Who still makes long bars besides Canon?

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B_Turner

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I find myself fighting the urge to buy a 3120 or 880 again -- so far if I distract myself for a while the urge subsides as I don't truly need one. But sometimes life seems too short not to have a big saw...


If I do get a bigger saw than my 066 or 395 which I already run up to 42 inchs bars on, I will want at least a 50 inch bar and maybe a 60 incher. But the only bars that long I see for sale are Canon/WP. I already have a few of those and although they are a good bar, they are heavier than I would want for a really long bar.

Anyone else still make 50 or 60 inch bars besides Canon?
 
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Stick with a Cannon - you need the best steel in a bar that length. Not knocking Oregon, but the quality is night and day compared to Oregon and Stihl vs. Cannon. Bring on the arguement.
 
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I know a guy that bought out the last remaining big (>50") GB bars. Once stens took over gb distribution in the states they no longer stock long bars.
 
Stick with a Cannon - you need the best steel in a bar that length. Not knocking Oregon, but the quality is night and day compared to Oregon and Stihl vs. Cannon. Bring on the arguement.

I have three Canon/WP bars and they are very well made, best of any I personally have tried. But past about 36 inches they start weighing a lot more. Like 25 percent more, right where I don't want the weight. So a 60 inch Canon would be a backbreaker.
 
Andy- can you still get that 59" bar? Last time we tried ordering it, J.D. said it was a no go.

What do you think, Andy? 59 inch Stihl still available?

One of my biggest stumbling blocks is that I am having a really hard time making up my mind between 880 and 3120. Never ran either, and I am guessing the 3120 is smoother. I've heard it both ways, but I would guess the 880 to have a little more mid range grunt which would be nice with a big bar.
 
im not trying to start anything about long bars but am honestly asking a serious question here.. being as a 41" bar is the longest that ive ran (084 in hardwood) what would you be using the bar for? would a large saw/bar combo be used that often? just asking. that cannons are good bars tho!!

i haven't ran an 880, just an 084, and the only 3120 ive ran was a hotsaw...but i have heard, read and talked to guys and it seems that the 880 makes for the better worksaw. while the 3120 makes for a dandy hotsaw. just what ive came up with tho
 
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What do you think, Andy? 59 inch Stihl still available?

One of my biggest stumbling blocks is that I am having a really hard time making up my mind between 880 and 3120. Never ran either, and I am guessing the 3120 is smoother. I've heard it both ways, but I would guess the 880 to have a little more mid range grunt which would be nice with a big bar.

Both are early to mid 90's technology... 3120 is not smoother and the 880 has more grunt. And ... the 880 has no coil limiters AND it has an H screw in the carb... yes, the 59 inch bar is available... nice bar, on par with any out there. Try my 088 someday.
 
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I have three Canon/WP bars and they are very well made, best of any I personally have tried. But past about 36 inches they start weighing a lot more. Like 25 percent more, right where I don't want the weight. So a 60 inch Canon would be a backbreaker.

Well yeah, they are not meant to zip off limbs - they are meant be buried. Believe me I've packed an 880 with a 6ft Cannon bar over some of the steepest ground anywhere while ripping logs - I know they are heavy.
 
I doubt a 59 inch Stihl ES weighs materially less then a 60 inch cannon... good steel is still steel..

If you want 60 inches, it's going to be heavy.
 
I have three Canon/WP bars and they are very well made, best of any I personally have tried. But past about 36 inches they start weighing a lot more. Like 25 percent more, right where I don't want the weight. So a 60 inch Canon would be a backbreaker.


Stick with your Cannons.....why waste more money on long bars if you already have 3. Those big belly cannons were made for cutting big cuts and straight.
 
Both are early to mid 90's technology... 3120 is not smoother and the 880 has more grunt. And ... the 880 has no coil limiters AND it has an H screw in the carb... yes, the 59 inch bar is available... nice bar, on par with any out there. Try my 088 someday.

I should try out your 088 someday. Was that an 084 that I ran that one time in the alder? To be honest I thought that saw was smoother than my 066.

One thing that has slowed me down on buying an 880 is that the bars only fit that saw. So all the bars I have for my 066 won't fit while with the 3120 will run any of my bigmount husky bars.

Edit: I am leaning toward buying an 880. I have a feeling that this time I am not going to be able to resist the urge...hehe...
 
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im not trying to start anything about long bars but am honestly asking a serious question here.. being as a 41" bar is the longest that ive ran (084 in hardwood) what would you be using the bar for?

That is a very reasonable question. Two parts to the answer.

I sometimes cut up fairly big wood, and I need really flat and true surfaces to be able to read the wood grain well, and to not waste any wood. For some work, if I have to trim even an inch off a block to clean it up it can make the final turned piece much smaller.

Second part is that I admit I've never cut where a 42 inch bar would not reach halfway, I've had it only reach halfway by a couple of inches. But then I end up with a surface that is not perfectly flat, and lose valuable size in the pieces I can get from the wood.

So in truth I can get by without a bar longer than 42 inches, but I would sometimes make life simpler and better. And I am not getting younger, so seems like if I'm going to get one I should just do it. (The mid life crisis sounding part of it all.)

Here's a pic I've posted before of a piece that is only 53 inches where I am cutting it, but a longer bar than my 42 would have been handy, especially on site where they want me to cut fast and get out of there. Also sometimes if a big stick is being craned, then it is easier and quicker to be able to cut off a big piece from one side of the log in one pass.

http://www.billluce.com/pumkinjpgs/pumkinjpgs/8557.JPG

Sometimes the wood I am blocking is very expensive and valuable, like certain fancy big leaf maple or large madrone burls. So it's criticl that I maximize my yield from the wood. For example, it's easy for 3or 4 big madrone burls to cost me over $5000, besides the fact I have to drive almost a thousand miles to bring them home. So dead accurate cutting is critical. Some of that slabbing is done with one of my alaska mills, and there have been times when I need a longer bar than a 42 incher when slabbing these burls.
 
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I should try out your 088 someday. Was that an 084 that I ran that one time in the alder? To be honest I thought that saw was smoother than my 066.

One thing that has slowed me down on buying an 880 is that the bars only fit that saw. So all the bars I have for my 066 won't fit while with the 3120 will run any of my bigmount husky bars.

Edit: I am leaning toward buying an 880. I have a feeling that this time I am not going to be able to resist the urge...hehe...

yes, must have been on 084... mass helps smooth saws..
 

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