Stellite is damm hard already
Bow rebuild service
- Thread starter Bow Master
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Stellite is damm hard already
I recommended that he join the forum. I bought a bow off of him in late January for my 372xp. I will say that after close inspection I can say that he did buildup the rails with new material and that they are straight, and the proper groove size. I have been using the snot out of it for the last month bucking up 2018's firewood and it has given me not one issue.
He sent me some free chains with it that were archer chains (Australian) I have always used Oregon in the past so we will see how archers quality stacks against Oregon's. but free chains? who cares....
shipping was reasonable to yokosuka naval base, and it works great.
He sent me some free chains with it that were archer chains (Australian) I have always used Oregon in the past so we will see how archers quality stacks against Oregon's. but free chains? who cares....
shipping was reasonable to yokosuka naval base, and it works great.
Hey was that Mine? ha ha ha ha ha
they only have issues with kickback if you use them incorrectly. Unfortunately some mentally incompetent person managed to win a court case over a tool that had been in production for over 50 years and got it more or less removed form the market place because he used them without the guards in place and injured himself....damn near bankrupted several companies in the process.
Sorry but I was using my grandpa's bow bar back in the 70's as a 12 year old and never once hurt myself with it...respect the equipment you use enough to study (and adhere to) safe working practices and you will be fine.
end rant
As to size of saw to run a Bow? I have an owners manual for a Homelite XL12, with a picture of a bow on the cover from the 70's, Joe.
I cut RR ties and telephone poles like butter with a bow bar with one of these gear drives, and that's with .404 chain.
Bow saw-The greatest saw to cut logs on the ground with
---David --Southwest Georgia
Guido Salvage
Supreme Saw Whoreder
I owned an XL 12 bow, it was underpowered except in pine. The same for the two Poulan 3400 bow saws I currently have. My rule of thumb is 65 cc's or more.
Justsaws
Addicted to ArboristSite
I own more than a few bow bars. Most are to short to give them any advantage for typical ground work for me. That being said, the service offered seems in line with what I would expect and a bargain compared to one off work estimates.
For those that do not understand, a typical "modern" bow bar, all types, is a hard tip bar that moves the cutting work surface of the bar to the tip which has been elongated to allow for a set length of cutters to be engaged. It is a pretty straight forward process and allows the saw operator to use the saw pointed down with a good bit of control, there is a set of rigid levers(pivots) that rest against the wood and serve as the guide. In theory reducing the amount of bending, lifting and fooling around needed to cut across a piece of wood that fits in the given range of the bow. If you watch videos of people bucking firewood with a typical bar you will see a lot of extra wacking off as people push and pull, wiggle and waggle the bar and chain through the log. Bow bar, set the pivot against the log and tilt the saw forward while letting it pull itself through the log. Work across the length of the log and then roll the log and work back finishing the cuts.
The typical bow bar mounted to an xl12 or similar sized saw is fairly short in overall length, 14-18", you have a saw with 20" typical bar and could comfortably cut wood on the ground without bending using only the tip of the bar you would want a bow bar that had a similar overall length with the cutting surface being 20" away from the front of the saw. Those bows are harder to find in good condition. Personally I would want one at least 24" in overall length, bigger hard tip bar needs a bigger engine. Usually only see clearing bars in those lengths and the cutting surface of a clearing bar is fairly small, typically smaller than 8" and 8" makes it useful for bucking 8" diameter logs or smaller.
If this thread continues people will talk about chains hitting the dirt. If you cannot cut wood on the ground without hitting the ground using a standard bar a bow bar is not for you.
Bow bars are simply another tool in the tool chest, some folks can use them some folks cannot, using them incorrectly raises the level of risk. Personally think that bucking with a bow bar that has chain gaurds and pivots is much safer than using a 24" typical bar without any guards but apparently lawyers know better.
Big old Homelites with bows were fairly common around here, the 925s and super xl12s were pretty nice setups. Clearing bars could be found on the Super EZs all the way through the 925s. Mccullochs not so much locally, 35s and such. Hardly ever see any Stihl or Husqs with bows.
Hope it works out for the fellow offering the service. If a person wanted a bow bar to use they can be hard to find in good useable condition. I would expect to pay hundreds of dollars for a good sized bow for the typical modern Stihl or Husqvarna if I found one.
There are some bars found on older saws that are more correctly referred to as bow bars that the working surface is still along the length of the bar and not at the tip. These were usually two man saw setups (heavy)with the main advantage being a significantly reduced height of the bar being passed through the wood being bucked thus reducing the potential for pinching a bar in the cut. Very seldom see these setups, if you ever get the opportunity to use one, take it.
