Bar Quality:Best Low profile (LP) bars for Dolmar/Makita

[redhawk23]

Hi,

What are the highest quality 16” LP bars available for a Dolmar 421/Makita 4300?
Should I assume the more rivets a bar has in the nose the more durable the bar is?
What else is there to go on?

Thanks

 

[Franny K]

The 7 tooth nose bars seem to have one rather large rivet. The nine tooth noses seem to have a place for 4 rivets, sometimes the side of the square is parallell with the side of the bar and sometimes the corners of the square are in line with the length of the bar. In the second case often the rear most rivet is omitted presumably so a guard for the tip could be added. The three and four rivet ones will have a larger circle with more rollers.

What do you want? A solid bar with a machined slot will fit the drive links better in my experience. Agree? Or is low weight of more importance? That would be GB Or Cannon if they have one in the desired length.

As for "highest quality" I have some solid stellite tipped hard nose bars with decent sized nose radius that I think are of quality at least matching anything else. They probably were or are available with the mount in question here but mine have had minor mods because they were ideally for something else.

 

[redhawk23]

Thanks for the information, it looks like Cannon will have something different and better than the WoodlandPros I’ve been abusing.

Update: If the website is correct Cannon only has one LP bar but it is .370 pitch and is for 61 drive links. Will that work? My bar is .375 pitch and 56 drive links.

Will a solid nose put up with being pinched more than a sprocket nose? Is there a downside to a solid nose? Having a replaceable nose on either seems like a good thing.

 

[Franny K]

3/8 chain isn't 0.375" pitch. 1640 drive links per 100 feet. 0.367 might be it. 61 drive links is a common Stihl length. Brand x is 62. called length 18"

I brought up the hard nose because they can be made with quality materials.

 

[redhawk23]

I'd like to try a hard nose, no moving parts, no exposed bearings. Oh, I thought .375 was 3/8 in decimal form! The numbers for my bar is 3/8LP .050 and 56 drive links.

 

[Franny K]

I found two laminated bars in that mount that I feel are pretty high quality. Getting the Sugi hara one might be hard, If you buy an Echo 361P you get the Oregon pro91 bar repainted.

The other picture is what I like this week. There is a 16 inch version of the GB one on ebay right now in your mount. Unfortunately, they have the 7 tooth noses. Same name, maybe one with the 9 tooth nose will show up. The one in the picture is longer. And the total one counts as 16 inch so I put it here as a high quality with a nose size large enough for my current desires. It is 58 dl because they intended it to fit 66 drive links of .325.

 

[Bob Hedgecutter]

Quality?
1: Cannon
2: GB (or Stihl bars if applicable)
3: Tsu Mura
4: German made Carlton
5: Sugi Hara.

They would be my quality top 5 in that order, if availability and cost were not a factor.

 

[redhawk23]

What does the number of teeth in the nose matter? Oregon has a pro-lite with 6 teeth.

I have an email on which Cannons fit my saw but I haven’t deciphered it yet, confusingly written.

Thanks for the suggestions

 

[Lawless]

What does the number of teeth in the nose matter? Oregon has a pro-lite with 6 teeth.

Roughly, it translates to the size of the bar nose. A fatter nose necessarily has more teeth/larger sprocket.

 

[Franny K]

What does the number of teeth in the nose matter? Oregon has a pro-lite with 6 teeth

Use one much and the 7 tooth nose gets wear faster where the chain leaves the nose sprocket. The # of barrel like rollers is more on the larger nose sprocket.

For 3/8lp it is pro 91 like I pictured, or double guard code sd 7 tooth nose. 6 is the drive sprocket. Old nomenclature.

If anyone has a similar chart for what the current owners of Oregon products bar code means please post. It is plenty confusing in oregon it is pro 91 but when it gets painted with echo they (Echo) call it pro lite if I recall correctly
.

I have an email on which Cannons fit my saw but I haven’t deciphered it yet, confusingly written.

I believe Cannon uses a combination mount. 041, 095, and the 3005 Stihl which I think is 074.

