How to tell when a bar is junk?

[mhyme71]

I was just wondering how you can tell when a bar is junk? I see all these saws with there pretty paint on the bar and it has me wondering if i am doing something wrong. my paint is probably 50% gone after 10 to 15 cords of cutting. It seems to me that the paint shouldnt rub off so easily> I m using a stihl bar and its probably a year or two old

 

[chevyforlife21]

i think its the heat if you cut alot at once it helps to peel the paint off

 

[dingeryote]

Bar paint wears off when it's actually used for cuting wood.

Stihl Bar paint is some sorta crazy hard wearing stuff, but still wears off when used for cutting wood.

All those pretty saws with pretty bars?
The only wood they ever get near, is the shelf they sit on.

Stay safe!
Dingeryote

 

[sneno77]

The first time I put my GB Titanium in a vise to sharpen the chain, I cringed slightly at the marks I knew it would put in the paint. Then I got over it and realized it didn't matter what it looked like...it mattered how it cut. Same goes for my guns...honest wear means honest use, and is a badge to wear proudly.

 

[banshee67]

I see all these saws with there pretty paint on the bar and it has me wondering if i am doing something wrong.

the ones with the pretty bars are the ones doing something wrong.. not using them:chainsawguy:

 

[banshee67]

All those pretty saws with pretty bars?
The only wood they ever get near, is the shelf they sit on.

:hmm3grin2orange:

 

[mhyme71]

thanks for the reply fellas it makes me feel less like a jackass. most of the paint came off when i cut a 60 foot locust up with a half dull chain. it took me every bit of 3 hours and my full vocabulary of curse words to get probably 20 cuts in it. i hand filed the chain before i cut and little did i know that i was using the wrong file. so i took all my chains to the farm store (cus i had to "sharpen" them all) and the ole boy says " hell what'd you do to these chains mister?" I told him i used a file on em and he said bring the file back in with me it was for a 3/8 chain not a .325. so got the right file now and a shiny metal bar. finsihed that big ole locust up in probably 20 mins

 

[Circle B MN]

thanks for the reply fellas it makes me feel less like a jackass. most of the paint came off when i cut a 60 foot locust up with a half dull chain. it took me every bit of 3 hours and my full vocabulary of curse words to get probably 20 cuts in it. i hand filed the chain before i cut and little did i know that i was using the wrong file. so i took all my chains to the farm store (cus i had to "sharpen" them all) and the ole boy says " hell what'd you do to these chains mister?" I told him i used a file on em and he said bring the file back in with me it was for a 3/8 chain not a .325. so got the right file now and a shiny metal bar. finsihed that big ole locust up in probably 20 mins

This is exactly why you see a lot of crummy looking bars. I cut and sell firewood all year long, and both of my saws still have a full coat of paint on the bar. While they are scuffed, scraped, viced, etc. there is still a full coat of paint without a rainbow blue ring around them. I credit this little "miracle" to maintaining a sharp chain...

 

[woodman6666]

Best way to long bar life is sharp chains always and lots of bar oil if things ever start smoking when cutting stop right away.

www.procutfirewood.com

 

[sawkiller]

When the paint on mine wears to a point I don't like it I take the bar off and lay it on the bench and hit both sides with a DA sander till all the paint is gone and she is nice and shiny.

 

[Sandhill Crane]

Function over looks any day. I use to get a new bar when I got a new chain. Not any more. Like others have already said, learn to sharpen and do it often. Ask questions even if you feel stupid asking. Develope a thick skin, some people enjoy making you feel stupid. I sharpen by hand and use a jig, change files often and use WD 40 to clear the file. Sometimes it's three stokes with the file, sometimes five depending on the day, but every tooth gets the same number of strokes. No more over heated stretched out chains and blue ringed bars. No more taking chains out to be sharpened and the expense of unnecessary bars and chains. Take the bar off often, clean it, especially the oil port. Run your finger across the width of the bar and off the edge to feel for a burr developing. If so, use a fine file laying flat on the width of the bar to remove it. When reinstalling the bar reverse it for even wear top and bottom. Enjoy sharpening, it is a skill that, once learned, will save you so much work and time, and put a smile on your face, at the bench and in the woods. Sharpening will change your cutting habits also knowing if you dull your saw bucking up stuff on the ground and cutting through you are making more work for yourself now in the woods and later sharpening. When learning to sharpen you can paint one or two cutters with a felt pen to better see where your file is hitting or missing if necessary.

