d176 Guide Bars

[heyduke]

I visited Bailey's once when I was in Sacramento for work. Thought I would save all those shipping charges, but got smacked with California sales tax that came out about the same.

Still glad that I got to visit.

when i lived in the north bay, we used to take the truck up to laytonville before baileys moved to sak-a-tomatoes, once bought a pallet of bar oil, $4 dollars/gal and a 3120, got to meet greg and pick his brain. there's a great beer-pub on the way. i hear some people put baileys down, but if you're trying to run a tree business and working six days a week, they're a godsend. whatever you need shows up in a big cardboard box in front the shop while you're working. it's cheaper than driving into town.

 

[heyduke]

okay, as promised here's the youtube vid. the tsc bar and chain and the redmax clone. to all my chinese friends and the round-eyed ones too. gung hey fat choy! it's the first day of the lunar new year. peace and prosperity to all.

 

[MikeSaws587]

I visited Bailey's once when I was in Sacramento for work. Thought I would save all those shipping charges, but got smacked with California sales tax that came out about the same.

Still glad that I got to visit.


I think that Tri-Link does make the PowerCare (Home Depot), Forester, Silver Streak, and other chains. I believe that I have seen each of these with the '000' markings. But it is possible that these companies use different vendors at different times?

I don't know about the guide bars - these seem much easier to make, and could be made by almost any metal stamping company, especially if quality is secondary to price.

I guess that this is where one needs to have some confidence in a brand name, unless they have specific knowledge about a product (e.g. ' these bars were made by Cannon for 'abc company''). I have seen that on some Bailey's close-outs ('made by Carlton, but labeled 'xyz''). I heard that Total brand bars were also contracted out to different companies over the years.

Philbert

These companies switch all the time. Back in the day GB was making the Forester bars, along with GB, Frost Bite, and some OEM business. Bar and chain companies in Asia are all over the place. Oregon makes "some" of the Woodland Pro chain, some of the bars come from Taiwan. TriLink makes a ton of chain a year and some of it is OEM business. Oregon and Stihl have plants in China. Husqvarna was looking at buying a chain company in China before they opened their own plant. Truth be told, most people shop their bar/chain business around pretty regularly. Compared to some of the other Asian chain companies, TriLink is the gold standard. I've seen China chain where the cutters different in length left-right almost 1mm. E&S is a pretty big company in China too. They usually exhibit in Louisville at the GIE show each year. The chain had to be ran through a sharpener to even the cutter lengths out too before you could even use it. Typically its not hard to laser cut a bar. Hardening the rails and nose is another story, especially when these fellas don't understand the basic concepts of bar and chain anyway. Its a brave new world out there.

 

[Philbert]

How about 'Laser' brand chain -seen a bunch of that on eBay recently. Anybody familiar with that brand?

Thanks.

Philbert

 

[heyduke]

These companies switch all the time. Back in the day GB was making the Forester bars, along with GB, Frost Bite, and some OEM business. Bar and chain companies in Asia are all over the place. Oregon makes "some" of the Woodland Pro chain, some of the bars come from Taiwan. TriLink makes a ton of chain a year and some of it is OEM business. Oregon and Stihl have plants in China. Husqvarna was looking at buying a chain company in China before they opened their own plant. Truth be told, most people shop their bar/chain business around pretty regularly. Compared to some of the other Asian chain companies, TriLink is the gold standard. I've seen China chain where the cutters different in length left-right almost 1mm. E&S is a pretty big company in China too. They usually exhibit in Louisville at the GIE show each year. The chain had to be ran through a sharpener to even the cutter lengths out too before you could even use it. Typically its not hard to laser cut a bar. Hardening the rails and nose is another story, especially when these fellas don't understand the basic concepts of bar and chain anyway. Its a brave new world out there.

i've encountered tri-link once before. i had a new loop, i think it was .325 81dl, and i wanted to shorten it. after breaking the chain i couldn't find a preset that would fit it. there probably is one but finding it would have required some trial and error and i lost interest. in this instance, which is a 3/8"x.050, 70dl, before i tested it by cutting cookies (see the vid above) i touched it up with a timberline sharpener. it didn't look too bad but i knew i could make it better. with a timberline you know if there is even a slight variation in top plate lengths and there was some but nothing excessive. i miked the top plates first and they were close to equal length. they were .6mm longer than my oregon chain, which is good for one more sharpening. some claim that the steel quality causes them to dull faster but all these claims that i've read are from guys who've never used tri-link chain. saying that something is "garbage" because it is made in china is wrong, in my opinion. that said, i'll continue to buy my chain by the roll, oregon or woodlandpro from baileys, force of habit.

 

[MikeSaws587]

Bars are ok, or used to be. Haven't seen any for awhile. Hard to beat the big names in chain for quality

i've encountered tri-link once before. i had a new loop, i think it was .325 81dl, and i wanted to shorten it. after breaking the chain i couldn't find a preset that would fit it. there probably is one but finding it would have required some trial and error and i lost interest. in this instance, which is a 3/8"x.050, 70dl, before i tested it by cutting cookies (see the vid above) i touched it up with a timberline sharpener. it didn't look too bad but i knew i could make it better. with a timberline you know if there is even a slight variation in top plate lengths and there was some but nothing excessive. i miked the top plates first and they were close to equal length. they were .6mm longer than my oregon chain, which is good for one more sharpening. some claim that the steel quality causes them to dull faster but all these claims that i've read are from guys who've never used tri-link chain. saying that something is "garbage" because it is made in china is wrong, in my opinion. that said, i'll continue to buy my chain by the roll, oregon or woodlandpro from baileys, force of habit.

Agree completely. Made in China isn't as evil as it used to be.

