grease for the roller bar thingee.....

Many moons ago...there were discussions about oil...and grease...etc. From what I understood, it was agreed upon that using grease for the roller bar thingee through the tiny hole at the end of the bar....did as much harm as good....introducing gunk as well as the grease. So I quit. Didn't mind a bit.

Did I understand correctly?

Che
(my first, but not last, chainsaw question of the new season)

I always greased them in the past, but I have since quit and have noticed no decrease in service life. As long as you are using a good bar oil you will be fine.

I only grease tips if I am going to store the bar for long periods of time. There is no sense in greasing a tip that your using on a daily basis. When your using a bar there is plenty of oil coming out from the oiler to keep your bar and tip lubed..............I always figured the hot oil would just melt away the grease anyway..............just my thoughts, Wade

I don't know if it helps or no, but I always grease at least once a day, and usually at every fill if I'm near the ride.

So you say it doesn't help? Oh well, its my habit, and while it might be easier to break than smoking and drinking, I need to retain at least one vice.

My former dealer told me once that a laminated bar should last a lot longer than they do, except for the fact that nobody ever greases the tips. To prove it, he showed me a couple out of his trash that had split at the tip, while the rails still looked as if there was some more life left in them.

When I was in school I took down a big boxelder for my landlady and a silver cottonwood for her brother. The brother had a Homelite 330, which was given to me as payment for the work (plus a free month's rent). I used that crappy saw with it's cheap laminated bar hard for a couple of years undercutting licensed tree surgeons and selling firewood, etc. I used up about a dozen chains and 3 or 4 sprockets, but the bar was still serviceable when the motor would hardly run for low compression any more.

Yes, I draw-filed the rails a few times, and the sprocket teeth were like stilettoes, but it still cut fairly straight. I greased constantly, partly to help compensate for the wimpy oiler Homelite put on those saws. But the bar held up good, and I blame it on greasing!

Greasing the nose comes from the old days when cutters were using the external roller nose style bars ( still popular on hotsaws ) and oilers on the saws themselves really bit the big one. It really did help those old bars. The rule of thumb an old timber cutter/saw shop owner told me is, if you do grease your bar, be religious about. If you only do it once in a while ( every three days or so ), then forget it.

I`ve always greased the tips until recently and I have made a few observations.

#1 Stihl laminated bars with ungreaseable tips are junk. I`ve never seen more tip problems in all my life. I unfortunately picked up two small Stihls with these bars this year and they were nothing but grief until they had enough hours on them to loosen up a bit. Seemed like I`d have to rev the saw after every cut to clean them out and relube them or I would expect the chain to bind on the next cut. I think being able to grease them would be a plus.

#2 Husky laminated bars aren`t much better but atleast you can grease them.

#3 For many years I`ve greased the tips throughout the day and at the end of the day. Many times I`ve seen water displaced from the tip by the fresh grease.

#4 I`ve never had to replace a tip that I didn`t somehow break. That is changing with these current laminated bars but of course they will be thrown away and replaced with Oregon or Windsor bars that you can grease when they fail completely. This will be long before they would have been scrapped due to rail wear I`m sure.

Grease and grease guns are cheap, why not?

Russ

Never used grease and one stihl bar has gone through lot’s of dirt. Lucky? Probably but I use heavy bar oil as much as possible along with a bit of this stuff.

Flexo

Hi Rob
Not all Stihl bars are junk, just seems that the recent laminates are.

I`m curious to know what you guys are running for bar oil because my Stihl bars are always much drier than my Husky bars.

Russ

Hmmm.... I only have running one bar with the lubrijet holes. Stangely enough it has oiled great and never clogged. I was thinking that Oregon's "improvement" actually IS. I wonder if performance depends upon oil output pressure or something?

wonder if performance depends upon oil output pressure or

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Since pressure is resistance to flow. I would say you are getting less oil with these small oil hole bars.

Russ, I think you may be right, but my dealer still has old stock of the Germany bars which are good (so far). I use Stihl heavy oil by the way, and I do enlarge the oil holes and chamfer them, plus on bars 25" or longer I will grind a pocket inside the rail to aid lubrication.

Logical Ben but Oregon claims superior performance saying that it puts the oil in the right place and resists clogging.-I can't claim that it doesn't restrict oil flow-of course it does- but it has oiled adequately(nice oily chain that will sling when you check it) and hasn't clogged up. Sooooo..... if oiler output is adequate/oil pressure is sufficient to shoot the goo through the little hole then IT WORKS! Since Brian has had problems I wonder if it is an alignment issue or inadequate output pressure for his saw to be compatible with the lubrijet bar? FWIW I've run that bar on a Jonsered 590 and a Dolmar 120 si. Both have adjustable oilers. The Jonsey is turned all the way up. The Dolmar is turned down some since it puts out oil like an oilwell blowout!

but my dealer still has old stock of the Germany

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Thats funny you mention that. Stihl Canada is selling stihl branded oregon powermatch bars for double the price of a standard powermatch. The us still has the German made rsn bars which are better than oregons IMO.

Thank-you!

I will probably continue to not use the grease then, I'm pretty religious about keeping the bar oil topped up, even set on the slowest rate...it's still plenty and doesn't run out before the gas.

It's warmed up here in Kentucky...I'm going to eek out another week (or two) of digging, then I'll be out in the woods again.

Che

I dislike the small angled oil feed holes. they usually plug up more often. The is also some customer resistance to buying them.

I always grease the tips of my bars every time I fuel the saws. Some of you guys may be right in saying that it doesn't do much good. But when you're in the habit it only takes a few seconds. A bar typically lasts me about 200 face cords of firewood or so. I use only still bars with non-replacable tips.

I find that windsor bars don't last as long before I need to have them grinded because they are no longer cutting straight. I guess it doesn't really matter either way if you grease or not.

Originally posted by Chainsaw_Maniac
[

I find that windsor bars don't last as long before I need to have them grinded because they are no longer cutting straight. . [/B]

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Why are your bars taking more wear on one side. Is it only Windsor bars.

Frank

I use only still bars with non-replacable tips

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Thats why your getting only 200 face cord out of a bar. Stihl laminated bars(and lams in general) are not to hot. The steel used to make them is not up to the quality of a solid, rsn bar. Since you are in canada and can not get German made Stihl bars I would use a Windsor rsn. I started using them after having a problem with a oregon. I found them to have much harder rails than a oregon and a better tip attachment system as well. Keep in mind that most stihl bars sold in Canada are oregons. The exception tot his is rsn bars over 28". Also if you are cutting crooked and the bar is worn uneaven it something wrong with your chain.

Using synthetic bar oil would cure that!!

It would also make the chain sharper, cut smoother and faster,
cause the smaller even molecules are slickier, I took a class
in Chemistry once, almost passed it, so I know..
If I can help any of you all here, let me know.

A higher octane fuel would make the chain cut straight too, it
involves Calculus that you all would not understand, but take
my word for it, because I know all of this....
e=mc 2 Because in Ky., all is relative.

Or "All are relative"......