For those that do not understand, a typical "modern" bow bar, all types, is a hard tip bar that moves the cutting work surface of the bar to the tip which has been elongated to allow for a set length of cutters to be engaged. It is a pretty straight forward process and allows the saw operator to use the saw pointed down with a good bit of control, there is a set of rigid levers(pivots) that rest against the wood and serve as the guide. In theory reducing the amount of bending, lifting and fooling around needed to cut across a piece of wood that fits in the given range of the bow. If you watch videos of people bucking firewood with a typical bar you will see a lot of extra wacking off as people push and pull, wiggle and waggle the bar and chain through the log. Bow bar, set the pivot against the log and tilt the saw forward while letting it pull itself through the log. Work across the length of the log and then roll the log and work back finishing the cuts.
The typical bow bar mounted to an xl12 or similar sized saw is fairly short in overall length, 14-18", you have a saw with 20" typical bar and could comfortably cut wood on the ground without bending using only the tip of the bar you would want a bow bar that had a similar overall length with the cutting surface being 20" away from the front of the saw. Those bows are harder to find in good condition. Personally I would want one at least 24" in overall length, bigger hard tip bar needs a bigger engine. Usually only see clearing bars in those lengths and the cutting surface of a clearing bar is fairly small, typically smaller than 8" and 8" makes it useful for bucking 8" diameter logs or smaller.
If this thread continues people will talk about chains hitting the dirt. If you cannot cut wood on the ground without hitting the ground using a standard bar a bow bar is not for you.
Bow bars are simply another tool in the tool chest, some folks can use them some folks cannot, using them incorrectly raises the level of risk. Personally think that bucking with a bow bar that has chain gaurds and pivots is much safer than using a 24" typical bar without any guards but apparently lawyers know better.
Big old Homelites with bows were fairly common around here, the 925s and super xl12s were pretty nice setups. Clearing bars could be found on the Super EZs all the way through the 925s. Mccullochs not so much locally, 35s and such. Hardly ever see any Stihl or Husqs with bows.
Hope it works out for the fellow offering the service. If a person wanted a bow bar to use they can be hard to find in good useable condition. I would expect to pay hundreds of dollars for a good sized bow for the typical modern Stihl or Husqvarna if I found one.
There are some bars found on older saws that are more correctly referred to as bow bars that the working surface is still along the length of the bar and not at the tip. These were usually two man saw setups (heavy)with the main advantage being a significantly reduced height of the bar being passed through the wood being bucked thus reducing the potential for pinching a bar in the cut. Very seldom see these setups, if you ever get the opportunity to use one, take it.
Guido Salvage
Supreme Saw Whoreder
I sold/traded these NOS clearing bows, several folks here got them.
Guido Salvage
Supreme Saw Whoreder
The main advantage of a bow is that the narrow band of metal is not prone to being pinched,
Bow Master
ArboristSite Lurker
I don't have to harden the rails after I weld them up with Stellite. And the areas not welded just get redressed with a sander, and I keep the temp low to not change the factory heat treat. I built a machine with a X/Y mill drill table and a fixed grinder to recut the slots. Again I have NEVER had one comeback to me defective. I do not mind answering your questions, but I have one, are any of you interested in my service of are you just curious. I will go one more The first person to send me a Bow to rebuild I will rebuild the bow as well as put New guards on it for $100 if the will leave Honest feed back to the other users of this site. AS I STAND BEHIND MY WORKMANSHIP. Here is a pic of the guard I had bent.
Justsaws
Addicted to ArboristSite
I have no need of the services. Hope it works out.
Welcome to the site. Was considering buying complete saw on TP a few weeks ago. Passed on it , but good to know if an auction find appears for me.
got anymore of those?
Do you sell the guards seperatly? A lot of time they are missing and are a needed item.
I myself, being a Poulan collector have many bow saws, which makes sense since Poulan was pretty much king of the bow saws back in the day.
Personally for a collector saw, the bows don't need to be tip top like new, long as they still have some of there hardsurfacing they are good enough for a saw that may or may not make just a few cuts a year. That said I picked up a pretty rare Remington Super 75 GB that came with a bow in bad shape. Being its a very rare collectable saw, and another correct part number Remington bow is near impossible to find, it would be worth it to get the original bow rebuilt to keep it all original.
I don't need any of your services at the moment, but if you don't mind, I'm going to PM you for some contact info to keep on hand for future reference.
This right here, I never understand it when I see someone set a bow up with a full chisel chain. I don't care how good you are, unless conditions are ideal, chances of touching the ground once in a while are pretty good, so a semi chisel or chipper chain is the only way to go on these.
I'm with Gary also, a XL12/3400 size saw is on the very bottom of the rung for power for a full size bow.
A reed valve 60cc is about the lowest direct drive and if you really want to cut, a 90cc gear drive slinging 1/2" chain is the way to go.
Guido Salvage
Supreme Saw Whoreder
Sorry, all those clearing bows are gone.
Bow Master
ArboristSite Lurker
Yes a full chisel chain is not Ideal for a bow but that is what most people want for the cutting speed. they don't realize that semi stays sharp longer.
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