Do current chain saws claim a bar length 2" longer than measured?

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MrCreosote

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I picked up a nice little Craftsman "16inch" chainsaw that has a lots of nice features including sharp metal dogs which really surprised me. Well this "16in" saw measures 14 inches. I have an old all metal Craftsman electric 14 incher that measures 14 inches. And a cheap all plastic WEN with just about every bolt hole in the case split and cracked - it works hard, good gears - and even it measures 13.5 inches.

So all these current "18 inch" electrics (Oregon, Workz, etc.) do they measure 16 inches???
 
Must have been made by someones wife.


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MrCreosote said:
So all these current "18 inch" electrics (Oregon, Workz, etc.) do they measure 16 inches???
Click to expand...
A called length 18 inch bar in the chain type for these would generally be 61 or 62 drive links. Larger chain the loop length is a bit longer for called length 18" I doubt it has any bearing on electric vs gas vs hydraulic. Without a crankshaft the sprocket could be put closer to the bucking spike making the electric a bit closer usable vs called.
 
Bar length is ‘nominal’ - like a ‘2 X 4’, or a ‘foot long’ hotdog. It is normally measured from the front of the case to the tip of the bar. Anything from 15” to 17” might be called ‘16-inches’, although, companies like Sears usually try to make the saw seem larger by rounding up to the next ‘size’.

Does your new saw have the original bar?

Philbert
 
A saw is really known by it's powerhead name and/or model #. Eg: Poulan 2150 is the saw...it can wear a 14", 16" or 18" bar. Like Philbert says, the effective bar length is measured case to bar tip. So, a 16" bar measures 18-19" when off the saw. A cringing and swooning scenario...."My Stihl doesn't run" "What's the model #? "18 inches" "AIEEEEEEAAAHHHH"
 
The bar length identifying a chainsaw is as old as chainsaws existed, hear it way too often. As already posted, bar length is nominal at best and chain driver count changes almost as often. Don`t ask me how many drivers a chain needs for a 20" bar if you don`t know the maker of the bar or what model of saw you own, 20" bar on a green Poulan don`t cut it.
 
The Sears saw has a bar with big letters (hardly used) "Craftsman 16". The reason for my post is that since I've got 6 old saws, not one with a chain brake, both gas and electric and they all measure as advertised, I thought that maybe "nowadays" chain saw manufacturers started lying about their specs like audio amplifier specs all went to crap a few decades ago. (With amps, it was so bad the FTC stepped in and put an end to that practice.) And all of "this" because I was hoping to buy an 18 inch as measured electric chainsaw. Stihl makes a 20" which I'm sure measures 20 but 4x what I'm willing to spend for around home.
 
chainsaws like dudes, have been adding inches to their bars this since they first originated. I have an old 250 mac, with 1/2" chain, and it's 1.5" shorter than claimed.
The milwaukee 120v electric saw I have from the 1970's measures 2 inches less, and uses standard oregon bars (the bar on it is original), the bar just sits farther back in the case.
It's not a new thing IMO, but depends on manufacturers.
 
If it is all over the place, I don't think I've ever noticed a "measured bar test" when reading reviews on these corded saws. I guess I'll just have to get those numbers myself. But I wouldn't be a bit surprised these cheap $100 "18in" saws are all 2" short. I'll bet the $300 Stihl 20 is a 20.
 
I have several corded, electric chainsaws. I like them, but I don’t obsess over the bar length. As long as it is long enough to cut the wood I am cutting.

I do pay attention to the amperage: the 14A and 15A saws cut differently than the 7A saws.

The Craftsman electric saws I have were made by Poulan. Later ones made by some other company.

Philbert
 
No none of the above. It's for when you ask what size saw do you have, they say 20 inch. Sounds like a bigger saw than 14,15,15.5,16,17, 18,18.5 inch saw. :yes::happy:
 
I just went to L and HD just to see the "state" of saw length. The only manu that was 100% accurate was Homelite and they had 2 electric saws @ HD I believe. Echo shorts you about 1 inch. Husky shorts 2" (I'm starting to forget!) very disappointing. Craftsman was 100% on one model -1" on 2 others. Even the big electrics were -1 and -2 inches. Dewalt -1 inch. So ONLY 100% manu was Homelite. I was eyeing up those $100 18" models and I'll bet they are all playing the -2" game: BIG saw for NO money. I'm going on Amazon and ask sellers what cutting length is on those 18's.
 
pioneerguy600 said:
You can get a Stihl for $300. I am on my way.
Click to expand...
I got a 20 inch Stihl for free, all it needed was a fuel line/carb kit. It's fresh enough it still has all the machine marks on the piston. Another time I got a 24 inch Stihl that didn't need anything for $100, still had the crosshatching in the cylinder. I put a new set of rings in it because the piston had a tiny smear and made it a 36 inch Stihl and daily used it for awhile. The first was an 026, the second was an 045 Super.
 
Philbert said:
Bar length is ‘nominal’ - like a ‘2 X 4’, or a ‘foot long’ hotdog. It is normally measured from the front of the case to the tip of the bar. Anything from 15” to 17” might be called ‘16-inches’, although, companies like Sears usually try to make the saw seem larger by rounding up to the next ‘size’.

Does your new saw have the original bar?

Philbert
Click to expand...

Fast food place I worked at a teen sold footlong hotdogs. They were 10-11" I think.
Was looking at a menu recently and it's now called long hotdog.
They had someone sue over it.
 

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