Titanium bars

[Stihl 041S]

Okay, they aren't Ti,so what % and to
what good?
Rob

 

[Wood Junkie]

opcorn: opcorn: opcorn:

 

[huskydave]

Ive heard they are way better than Stihl bars.

 

[Nicholas]

Spend the extra money and get a good Cannon bar. Guide bars don't get any better than those.

Nick G.

 

[klickitatsacket]

Spend the extra money and get a good Cannon bar. Guide bars don't get any better than those.

Nick G.

I completely disagree. I have ran both and have many pro customers that have ran both. The GB bars are a titanium alloy mixed into the steel not enough that you would notice a weight difference. The GB bars seem soft at very first but act much like stainless steal in how it work hardens. You will get a slight edge roll over and then it quits as it hardens (just take a flat file and knock the edges off the first time and that is it). Then the rails are as tough as anything out there and then some. I have a couple Mexican thinning crews that come in and will replace tips as many as 4 and 5 times before the rails need to be ground.

The rails are as hard as cannon but tougher. Where a cannon or stihl will chip or crack if bent too far and straightened or pinched badly; the GB Titaniums will go back to shape with out cracking. Also at about 40% cheaper than a cannon it is by far the best deal going.

I had a cutter try a 32" GB Titanium bar and on the first day he had an Alder barber chair on him and it hooked the chain ripping it out of his hand and slammming his saw against another tree 20' away bending the bar at a 45 degree angle. He took a 4 lb. hammer and straightened it out on a stump on the landing. The rails did not chip or crack and that night he came in and bought 7 more bars so that the other 2 guys working for him could run the GB bars. In 3 years he has only bought 4 more bars from me. This is 2 fallers and a chaser working full time.

The one complaint that I have had form fallers is that on bars 36" and over they do seem to have a lot of flex and prefer the cannon over the GB becasue it is stiffer.

 

[brncreeper]

I completely disagree. I have ran both and have many pro customers that have ran both. The GB bars are a titanium alloy mixed into the steel not enough that you would notice a weight difference. The GB bars seem soft at very first but act much like stainless steal in how it work hardens. You will get a slight edge roll over and then it quits as it hardens (just take a flat file and knock the edges off the first time and that is it). Then the rails are as tough as anything out there and then some. I have a couple Mexican thinning crews that come in and will replace tips as many as 4 and 5 times before the rails need to be ground.

The rails are as hard as cannon but tougher. Where a cannon or stihl will chip or crack if bent too far and straightened or pinched badly; the GB Titaniums will go back to shape with out cracking. Also at about 40% cheaper than a cannon it is by far the best deal going.

I had a cutter try a 32" GB Titanium bar and on the first day he had an Alder barber chair on him and it hooked the chain ripping it out of his hand and slammming his saw against another tree 20' away bending the bar at a 45 degree angle. He took a 4 lb. hammer and straightened it out on a stump on the landing. The rails did not chip or crack and that night he came in and bought 7 more bars so that the other 2 guys working for him could run the GB bars. In 3 years he has only bought 4 more bars from me. This is 2 fallers and a chaser working full time.

The one complaint that I have had form fallers is that on bars 36" and over they do seem to have a lot of flex and prefer the cannon over the GB becasue it is stiffer.

I agree. A 36" Cannon is also much stiffer than a 36" Oregon.

 

[windthrown]

GB Titanium bars (and Pro-Top tips) are made with steel/titanium alloy. I do not know the ratio. They are also hardened to CN40 specifications during hardening, where they are injected with carbon nitride, which GB claims makes for the hardest-wearing bar rails in the world. CuttinScott claims that they (GB Ti bars) outlast Oregon and Windsor bars 4:1 (in his esteemed experience, posted here on AS; note that he also sells them).

My engineering texts are all in storage, or I could tell you what the CN-40 standard is. But that will not tell you the titanium ratio to steel in the GB bars. My guess is that it is a low percentage, like carbon in steel. But the effects can be quite dramatic on hardness and abrasion resistance in the various studies that I read dealing with titanium/steel alloys.

 

[Stihl 041S]

Just woke up. This bar info is great, it makes sense now, the workhardening(coining,brinelling)
is a Ti trait, S R-71s got stronger each fljght. Again, thanks.
Rob

 

[ciscoguy01]

Tit

I swear by them w/out question after the things I've done to mine... Try dragging on one with a vehicle to get it out of a pinch and see how they hold up with the average bar... hehehehehehehe

eh?

Only thing i've never done a single thing to any of mine except cleaning the grooves...

 

[2dogs]

What do you guys think of the Oregon reduced weight bar? I was thinking of getting a 42" for my 660.

 

[Jacob J.]

I haven't seen the reduced weight 42" bars yet, are they available?

 

[Erick]

......Try dragging on one with a vehicle to get it out of a pinch and see how they hold up with the average bar... hehehehehehehe.......

. . .:jawdrop:. . .:jawdrop:. . .:jawdrop:. . .:jawdrop:. . .:jawdrop:. . .

Man I hope the saw was not still attached.

and there are soooo many other ways to recover a stuck bar.

 

[Crofter]

The titanium content sure as heck wont affect the weight! I believe I have read around 1/4 of one percent. It affects the hardening ability and grain structure but in a very similar way to vanadium or columbium so it is no where the magic bullet that it gets claim for. I seriously doubt the testability of any claims of 3 or 4 times the wear resistance of other pro quality bars. If it was that good at reducing wear it would be so universally used, touted and tested for other wear applications that we wouldnt be having this discussion about whether it is or is not that much a hero. Since it is not a patented alloy, all the other bar manufacturers have equal access to using it. Stihl, Cannon, Oregon, etc. are not that asleep at the switch! I have GB bars but they need touching up from time to time same as any.

 

[bwalker]

The GB bars are pretty good though the tips are a bit weak. The one problem I noticed with them is when cutting in deep snow the area directly behind the tip likes to chip. Chain not being ran loose either.
In the summer this issue never manifests itself, and either do the tip failures.
With that said I have went back to using Oregon powermatches on Huskys and Stihl bars on Stihls. They are much cheaper and the last quit awhile if you take care of them. Plus they are available locally.

 

[cuttinscott]

GB Titanium bars
CuttinScott claims that they (GB Ti bars) outlast Oregon and Windsor bars 4:1 (in his esteemed experience, posted here on AS; note that he also sells them).

.

That being said my store sells 3-4 times more Oregon Bars than GB LOL


Scott

 

[B_Turner]

I haven't seen the reduced weight 42" bars yet, are they available?

I don't think they are available, but if they were they would be very whippy.

 

[SawTroll]

Spend the extra money and get a good Cannon bar. Guide bars don't get any better than those.

Nick G.

Not heavier either....