Jump to content

Log in or register to remove this advert

500i bar length - 36" too big??


StihlGreen
 Share

Recommended Posts

I'd typed a load of stuff about bar lengths but deleted it because it just wouldn't advance mankind much. Suffice to say I don't think rip-snorting fast cutting matters in arb. It's mainly rigging and the logistics of moving a tree from a garden onto a truck. Forestry different.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Log in or register to remove this advert

1 hour ago, spuddog0507 said:

Things like a 170 with 25" bar to cut 6" softwood could only be in America, i dont know what it is over there but they all seem to need to have the biggest saw they can get there hands on but are only cutting small timber for firewood, One guy puts posts on another site and sorry but i have to laugh but he posted some photos of a FS350 pick up loaded with lengh,s of wood ready for splitting, this had took him and his 14yr old son from 9,30 - 3,30 and they were parked next to the stack of timber, but he did say they only had a short lunch break !, looking at what they had done and the shape of them 2 i tend to think the lunch break was from 11 - 3,

I dunno, I wouldn't think my productivity would increase by adding in a teenager in to the mix I had to look after.

 

My take is run a 28 if it's stock, 32 if it's ported. I assume it's mainly for stumping and large cross cuts, so dunno if a 500i will oil a 36inch bar well enough there. Good luck. I am not fond of using a saw with anything more than a 32inch light bar on it, tho.

 

I'm an American who used to live in the Pacific Northwest - mostly Oregon and Washington state. I've worked in logging there and forestry, and was the forester on a ranch in Oregon. I have also worked in the UK and am the forester on a large estate in Waterford, Ireland. I mostly keep a low profile here, and I understand it's a good time making fun of the yanks and painting them with one big brush, but when it comes to logging and forestry, the US doesn't mess about.

 

In the fast growing wood in the PNW, you can run longer bars, even in the maple there. It's not just that, but many local saw shops carry skip chain to help facilitate longer bars for better reach and to more easily cut the bigger trees that are there. My local shop in Oregon only carried 3/8 skip chain and nothing else. Unless you asked for different, you also got square chisel chain.

28inch bars are the norm there on 70cc saws. Some folks have a spare 20inch for firewood.

If they are professionals, they would rarely have a stock saw. Most are modified, some quite a lot.

 

By law in Canada(and it also defaults to saws for sale in logging in the States), all large saws used for logging or forestry must have large bucking spikes and full wrap handles. Thus, it is actually hard to find a 70cc+ saw without a full wrap and big spikes in the region.

 

One of the timber cruisers I worked with in Washington always had a ported 372XP with a 32 bar in his truck left over from his logging days. It made short work of the typical wood that would fall across our trails or roads. One of which was a 5 foot wide Douglas Fir after a storm.

 

My logging saw, a ported 385xp with an Oregon light weight 32 inch bar and relatively rare full comp square chain(I paid $250 used for this saw and ported and rebuilt it for work):

 

133818921.5n7uVAZJ.jpg

 

Some of our lengths weren't right, so I had to follow one of our trucks to the mill one day...

 

145798424.zz7PuD23.jpg

 

 

On the ranch in Oregon, my firewood could be this:

 

130491325.6PLfwmJU.jpg

(That's a 24 inch bar on an MS361 with skip square chain)

 

Or this, depending on the day:

 

131347393.gichA0sf.jpg

 

View from that ranch on a good day:

 

129850610.bzw6pxua.jpg

 

If you go to the coast, it looks more like this:

 

128532867.cYxs9XrL.jpg

 

The jeep I used(for work and sleep) when up in the logging roads - 1980 Ford F150 Bronco, 5.8litre V8, dual locking diffs, 32inch tires, and 8mpg average.

 

145798552.aLFj4A6L.jpg

 

 

  • Like 12
  • Thanks 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I dunno, I wouldn't think my productivity would increase by adding in a teenager in to the mix I had to look after.
 
My take is run a 28 if it's stock, 32 if it's ported. I assume it's mainly for stumping and large cross cuts, so dunno if a 500i will oil a 36inch bar well enough there. Good luck. I am not fond of using a saw with anything more than a 32inch light bar on it, tho.
 
I'm an American who used to live in the Pacific Northwest - mostly Oregon and Washington state. I've worked in logging there and forestry, and was the forester on a ranch in Oregon. I have also worked in the UK and am the forester on a large estate in Waterford, Ireland. I mostly keep a low profile here, and I understand it's a good time making fun of the yanks and painting them with one big brush, but when it comes to logging and forestry, the US doesn't mess about.
 
In the fast growing wood in the PNW, you can run longer bars, even in the maple there. It's not just that, but many local saw shops carry skip chain to help facilitate longer bars for better reach and to more easily cut the bigger trees that are there. My local shop in Oregon only carried 3/8 skip chain and nothing else. Unless you asked for different, you also got square chisel chain.
28inch bars are the norm there on 70cc saws. Some folks have a spare 20inch for firewood.
If they are professionals, they would rarely have a stock saw. Most are modified, some quite a lot.
 
By law in Canada(and it also defaults to saws for sale in logging in the States), all large saws used for logging or forestry must have large bucking spikes and full wrap handles. Thus, it is actually hard to find a 70cc+ saw without a full wrap and big spikes in the region.
 
One of the timber cruisers I worked with in Washington always had a ported 372XP with a 32 bar in his truck left over from his logging days. It made short work of the typical wood that would fall across our trails or roads. One of which was a 5 foot wide Douglas Fir after a storm.
 