 

[redhawk23]

I think pinches are killing my bar noses, I’m burning through bars, does anyone make a replaceable tip bar for a Dolmar 421?

 

[Bob Hedgecutter]

I think pinches are killing my bar noses, I’m burning through bars, does anyone make a replaceable tip bar for a Dolmar 421?

Be cheaper to learn about tension and compression- and buy a couple of plastic wedges.

 

[redhawk23]

Thanks

 

[redhawk23]

Ruined/wore out a couple more woodland pro bars and not by pinching or plunge cutting.

The Makita ea4300 supposedly has a professional build quality but a professional bar for it isn’t readily available. I’m back to trying to figure our which cannon bar will work for tbe saw with stock chains.

 

[Franny K]

I just happened to mount a replaceable nose Oregon bar lately. 160xxxk041 It is not 3/8lp but .325.

GB has replaceable noses in 3/8lp

When Dolmar was the branding they used a 3 letter model ie 421 where the true "pro" used a 4 digit model number. The plastic clutch cover which is also the chain catcher makes it iffy on the pro level. It is inboard clutch with the chain adjuster in the body of the saw. Like Stihl most of them anyway.

It is a common bar mount and the small mount husky and 3005 mount Stihl can be made to work. Cannon uses a combination mount last I checked.

Oregon has moved on to the aluminum core glued together bars as their upper tier in this chain type. They still seem to make the pro 91 or pro lite for Echo to put on the 361P.

Might consider moving up to .325 chain if you are having such problems.

 

[redhawk23]

The plastic chain catcher doesn’t bother me, it does it’s job, and when it finally breaks you can get a new cover if you want to. The spur sprocket it comes with is not a professional feature either.

I cut down 20” dbh trees with no problem, I rarely use my bigger heavier saw. Does anyone else make a professional 40cc saw? It’s a nice light saw.

.325? I’ll have to think about that in the future. I’m looking for a Cannon now.

 

[Franny K]

Does anyone else make a professional 40cc saw?

42, 43cc you have your Makita and Husqvarna 543 Stihl has a 42cc "pro" but not for our market. Echo might have something around 39cc they don't bring here....

 

[redhawk23]

I just happened to mount a replaceable nose Oregon bar lately. 160xxxk041 It is not 3/8lp but .325.

GB has replaceable noses in 3/8lp

When Dolmar was the branding they used a 3 letter model ie 421 where the true "pro" used a 4 digit model number. The plastic clutch cover which is also the chain catcher makes it iffy on the pro level. It is inboard clutch with the chain adjuster in the body of the saw. Like Stihl most of them anyway.

It is a common bar mount and the small mount husky and 3005 mount Stihl can be made to work. Cannon uses a combination mount last I checked.

Oregon has moved on to the aluminum core glued together bars as their upper tier in this chain type. They still seem to make the pro 91 or pro lite for Echo to put on the 361P.

Might consider moving up to .325 chain if you are having such problems.View attachment 1058537

No GB bars for my saw

 

[501Maico]

I recently upgraded my Makita 4300 bar but haven't installed it yet because I still have some meat on the 3/8 LP chain. Found that I had to change to a .325 narrow kerf to get better bars. I don't think it would be wise to run a standard .325 on these saws. Dolmar 5105 clutch hub, shim, and 7 tooth rim sprocket. I went with an Oregon Speedcut K095 mount and confirmed that the oil holes don't need to be modified to work on the 4300. There are some YouTube videos and threads on this and other forums that gave me the idea.
If you go with a Speedcut be aware that Oregon discontinued their wider bars. The one I received had a 10 tooth nose, which is better than stock and I kept it, but looked smaller than the bar on the YouTube videos. I contacted the guy and he said his Speedcut had a 13 tooth nose sprocket. I found lots of 13 tooth bars on Ebay with Husky X-cut chains for a decent price and bought there. I also went with an 18" bar to get a full 16" of cut. my 4300 eats up 2" of bar with a stock dog.
I too find that the Makita is my favorite saw and grab it whenever I can. I wanted a Stihl 241 real bad but finally realized that I already had one.

 

[redhawk23]

Good information, you apparently were burning through bars like I am