Doing my PM's and was wondering about the chainsaw bar

[No.15]

I was doing some maintenance on my chainsaws and it occurred to me that the bar is a wear item.
When inspecting the saw what should I look for that would indicate the bar is needing to be replaced? Or is it pretty obvious when it does need replacing?
I have Echo saws, should I stick with oem bars or are there good aftermarket ones?

 

[irhunter]

Here you go:

https://www.madsens1.com/copy-of-how-a-cutter-tooth-works
There are many fine AM bars. Choose a big name (one of the two Japanese bars, Oregon, Carlton,...) and you'll be fine. On the other hand, if you are happy with the Echo bars...

Roy

 

[hacskaroly]

When inspecting the saw what should I look for that would indicate the bar is needing to be replaced?

There are several videos on YouTube which detail how to dress (perform maintenance) on a chainsaw bar and explain what to look for that you can take care of to get as much use out of the bar as possible before having to get a new one.

One example video by donyboy73 goes over several examples of bars that need to be replaced and why: When a Chainsaw Bar Needs to be Replaced - donyboy73

When looking at a new bar, you need to make sure that the butt end shape of the bar and its associated oil ports and adjuster holes need to match up to what you have. Just because an Oregon, Carlton (or whatever brand bar) you are looking at matches your specs (say 3/8 .050 72 drivers 20" bar) does not mean it will fit your saw. I have seen many customers return a Husqvarna bar that matched their specs, however the butt end of the bar was shaped slightly different than what their saw takes.

Take a look at the Oregon Chain & Bar Reference PDF starting on page 29 it lists the guide bar index, which offers a true scale representation of the different guide bar styles so you can overlay your bar and match up the style you have. Conversely, since you know which Echo saw you have (for example if you have an Echo CS670 with a 20 inch bar, assuming Solid Body AT type) then you can look at page 10, follow the chart across and find the Oregon bar number, 200ATMD176. The important part of that number is the last four, the D176...that will tell you what guide bar style you have and then go to page 34 and see the silhouette. Of course if you have a different model Echo, you will need to do the same search in the Echo section to find your bar number.

I hope this helps, it has helped me find chainsaw bars for saws that my store does not sell to visually reference off of, the Oregon chart has been very helpful to me!