 

[05mxdiesel]

So when should a bar be replaced? I have been using the same bar on my 455 for the last two years (20 cords) and always check and clean when done using it. Other than the paint, it still is as smooth as a new bar. I bought a new bar to replace the original one or incase I bent one but haven't had to change it out yet.

 

[Pulp Friction]

So when should a bar be replaced? I have been using the same bar on my 455 for the last two years (20 cords) and always check and clean when done using it. Other than the paint, it still is as smooth as a new bar. I bought a new bar to replace the original one or incase I bent one but haven't had to change it out yet.

Important to check the depth of the bar's groove. As the burrs get filed off or just plain worn lower, the depth of the channel may not accommodate the drive-link height. Place a scale in the channel to veryify that it's deep enough. Also, use a scraper and clean out this channel every time the bar is off so that the oil may pass down it.

Also try to verify that the channel hasn't opened up wider than the gauge of the drive link. For example, my .325" pitch has a .063 gauge drive link/bar. Ive seen gadgets that "squeeze" this opening closed to the gap it should be. Just a good thing to check or the chain may tilt sideways.

 

[goof008]

I have to admit that other than flipping it every other sharpening, and cleaning it when I clean the saw, I don't "maintain" my bar. I don't file it or check it. I only cut 12-15 face cords a year.

After about 2-3 years, the nose sprocket usually goes...that's when it's time to replace it to me.

Replace it when it stops functioning, not when it looks "old" or "used".

 

[Wood Doctor]

I looked at an old bar a friend gave me. The groove was actually plowed out so that it looked like it had a double edge. The nose kind of looked like a great white shark. I hung it up on the wall and decided that in might work in an emergency. That was it.

Some bars can be saved for additional use by carefully filing square the flared out edges that develop with time. Just be sure that the chain seats properly. Eventually, nothing can save them.

 

[logbutcher]

Check the official Stihl "Flippy Pink" nail polish to highlight those worn bars.

 

[dingeryote]

Check the official Stihl "Flippy Pink" nail polish to highlight those worn bars.

Now THAT is funny stuff!
I'd rep ya twice, but alas, one is gonna have to do.

Stay safe!
Dingeryote

 

[magusta]

One good indication that your bar is shot (no longer true) is that when you try to make a cut in big wood you will have a hard time making a straight vertical cut. There will be an arc to the cut; usually drifting off to the right. If you look down the bar from end to end like a rifle you may see that one side of the bar is higher that the other. They make files to try and file both sides down evenly but I have not had much luck trying to true them up again once they reach this condition.

 

[wvlogger]

I replace mine if they warp or bend or wear to the point that the chain will not ridein the rails. i ran a bar on my ms270 for 5 years and finlly had to replace it because it got bent. I keep my chains sharp and the oiler working andit goes a long ways

 

[logbutcher]

One good indication that your bar is shot (no longer true) is that when you try to make a cut in big wood you will have a hard time making a straight vertical cut. There will be an arc to the cut; usually drifting off to the right. If you look down the bar from end to end like a rifle you may see that one side of the bar is higher that the other. They make files to try and file both sides down evenly but I have not had much luck trying to true them up again once they reach this condition.

True. Good point. Doesn't take long for a 'crooked' bar to destroy a chain.

I just use a coarse flat file every 5-8 sharpenings, or a new chain, to even out the slot sides and smooth any burs on the sides top and bottom.
It takes only a few minutes to also clean the grooves, check the oil holes, and the nose for smooth turning.

Big cuts, gritty wood, undercutting, and especially boring, wear a bar. Since all of the above are done, I maintain the bars often. Too $$$ not to. I'm cheap.