Do current chain saws claim a bar length 2" longer than measured?

[MrCreosote]

I picked up a nice little Craftsman "16inch" chainsaw that has a lots of nice features including sharp metal dogs which really surprised me. Well this "16in" saw measures 14 inches. I have an old all metal Craftsman electric 14 incher that measures 14 inches. And a cheap all plastic WEN with just about every bolt hole in the case split and cracked - it works hard, good gears - and even it measures 13.5 inches.

So all these current "18 inch" electrics (Oregon, Workz, etc.) do they measure 16 inches???

 

[U&A]

Must have been made by someones wife.


[emoji23][emoji23][emoji23][emoji23][emoji23][emoji1787][emoji1787][emoji1787]

LMAO[emoji23][emoji23]


Sent while firmly grasping my redline lubed RAM [emoji231]

 

[4CornersPuddle]

Must have been made by someones wife.


[emoji23][emoji23][emoji23][emoji23][emoji23][emoji1787][emoji1787][emoji1787]

LMAO[emoji23][emoji23]


Sent while firmly grasping my redline lubed RAM [emoji231]

ROFL

 

[Franny K]

So all these current "18 inch" electrics (Oregon, Workz, etc.) do they measure 16 inches???

A called length 18 inch bar in the chain type for these would generally be 61 or 62 drive links. Larger chain the loop length is a bit longer for called length 18" I doubt it has any bearing on electric vs gas vs hydraulic. Without a crankshaft the sprocket could be put closer to the bucking spike making the electric a bit closer usable vs called.

 

[Philbert]

Bar length is ‘nominal’ - like a ‘2 X 4’, or a ‘foot long’ hotdog. It is normally measured from the front of the case to the tip of the bar. Anything from 15” to 17” might be called ‘16-inches’, although, companies like Sears usually try to make the saw seem larger by rounding up to the next ‘size’.

Does your new saw have the original bar?

Philbert

 

[dougand3]

A saw is really known by it's powerhead name and/or model #. Eg: Poulan 2150 is the saw...it can wear a 14", 16" or 18" bar. Like Philbert says, the effective bar length is measured case to bar tip. So, a 16" bar measures 18-19" when off the saw. A cringing and swooning scenario...."My Stihl doesn't run" "What's the model #? "18 inches" "AIEEEEEEAAAHHHH"

 

[pioneerguy600]

The bar length identifying a chainsaw is as old as chainsaws existed, hear it way too often. As already posted, bar length is nominal at best and chain driver count changes almost as often. Don`t ask me how many drivers a chain needs for a 20" bar if you don`t know the maker of the bar or what model of saw you own, 20" bar on a green Poulan don`t cut it.

 

[old guy]

On nearly all of my saws, the effective length is an inch or 2 shorter than marked length of the bar as the o p stated.

 

[MrCreosote]

The Sears saw has a bar with big letters (hardly used) "Craftsman 16". The reason for my post is that since I've got 6 old saws, not one with a chain brake, both gas and electric and they all measure as advertised, I thought that maybe "nowadays" chain saw manufacturers started lying about their specs like audio amplifier specs all went to crap a few decades ago. (With amps, it was so bad the FTC stepped in and put an end to that practice.) And all of "this" because I was hoping to buy an 18 inch as measured electric chainsaw. Stihl makes a 20" which I'm sure measures 20 but 4x what I'm willing to spend for around home.

 

[toadman]

chainsaws like dudes, have been adding inches to their bars this since they first originated. I have an old 250 mac, with 1/2" chain, and it's 1.5" shorter than claimed.
The milwaukee 120v electric saw I have from the 1970's measures 2 inches less, and uses standard oregon bars (the bar on it is original), the bar just sits farther back in the case.
It's not a new thing IMO, but depends on manufacturers.

 

[MrCreosote]

If it is all over the place, I don't think I've ever noticed a "measured bar test" when reading reviews on these corded saws. I guess I'll just have to get those numbers myself. But I wouldn't be a bit surprised these cheap $100 "18in" saws are all 2" short. I'll bet the $300 Stihl 20 is a 20.

 

[pioneerguy600]

You can get a Stihl for $300. I am on my way.

 

[Philbert]

I have several corded, electric chainsaws. I like them, but I don’t obsess over the bar length. As long as it is long enough to cut the wood I am cutting.

I do pay attention to the amperage: the 14A and 15A saws cut differently than the 7A saws.

The Craftsman electric saws I have were made by Poulan. Later ones made by some other company.

Philbert

 

[Deleted member 117362]

No none of the above. It's for when you ask what size saw do you have, they say 20 inch. Sounds like a bigger saw than 14,15,15.5,16,17, 18,18.5 inch saw.

 

[MrCreosote]

I just went to L and HD just to see the "state" of saw length. The only manu that was 100% accurate was Homelite and they had 2 electric saws @ HD I believe. Echo shorts you about 1 inch. Husky shorts 2" (I'm starting to forget!) very disappointing. Craftsman was 100% on one model -1" on 2 others. Even the big electrics were -1 and -2 inches. Dewalt -1 inch. So ONLY 100% manu was Homelite. I was eyeing up those $100 18" models and I'll bet they are all playing the -2" game: BIG saw for NO money. I'm going on Amazon and ask sellers what cutting length is on those 18's.

 

[Doorfx]

Why can’t wood cutters measure accurately...........
Because all their lives they were told , that is 16”.

 

[Woodslasher]

You can get a Stihl for $300. I am on my way.

I got a 20 inch Stihl for free, all it needed was a fuel line/carb kit. It's fresh enough it still has all the machine marks on the piston. Another time I got a 24 inch Stihl that didn't need anything for $100, still had the crosshatching in the cylinder. I put a new set of rings in it because the piston had a tiny smear and made it a 36 inch Stihl and daily used it for awhile. The first was an 026, the second was an 045 Super.

 

[Ronie]

I always thought you measure a bar from the first stud to the tip, but I could be wrong.

 

[Ronie]

I just measured a couple from the first stud to the tip and it comes out right. Pic is of a 16" bar.

 

[ChoppyChoppy]

Bar length is ‘nominal’ - like a ‘2 X 4’, or a ‘foot long’ hotdog. It is normally measured from the front of the case to the tip of the bar. Anything from 15” to 17” might be called ‘16-inches’, although, companies like Sears usually try to make the saw seem larger by rounding up to the next ‘size’.

Does your new saw have the original bar?

Philbert

Fast food place I worked at a teen sold footlong hotdogs. They were 10-11" I think.
Was looking at a menu recently and it's now called long hotdog.
They had someone sue over it.