 36".
I've bucked giant logs with 32s. It's technique, butthen again it's your pocket book, if a long bar makes you feel like a bad azz than more power to ya.

+1. I ain't no westcoast faller but I know they cut down big wood with 32"-36" bars all the time. 066 and 395s. When I say big I mean over 6' at the butt, sometimes way over that.

 

[joesawer]

I don't understand the "complex" of people wanting these long bars. I cut big trees and buck them all the time with nothing bigger than a 32" or an occasional 36".
I've bucked giant logs with 32s. It's technique, butthen again it's your pocket book, if a long bar makes you feel like a bad azz than more power to ya.

+1
32" is my every day bar, and my longest is a 42". I was talking to some fallers from Alaska the other day and they used the same set up. They said that every once in a great while they would need a 50".

 

[Torquin]

Wow, thanks to all for talking sense into me. That's why I am here, as I do not have the experience to justify this stuff one way or the other. I just know that the jobs are getting bigger and I don't want to be caught with my pants down, so to speak.
I appreciate you fellows telling me about your experiences. Perhaps I need to study more in the area of technique than bigger equipment.

A 36" is too big for a 372XP? I know a 371XP will pull a 32" just fine, and was thinking it could handle more bar, then, since the 372XP is so close, I just figured....

Thanks,
Chris