Long bar on limbing saw

[93Dakman!]

So let me start out by complaining a little. I started a job earlier this year where I do alot of bending over and lifting, and carrying heavy stuff up stairs, that combined with a whoooole bunch of pretty stupid motorcycle wrecks in my youth, the knees and back are pretty angry with me most of the time.

When we cut a tree up for firewood, we limb the entire top into pieces small enough to drag to a pile and burn. That's everything smaller than say 6 inches. What that typically entails is a great amount of bending over during the limbing process.

I use a light 30cc saw for this. Does anyone run an abnormally long bar on a small saw to get a longer reach during limbing these small branches? Maybe a 20 or dare I say...a 25?

 

[Andyshine77]

Seen guys out west run run 28" on 50cc saws. 20" on a 30cc saw may not work so well, and it may be harder to find a bar with the right mount. But there really is only one way to find out, try it.

 

[93Dakman!]

Thats true I have a big stack of old bars that I could try out. Might as well give it a whirl. From what I've found, Oregon makes a power match in the small husky pattern up to 28 inches. That's alot of bar!

Anything to keep me from bending over and kneeling more.

I just wasn't sure if the drag on that extra amount of bar and chain would dog down a husky 236 too much to make it unusable before it even touched a branch.

 

[Andyshine77]

That may be asking a lot out of a 236, probably not going to work that well on a saw that small, try it on something 45/50cc.

 

[Brushwacker]

I am like you with the history of bike wrecks, bending on jobs etc. So i know where u r coming from. I run a lot of different saws and bar chain combos the last several decades. To tell you what makes my back hurt and i think alot of it has to do with twisting. My 025 16inch, 023 14in, Efco 4000 14in don't hardly bother my back. Following a tree trunk bucking wood my cs400 16 inch puts a twist on my back that equates pain rather quick often. Small Husqvarna saws with 18in and under do the same. The later Echo and Husqvarna if you compare the bar angle extending from the powerhead to the stihl it angles steeper to the left. Looks like it may work better for cutting low on stumps but for me its murder almost on my back with 18in and shorter bars bucking firewood on the ground. Its easier on my back maneuvering the saw left and right and keeping the saw in front of me with the straighter angle like the stihls. A lot of my shoes have knicks from saw blades bumping into them and it is seldom from a stihl and that is about 75% or more what I use.
20in and up feels best on my back but usually thats with 60ish or more cc. I think 30cc would struggle with 20in, even the smaller chain. 16inch would be the most reasonable for long on 30ish cc imo.
I had thought myself about going with a 20in picco on an 025 or ms250 for a backsaver saw when needed. I believe there would be ample power with the 40 to 45cc powerhead.If

 

[Trail Blazer]

Speaking for myself only, I'd rather carry a larger, heavier saw with a 28-30" bar and work from a more comfortable upright position than use a lighter, smaller saw with a short bar and be bent over all day.

 

[AmateurSawer]

For what it's worth,I have run an 026 and an 028 with 20" bars for similar reasons. High 40s cc engines.

 

[Franny K]

Non extendable pole saw. Depending on how it is made shortening may be possible.

"Anything to keep me from bending over and kneeling more."

 

[FlyingDutchman]

I've always wanted to try 3/8 pico on a long bar.

A 24" plus bow bar saw makes an incredible limber/no bending over saw.

 

[kevin j]

I run a 20 inch .325 on my 026 just for that reason.

You could always try the Piltz hotsaw approach......

 

[Remle]

I’m kind of wondering myself what it would take to adapt a standard d025/3003 bar to a Stihl 017. I’m not so interested in a long bar, but I’d like to run a .404 chain on it just to see how well it works. Yeah, freakishly oversized chain for a tiny saw, but I’d like to try it out anyway.

 

[CR888]

I’m kind of wondering myself what it would take to adapt a standard d025/3003 bar to a Stihl 017. I’m not so interested in a long bar, but I’d like to run a .404 chain on it just to see how well it works. Yeah, freakishly oversized chain for a tiny saw, but I’d like to try it out anyway.

What would you do for a drive sprocket?

 

[Remle]

What would you do for a drive sprocket?

Im not really sure how feasible it is. I haven’t been able to find much info on either the drive sprocket or the dimensions of the 3005 bar pattern. It’s not really an ideal saw for it. It’s just the one I’ve got. I’d really rather try it with a 40 or 50 cc saw.

 

[TheDarkLordChinChin]

I pretty much only run a 25 inch bar when I am falling. But that is on 70-90 cc saws. No bending over and I have enough bar to cut almost anything.

 

[catbuster]

I run a longer bar on a bigger mid-size saw for just about everything, usually a 441 or 461 Stihl with a 28 or a 32 inch bar. It’s a little more work with my deltoids, biceps and forearms but it keeps my back straight and I’m much less fatigued at the end of of the day and my back doesn’t hurt at the end of the week.

Lots of people run a 24-25 incher on a 50cc saw for the sole purpose of working with a straight back. I don’t know if a really small saw would even keep something like that turning, though as soon as it came in contact with wood.