Stens /GB

[porky616]

location dosent always affect quality, i drive to work in a japanese car, operate a korean excavator, use a german made laser level. then after work i use a german saw with aussie bar and chinese chain.
and they are all the best value for money and return best profits for me and my employer.
GB are the best bars i have used and as long as the quality remains the same i will continue to use them, i dont care if they are made here,china or by a chain smoking monkey in an african jungle.

 

[PB]

Nothing made in china is consistent in quality. NOTHING.

Stay safe!
Dingeryote

Dinger you pointed out the biggest problem, consistency. China can and has produced high quality items but with cheap parts comes a relaxed quality control. When you are trying to make things as cheap as possible the first thing to suffer is quality. Why spend an extra $2 for quality check for a $4 part? I can guarantee a factory in China could produce Woodland Pro quality bars but no one wants to pay $100+ for a chainsaw bar.

Does everyone think that the Chinese military is equipped with crap? That would be a fatal mistake.

 

[SawTroll]

I agree with you to a point. Yes if the QC is there and the materials are the same, quality should be the same, however I've yet to see this. ......

:agree2: Exactly, I haven't seen or heard of a single example so far!

 

[MCW]

Mmm its a shame as you probably know i am a big fan of there Titanium bars,maybe i should get a couple of spares while i can for down the track.I have been using some GB rim sprockets latterly and there are holding up all right and are a lot cheaper than the Stihl ones.

MCW dont suppose ya got any older ones SN/T 25 63PA or SN/T 20 63PA

No cigar on the bars sorry Only GB Ti bars I have in stock are some 25" .050" roller noses which are good bars, just weak in the tip.
Also I think you'll find GB's rim sprockets have been made overseas for years, pretty hard to stuff up a rim sprocket
As I've mentioned before mate, I want nothing more than to find that GB's pro bars are still made in Australia

GB are the best bars i have used and as long as the quality remains the same i will continue to use them, i dont care if they are made here,china or by a chain smoking monkey in an african jungle.

Really mate? Gee your standards have dropped Aaron
Seriously though, I know a lot of people say that GB bars are the best they have used but have you used other branded bars to the same extent as your GB bars?
My other problem (apart from quality concerns) with using a Chinese GB bar is this - the massive savings that GB are getting from offshore manufacturing are not being passed on. I know this is pretty well standard practice but my P&C supplier can supply me a 28" 3/8" sprocket nosed solid bar with Oregon style nose for USD$12! Think about that when you go and pay USD$110 for a 28" Chinese made Pro Top. That sort of mark up does not sit well with me and is just a plain old rip off

 

[porky616]

No cigar on the bars sorry Only GB Ti bars I have in stock are some 25" .050" roller noses which are good bars, just weak in the tip.
Also I think you'll find GB's rim sprockets have been made overseas for years, pretty hard to stuff up a rim sprocket
As I've mentioned before mate, I want nothing more than to find that GB's pro bars are still made in Australia



Really mate? Gee your standards have dropped Aaron
Seriously though, I know a lot of people say that GB bars are the best they have used but have you used other branded bars to the same extent as your GB bars?
My other problem (apart from quality concerns) with using a Chinese GB bar is this - the massive savings that GB are getting from offshore manufacturing are not being passed on. I know this is pretty well standard practice but my P&C supplier can supply me a 28" 3/8" sprocket nosed solid bar with Oregon style nose for USD$12! Think about that when you go and pay USD$110 for a 28" Chinese made Pro Top. That sort of mark up does not sit well with me and is just a plain old rip off

have used oregon a complete waste of money, i think the bar may have been lead or plastic it wore out so fast, in fact i threw it away after a week, stihl bars were nice but dont seem to like to much sand in the rails or sprocket, but a nice bar and i still have a couple of old ones, but again i make the point that i cut dirty sandy crap wood that most people wouldnt touch, and if i have to pay a ridiculous mark up to be able to do that, well so be it. so long as the quality stays the same im happy with GB. if quality drops off with the next lot i buy i will have to look at another brand, carlton would be next along with windsor. but i would like to know if anyone has used these bars in sand, im talking about logs that have been buried under half a meter of creek sand.
if i was cutting nice sweet wood i would be buying those 10 dollar chinese "carlton" bars off ebay. just my 2 cents worth of useless opinion eh

 

