Oregon Bar

[firebrick43]

I need a new bar also for my homelite 450 and I have always found oregon a good choice, my problem is which one? I am going to get a 20" and mostly cut firewood and trees to saw. I use a tree jack to keep the logs out of the dirt when cutting. Would the Prolite bar or the Powermatch bar be be the best VALUE for what I am doing? The powermatch is 12 dollars more and has a replaceable nose where the prolite you can just replace the nose sprocket. Thanks
Jay

 

[Grande Dog]

Powermatch.

Grande Dog
Master Mechanic
Discount Arborist Equipment and Tree Care Supplies

 

[lesorubcheek]

Jay,

You might want to consider a Griffiths and Beerens (GB) Professional Sprocket Nose Pro-Top. I think the part number is GBUHL2050PA for a 3/8" .050 20" . I know you can get one for $34 and they're a great bar.

Dan

 

[Wood Cutter]

Hi,
I bought a power match bar for my homelite 330 for $30 including a new low kickback chain from my local dealer. The bar works good for me. Thats what my vote would go for.

 

[rustyb]

Dan, or anyone else familar with the GB bars. I see that GB sells bars labled "Titanium". Don't know if all their bars are labled as such but any ideas if they are any lighter than the other bars?

Thanks

 

[trimmmed]

At Bailey's there is a Carlton Pro Champ bar in 3/8" x 50g for $19.95 for a homelite. It's a titanium bar made by GB. I got one for a husky and it's a good bar.

 

[lesorubcheek]

rustyb,

Sorry, but I don't have any Oregons of same size to compare with weight. I do know the titanium is only in the tip which is replaceable. Its a one piece bar and I think the rails are specially hardened. GB also has a PowerTech bar which is also one piece (not laminated) but doesn't have the replaceable titanium nose. They're about $8-$10 less than the sprocket nosed bars.

Dan

 

[sedanman]

Powermatch, good bang for the buck, even if you never wear the tip out the solid construction is worth the few extra dollars. I have some GB bars and think they are well made but I don't have a local source for them so I have get them over the net ( from Jeff Sikkema good service) for something I need right away Oregon Power Match is the bar of choice.

 

[Oregon Engineer]

Take $100 in pennies and pile it on the floor. Reach in the pile and pull out two pennies. That's how much Titanium we found in a GB bar. But the name Titanium does certainly work for marketing the bar!

 

[Molecule]

In a 20" --- GB PowerTech or in O-brand ProLite --

(1) do you have the skill to replace a nose when you break it off? If your answer is wha?? or better h3!! no, the idea of a replacable nose is just BS. If you don't intend to go slop-lunging your bar into plunge cuts on 30" plus trees and snagging your nose in a kerf pinch from an opposing cut, at today's $$ the replacable tip on a 20" bar has no advantage. Everything else you can to do to destroy a smooth tip, can also be done to destroy a replaceable tip.

(2a) in 050 gauge, PowerTech and ProLite bars run smoother than replacable tips IMHO. The replacable noses are all 063 gauge (running 068) and when the chain is running 050, the 050 driver links have to sling around the 068 sprocket pretty much unguided and with decreased lateral support, and then suddenly re-align themselves upright at the mass produced joint on the underside of the bar. Look at that joint carefully ... the two grooves never line up exactly, unless you spend extra money on getting the joint "faired" in. Look at the leading edge of the drivers on a 050 replacable sprocket nose after a full day's use and you'll see the leading edges and tips are wearing down. Look at the same on a "full groove" bar, such as PowerTech. Why the difference?

(3) in a 20" bar, the "full guidance" bars, such as GB PowerTech (solid stock) are just as strong, but hte chain is held in close guidance with good lateral support for the drivers all the way around the bar. Reportedly, the laminated bars like ProLite can bend and pop rivits I am told--but never happend that I saw. IMHO, the continuous groove makes for a longer lasting chain and longer lasting bar. If you munge the sprocket or nose on either bar, you're just going to replace the whole bar anyway! Fact is, if they made full groove support bars at 24", I'd be using them instead of replaceable tips.

===
re the alleged 2 /10,000 th part titanium in the GB titanium bars -- I've never used one, but on principle, I will say that depending on the metalurgical design of the steel, that is not necessarily an insignificant amount. So your competitive spew is just FUD. Those kinds of percentages might easily be enough to significantly improve the metalurgy of the entire bar, or of specifically treated areas. For example, the metalurgical treatment of a nikasil cylinder *wall *only might be about the same percentage (not including cooling fins etc. of cylinder body.)

