why is there a hole in some chainsaw bars?

[crotchclimber]

I'm sure this has been answered before but I couldn't find it in a search. I'm assuming it has to do with manufacturing laminate bars but I don't know. Here's a 20" Oregon prolite to show what I'm talking about. I was using my 201T the other day on some brush and a stick went through the hole and snagged my saw...annoying.

 

[ChoppyChoppy]

To hang on the wall? Especially the open tail ones.

 

[Efisher26]

I know I've seen them used on milling setups,they attach to bar through that hole, but I don't know Why the smaller bars have them


-Efisher26-

 

[IyaMan]

Aerodynamics?

 

[Ozhoo]

I would wager that it has to do with the manufacturing process of laminated bars. Likely used as an alignment hole.

 

[CR888]

Nothing to do with 'hanging on wall' that's just myth. It is indeed uused in manufacturing process. They normally put a little button cap to fill in the hole.

 

[crotchclimber]

Has anyone tried filling the hole with an epoxy like JB Weld? Will it just fall out? I've never seen them capped, Stihl, Oregon, or Echo bars.

 

[s sidewall]

That's used to mount a tip guard, handy when cutting brush to help avoid kick back, I never mounted mine on my echo.

Steve

 

[rwoods]

The hole is found on solid bars as well and to my knowledge predates the anti-kickback guards. I will put my bet on it being a reference/hold point during manufacture.

Ron

 

[Little Al]

As said in post#8. I have blocked the hole for an anti snag job by a piece of soft wood sharpened at the end & driven through the hole like dowel making, do this with dry wood & cut trim flush with bar soak infil with water, will swell wood & make tight fit,sand ends of plug flush with bar side, easily removed if required have "modded" wrongly positioned & not required oil holes in a similar manner & being wood no damage is done if it fails.

 

[Franny K]

I've never seen them capped, Stihl, Oregon, or Echo bars.

Here are capped holes on Windsor and SugiHara. The ones that are capped in this picture are the solid ones.
The tip guard bars have a hole and the center of the sprocket nose is also a hole, takes two points to attach the guard.
I have enlarged a holes to thread a rope through the scabbard and bar and then tie to the rear of the saw for transport over the shoulder on my motorcycle.

 

[CR888]

Stihl puts little caps in the holes on their laminated bars, pretty sure they do the solids as well. Windsor caps their RSN bars as does Tsumura, Carlton & Sugihara. Many laminates leave the empty hole too.

 

[crotchclimber]

Stihl puts little caps in the holes on their laminated bars, pretty sure they do the solids as well. Windsor caps their RSN bars as does Tsumura, Carlton & Sugihara. Many laminates leave the empty hole too.

They must be cutting corners, because a coworker picked up a a new 16" Rollomatic E for his 201T last week and there was no cap. There is a cap on the 16" Rollomatic E .325 bar on my 024 though.

 

[CR888]

The Stihl caps come out pretty easily where the Sugi/Tsumura ones are like a solid finished metal stud.

 

[Gypo Logger]

The hole in the bar is so you can attach a helper handle.Lol.

 

[Amp4027]

So they have something to hang the bar by when painting/tempering/annealing/heat-treating/transporting during manufacturing, etc would be my guess.

 

[dougand3]

The hole has a field use...long time ago, my Poulan 42cc chain tensioner broke. I would loosen bar nuts, stick a phillips screwdriver in hole, hold metal rod of phillips letting saw hang vetically, tighten bar nuts. You can get pretty good tension that way.

 

[Philbert]

I have heard the alignment explanation several times. Some bars also use the holes for a tip guard, as noted above, or to mount accessories, such as the PowerSharp sharpening cassette:



Philbert