[Andyshine77]

have used oregon a complete waste of money, i think the bar may have been lead or plastic it wore out so fast, in fact i threw it away after a week, stihl bars were nice but dont seem to like to much sand in the rails or sprocket, but a nice bar and i still have a couple of old ones, but again i make the point that i cut dirty sandy crap wood that most people wouldnt touch, and if i have to pay a ridiculous mark up to be able to do that, well so be it. so long as the quality stays the same im happy with GB. if quality drops off with the next lot i buy i will have to look at another brand, carlton would be next along with windsor. but i would like to know if anyone has used these bars in sand, im talking about logs that have been buried under half a meter of creek sand.
if i was cutting nice sweet wood i would be buying those 10 dollar chinese "carlton" bars off ebay. just my 2 cents worth of useless opinion eh

Windsor bars are made by Oregon, not sure who makes Carlton, but I know some of their chain is now coming from China. I've never had an issue with Oregon pro bars, and I've seen no difference between them and GB IMHO. If you want the best bars available grab a Stihl or Cannon bar, end of story.

 

[PB]

Since when has Carlton chain been coming from China? I thought it was still made in Oregon.

 

[MCW]

have used oregon a complete waste of money, i think the bar may have been lead or plastic it wore out so fast, in fact i threw it away after a week, stihl bars were nice but dont seem to like to much sand in the rails or sprocket, but a nice bar and i still have a couple of old ones, but again i make the point that i cut dirty sandy crap wood that most people wouldnt touch, and if i have to pay a ridiculous mark up to be able to do that, well so be it. so long as the quality stays the same im happy with GB. if quality drops off with the next lot i buy i will have to look at another brand, carlton would be next along with windsor. but i would like to know if anyone has used these bars in sand, im talking about logs that have been buried under half a meter of creek sand.
if i was cutting nice sweet wood i would be buying those 10 dollar chinese "carlton" bars off ebay. just my 2 cents worth of useless opinion eh

I think what may set the GB Pro Tops apart in dirty conditions is their nose sprockets, not so much their rails. What I've found is that the GB nose sprockets are as rough as guts and come dry (and generally full of paint) when they are brand new but don't seem to get any worse with use, in fact they actually tend to get better. The Tsumura noses are pre greased and are like a Swiss watch when new so I would presume they may not like grit and sand as much. I have had many Stihl ES bars come in completely wrecked from people who tend to use the nose as a shovel. I always try to get guys like that to start using hard nosed bars - they generally won't deviate from the norm though
Do you use all sprocket noses mate or tend to use hard nosed bars in those crappy conditions? I have cut in some pretty crappy, sandy conditions like yourself however always whip out the old GB Hard Top 36" and .404" semi chisel for conditions like that as they are known sprocket wreckers.
Seriously though, if I see a company send their manufacturing offshore to China and not pass even 1% of those savings on I tend not to touch them again. From a dealer cost point of view a GB Pro Top isn't any cheaper than a Jap made Tsumura, in fact possibly dearer.
DHL lost the parcel I was getting from China containing 4 bars to test. Once I get hold of more to trial I'll be the first one coming forward to say if they are good or not. I may be surprised

 

[MCW]

Windsor bars are made by Oregon, not sure who makes Carlton, but I know some of their chain is now coming from China. I've never had an issue with Oregon pro bars, and I've seen no difference between them and GB IMHO. If you want the best bars available grab a Stihl or Cannon bar, end of story.

Both Cannon and Stihl ES bars are hideously expensive out here. Cannon also very difficult to find. Thats not to say you won't get your money's worth out of either bar Although I've never used a Cannon bar or even seen one the ES bars are no better than a Tsumura or Sugihara. Japanese steel versus German steel - nothing in it

Since when has any of the Carlton chain been coming out of China mate? Now that's news to me.

 

[Andyshine77]

Since when has Carlton chain been coming from China? I thought it was still made in Oregon.

It's my understanding their low end non pro chain is coming from China, the pro stuff is still made here as far as I know. With that said the lines are getting fuzzier all the time throughout all manufacturing in the U.S. Parts can be made overseas, but if the parts are assembled here you can write made in the USA on the box.

 

[PB]

????? That doesn't make any sense. What chain does Carlton produce that is not pro-quality? Also, if parts are strictly assembled in the US they cannot be labeled "Made in USA". Look up the Craftsman debacle or look at any garment made today (Carhartt, Levis, etc.).

