Pro & cons to solid bar vs roller tip

[Burleybanshee]

Bought a nice 385xp off eBay. It came with a 24" solid Oregon bar. I've never ran solid bar, pro and cons please. I also bought a jonsered 2171 it came with two 20's and a 36. I plan on putting the 36 on the 385. I think 36 to big for 2171, but the 385 should pull with skip I hope. All of those appear to be roller tip jonsered bars

 

[jeeptj19992001]

Bought a nice 385xp off eBay. It came with a 24" solid Oregon bar. I've never ran solid bar, pro and cons please. I also bought a jonsered 2171 it came with two 20's and a 36. I plan on putting the 36 on the 385. I think 36 to big for 2171, but the 385 should pull with skip I hope. All of those appear to be roller tip jonsered bars

solid tip, drag and friction, roller tip no drag or friction

 

[Jacob J.]

Solid bars take more abuse in dirty cutting conditions or if you're using carbide chain. Old-time timber fallers use to tell me they liked hard-nose bars when cutting large softwood trees because they could "feel" with the bar better when making cuts line up.

Modern sprocket nose bars maximize the power of your saw's engine, and are easier on smaller pitch modern chains (solid noses wear the tie straps more.)

 

[slipknot]

In my experience hard nose will wear a chain out quicker to the point of the chain breaking at the rivets. But thats with alot of use and with a mac 790 24" hardnose.

 

[thejdman04]

The pro as said above, a solid nose will cut in dirtier conditions (there is no sprocket to bind up or fail with dirt). That being said I have cut in some pretty dirty conditions with a sprocket nose bar and very rarely have I had a sprocket fail, but if it does, they aren't that expensive or hard to replace.

 

[galde]

A comment on terminology --- the term "solid" refers to a bar that is not laminated. A roller nose bar carries a slotted disc that works like an idler pulley in a v-belt system. The hot saws we see on TV have roller nose bars. If the bar has a nose with a toothed sprocket, then it is correctly called a sprocket nose bar. The best sprocket nose bars have a replaceable tip that contains the nose sprocket and is the front several inches of the bar.

 

[hamish]

A comment on terminology --- the term "solid" refers to a bar that is not laminated. A roller nose bar carries a slotted disc that works like an idler pulley in a v-belt system. The hot saws we see on TV have roller nose bars. If the bar has a nose with a toothed sprocket, then it is correctly called a sprocket nose bar. The best sprocket nose bars have a replaceable tip that contains the nose sprocket and is the front several inches of the bar.

I do think we need to establish the Op's actual question, if he is truly referring to a solid nose bar as a solid nose bar...........for one can spend many years before actually seeing a true solid nose bar (ie..no sprocket at all). I have yet to see one in use or even on a dealers shelf throughout north america and many parts of the EU (yeah i like visiting saw shops while travelling).

 

[Burleybanshee]

Thanks for the correct terminology. It is not a sprocket nose bar. Solid front to back. Oregon stamped on bar. It is out in shop, will be able to get letters numbers off tomorrow. Never seen a bar like
this before. I think I need to take off and just buy a good 24" replaceable tipped sprocket nose bar.

Side note, saw fired up third pull runs high and idles. Clutch fills good but the compression in 125 range. How hard to re-ring the 385xp. I have build 600hp motors and rebuild my 80hp at the wheels yamaha banshee quad. I can wrench, but if it takes specialty tools or knowledge, I'll. Just take it to the local shop.

 

[cpr]

Agree with JJ so far as comments and will add this:

I have several on vintage saws, when you set them up, tension the chain on the loose side vs. what you would do for a sprocket nose or roller nose for that matter (I tend to let my rollers have more slop than the sprockets get, but not as much as the hardnose and we're talking felt tension moreso than visual). They'll take abuse, and further, if you have to bore cut some dirty snag, there's nothin' better. I hold my roller noses dear and would NEVER bore cut with one.

 

[Sprintcar]

Solid bars take more abuse in dirty cutting conditions or if you're using carbide chain. Old-time timber fallers use to tell me they liked hard-nose bars when cutting large softwood trees because they could "feel" with the bar better when making cuts line up.

Modern sprocket nose bars maximize the power of your saw's engine, and are easier on smaller pitch modern chains (solid noses wear the tie straps more.)

+1

 

[sunfish]

I ran nothing but hard nose bars from 1977 to 2001. No problems and B&C lasted a long time. Still have one on my old 3400. That said, I now run sprockets.

