Finally found something wrong with the new 346!

[indiansprings]

The paint on the bar totally wears off after only two weeks. Might be it's been getting used a bunch though, as an older guy I try to get it picked up before any any of the other guys do. I take it they use oregon bars as oem, the Stihl bars take forever to wear the paint off of, just kind of surprised that they don't use better paint, not that it effects performance any. Since I've pretty much run Stihl's all my life with Stihl bars, (one exception theJD 56) What would you guys recommend as a heavy duty long lasting 16"bar for the 346? I really don't care for the oregon bar on the JD saw, it hasn't wore near as well as the Stihl ES bars. I really want something comprable to the quality of the Stihl bar, cost isn't the concern but quality is.

 

[ironman_gq]

from what I hear the GB and cannon bars are pretty good as long as they arent the chinese made ones.

 

[Rounder]

Those are re-badged Oregon bars - Sam

 

[MaddBomber]

always had luck with Windsor Speed Tips.

 

[indiansprings]

Thanks for the recommendations.

 

[Stumpys Customs]

All I'll run is GB. Not sayin they're the best but they sure are tuff.

 

[Trigger Man]

I think I remmember Troll saying that the husky bars were also being made in Norway, maybe they use the cheap paint to get the weight statistics down on the newer huskys,LOL, If you think you might want to get rid of that 346, I'll give ya $150 for it, the paints worn off the bar, so its seen its day.

 

[Trigger Man]

IS, did your husky come with the pixel bar?

 

[indiansprings]

Thanks for the generous offer, but it's a keeper until Stihl comes up with a saw that will perform with it. I keep it isolated so it won't contaminate the herd, no cross breeding allowed.

 

[JPeterson09]

I ran my 2156 with a Total bar for 3 seasons, held up well until I bent it.

 

[Trigger Man]

Yes I did'nt want to insult you with a low ball offer. LOL

 

[bruceinks]

The paint on the bar is pretty much terrible for as much as the saws cost. Really the only other thing is the adhesive on the XP emblem on the cylinder cover is weak too. I'm thinkin' one of those Japanese bars, or a Jonsered Total pro bar would look nice on it.

 

[bigredd]

The paint on the bar is pretty much terrible for as much as the saws cost. Really the only other thing is the adhesive on the XP emblem on the cylinder cover is weak too. I'm thinkin' one of those Japanese bars, or a Jonsered Total pro bar would look nice on it.

You must be talking about Sugihara bar. Have heard good things about them. You can get them new on Ebay. The blue lettering on my new 372XP was gone after the first day, no big deal.

 

[Jtheo]

I have never had a bar that would hold the paint like a Stihl bar, and I have run a bunch of different ones.

 

[dingeryote]

Husky Bar paint is lousy. LOL!!
But then there's an Oregon Bar underneath of it, and Paint usually has a hard time sticking to a Terd.

Check these out.
http://www.baileysonline.com/itemdetail.asp?item=CPT+16+SJ50&catID=

Good luck bending one(Fully hardened), and if ya wear the clear coat off, nobody can notice.

Been running a GB on my 346 since about August, and it's holding up really well despite the paint getting beat to crap. Gone through 3 loops on that bar so far without much of a wire edge forming an at all. GB makes/made good stuff too.


Stay safe!
Dingeryote

 

[jbighump]

couldnt u put a bar adapter on and use a stihl bar, i prefer the stihl es bars myself.
ive had too many problems with the cheap laminated bars, so i only get the es bars from now on.

 

[spike60]

The cheap laminated bars that come on the 346 really don't hold up very long under serious use. I've been switching all of my pro customers to Total bars which are the only real good bar that still retains the narrow profile of the oem bar. (Windsor no longer makes the "mini-pro" speed tip) Only snag is that the Total bars come in .058 but not .050.

 

[TommySaw]

The cheap laminated bars that come on the 346 really don't hold up very long under serious use. I've been switching all of my pro customers to Total bars which are the only real good bar that still retains the narrow profile of the oem bar. (Windsor no longer makes the "mini-pro" speed tip) Only snag is that the Total bars come in .058 but not .050.

dead on about the .058 but if one of IS's chains went from the 346 to another saw it wouldn't be good for the herd

 

[TraditionalTool]

How do you know something is wrong with loosing the paint?

Have you licked it to see if there's lead in the paint?

Could be the 346xp is so intuitive it's smart enough to know that it needs to get rid of the paint off the bar so you don't risk the exposure to the lead content!

 

[Kemper]

The paint on the bar totally wears off after only two weeks. Might be it's been getting used a bunch though, as an older guy I try to get it picked up before any any of the other guys do. I take it they use oregon bars as oem, the Stihl bars take forever to wear the paint off of, just kind of surprised that they don't use better paint, not that it effects performance any. Since I've pretty much run Stihl's all my life with Stihl bars, (one exception theJD 56) What would you guys recommend as a heavy duty long lasting 16"bar for the 346? I really don't care for the oregon bar on the JD saw, it hasn't wore near as well as the Stihl ES bars. I really want something comprable to the quality of the Stihl bar, cost isn't the concern but quality is.

You don't need a new bar just because the paint wore off.