 

[bwalker]

OE, Say what you want, about the TI content. I have found them to be a much better, tougher and longer lasting product than your powermatch and speedtip bars. The speedtips where very good till you moved production to Canada( same plant as oregon) and started to use the same cheap steel as your powermatchs.
BTW TI enhanced steels are fairly common and thats what the TI in the GB bars stands for. They are in no way claiming the bar is made out of TI.

 

[Blowdown1]

Does Oregon make the Husqvarna bars?

Where can I find a product application guide for GB bars? I went to their site and didn't see one, or did I not look hard enough. I'm looking for something for my 359.

 

[gatkeper1]

20" bars GB vs Oregon
The GB bar weighs more,better?,heavier yes.
I like the older Windsor Speedtip,Oregon Powermatch
and the Tsumura Super Bars(Total Super Bar)

 

[Oregon Engineer]

Molecule and bwalker
You are correct, Micro alloying of steel is very common and very benefical. It is done for low alloy steels and makes large improvements. But, the GB bar material is certainly not a low allow steel. If you like the performance of the bars I'm not trying to convince you to change. But you can not deny the marketing advantage. You guys know that the bar is not loaded with Ti but most users assume it is. At a logging show a few years back I had one guy describe his building a bar out of high grade Ti. It cost $500 in material and lasted 1/2 a day. He was mad. I had to explain that Ti is much stronger than steel at the same weight, but it is not very wear resistant.

Your experiences will guide you, I'm just letting you know a little more of the picture than you might have known before. I'll quit commenting on competitive product and just stick to explaining ours.

I watch several forums to see the comments, thoughts, and opinions on bars, chains, sprockets, chain saws. It is one of the many ways I try to stay in touch with people who use the products. Some of issues discussed on the forums do cause changes to our products.

 

[rubberducky]

Go with the powermatch its a good choice all around.

 

[jimbo1490]

The replacable noses are all 063 gauge (running 068) and when the chain is running 050, the 050 driver links have to sling around the 068 sprocket pretty much unguided and with decreased lateral support, and then suddenly re-align themselves upright at the mass produced joint on the underside of the bar.

I did not know this! This explains why the chain runs so noisy in these bars, especially when the bar is new. I have three of these Speed-Tip bars (ebay deals) and one Powermatch and the difference in bar/chain noise is dramatic. I guess that's caused by a lot of little metal collisions on that tip insert.

Jimbo

 

[Al Smith]

Well,I've got GBs,Oregon,Stihl,Carlton,Winsor etc,etc.Giggle if you like,but the ones that have stood the test of time are the old hardnosed bars.I've got some oldies,still in good shape.The key word is oil,and lots of it.My saws that have auto oilers are set wide open,the others get a regular push of the thumb oiler.

 

[bwalker]

I watch several forums to see the comments, thoughts, and opinions on bars, chains, sprockets, chain saws. It is one of the many ways I try to stay in touch with people who use the products. Some of issues discussed on the forums do cause changes to our products.

Thats smart for a person in your position to do so. I might add the couple bench marks in my mind when it comes to quality bars would be the german made Stihl ES, RSN bars, the Sandvik/Windsor mini pros. and the made in the USA speedtips.
The steel used in the powermatchs and new speed tips is crap with a capitol "C". Much too soft. The tips on the PM bars are also lacking.
Also your LG chain has a real nice cutter, but it is soft as well, not a big deal, but it would be nice if it was a little harder. The 325 chain you offer could also use a higher profile cutter ala Stihl RS. As it is now you .325 chain is slower than stihl and a pain to file initially due to the cutters size.

 

[Manco]

I have to throw this in. I am now skeptical about the saying"you get what you pay for" A Woodsman Pro bar in the Bailey's catalog is almost three times the price of what I paid for a 32" Powermatch. Is it possible that the Woodsman would last three times longer than the Powermatch? I don't know, I've never used the Woodsman.

 

[Molecule]

it's not enough to consider just the cost of the bar ... a cheap bar can be the cause of expensive problems throughout a saw.

first cost to add is inventory of chains -- with a soft metal bar like the Powermatch you find yourself throwing chains away before the cutters can get filed back to where the cuttin' starts getting good -- the drivers are all worn out (grunge collects in the groove and the bar gets "slow" because the worn drivers can't clean the groove) and the chain won't setup on top of the bar -- rather than being smooth, the side of the wood on a cut looks like the cutters were wandering all over the place (because they are!). The extra pull also wears the rivits, and so the chain gets hot and loose, and starts slapping the bar right where it comes back at the nose, banging a dent in the rails--which causes the chain inventory to start collapsing sooner .. and etc.

next to add is the wear to the clutch and clutch drum caused by a cheap bar -- chains that don't setup right -cause the bar's rails and groove are too soft to give the support that the chain needs - create wasted pull, and that adds more heat into the clutch and drum and bearing, and shaft, and seals, and ...