 

[dumbarky]

Solid bar (hard nose bar) vs roller tip

As with everything else, we butcher the English language here in Arkansas, but we refer to the said bar as a (hard nose bar).
Pro's of the hard nose bar are as follows: very reliable, better feel, less deflection, out last sprocket tips, less chain derail, great for dirty, tangled, leaning, nasty type cutting.
Here's the bad news: You probably lose a little power due to friction, This type of bar is somewhat harder on the tie straps of chain, Bar prices are significantly higher (sometimes 50%), Chain tightness needs constant attention. Last but not least bar length slightly shorter due to larger diameter of bar tip.
All in all I have used the hard nose bars with very good results. You can take them to a belt sander and true them up all around when the wear and they are like new. However in the last 10-12 years we have seen less and less of them in this area. Reasons vary but I think it has more to do with saw shops decreasing overhead and supply and demand (less demand=less supply). Cheaper, faster, better ideology. Overall if I had one available, I would use it without a second thought.

 

[MCW]

Solid nosed bars are underrated by many people. Although I'm sure there is an increase in friction and a loss of power I can honestly say myself, or others I've spoken to, have never noticed it when swapping between same length hard nosed or sprocket nosed bars on the same saws.
They will however wear out the tiestraps faster than a sprocket nosed bar but I can assure you of this - when using hard nosed bars in the dirty conditions they are designed for you will never wear the tiestraps out before the cutters are well and truly shot. Also the tiestraps seem to wear fast early but then "run in" and don't wear anywhere near as fast as they did to start with.
I run a few hard nosed bars up to a 42" Tsumura on my 3120 and like them for what they're designed for - dirty conditions with either semi chisel or chipper chain. I have a 36" GB Hard Top that has seen a heap of work and just laughs at the dirty stuff. I run it with .404" semi chisel or chipper.

Also in our hardwood some of the hard nosed bars with an increased tip radius are very difficult, nearly impossible, to do a plunge/bore cut with.

 

[nmurph]

on big saws (maybe 80cc+) i don't think it matters one way or the other. run the chain with a little more slack and you won't notice the difference. they definitely take abuse better than sprocket nose bars, and the extra wear on tie straps is probably off-set with the increased life of the nose of the bar.

 

[2dogs]

I worked a vegetation management job in a river channel for several years. The trees were covered in silt and sand was everywhere. I ran through a dozen or more bars and the boss who supllied all the other saws ran through probably 3 dozen. I switched to Stihl hardnose bars on the MS260 and the MS361 and have never replaced a bar since then. I did not notice any lack of power at the cut due to the bar. This job wore and streched chains like crazy regardless of the bar. We had to shorten each chain by 2 to 3 links by the time they were worn down. I kept a Granberg tool on the tractor just for that reason. The airfilter on those two saws had to be cleaned several times each day because of the dust and thistles. Each night the airfilters took a bath in Purple Power.

I have a brand new 50" GB hardnose bar in .058 I'll sell cheap. It fits the large Stihls like 090 or MS880.

 

[betterbuilt]

I have a .063 gauge hard nose bar I use to cut out stumps. I got it cheap from a dealer that had for over twenty years. He said take it nobody ever wants them any more. I like it because I can run 404 or 3/8 with out much hassle.

 

[stihlman95]

like i always say gentlemen, you cant beat a stihl. german made. german owned. my family, dad's side was from germany so me being german, i wont run anything else. trying to trade my husqvarna saw for a stihl trim saw. GO STIHL'S

 

[a. palmer jr.]

Bought a nice 385xp off eBay. It came with a 24" solid Oregon bar. I've never ran solid bar, pro and cons please. I also bought a jonsered 2171 it came with two 20's and a 36. I plan on putting the 36 on the 385. I think 36 to big for 2171, but the 385 should pull with skip I hope. All of those appear to be roller tip jonsered bars

You have to run the chain looser with a solid tip bar, if that's any problem.

 

[2dogs]

like i always say gentlemen, you cant beat a stihl. german made. german owned. my family, dad's side was from germany so me being german, i wont run anything else. trying to trade my husqvarna saw for a stihl trim saw. GO STIHL'S

Way to keep a thread on topic. What, you don't like your mother;s family?

 

[ChrisF]

like i always say gentlemen, you cant beat a stihl. german made. german owned. my family, dad's side was from germany so me being german, i wont run anything else. trying to trade my husqvarna saw for a stihl trim saw. GO STIHL'S

Wow, way to contribute with meaningful content.

I mean everyone enjoys a good derail, but this?