My logging saw, a ported 385xp with an Oregon light weight 32 inch bar and relatively rare full comp square chain(I paid $250 used for this saw and ported and rebuilt it for work):
 
133818921.5n7uVAZJ.jpg
 
Some of our lengths weren't right, so I had to follow one of our trucks to the mill one day...
 
145798424.zz7PuD23.jpg
 
 
On the ranch in Oregon, my firewood could be this:
 
130491325.6PLfwmJU.jpg
(That's a 24 inch bar on an MS361 with skip square chain)
 
Or this, depending on the day:
 
131347393.gichA0sf.jpg
 
View from that ranch on a good day:
 
129850610.bzw6pxua.jpg
 
If you go to the coast, it looks more like this:
 
128532867.cYxs9XrL.jpg
 
The jeep I used(for work and sleep) when up in the logging roads - 1980 Ford F150 Bronco, 5.8litre V8, dual locking diffs, 32inch tires, and 8mpg average.
 
145798552.aLFj4A6L.jpg
 
 

Interesting.
In the uk ported saws are an insurance nightmare.
You won’t get it.
Or you’d invalidate it.
Therefore ported saws are illegal on uk work sites.
  • Like 1
  • Haha 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I'm gonna add to this thread “it’s horses for courses”  there’s always more than one way to do a job.  Just because someone does it differently it don’t make it wrong.


There’s some comments that make me scratch my head .  The 20” bar on a 200t .. it was done for a reason  it was for fun and an experiment and it’s also 1/4 not 3/8 lopro . And it’s ported by rich aka the “saw king” so If you were up pine trees blocking down and it ment you could carryon using the 200 for a bit longer.👍  and he does say it’s not for everyone 😉 and he says some egghead will hate it in the vid...😂😂😂😂😂😂

 

and the length of bars on some other saws, some seem to forget oilers can be modified.  Or a high output can be brought.   some guys run lopro on long bars, ie smaller tooth = less drag and or add skip to the equation.

 

 

btw those invisible ear muffs you see peeps wearing are more than likely to be ear plugs somewhere in there, not always thou 🙄

 

 

 

anyway that’s my view, ymmv👍👍👍

 

  • Like 3
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Out of interest has anyone ever put in an insurance claim after an accident with a ported saw? I'm sure they would start firing questions at you if it was covered in "I'm ported" "X modded" stickers and obvious mods but has an insurer sent someone out who knows about saws and would know what they're looking at? 

Only sort of insurance stuff with mods I have any experience with is cars when a couple of friends had crashes, their cars were mapped, egr blocked etc etc. They just sent out a guy with a clipboard who wrote down what was damaged! 

Edited by Paddy1000111
  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Out of interest has anyone ever put in an insurance claim after an accident with a ported saw? I'm sure they would start firing questions at you if it was covered in "I'm ported" "X modded" stickers and obvious mods but has an insurer sent someone out who knows about saws and would know what they're looking at? 
Only sort of insurance stuff with mods I have any experience with is cars when a couple of friends had crashes, their cars were mapped, egr blocked etc etc. They just sent out a guy with a clipboard who wrote down what was damaged! 

I read somewhere (probably on here) that in the case of serious injury or death,
A mech will take the saw away for examination.
First on the list is depth gauges.
Remember you’re only insured if you follow their rules.
Any chainsaw which is badly maintained will be hazardous at best.
My insurance company asked me 3 times if I’ve modded my engine on my vehicle.
They even asked if I had any shelving in the back as that could invalidate my insurance.
My understanding of chainsaws is,
If you mod it in any way, your insurance is useless.
It takes years of R&D not to mention ce marks
Bs certification etc
Not worth the risk in a professional environment.
At home... yeah get the spudded saws out and cut discos or firewood.
[emoji106][emoji106][emoji106]
  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I use ported saws at work all the time, I have done for a few years.

I think they’re great.
Know loads of people who use them in industry.
I’d love to send my saws to spud,
He does some really awesome work.
But until my ass is covered legally it’s a no no.
🥲
  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, Rough Hewn said:


I read somewhere (probably on here) that in the case of serious injury or death,
A mech will take the saw away for examination.
First on the list is depth gauges.
Remember you’re only insured if you follow their rules.
Any chainsaw which is badly maintained will be hazardous at best.
My insurance company asked me 3 times if I’ve modded my engine on my vehicle.
They even asked if I had any shelving in the back as that could invalidate my insurance.
My understanding of chainsaws is,
If you mod it in any way, your insurance is useless.
It takes years of R&D not to mention ce marks
Bs certification etc
Not worth the risk in a professional environment.
At home... yeah get the spudded saws out and cut discos or firewood.
emoji106.pngemoji106.pngemoji106.png

I'm in no doubt that it would invalidate your insurance! As I have no experience of ARB insurance claims 🤞 I was just curious if anyone had their insurance invalidated or had issues from ported saws. It's not worth the risk like you say! 

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
 Share


  •  

  • Featured Adverts

About

Arbtalk.co.uk is a hub for the arboriculture industry in the UK.  
If you're just starting out and you need business, equipment, tech or training support you're in the right place.  If you've done it, made it, got a van load of oily t-shirts and have decided to give something back by sharing your knowledge or wisdom,  then you're welcome too.
If you would like to contribute to making this industry more effective and safe then welcome.
Just like a living tree, it'll always be a work in progress.
Please have a look around, sign up, share and contribute the best you have.

See you inside.

The Arbtalk Team

Follow us

×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

We have placed cookies on your device to help make this website better. You can adjust your cookie settings, otherwise we'll assume you're okay to continue.