Got a few spare bars laying around and im probly gonna go grab one and drill some holes in it to see how light i can get it. Would be nice to have a lighter bar on my 290. Not that the weight is a problem now but it would be neat to see what i can do and how long i can make one last that has been hacked on a little. My 170 is in need of a new bar any way i might just play with its original bar and see how light i can get it. if my old bar on that works out then i will play with more expensive bars and see what i can do for them.
Custom bar mods, anybody ever done it?
- Thread starter ms290
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Interesting concept. Someone with a plasma cutter could make all sorts of custom designs, maybe your name or logo, flowers for SlowP?
volks-man
Arboristsite.com Spooner
a while back i remember someone posted a pic about something entirely unrelated but in the pic he had a bar that he had bored heavily.
lots of people here made fun of it.
i have often thought about hacking in to a 'forester' bar i have laying around. it is an odd man out bar and it didn't cost anything... what could it hurt. i was thinking of pouring polyester resin in to the holes to maintain a smooth bar.
i say try it!!!
lots of people here made fun of it.
i have often thought about hacking in to a 'forester' bar i have laying around. it is an odd man out bar and it didn't cost anything... what could it hurt. i was thinking of pouring polyester resin in to the holes to maintain a smooth bar.
i say try it!!!
J.W Younger
ass kissing impaired
cool beans
keep us posted
galde
Addicted to ArboristSite
Open holes in bars can be sawdust catchers which cause problems in deep cuts. I have filled many holes for people who had this problem. I drive in a disc that fills the hole, peen the hole edge on both sides, and flush up with J-B Weld.
gallegosmike
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How about milliing out the middle like oregon RW bar and riveting/glueing in a aluminum center?
IF I had a milling machine and a plasma torch. I would give it a try! :monkey:
But I dont!
Sparky8370
ArboristSite Operative
I do have a plasma cutter and thought about this when I started reading about the light weight bars. I have a bar with two holes already drilled in it. If I get a 24" bar, I will try it on this 20 incher.
I've hacked all manner of bars, the drills I've used are useless, even drilling small oil holes is hard. You must need cobalt drillbits, I only had cheapo titanium coated drillbits. Don't last 10 seconds even slowly in a drill press with grinding oil, just burn out hi-speed or lo-speed. For slots in the bar, a chainsaw file does it, I grind a hole with dremel first. husky/stihl bars you can swap around with elongated mounting holes filed in, I did use a 12" bar cut from a 16" .325 bar and was welded smoothly across the blade at an angle where the middle 4" was cut out with a disc cutter. .325 bars aren't available that size. I'm guessing you'd have to have a lightish saw to worry about bar weight, stick a 12" bar on the 170, it'll chomp thru anything
MCW
Somebody's talking crap here & it ain't the tree!
These ARTU drill bits eat even the GB Ti bars and are WAAAY better than the Cobalt bits I've bought and tried. Not cheap in Oz but excellent...
http://www.robinsoninternational.com.au/artu.php
These are made in Germany and coming from one of the most sceptical people on the planet (ME!) who has used them they are not a gimmick.
Metals406
Granfodder Runningsaw
Bars are hardened and tempered. . . A plasma torch, Oxy/gas, or any other "hot" cutter will pull the temper out'a the bar.
Your best bet would be a waterjet. . . But that's not cheap.
Your best bet would be a waterjet. . . But that's not cheap.
Honkie
ArboristSite Guru
:agree2:
Tzed250
Addicted to ArboristSite
So basically what you guys are saying is that it's cheaper to buy a bar with lightened features already incorporated into it?
wigglesworth
Booned
I've cut and milled several bars. They are not as hard as you would think. A good carbide end mill will cut it, not fast, but does a good job. I have thought a lot about milling out a bar, but I cant come up with anything to fill it with. I could probably do something like the sugi's and fill the small holes with JB or something, but I doubt I could make something like the oregons, as that is one big hole to fill.
i think im going to try it on my 28" ES bar, cut the center out similar to the oregon ruduced weight and make groove around the inside edge with my dremel then melt motorcycle fenders down so i can pour the plastick into the bar.
i even thought about maybe getn a sheet of spark screen and reniforceing the plast on the center but i dont know if that necesarey
a grinder with a cutting wheel slices right through the bar abd the die grinder and carbide bure would easily shape the ends of the cut
i even thought about maybe getn a sheet of spark screen and reniforceing the plast on the center but i dont know if that necesarey
a grinder with a cutting wheel slices right through the bar abd the die grinder and carbide bure would easily shape the ends of the cut
Up here in my school we have a machine class and they have a nice CNC mill. ill just have them give it a try. should work well. instead of a lot of small holes how about some long runs in the length of the bar? should work well shouldnt hang up if they are narrow and since they are long it would give the chips a place to go even in the larger wood.
wigglesworth
Booned
That sounds like its gonna be a mess to me. Try not to breath the fumes.
that would kill me. that and i dont have that kind of patience. Im gonna talk to my guy in the machine shop today and see what he can do for me. It wont even be a big deal if he can make some long cuts in the old bar.