 

[heyduke]

Bars are ok, or used to be. Haven't seen any for awhile. Hard to beat the big names in chain for quality

Agree completely. Made in China isn't as evil as it used to be.

lately, the best buys i've seen on bars has been at my local stihl dealer, 20" bars for around $40 - $50, depending on whether you get laminated or solid. that comes out cheaper than baileys with shipping. problem is that i don't run many stihls, mostly huskys.

 

[SawTroll]

....

Made in China isn't as evil as it used to be.

I don't agree at all, regarding chainsaw related items - unless it is about Zama carbs.

Some of them are of course able to make quality items, it is just that they mostly don't care to do so, and proper quality control is missing - and most can't anyway.

 

[MikeSaws587]

I don't agree at all, regarding chainsaw related items - unless it is about Zama carbs.

They are able to make quality items, it is just that they mostly don't care to do so.

For sure. If they have some outside control telling them what to do, it's much better than a guy that just builds a factory because he thinks he knows how to make something. Find some of the Stihl/Husqvarna part suppliers in China and think about how they can ship you a carb, or handle bar or something similar to your door for 10 or 20 bucks. They're sure not losing money on anything. You can buy you a near complete 660 crankcase copy for maybe 150 bucks, and cylinders for $15-20. But quality control just doesn't exist in most places.

 

[Jon1212]

I'll buy some Chinese manufactured items, but not pet products, kids toys, or cookware. For obvious reasons.

 

[heyduke]

I'll buy some Chinese manufactured items, but not pet products, kids toys, or cookware. For obvious reasons.

If you use any prescription drugs, you may be purchasing chinese manufactured items, or they may be from india or who knows where. we don't make them here any more.

 

[Jon1212]

Larry,

You should have a parcel from Utah in your PO Box, today.

 

[heyduke]

Larry,

You should have a parcel from Utah in your PO Box, today.

thanks jon, i'll go check in a few minutes.

 

[Jon1212]

thanks jon, i'll go check in a few minutes.

Let me know if you need help lifting it, and I'll drive over to help......

 

[heyduke]

Let me know if you need help lifting it, and I'll drive over to help......

View attachment 408268

yeah, i felt sorry for the chaparita who had to fetch it from the back of the p.o. she didn't complain though. i mounted one 20" on a redmax 621 that had been sporting a 24" bar. i'll put the 16" on a poulan 3400 (which is a musical instrument as well as a saw) and the other 20" on a chinese redmax clone. thanks, i'm in heaven. i'll shoot you compensation tomorrow morning.

 

[Chris-PA]

I still have not bought one of these combos, but I will the next time I get to TSC. The old Oregon bar I got on my Dad's old McCulloch finally had to be retired - I had fixed it up the best I could, but he had run it too much with the bad oiler on that saw and it was beat. Eventually a chunk cracked out just behind the nose sprocket where the chain comes back to the bar, matching a similar divot on the other side.

I really needed a 20" on the clone yesterday, and the only other one I had was the bar that came on that old McCinderblock. It's a D176 mount I guess, but it lacks the extra oiler holes needed here. So I added them:

I had no trouble with HSS bits. I actually quite like the shape of these bars, which are fatter in the middle, and they have a large nose sprocket. It was a little tight with a 70DL chain but not a problem to install. It would certainly work with 71DL or possibly even 72DL. It oiled just fine, and I had to turn it down a little.


That's TriLink full chisel from TSC - cuts great.

 

[BGE541]

I bought a Windsor D176 20" for $38, not bad for a sprocket nose bar, glad you guys are finding alternate sources, always a good idea.

 

[Chris-PA]

I bought a Windsor D176 20" for $38, not bad for a sprocket nose bar, glad you guys are finding alternate sources, always a good idea.

Where did you get it? Or was it a one-off private sale?

 

[heyduke]

I still have not bought one of these combos, but I will the next time I get to TSC. The old Oregon bar I got on my Dad's old McCulloch finally had to be retired - I had fixed it up the best I could, but he had run it too much with the bad oiler on that saw and it was beat. Eventually a chunk cracked out just behind the nose sprocket where the chain comes back to the bar, matching a similar divot on the other side.

I really needed a 20" on the clone yesterday, and the only other one I had was the bar that came on that old McCinderblock. It's a D176 mount I guess, but it lacks the extra oiler holes needed here. So I added them:
View attachment 435449
I had no trouble with HSS bits. I actually quite like the shape of these bars, which are fatter in the middle, and they have a large nose sprocket. It was a little tight with a 70DL chain but not a problem to install. It would certainly work with 71DL or possibly even 72DL. It oiled just fine, and I had to turn it down a little.

View attachment 435450
That's TriLink full chisel from TSC - cuts great.

i like the look of that bar, old school. the tsc bars are skinny. i think that's a low-kickback thing. i'm pretty sure those mccullochs, like the 610, call for a d176 bar. why it has no oil hole is curious. the bar i got at tsc came with a 70dl tri-link chain. it has no low kick-back garbage, seems a little heavier that the oregon chain i use, and after touching it with my timberline, it cuts very well and holds it edge as long as you keep it out of mother earth.

regarding the saw, like yours, my oil pump supply line failed at the inlet to the pump last saturday, big mess. i measured the od at 6mm and found a 5.7mm od fuel line at my stihl dealer. it's oiling well now but installing it was a lot of bother. the nipples on the pump and filter are too fat for that size tubing.

i used the saw this week for a russian olive removal. it performed well but a tank of fuel doesn't last long. that saw is growing on me.

 

[BGE541]

Where did you get it? Or was it a one-off private sale?

Think one off but I have seen more on since then... also got 20" Oregon D176 with 5 LGX chains for $100...