 

[MCW]

It's my understanding their low end non pro chain is coming from China, the pro stuff is still made here as far as I know. With that said the lines are getting fuzzier all the time threw out all manufacturing in the U.S. Parts can be made overseas, but if the parts are assembled here you can write made in the USA on the box.

Yeah right mate. I haven't seen any Carlton chain classed as non pro so everything I've seen is made in the US.
It gets very confusing with the labelling - as shown earlier with the photos of the GB Ti fitment label. It says "Made In Australia" on it however the label format is exactly the same as it has been for 10 years or more, including the saw models printed on there, most of which haven't been made since Noah was a boy.

 

[porky616]

all my shovels are hard nose matt only use the sprockets on the sweet clean stuff. the hard nose makes a handy shovel/rake when ya happen to get ya motor car stuck in the sand too. maybe thats why im so hard on gear:monkey:

 

[Andyshine77]

????? That doesn't make any sense. What chain does Carlton produce that is not pro-quality? Also, if parts are strictly assembled in the US they cannot be labeled "Made in USA". Look up the Craftsman debacle or look at any garment made today (Carhartt, Levis, etc.).

I believe the chain Carlton sells to HD is made in China, at one point the chain itself had Carlton written on it. You're correct a certain % of the parts that are assembled must be made here, but it's a small number/% and I'm not necessarily referring to Carlton.

 

[MCW]

all my shovels are hard nose matt only use the sprockets on the sweet clean stuff. the hard nose makes a handy shovel/rake when ya happen to get ya motor car stuck in the sand too. maybe thats why im so hard on gear:monkey:

No worries old son As long as that BB kit holds up all is good.
By the way old bars also make good knives and machetes. You have sweet clean wood up there? Liar
How's that 36" GB Hard Top holding up? Mine just keeps on living...

 

[porky616]

yeah not to sure about that bb kit, get way to many chips in my mouth from smiling to much eh. ended up selling the 36 gb with the 880, trying to get away from to many bar mounts and chain sizes, going all 404 on the 066 and 3/8 on the little 280.

 

[Andyshine77]

I really don't want people to think I'm trying to down GB products, Australian made GB stuff is/was great, and at a good price. I have a real GB bar on my 362 and it's a sweet bar.

 

[MCW]

yeah not to sure about that bb kit, get way to many chips in my mouth from smiling to much eh. ended up selling the 36 gb with the 880, trying to get away from to many bar mounts and chain sizes, going all 404 on the 066 and 3/8 on the little 280.

Yeah why the hell Stihl use a different mount on their 880 I'll never know Maybe you need to tie a hanky around your mouth mate to stop those chips? I'm glad the kit is going well so far.

I really don't want people to think I'm trying to down GB products, Australian made GB stuff is/was great, and at a good price. I have a real GB bar on my 362 and it's a sweet bar.

Hey I don't think that at all Andy. You want to know the sad part? A while ago I could import an Aussie made GB Pro Top from the US cheaper than I could buy one at dealer cost here I had access to a Sten's sale nearly 2 years ago and some of the prices were insane. I landed a 44" .404" GB Ti bar here for about 50% of the local cost.

 

[PB]

I believe the chain Carlton sells to HD is made in China, at one point the chain itself had Carlton written on it. You're correct a certain % of the parts that are assembled must be made here, but it's a small number/% and I'm not necessarily referring to Carlton.

I have never seen Carlton chain in the HD, only the tri-link crap. There are other versions of the same chinese chain out there under different names. Pro-link comes to mind.

The chain at HD, I am not sure it comes from Carlton. Blount, parent company of Carlton, sued and won for patent infringement against the tri-link manufacturers. They may have had a licensing agreement but I don't think any chinese chain has been sold under the Carlton brand.

http://investor.blount.com/phoenix.zhtml?c=72986&p=irol-news&nyo=1

Cutters Choice is selling the pro-link crap. I wish Carlton or Windsor were still independent companies for competition sake.

We are getting a little off course here though. As for GB quality, I have some GB bars and should have a Pro-Top 32" here in the next couple of days that I bought. No experience with the new stuff though.

 

[gmax]

all my shovels are hard nose matt only use the sprockets on the sweet clean stuff. the hard nose makes a handy shovel/rake when ya happen to get ya motor car stuck in the sand too. maybe thats why im so hard on gear:monkey:

Arron, you need one of these

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aIzjQXk-Veo