What’s your oddball bar size?

[Brent Nowell]

I got a few bars now, ranging in sizes from 14-36”
I find the bar I use the least and I mean the absolute least is the 24”... I don’t know why but the 20, the 28, and the 36 (36 and 28 for milling) seem to do it all. If I could go back I don’t think I would purchase that size again.

anyone else?

 

[Evan]

I'd probly say 20"

28" does everything I need. 32" is ready and ported if trees go over 40" or so, till then 28 still works.

Tree in my sig is 42ish that's 32" on my 066. Works well on trees like that. Always wanted a 36" but wonderd if t would be worth the extra 4" decided it probably wouldnt and never bought one.
Just to many chains to wrestle around

 

[capetrees]

14"
It came with a 170 but switched it out to 12" right away. I use the 12", 16" and 24" but 14? Maybe a carpentry background shys me away from the 14".

 

[catbuster]

25 is, well, 25. It’s not a 24 like the rest of the world, but supposedly an inch longer with the same number of drivers. Regardless it doesn’t have enough reach like a 28 and isn’t long enough to buck anything big in one cut, even with some fun west coast bucking shenanigans.

Stihl’s 28 is really closer to a 27” and has a different number of drivers than every other 28 on the market. I still don’t understand that one.

I had a Stihl 30 and finding loops of chain was a pain when I moved back here. I loved the length, but the chains were an issue, and while it may be great for people who make their own chains, I don’t and I’m not on the left coast where a dealer will either.

Evan, a three footer is totally worth it on a 66. You can actually buck a 42” long pretty easy from one side with one if you know how to buck. Most of the 660s had the guts to run one, too.

 

[Evan]

On few acasion 36 would be worth it. But in all reality 42ish wood is passed a 42" bar tip. But I don't need a 42 to make face cuts. I've found I can handle 32 in big wide well. Wether the sw that puts them down is 70 or 90cc

I say 42is because I didn't measure them often .

25 is the same as 24.

 

[svk]

A bar I never had much use for was 18” I like 16’s and 20’s if I’m running mid sized saws. The only saw I like to keep an 18” for is the A041 small saw mount cause that’s the longest bar made for that respective mount.

 

[Ryan'smilling]

No love for 24" bars from me either, though I've never played around with a lightweight one, and well that Cannon that someone posted for sale earlier was pretty. Otherwise, I don't care for them. 20" for big firewood, 28"+ for felling or really big firewood. I can reach the ground comfortably with a 28", but not a 24".

My other oddball size is 3/8 16" .063 gauge. I got a couple nice GB bars in that size a few years ago and now have a dozen loops of chain. It's caused some goofiness in terms of compatibility. Was a good setup on my ported 261, but now that that saw is gone, I'm not sure what I'm gonna run the bars on.

 

[ChoppyChoppy]

I run a 24" bar on most of my saws.

 

[Jethro 2t sniffer]

22 is an odd 1

 

[cary911]

Stihl's 21" 404 on an 880???

 

[Evan]

It's just what weve got.

These do the the same work.
14 16
18 20
24 25 28
32 36
40 42

That's a big list but I could pick two to make me happy

You can order custom drive loops from baileys

I have my 28" set up on my stihl and husqvarna wearing the same chain took tuning with a carbide burr to make that happen could probably also make a 24" fit in place of the 25" but I've never tried it.

More about wear the bar mounts than the actual length that 1" discrepancies goes away fast .

This 28 on my 372 may be closer to 25 on the 372. It's pretty close to the sprocket. Not sure what chain is on it.

I guess it really doesn't matter just whatever does the work and makes us happy

 

[Evan]

It's just what weve got.

These do the the same work.
14 16
18 20
24 25 28
32 36
40 42

That's a big list but I could pick two to make me happy

You can order custom drive loops from baileys

I have my 28" set up on my stihl and husqvarna wearing the same chain took tuning with a carbide burr to make that happen could probably also make a 24" fit in place of the 25" but I've never tried it.

More about wear the bar mounts than the actual length that 1" discrepancies goes away fast .

This 28 on my 372 may be closer to 25 on the 372. It's pretty close to the sprocket. Not sure what chain is on it.

I guess it really doesn't matter just whatever does the work and makes us happy View attachment 793063

 

[Evan]

It's just what weve got.

These do the the same work.
14 16
18 20
24 25 28
32 36
40 42

That's a big list but I could pick two to make me happy

You can order custom drive loops from baileys

I have my 28" set up on my stihl and husqvarna wearing the same chain took tuning with a carbide burr to make that happen could probably also make a 24" fit in place of the 25" but I've never tried it.

More about wear the bar mounts than the actual length that 1" discrepancies goes away fast .

This 28 on my 372 may be closer to 25 on the 372. It's pretty close to the sprocket. Not sure what chain is on it.

I guess it really doesn't matter just whatever does the work and makes us happy View attachment 793063

 

[Deleted member 149229]

For me my oddball is the 20” on my Echo 590, 70 dl. Every time I found a deal I stocked up. This before I found out there were alternate bars that would fit and use the standard 72 dl for a 20” bar. Then I wouldn’t have had to segregate my 20” chains.

 

[TBS]

I've got a cheap Chinese 22 inch bar and the 070 clone has combo bar that can run a 36 and 38(?) Inch chain.

 

[U&A]

I use my 20” the least. Actually i have not used a 20” in probably over a year now.

24” is a good size for what i do. Use it a lot. Not to big to swing around for limbing and not to small as it works for most of the timber i cut.

YMMV



Sent while firmly grasping my redline lubed RAM [emoji231]

 

[Huskybill]

I’m up to 42” from 16” for the 2100. My odd one is 17”. There new old Windsor stock.

 

[TheDarkLordChinChin]

Stihl's 21" 404 on an 880???

I have one of those as well. No need for a bar that size on a 122cc saw but it sure is fun lol.

I find a 20' bar is my least used. I use a 16' for bucking firewood and any non-falling work such as cutting hedgerows back. For falling I mostly use a 24' or 30'.

 

[Remle]

I think a 20” bar is one of those jack of all trades master of none bars. For small work cleaning up downed limbs and the like it’s more than you need. For bigger work you frequently need to cut from both sides. It’s too short to limb things standing up and too long to be handy working up in a tree.

If I could only have one bar I suppose it would work alright, but I’d prefer a 24” in that role. 24” is a bit better, but it’s in that same category.

I think a 16” bar and a 28” bar are a pretty good all around combination and bars 36” and up are good for milling, but honestly, I really don’t have much real need for them other than that. If a tree needs a 36”+ bar to be felled, odds are I’ll pay a pro to take it down.